BBOers Festival July, Stars and Platinum Pairs

We recently had the pleasure of catching up with Suleyman Kolata, who finished in third place in the BBOers Festival, Stars and Platinum Robot Individual; one of the biggest fields of top bridge players ever to compete together in a single event.

Tell us a bit about yourself
I was born 1963 and live in Istanbul for most of the year but in the summer months I live in the Mediterranean city of Mersin. I was divorced many years ago, and unfortunately I don't have children. As I don't have children I've become the president of all the young bridge players in Türkiye, which I love.

I'm a professional bridge player and teach in bridge clubs and university.

I'm currently the top bridge player in the TBF rankings which are based on the masterpoint system in Türkiye. I've played several times in national teams and have won a lot of tournaments in Türkiye.

How long have you been playing bridge?
I'm 59 years old and have been playing bridge for almost 37 years.

Do you have a regular bridge partner?
Yes, my regular partner is İsmail Kandemir. We've been playing together for 16 years. He's a great partner.

How does it feel to have made the podium in the Stars and Platinum Robot Individual?
I played very carefully in the Tournament because I knew that a lot of stars would be playing the same hands. I'm really pleased with the result and looking forward very much to next month's edition 😊.

What was your most memorable hand? Can you tell us how you played it?
I played my best hand when I was very young and inexperienced.

I played a contract of 4♥ and I surprised myself when I made it.

My partner's hand was ♠K432 ♥AJ985 ♦62 ♣32. My hand was ♠65 ♥KQ107 ♦Q987 ♣AK4.

I opened 1♦, my left side overcalled 2♣, then partner doubled. I bid 2♥, opponent bid pass, partner then bid 3♥, and I signed off in 4♥.

My left side led the ♦A and his partner played the ♦10.

Then, the left side continued with ♠J, I played ♠K from dummy and my right side opponent won with the ♠A. He then continued with ♠Q. Then he played High ♠.

Click "Next" to see the play

I looked at the cards, and could see opponents already had 3 tricks; if they continued with diamonds, it would result in going 1 down. So, I played to ruff with a big Heart, went to dummy, ruffed the last spade, and went to dummy again with a trump. I then played all the hearts and discarded all of my diamonds (Q98) on the hearts.

My last 3 cards were ♣AK4, and dummy was ♦6 and ♣32. I remembered the left side had thrown ♦KJ diamond when I played hearts. I counted several times, and realized that my ♦6 was now top. So, I played ♦6 and made the game. Everybody was surprised and congratulated me. This was a real hand that I played in a team match.

When the cards opened, left side hand had ♠J8 ♥3 ♦AKJ5 ♣QJ10876 and was squeezed as a result of the ♦10 that his partner had played on the first trick.

You can see how the hands were played here - click 'Next' to advance

Being a really good player is far from easy. What’s the most important piece of advice you can give to other players who are keen to improve their game?
Being a good player is not easy. I always make my own ideas during playing, bidding or defence. When I make an error, I find out what went wrong, and learn not to make the mistake again. I often study the what other good players do, read their hands and kibitz them. This way I keep on learning and getting better.

What’s your favorite game on BBO?
I like to play Zenith Daylong Rewards everyday in BBO.

What do you like to do besides playing bridge?
Besides bridge, I walk, swim and then play bridge again! Being a professional player and teacher, I have lots of students and young players to help, so I'm always busy. I love playing and teaching bridge!