1. HOLDERS Phil King, Andrew McIntosh, David Bakhshi, Andrew Robson

The defending Lederer Champions are the winners of the 2002 Gold Cup. They are all bridge professionals – players, teachers, writers and a club proprietor. Phil King is perhaps best known as the co-author (together with his father) of a successful series of bridge books which parody the styles of famous authors. He has won the Gold Cup three times and has been the coach to three British Gold medal teams, including the World and European Junior Champions in the 90s, many of whom are playing in this year’s Lederer. Phil is manager of TGR’s and is married to Su, also an England international. He and Andrew McIntosh were runners-up in this year’s England trials. Tosh has represented Scotland many times but, following bridge devolution, he now lives in London and has transferred his allegiance to England. He has the rare distinction of having won the Gold Cup three years in a row.

David Bakhshi is 30 and the youngest of the quartet. Away from the table he teaches bridge, mainly at the Andrew Robson Bridge Club. Over the past three years he has formed a successful partnership with Andrew, culminating in the 2002 Gold Cup win and their selection for the England team for the Olympiad in Istanbul. They are in good form, having won the Swiss Pairs at Brighton in August and come second in the Swiss Teams. Andrew Robson was unable to play for the Gold Cup team in the Lederer last year but has rejoined the team, replacing Brian Senior. He founded and runs the Andrew Robson Bridge Club in Fulham. He first came to prominence when he won the World Junior Championships in Nottingham in 1989, and for a number of years he and Tony Forrester were England’s top pair, including winning the European Championships in 1991. Andrew plays regularly in major events in the US, and won the Reisinger in 1998 and 1999. He has just finished a very close second in the Generali World Masters Individual in Verona. He has been the bridge correspondent of The Times for the last four years.

2. PRESIDENT’S TEAM Bernard Teltscher, Tony Priday,Zia Mahmood, Willie Coyle,David Edwin, Geoffrey Breskal

Bernard Teltscher is President of the LMBA and the major sponsor of the Lederer. He came to the UK in 1938, and gained degrees from University College, London and Trinity College, Cambridge, where in 1946 he was instrumental in restarting the Cambridge Bridge Club which had been dormant during the war. He became its President and played in the first post-war Oxford match. After university he entered the family wine-importing business. Bernard has played bridge for more than seventy years and has won almost all English competitions with the notable excep-tion of the Gold Cup. Bernard is married to Kitty, who will be playing for the England Women in the Istanbul Olympiad. Fellow octogenarian Tony Priday is one of the most illustrious of British bridge players. He was educated at Winchester and reached the rank of major in the army before joining the family wood importing business. He has won numerous National events, including no less than seven Gold Cups. He represented Britain almost continuously from 1960 to 1986, winning Gold at the European Championships in 1961 and Bronze in the Bermuda Bowl in 1962. He came out of retirement in 2001 to play with Nick Sandqvist for England in the Camrose. Tony is a Vice President of the English Bridge Union and for 36 years was the bridge correspondent of the Sunday Telegraph.

Zia Mahmood is without doubt the best known bridge player and personality in the world. He is originally from Pakistan, for whom he was a silver medallist in the 1981 Bermuda Bowl. He now divides his time, when not playing or promoting bridge around the globe, between New York and London. He has won many US Nationals and Invitation Tournaments, including the Lederer six times, but is still seeking an elusive first World title. He will be attempting to rectify that at the Bridge Olympiad in Istanbul where he will be playing for the USA, partnering Michael Rosenberg, a Scottish expatriate. Zia has written a number of books and is the bridge corres-pondent of the Guardian. Willie Coyle started his career as a teacher and later moved into school administration. For these services he was awarded the M.B.E. in 2003. Willie has played for Scotland on numerous occasions with a number of different partners. He has four Gold Cup wins to his credit, and has played for Great Britain in six European Championships and Olympiads.

Geoffrey Breskal was born in 1926 in London so it seemed obvious to the war-time authorities to send him to the Gordon Highlanders, where he reached the rank of Sergeant Major. After spells in the family piano-making business and owning betting shops, he bought and ran for twenty years (with David Edwin) the St Johns Wood Bridge Club. David Edwin is also a Londoner and took up bridge in his early twenties. He became a bridge host and teacher before joining Geoffrey at St Johns Wood. Geoffrey and David, in a variety of partnerships, have won all the major National events and have represented England in Camrose matches.

3. ENGLAND Tom Townsend, David Gold, David Price, Colin Simpson

This year’s England team (together with Jason and Justin Hackett) played in the European Championships in Malmö in June and, after a nail-biting finish, qualified for next year’s Bermuda Bowl. Tom Townsend is a bridge professional. He partnered Jeffrey Allerton in the British team that won the European and World Junior Championships in 1994 and 1995 respectively. Since then he has won every major domestic event at least once, except the Gold Cup ... and the Lederer. Tom and David Gold have been a regular partnership since their first time success in the 2000 Brighton Teams. They won this year’s England trials to play in both Malmö and Istanbul. David runs the St. John’s Wood Bridge Club and is one of very few players to have played for the England Open team while still a junior.

