Top Table Andrew Robson Game All

Home , Andrew Robson, Ruff (cards)

follows suit with the six and the seven, so clearly he started with three diamonds. How should you continue? Top Table Andrew Robson Game All. Dealer West. ´ 6 4 3 2 ™ A K Q Andrew Robson is a former World t 10 8 Junior and European Champion and ® A K Q 3 the first Englishman (with Tony ´ A 9 ™ Forrester) to win a US major. A World 6 5 N t A K Q 4 3 2 W Individual silver and bronze medallist, ® 6 5 2 he has won most major national cups many times. Andrew is Britain’s fore- West North East South most bridge player-teacher-writer, 1t Dble Pass 1´ 2t 3t Pass 4´ and has radically altered the way many All Pass people view the game.

Declarer clearly has no further side-suit When did you start playing bridge? losers, so you must turn your attention to When I was about 10, at home. My par - What are your hobbies? making trump tricks. The full deal is: ents are social players; indeed now they Mountain biking, being a dad – which is come to my club to play. Then I used more than a hobby (some would say to play with my brother at Abingdon mountain biking was too . . .). ´ 6 4 3 2 Bridge Club as a teenager. What would you change in bridge? ™ A K Q How often / where do you play? The game is in a fascinating state of flux. t 10 8 I do not play every day or even every Enjoyed by more and more retirees who ® A K Q 3 week. I play big tournaments and some - have no card-playing background, but ´ A 9 ´ J 10 times rubber bridge as a guest at the fewer and fewer young players, the game ™ 6 5 N ™ J 10 8 3 2 W E Portland Club. is polarising. Overall more and more t A K Q 4 3 2 t J 7 6 S people are playing, but for enjoyment, ® 6 5 2 ® J 9 4 Do you always play with the same part - social reasons and to keep their brain ´ K Q 8 7 5 ners / team-mates? What do you expect fresh. All entirely laudable but the game ™ 9 7 4 of them? needs to be kept simple for them. t 9 5 Mostly I play with my European Cham - Apart from my play, I devote my time ® 10 8 7 pionships partner Alexander Allfrey , and skills to this very large, very reward - occasionally with Zia Mahmood. My ing group. Yet on the other end of the team-mates in the Europeans are my spectrum, top players (a declining num - You can beat this contract if partner has as regular teammates. I like to go through ber, sadly) are realising more and more little as the ´J-10 doubleton. You are going every board with them with a critical yet that the methods, particularly bidding to have to give declarer a ruff-and-discard understanding and friendly ear, so we but also defence, required to succeed, twice. Continue with a third diamond. can all learn and enjoy. need to be quite complex, largely Declarer ruffs in dummy and leads a What do you do for a living? incomprehensible to the larger former trump to his king of spades. Win it with I run the Andrew Robson Bridge Club group. So what will happen? I think a the ace and lead a fourth diamond. East in South West London, where I also Bridge App suitable for young players is ruffs with the jack and your nine of spades teach. I travel the country leading needed to try to slowly bring the two has been promoted into the vital fourth instructive bridge days mainly for char - groups slightly closer together. defensive trick. ity, and write in The Times (daily), Can you see what I mean when I say that What’s the bridge success (so far) clos - Country Life (weekly) and Money Week many of the principles that you have est to your heart? (weekly). I also have written over 20 learned so far are no longer sacrosanct? Winning the 1991 European Cham- books on the game. Giving two ruff-and-discards in the same pionships by a record margin (that I deal is hardly normal defence! r What are your favourite bridge books? believe still holds today, even through the I started with Culbertson's Red Book out years of Italian domination). Curiously, I of the school library (still the best-sell - have not played in the Europeans since When you have ing bridge book of all time, now 80 years then, and this year they have returned to finished reading old). Apart from that, anything by Ireland . this magazine, Reese, notably P lay these Hands with Me Can history repeat itself? Here’s hop - please recycle it . and The Expert Game. ing it can!