Bridge fanciers hope to hook the next generation on their favorite card game
Published: November 14, 2009, 12:30 am
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Bridge is bouncing back. After years of declining interest, the complex card game favored by the senior set is experiencing a resurgence, according to Jerry Fleming, president of the American Contract Bridge League.
Last month, 746 bridge players convened at the Holiday Inn on Grand Island for a regional tournament sanctioned by the ACBL. Fleming attended, and was impressed with what he saw.
“Bridge players in Buffalo are very warm and friendly, more so than other places,” said Fleming, during a phone interview from his home in Los Alamos, N. M. “From a hospitality perspective, the tournament in Grand Island was one of the finest I’ve been to. There was something for the players all the time, between the sessions, after the sessions. I was very much impressed with that.”
Buffalo’s competitive bridge community numbers about 1,500, and includes a handful of sanctioned clubs, some smaller private clubs and pockets of people playing social bridge in the comfort of their homes—around card tables or online. Club fees range from $5 to $7 per each 3øhour bridge session.
“It’s not easy to be in competition,” said Carol Bedell, 67, of Williamsville, one of an estimated 2.5 million bridge players in the country. “You get kicked in the butt sometimes, and you have to be able to take it and not be hard on yourself. People can get nasty. You see the character of a person at
the bridge table, if they are bad losers or gracious.”
A complex game
The difference between social — or rubber — bridge and duplicate bridge is a matter of scoring. In duplicate, scores are based on how well you did against others who played the same hand. There is no comparison in social bridge scores, which are tallied on an individual basis. All games are contract, meaning you bid to a contract. With more than 600 billion possible bridge hands, skilled players face a daunting task in tracking high cards, low cards and their respective suits.
John Toy, 65, has been playing bridge since his days at Le Moyne College. He does not expect to stop soon.
“It’s a marathon that takes getting used to,” Toy said. “I’ve been playing since my early 20s, and it never gets boring. It can be very addictive. I’ve had friends who flunked out of college because of bridge.”
Those with a skill in mathematics are said to have an upper hand. The late Malcolm Forbes encouraged readers of his magazine to play. Investor Warren Buffett described the game of bridge as “a great way to learn from inferences. A lot of decisions in life are made by inferring from what you know.”
In paired play, partners anticipate each other’s moves and communicate through bids and cards played. The point is to do better at a hand than everyone else playing that hand, and scoring is based on that.
Local scene
Tax accountant Bill Finkelstein, founding director of Amherst Bridge Club at the Airport, rents two large rooms of an office building on Cayuga Road where duplicate bridge is played seven days a week.
Celine Murray of Williamsville taught bridge in the tea room at the former Hengerer’s department store. She giggles like a teenager at the memory. Murray, a member of the Amherst Bridge Club, is one of about 45 players who gathered to play one recent weekday afternoon.
Characterized by card tables, folding chairs and a classic black-and-white framed poster of Marilyn Monroe, the roomful of people was silent. Special ceiling tiles, Finkelstein explained, were installed to absorb sound.
During a break in play, Vince Pesce of North Tonawanda shared his bridge odyssey.
“My wife took lessons and didn’t want to go by herself,” Pesce said. “At first I didn’t want anything to do with cards, but to make her happy I went. That was 20 years ago. After 10 years, my wife quit and I continued.”
In the past, the game was hounded by contentious players. Arguments were as much a part of the game as bidding, and tempers flared with regularity. Some players were driven out. Others chose to leave, according to those on the local and national levels.
The ACBL has been working for years to soften the game’s image, rewriting policy to get bridge players to treat their colleagues with more respect.
“I think it’s a friendlier game now, but in my opinion it’s still extremely competitive, and people want to win. It’s a part of human nature,” said Fleming. “We want to channel some of the competitiveness to playing the game rather than getting upset with a partner or other players.”
Seeking new recruits
With the average age of an ACBL member at 68.5, the organization is trying to attract younger players. Recently, two of the game’s most active proponents have stepped forward to help.
Buffett and Microsoft’s Bill Gates both are regular tournament competitors. Together, they have committed $1 million to a youth bridge initiative, according to Fleming, who said attracting younger players has been a struggle.
“One reason is the instant gratification craved by today’s youth,” said Fleming. “You don’t learn bridge in a night. To be a good bridge player, it takes a lot of time and effort. In fact, the best players will tell you they are continuously learning.”
“We haven’t had a lot of luck introducing bridge in our schools,” Fleming said. “It’s hard to get in unless you have a teacher who is also a bridge player.”
Bridge is all about earning points, which come in various colors. The more points you earn, the higher you climb. Accumulating points depends on the frequency and caliber of play, and amount of tournament play. Earning 300 points, for example, will also get you a title of Life Master. The highest bridge ranking is Grand Master. There are 400 grand masters in the ACBL, which covers the United States, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda.
As the ACBL’s only Honorary Life Master, Snoopy — the Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” character — was often playing bridge in the comic strips.
Snoopy is not alone.
Gracing the cover of this month’s issue of Bridge Bulletin, is the youngest life master in the country, 9-year-old Richard Jeng of Johns Creek, Ga. He started playing bridge with his brother at age 6.
Bedell, a relative newcomer with just under five years’ bridge experience, is nearing Life Master status. She plays approximately 12 hours a week at the Bridge Center of Buffalo, located at Sheridan Drive and Sweet Home Road.
“In the winter, when other people are stewing over the weather, us bridge players don’t worry about the weather. We have a place to go. We have friends. Most of us are bright. It’s a bridge family.”
jkwiatkowski@buffnews.com
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