David Price retired from the commercial rat race a few years ago and now divides his time between professional bridge activities and investment research. He has won many National titles and played for Great Britain in European Championships in 1983. David has also captained Great Britain and England teams on a number of occasions. He and Colin Simpson reached the final of the English trials this year and were selected to join the team for Malmö (where they made four redoubled contracts). Colin retired from a senior position in the Metropolitan Police three years ago. He was an ever-present for the Lederer All Stars in their five-year winning streak. He too has won many National titles and partnered Gunnar Hallberg in the England team that came fourth in the 2000 Olympiad.

4. CANADA John Carruthers, Joe Silver, Jon Robinson, André Laliberté

The Canadian team are warming up at the Lederer, on their way to play in the Seniors at the Olympiad. John (“JC”) Carruthers lives in Toronto with Katie Thorpe and four cats. He works as a Project Manager for the Ontario provincial government and is also Editor of two bridge journals - the IBPA (International Bridge Press Association) Bulletin and the Ontario Kibitzer. His bridge successes include Canadian and North American Championships, and two wins at the Forbo in The Netherlands. He is one of many bridge players who believe their golf would improve if they played less bridge. JC and Joe Silver are both contributors to Bridge Magazine’s Marks and Comments feature which Joe won in September. Joe is a successful barrister and the senior partner in his own law firm in Montréal. He was in the Canadian Teams that won Gold in the IOC Cup in Salt Lake City in 2002 and Silver in the 1995 Bermuda Bowl in Beijing. He has won numerous Canadian and North American titles with a variety of partners. He achieved a level of notoriety at last year’s Lederer where he psyched twice on the same hand on VuGraph against Zia. David Burn (Zia’s partner at the time) will be delighted to give you the details.

Jon Robinson has been addicted to bridge since his college days at Harvard in the late 1940s. This malady has continued through law school and an active law practice which he still pursues as Senior Partner in a firm of 70 or so lawyers. Until fairly recently his bridge activities were almost invariably at the higher-stake tables in rubber bridge clubs throughout the world, but he is now playing tournament bridge from time to time. He played for the Canadian Seniors at the Maastricht Olympiad in 2000. He also was quite successful in Lille and Montreal in the most recent World Championships (possibly because he is good at choosing partners). When putting together these notes, Jon emailed André Laliberté, saying “Please send a brief autobiography describing your tendency to overbid and anything else that you think is important.” For decades, André has been a mainstay on powerful teams from Québec, competing at the national level in Canada. He won the Canadian National Team Championship in 1988 and played in the Bermuda Bowl the following year in Australia. His easy-going nature has made him one of the most popular players in Canada.

5. GOLD CUP Peter Lee, Bob Rowlands, Frances Hinden, Jeffrey Allerton, Sean O'Neill, John Frosztega

The win in the 2003 Gold Cup was a first for all the team. Peter Lee runs a small medical statistical consultancy in Surrey. He has been playing bridge since university, and with Bob Rowlands for about 14 years. He has won various National titles, including the National Pairs and the Grandmaster Pairs with Bob Rowlands. Peter’s other main interest is chess, which he played seriously until 1973, and now only plays occasionally. He won the British Chess Championship at 21 and played for England for many years, including in three Chess Olympics. Bob Rowlands is well known as a bridge teacher and writer. The 2003 Gold Cup win ended a run of 37 unsuccessful attempts, but he has won virtually every other National title at least twice, including Crockfords and the Spring Foursomes. He also won the Lederer in 1970, playing for the Mayfair Bridge Studio. He has played for England in several Camrose matches, and for Britain in the European Championships in 1966. For a while he was the youngest English Grandmaster, a record beaten by Nicola Smith (née Gardener) and then Jason Hackett. Bob has been on the EBU Selection Committee for many years.

Frances Hinden and Jeffrey Allerton are both in their thirties and met through the Cambridge University Bridge Club. They have been playing bridge together for 15 years and have been married for seven. Frances works in Strategic Planning for Shell and Jeffrey is an accountant. They are keen skiers, going as often as work and bridge commitments permit. They won the 2003 Swiss Pairs at Brighton and have reached the final of the Hubert Phillips three times, winning once. Jeffrey partnered Tom Townsend in the British team that won the European Junior Championships in 1994 and the World Junior Championships in 1995.

