A leaderboard shows you names and scores. It doesn't show you the person who "learned bridge during study periods that were never really about studying", or the one who "has been playing since the age of four", for example. The BXP World Tour Regional Phase brought together players from across the world.
A few of them who qualified for the Country Stage share a little about themselves.
smn0 from Pittsburgh, USA
Bridge didn't start with a club or a mentor for smn0. It started with a poker game that got replaced.
"I learned to play as a teenager in the UK during what were supposed to be study periods. In practice, we had an ongoing poker game. A couple of people knew how to play bridge and taught the rest of us for a change of pace. Pretty soon, bridge took over and we stopped playing poker altogether."
Not everything they learned turned out to be standard: "We all thought it was acceptable to open 'pass' with 0-9 points and 'no bid' with 10-12. We were quite surprised when we found out the rest of the world did things differently."
On the Regional Phase itself: "Only the best 10 results mattered, so playing to stay with the pack was not the way to go."
ahawks from Alexandria, Virginia, USA
A few hundred miles south, in Alexandria, Virginia, Andy learned bridge in high school from his parents. He's been playing ever since.
What surprised him most during the Regional Phase? The points. "I remember being shocked at how many points you could win with a 65%+ game."
At 72, he still finds something that makes BBO feel special: "Every now and then on BBO, I discover that I am playing against a bridge legend from my youth. Just the other day, Ron Von der Porten showed up in a game. Cool."
Ken Sanders from Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Further west, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Ken started playing bridge at four years old. By eight, he had joined the ACBL. He became a Life Master not long after.
He shared a hand from memory, a tournament moment involving a 3-spade opening, a slam hand he was holding, and a bid of 4 spades that did not go as planned. "Down 3 was not a winner, especially since 7 of anything except 6 spades would only be down 1." He called it not his favorite hand, but his most memorable.
On Tulsa, he kept it simple: "Living on Tulsa time is pretty much known worldwide. We have a great bridge group in this great city of an almost country town."
Fergus from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Across the border in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fergus learned bridge young, from his mum and dad. Near the end of the Regional Phase, he hit his stride: "I rolled a few 70-percenters near the end. Felt good."
His take on the game itself: "Bridge: where tactics and psychology meet intelligence."
USLA from Bucharest, Romania
On the other side of the Atlantic, in Bucharest, USLA discovered bridge as a student. "It was a cheap, challenging, and pleasing sport. After 30 years I play with more pleasure day by day."
The Regional Phase? "I won :))"
One thought to close: "Play with passion and good results will come."
Les Herman from Johannesburg, South Africa
Further south, in Johannesburg, Les has been playing bridge for 66 years. He started with his parents, and never really stopped. He finished 2nd in the Regional Phase. "I think that many Regional Phase players were surprised at my 2nd position finish."
On the game today: "The general skill level is improving in leaps and bounds."
These are just a few of the people behind the usernames. Bridge has a way of connecting players across borders, time zones, and generations... sometimes without them ever knowing it.
If this brought your own bridge story to mind, share it in the comments.