Decoding the sport of bridge and understanding its significance to the public

Action from the Worlld Bridge Championships

The impact the game of Bridge has over millions around the world is clear for all to see. The sport is still a source of solace and social bonding to several people as can be seen from the excellent turnout at the ongoing World Bridge Team Championships at the ITC Grand Chola, Chennai.

For the uninitiated, this complex and sophisticated card game might seem almost alien, but ask anyone who plays bridge and they will sing its praises. Unlike many card games that involves luck, this is a form of mental gymnastics, as it keeps the brain hard at work, throughout the entire duration of the game.

So how is bridge, or to use its most common variant, duplicate bridge, played? For starters, the game involves four players, of whom two form a pair, who sit opposite to each other around a table.

All games consists of four phases: dealing the cards, auction (also referred to as bidding), playing the cards and scoring the results. At the end of the final phase, the team with the most points is the winner.

The main aim of bridge is for the opposing sides to compete in a bidding auction for the right to establish the contract, with the winner being known as the declaring side. A contract is an exchange of the right to establish the trump suit (the one with the greatest power) for a promise to win at least the number of tricks specified by the highest bid.

Once the contract is established, both sides play their cards until all thirteen tricks are played or until one side claims a stated number of the remaining tricks and concedes the balance. Depending on the number of tricks taken, the declaring side will have either succeeded or failed in fulfilling the contract.

“No matter where I go, I can always make new friends at the bridge table."- Retired tennis legend Martina Navratilova

While there are different forms of scoring, every system is based on whether the contract was made or not and by how many tricks. In team events organised by the World Bridge Federation (WBF) such as the World Bridge Teams Championships, use the International Match Point (IMP) scoring, which compares a result on a board to that obtained at the other table and converts the difference to IMPs using a table defined by WBF.

While that may sound simple enough, what makes bridge so fascinating to play is that it tests your mental acuity, ability to communicate with your partner and how good you are at thinking on your feet.

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova, a keen bridge player, says bridge "is more than just a card game.

It's a cerebral sport. Bridge teaches you logic, reasoning, quick thinking, patience, concentration and partnership skills."

As one of the few sports that provides both social engagement and mental stimulation, bridge brings together people of all age groups and walks of life. So whether consider it a sport or just a game, make sure you play it or at least come down to the ITC Grand Chola to witness some of the best bridge players in the world compete in the knockout rounds as they bid to claim the championship.

Roundup of the 42nd World Bridge Teams Championships

The Indian team will have to watch the knockout stages of the competition from the sidelines, as they failed to finish in the top eight, in all three categories as the group stages of the 42nd World Bridge Teams Championships ended on Saturday.

Arun Bapat, coach of India’s senior team, said: “We were the only Indian side with an opportunity to finish in the top eight coming into the final day. But, round 19 against England was a disaster, so we lost that opportunity.”

The hosts, who started the day in 10th place, had a win sandwiched between two losses on the final day of the group stages. They lost convincingly to England and Norway, but managed a win over Austria in a closely fought encounter.

At the end of the group stages, India’s women’s team, who were competing for the Venice Cup finished in last place, whereas the men’s team competing for the Bermuda Bowl were 12th.

The teams who qualified for the knockout stages are:

Bermuda Bowl: 1. Bulgaria 277.74 VPs, 2. China 274.90 VPs, 3. Poland 267.87 VPs, 4. England 267.18 VPs, 5. France 256.68 VPs, 6. USA1 243.67 VPs, 7. USA2 236.56 VPs, 8. Sweden 225.18 VPs.

Venice Cup:

1. Denmark 304.11 VPs, 2. USA2 288.03 VPs, 3. USA1 281.05 VPs, 4. Italy 278.87 VPs, 5. England 277.73 VPs, 6. China 274.12 VPs, 7. Netherlands 274.09 VPs, 8. France 266.55 VPs.

d’Orsi Trophy:

1. USA1 298.89 VPs, 2. Australia 286.21 VPs, 3. Ireland 280.95 VPs, 4. Poland 273.84 VPs, 5. England 259.93 VPs, 6. USA2 255.12 VPs, 7. Norway 253.27 VPs, 8. Sweden 250.41 VPs.