France: the surprise package in bridge

France would never have been in the current World Bridge Team Championship that is currently underway in Chennai. In fact, the official media brochure does not list the team’s players. Thanks to the last minute changes that the World Bridge Federation brought to the list in the light of some unpleasant issues leading to Germany’s withdrawal, doors opened for a former champion.

“We had just a week’s time to do everything from getting our players together to travel,”said Nicholas Lhuissier, the English-speaking French player. “So whatever we achieve here we think it as a bonus,”he added with a wink. The fact is, France has caught everyone’s notice here, including the highly rated USA because of its initial surge to the top of the round robin table.

“In bridge you never know. One moment you are there high and the next down there,” he gestured, to explain how fickle the ranking can be. France was on top at the end of the 11th round and then dropped to fifth after the next. But, all this is not a worrying aspect for this young French team. The average age of players in the side is just 35 years. Nicholas himself is just 27 but already a bridge player of 15 years standing.

“I have just begun to foray into the senior ranks. All this while I was with the France junior team and made over 15 travels abroad for various championships,” he said.

Bridge has a big base in France. Over 100,000 people are registered players as per the French Bridge Federation but Nicholas said, not many went beyond playing in social circles. Unlike in the USA, sponsors are not big for bridge in France nor does government provide any assistance. “We players, most of us also work and earn to finance ourselves. I am a music composer myself,” he said. “But things will improve once government recognizes bridge. The discussions are on and something useful will come,” he said.

Interestingly, bridge used to be more a sport like poker played in gambling clubs. But soon the realization came that it gave a salutary effect to the mind like helping in logical thinking, communicating and in calculating. Significantly bridge is now a subject in schools and other higher educational portals in France. “Bridge helps in the learning of mathematics,” he said and that is why bridge is part of school curriculum, Lhuissier, who himself teaches bridge, said.

France won the Bermuda Bowl twice, the last being in Tunisia in 1997. Will Chennai prove lucky? Nicholas is not prepared to say anything. “We are not even looking to the Quarterfinal yet. There are many more rounds and in bridge nothing can be predicted,” the young man, a Zinedine Zidane fan, said.

“Aside from the Championship, we are loving this stay in Chennai. Indian food is really great. This is my first visit and me and my team mates, we hope to make the use of our spare time to visit tourist locations in this city,” he said signing off.