Story by Sinasi Gursel (BBO: sinasi)

"One day, I read a book, and my whole world changed."
I wanted to begin this piece with a quote from author Orhan Pamuk. Similarly, one day I came across a game—yes, bridge (it was the year 1982)—and my entire world changed, it became more colorful. I approached a table where bridge was being played and asked, "May I watch?" Since that day, you could say I haven’t been able to leave the table.

My first thought was, “I’m amazed—so there are card games I’ve never even heard of.” Back then, there was no internet, no smartphones. Even finding a book about bridge required immense effort. If you wanted to learn bridge, first and foremost, a skilled bridge player had to sit you across as their partner and spend a long time explaining and teaching. Of course, finding such a patient bridge player was a matter of luck. Nobody wanted a beginner as a partner.

Eventually, there were two of us, and we managed to get Charles Goren’s "Bridge According to the New Point Count Method" by ordering it. But then, since we were playing according to that book, no one wanted to play with us! Later, we got our hands on the Aces Scientific SAYC book. We played that system. Then we acquired the “Holy Book of Bridge,” Michael Lebel’s "The New Super 5-Card Major," and continued with that system. We played strong 2s with 20-23 points. COLOR, LEVEL, MIXED (RE-BE-KA). It was wonderful—but it didn’t last long. Before we knew it, the whole world was playing a system called 2/1. Twos were now weak openings. NmF, J2NT, F1NT, Goldway Splinter, Cappelletti, RKCB, etc., etc.

As we learned and played more, our game evolved and changed. Whenever we had a 5-5 distribution, we entered competitions without hesitation. Bridge became a vivid game filled with wild competitions. And I still continue to learn and play.

But if you ask me: “Do you know how to play bridge?”
My immediate and definite answer would be: “No, I’m still trying to learn.”

How many years has it been? 2025 – 1982 = 43 years. There's no age limit to learning.

And before I forget—a Chinese proverb says: “A word you haven't heard does not belong to you.”
It is the duty of every bridge player to spread the word to those who haven’t heard of bridge.

📣 Share Your Best Bridge Memories 📣
Share your bridge stories here and we'll publish one every week in the Bridge Lovers Weekly News. If your story is selected to be published we'll give you BB$ as a token of our appreciation.