How did you get started in Bridge? At what age? Who do you learn from?
I started playing in late 2019 at the age of 16 in Norway. Some really passionate souls hosted an after-school session at my high school. While I couldn’t attend the initial session, I sought them out after since I’d heard stories about my grandfather that used to play. I started playing regularly and had a pretty steep learning curve despite it being during the pandemic, learning a lot of conventions and getting opportunities to get mentored and attend gatherings. The junior community has grown a lot since then and is still expanding. I became somewhat well acquainted with the older national junior players in Norway and found great inspiration in some of them.
Currently I am attending most Youth Nights at the SBC weekly and am always looking forward to meeting more passionate bridge players!
What do (did) you do professionally?
I’m studying a bachelor of Cybersecurity, currently in my last semester.
Who is your partner and for how long? Longest Partnership?
I am playing with Natalie Newman – We’ve been playing together since 2025. She is very enthusiastic and excited to learn. She lights up the room and often put a smile on people’s faces. I am looking forward to developing our partnership and have lots of fun along the way!
My longest partnership was probably with Herman (Norway), but we didn’t play in any serious competitions together. He was the first person I played with, and we won the school championship together in my first year of playing.
If you had a choice who would you like to play with? Australia and Internationally – living or dead.
Geir Helgemo – Gotta stay true to my Norwegian heritage^^
My grandfather – He never taught me how to play and passed away when I was quite young. None of his children developed a passion for the game and I think it could have been a great way to bond.
In your playing career, what is the bridge success that has the most meaning for you?
Probably winning the first larger competition I played in as a novice. It encouraged me to seek out more opportunities for learning and improvement. Or whenever I exceed my own expectations or do better than expected, i.e. at ANC.
Results are nice, but not always representative, so I really enjoy a good auction or a killer defence too.
And your worst moment in bridge?
Can’t remember a particular moment. Probably going down in some cold contracts or forgetting to keep track of cards or regretting crappy overcalls.
What do you do between sessions to put you in the best frame of mind for the following sessions?
Develop temporary memory loss. Okaaay, not quite. But do a hard reset if it wasn’t a particularly good session, go over major concerns and decide what was the right course of action if it would be applicable in the future. Also reflecting on what went well is important and not assigning blame (including yourself) as it rarely does any good, if any at all. Sometimes focusing your attention elsewhere or getting some air is also good if you have time.
Remaining calm and emotionally stable is key to enabling success. And staying present in the moment. The past has already happened and the future is in the making. Nothing is decided until it is done, and maybe not even then…
Do you have a favourite and least favourite convention?
Favourite – Jacoby 2NT (first artificial convention I learnt, if you look away from the basics)
Runners up – XYZ, 3-way 2C
Not so high on my list – Bergen, Usual Limit Raises, Blackwood (4 aces)
Would you prefer to have more system or less?
More. I prefer to have enough conventions to cover most events and circumstances that can be ambiguous. However, it requires a long term/more experienced partner to be successful in most cases.
Or at least learning conventions (not necessarily put them to use). It’s just quite interesting and I find that it helps against opponents playing different systems to understand their hand and patterns better:)
More is more until more is less. Alternatively less is more…
What do you to do to improve your game?
Play tons of Funbridge & Cuebids (poor people having to keep up).
Some reading, researching conventions and plays, discussing systems and boards with others, play/learn from mentors, asking lots of questions and do some Bridgemaster or quizzes occasionally.
Try to keep it fun as well as serious, a time and place for everything. Sometimes there is such a thing as too much bridge, and it is important to keep a balance. A big one would be more sleep (but this one is very unrealistic and a long shot:))
When available: BBO, Realbridge sessions
Favourite bridge book?
Useful Probability for Bridge Players – In all honest, the only bridge book I have ever picked up and started reading. Quite interesting topic though.
Got a few on my TBR list but time is limited.
What interests or hobbies do you have besides bridge?
Esports, music, reading, board/other card games, occasionally drawing and baking, some sports every now and then, and generally learning new things (if it counts^)
What is the number one thing that bridge has done for you as a person and for your life?
Ultimately it has led to me gaining a lot of connections and valuable friendships that I wouldn’t be without. Bridge is not much without the people (even if it is just your partner). It also grants me the opportunity to introduce people to the sport and be able to teach them something they can enjoy for the rest of their lives. It brings people together across professions, nationalities and social circles and has the ability to strengthen familial bonds and friendships.
State Representation
ANC Youth NSW 2025
National / International Representation
Norwegian School Championship 2020 (it is actually not that big, but might as well put it down)
First time for International Representation – U26W (Would also likely have had the opportunity had I stayed in Norway)
