School children make a surprise visit to World Bridge Championships

Students of Chennai High School, Kotturpuram, paid a visit to the World Bridge Championships venue

CHENNAI: A group of about 40 boys and girls from the Chennai High School, Kotturpuram, all budding players, provided an interesting relief to the serious settings at the World Bridge Championship’s hotel venue here on Tuesday.

The students’ trip was part of the exercise of the Tamil Nadu Bridge Association in particular its President Mr Srinath Rajam to popularise the sport among school children with the message that the sport had a positive effect in the child’s academics. For the last two months these children were being trained in this sport by members of the TNBA. “They sit on the floor and play. We are soon going to provide them necessary furniture for them shortly,”said an official.

Mr . R. Nagasubaramanian or Bhaskar as he is popularly known is a player and a trainer and leads the team to spread the message of bridge to the school community. “We found the Principal of this school (Ms Kalpana Maheshwari) quite agreeable to our suggestions and she in turn was able to convince the parents of the children to permit them to learn the sport of cards,” he said. “We are in the process of finalizing such joint programmes with other schools. We will also be assessing their academic progress to judge how much bridge is helping them improve their mental faculties,”Mr Bhaskar said.

The children, overawed by the palatial building of the hotel, were also thrilled when they were taken around inside the arena where a round of the Transnational team event was on. The players all seemed pleased with their sudden entry. One of them (an American player Howard Weinstein) even offered a child his hand and gestured him to play, all in a lighter vein.

The Bridge Federation of India President, Mr N.R. Kirbakaramoorthy and other WBF officials were there to interact with the children.

According to TNBA officials, the state President Mr Rajam, who is part of the TVS family, is keen that children should learn this sport and has assured students who do well in studies and bridge sport would be provided all help by TVS group.