Bridge Life Past Present and Future

What is your name?

P.Sridhar

What are your nicknames in bridge community?

None

Where are you from?

Chennai, Tamilnadu

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

Major tourneys in India, Some major ones in USA, Occasionally other countries, Local ones in Chennai. I am not a Professional as I pursue a career in banking.

Do you have a regular bridge partner/team?

Sunderram is my regular partner; Occasionally I play with J.M.Shah. Team is Texan Aces.

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

BBO mostly

When, Where and How did you start playing bridge?

1980 at IIM Kolkatta I learny the game and started playing tournament bridge in 1983 in Chennai with J.M. Shah/M.J.R. Vasudevan/Kripakaran

Any interesting/funny stories about early bridge career?

Once I faced unethical opponents at rubber bridge; Bid 3N with partner as declarer – Put down a dummy wth KJT9x of  and Q between K and J of  – On seeing dummy my LHO picked the Q out – Partner had an easy guess for Q! At end we conceded cancellation of deal in good fun but message got home.

Which places have you lived and played bridge in?

Chennai, New Delhi

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

Guru Dutt in early 90’s – I remember it because TN had not won it during the previous 15 years and we were felicitated overwhelmingly.

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

We reached finals of RUIA at Kolkatta same year of Guru Dutt victory and won the award for the best performance during the year in the country jointly with Sunderram – We shot up to fame instantly.

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

I plan to contest some major world events including the US Nationals – I am yet to win any major event at the world level; I dream to be the first to achieve this as an Indian.

Thoughts on Indian Bridge

What are general comments on status of bridge in India?

Plenty of talent, nothing short of what we see at world scene; but lacking in professionalism. I strongly believe that teams captained by Texas Venkatesh and Kiran Nadar have the potential to win a world cup – I look forward to that day.

What do you think of major tournaments in India?

RUIA Gold cup, Holkar pairs, HCL, Tolani attract all the talent but regrettably adequate number of foreign teams do not participate and Indian players are denied the desired exposure to international competition.

How can we promote bridge in India?

We have adequate sponsors doing a commendable job to promote the game; We need to remove the stigma that the society attaches to card games and teach bridge to students more so that the youth participation is enhanced – I admire Netherlands in this aspect.

How do you compare Indian bridge to rest of world?

Less prepared; Frequent changes in partnerships undesirably.

How can we do better in International competitions?

More professionalism and constant partnerships will do the trick.

Personal

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

I have one daughter, 20 years old; She is not keen to learn bridge!

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

Watching sports like Cricket/Tennis/Football; Crossword, Magazines, Sudoku are other hobbies.

Where did you study? Where did you work?

IIT Madras and IIM Kolkatta; I work in IndusInd bank chennai as Sr. Vice President.

Interesting Trivia