Bridge Life Past Present and Future

What is your name?

K.R.Venkataraman

What are your nicknames in bridge community?

Venky, Dhadi

Where are you from?

Chennai, Tamilnadu

Where do play bridge mostly? Are you a full time professional?

yes

Do you have a regular bridge partner/team?

Sunit Chokshi/Formidables

When, Where and How do you practice with your partner/team?

Internet and Tourneys

When, Where and How did you start playing bridge?

college days-seniors

Any interesting/funny stories about early bridge career?

finessed a 7spot in a Mylapore club tournament against Mr. N.Ramaratnam and he almost fell off his chair

Which places have you lived and played bridge in?

Chennai, Hyderabad, Vizag

What was your first major win? What do you remember about that?

board a match 1988 Delhi nationals we really were probably out in 1st elim but manual scoring resulted in lots of errors. Kamalakar Rao put 4 extra tables and we played on 2nd elim. We went on to win our team was Dr. Boaz, T.M.Suri, R.Krishnan (Kista), Farooq Dadabhoy, Rajkumar (kibitzer) and I

When did you start getting noticed? When did you start thinking about winning national championship or playing for India?

1988 in my 1st year of bridge after gap of 15 yrs, I won a title. next year we won Guru Dutt. ambitions came only after I started playing as partner with J.M.Shah in 1990

What is the future of your bridge career? What do you want to achieve?

to reach finals of Bermuda bowl at least or to coach an Indian team to do it

Thoughts on Indian Bridge

What are general comments on status of bridge in India?

slow death

What do you think of major tournaments in India?

good prize money tourneys but nationals not well organised

How can we promote bridge in India?

take it to schools and colleges, get corporate backing

How do you compare Indian bridge to rest of world?

We need dedicated professionals. talent aplenty but lack consistency

How can we do better in International competitions?

more exposure, more professional approach

Personal

Would you like to share any information about your family members? Does anyone else play bridge?

wife and 1 daughter don't play bridge

What are your hobbies? What do you do in your free time?

crossword, books, music

Where did you study? Where did you work?

ex State Bank, I.I.T Chennai

Interesting Trivia