Story by George Hepburn (BBO: turracoo)

My parents didn't play bridge. After a year at Aberdeen University, I found myself unemployed in Turriff, Aberdeenshire. Fortunately, the chap who ran the unemployment exchange was a keen bridge player. A fellow unemployed man and I joined him at Turriff Bridge Club.

Our first five games ended with us coming last. On the sixth, we managed to finish second last. We were punching the air! We had made it!

From there, things went onwards and upwards. I later joined a tennis and bridge club in London and went on to win a London Teams of Four tournament. The cup was presented by Terence Reese, who kindly gave each of us a signed copy of his latest bridge book. I also won the Civil Service UK Annual Pairs tournament.

My style of bridge has always been adventurous, attacking and sometimes a little gambling. I often heard teammates say that if I hadn't had a few bad scores, we could have won certain tournaments. My response was always that my style of bridge won seven tops out of every ten deals!

After our team won the annual Surrey Teams of Four tournament, I decided it was time to pack up tournament bridge. Interestingly, the following year, our team didn't win a single tournament!

Then came one last unexpected opportunity. My Civil Service team captain's partner and first reserve were unable to play in the Civil Service Pairs Championship. I was asked to step in, and we made it all the way to the UK final in London, where we won the tournament! That was my last tournament.

These days, I enjoy a different kind of bridge. I play social bridge on BBO, spending my time in the Premium Social Lounge, playing with and against bridge players from all over the world.