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BRIDGE IS STILL THE SAME GAME - AFTER 100 YEARS

As new games are invented, competition for players hots up – and for several decades, bridge's arch-enemy has been the computer game. Yet while technology progresses, bridge persists, particularly among the middle-aged and older demographic.

It remains the same face-to-face card game invented exactly 100 years ago – although technology is now employed to take over some functions. Claygate Bridge Club, for example, uses computers to ease the administration – to shuffle the cards, to score the result of each hand, and to broadcast results to the world.

The rules of contract bridge were devised by Harold Vanderbilt, the railway executive, during a cruise through the Panama Canal in 1925 – and the version invented by this posh American remains sedate and socially aspirational to this day. Claygate Bridge Club is expecting centenary events to be announced but in the meantime continues to do what it has always done: holding a Christmas party, collecting annual subscriptions (still only £10), identifying the winning pair in the Club Championship, and holding an AGM.

The club would be delighted to hear from anyone interested in joining – and is happy to suggest local teachers to anyone who hasn’t played before. Visit https://www.bridgewebs.com/claygate/