How did you get started in Bridge? At what age? Who do you learn from?

The first time I heard of bridge was from my father, I remember there were a bunch of compass directions and suits and this thing called NT and that was about it. It wasn’t until high school that I learnt the game from my high school teacher Mr Bowden. We had a school club with lunch sessions, and a session on Sunday where we went through some NZ Bridge material and learnt ACOL. I’m really appreciative of Mr Bowden, he was a great teacher, and without him I would not be playing the game.

What do (did) you do professionally?

Software engineering.

Who is your partner and for how long? Longest Partnership?

I don’t have a permanent partner, but I have been playing with Aadhi a lot recently. Back in NZ when I just started, I played with my partner for ~4 years, which was probably my longest partnership. We played a really wacky system probably at the detriment of our bridge, but it was really fun.

If you had a choice who would you like to play with? Australia and Internationally – living or dead.

No one really, I don’t have a particular urge to play with good players, I feel like asking for their opinion on hands is more useful for me. Probably Liam Milne now that I think about it.

In your playing career, what is the bridge success that has the most meaning for you?

Qualifying for state or nation reps, I have yet to represent my country, so this is my first year, but also not where I want to be stopping at.

And your worst moment in bridge?

Every time I miss a play where I was actively thinking about a decision but come to the wrong conclusion is a bad moment for me. Missing a play where I couldn’t see anything is worse.

What do you do between sessions to put you in the best frame of mind for the following sessions?

Discussing with partner and asking pro’s for their opinion on hard spots. I find being really technical and critical puts me in the best frame of mind. If I’m feeling tired I would just not talk to anyone to preserve mental energy.

Do you have a favourite and least favourite convention?

5NT pick a slam is a good convention, helps find suited slams, especially minors, when 6NT might be going down.

I don’t really like Exclusion, never really understood when it’s on, it feels like a bidding disaster waiting to happen.

Would you prefer to have more system or less?

I think system should scale with how long you’ve been playing with your partner. I’d rather have more system in the sense that I’ve talked about a lot of situations, but have something simple to remember and play.

What do you to do to improve your game?

In no particular order: practice declarer play, practice bidding, read books, ask pro’s for their opinion, go through hands.

Favourite bridge book

Can’t remember the name, but it was a beginner bridge book on really simple stuff, like some suit combos, and counting winners/losers as declarer. Counting winners/losers alone was probably the most useful thing I’ve learnt ever.

What interests or hobbies do you have besides bridge?

Games (a lot), board games.

What is the number one thing that bridge has done for you as a person and for your life?

Earlier in my life, it was really useful for me to direct my energy to something and continuously improve myself. The older I got, the more bridge is also a tool to meet new people and keep in touch with friends.

State Representation

NSW U26 2024, 2025

National / International Representation

U31 2026