Sean O'Neill is an IT Consultant from Surrey. He started playing bridge at school and his major bridge achievement prior to the Gold Cup victory was winning Crockfords in 1998. John Frosztega joined the team after the sudden death of Tony Lunn last year. John also lives in Surrey and works as a government statis-tician. He reached the final of the Gold Cup in 1993 and the final of the Spring Foursomes in 1986

6. SCHAPIRO SPRING FOURSOMES Janet de Botton, Gunnar Hallberg, Nick Sandqvist, Artur Malinowski, Jason Hackett, Justin Hackett

Janet de Botton‘s squad has had excellent year, winning the Schapiro Spring Foursomes, the teams at Bournemouth, and reaching the final of the Gold Cup, Crockfords, and the Reisinger in New Orleans. Janet has been playing bridge for five years and won her first Congress title in 2003. She is a well-known patron of the arts and was a Trustee of the Tate Gallery for 10 years. Gunnar Hallberg is from Sweden, but is now based in England and is a regular at the rubber bridge tables at TGR's. He won the 2004 Cavendish Teams in Las Vegas and has won the Lederer four times in a row as part of the All Stars team. Gunnar played with Colin Simpson in the England team that came fourth in the 2000 Olympiad.

Nick Sandqvist is also from Sweden, for whom he played as a junior. He came to London in 1994, won the Gold Cup in 1997 and played for England in the Camrose in 1998 (partnering Rob Cliffe), in 2001 (partnering Tony Priday) and in 2004 with Artur Malinowski. EBU records show Artur as having achieved the rank of County Master in 2004, making him by far the most ‘inexperienced’ player ever to compete in the Lederer. His opponents this weekend would be better advised to note that, as well as representing England, Artur has played bridge for Poland’s Junior team and Norway’s Open team.

Jason Hackett and Justin Hackett are two thirds of the famous Hackett clan and are this year’s token Northerners. They won the European Junior Championships in 1994 and the World Junior Championships in Bali in 1995. They have played for the Great Britain or England Open team in one Olympiad and three European Championships, and are part of the England team in the Istanbul Olympiad later this month. They appear not to suffer from jet-lag and regularly win tournaments all around the world. Jason is the older twin and became England’s youngest ever Grand Master in 1994. Justin is a fanatical Manchester United fan and is married to Barbara Stawowy, a German international

7. IRELAND Tommy Garvey, John Carroll, Hugh McGann, Tom Hanlon

The Irish team are all in their 30s and will be representing Ireland in the forthcoming Olympiad in Istanbul. They were also part of the Irish team that reached the quarter finals of the European Open Teams in Menton last year.

Tommy Garvey is an actuary and lives in London. He has won the Scottish Cup (partnering Les Steel) and the English Men’s Pairs (with Hugh McGann). He and John Carroll first broke through to the Irish Open Team in 1997, while they were still juniors, and have played regularly on the team since then. They have won all of the major Irish domestic events, most more than once, and successes in England include the London Easter Festival Pairs in 2003. John works in computers in Dublin. Tommy and John are playing as a partnership in the Lederer for the first time (John played with Tom Hanlon on the team that finished second in 2001).

Tom Hanlon works in insurance in Dublin. Hugh McGann is a doctor and lives in Harrogate. They have been regular members of the Irish Open Team since 1994, including being members of the victorious Camrose squad in 1999/2000. They have also won all the major Irish domestic events, most more than once, and successes in England include winning the Brighton Pairs and the Young Chelsea Marathon. They have played in the Lederer several times and, despite coming close on a few occasions, they are still looking for their first win in this event.

8. YOUNG CHELSEA Adam Dunn, Dafydd Jones, Gary Jones, Brian Callaghan, David Burn, Ian Payn, Rob Cliffe

Last year’s Young Chelsea Champions achieved their best ever result, finishing second. Leading this year’s attempt to go one better is Adam Dunn. Adam works as a recruitment consultant in London. He started playing for the Welsh Juniors when he was 15 and moved up to the Open team in 2001. His best result so far has been a Silver medal at the inaugural Commonwealth Games Bridge Champion-ship in Manchester in 2002. Adam will be representing Wales in the Istanbul Olympiad. Gary Jones and Dafydd Jones were also in the Silver medal winning team in Manchester, and were the first father and son to play for Wales in the Camrose. Gary learnt to play bridge at Imperial College and later came under the tutelage of Joe Amsbury. Dafydd started playing bridge at school and played for the Great Britain Under-20s in 1998 and the Welsh Under-25s in 2000.

Brian Callaghan is one of the many strong bridge players who developed their game at Cambridge in the early 1970s. He has played for England in several Camrose matches and a European Championship, but his best international result was in the 2000 Olympiad in Maastricht, where the team lost a close semi-final to Italy, the eventual winners. Brian won the prestigious NEC cup in Japan in 2002 and won it again in 2003. Brian’s partner in the 2000 Olympiad, was David Burn, another of the Cambridge University group. David wears more bridge hats than anybody else - as well as being a regular tournament winner and a frequent international, he captains and coaches English teams, does VuGraph commentaries, writes, and still finds time to sit on EBU committees. He coached the England Open team in Malmö and will be doing so again in Istanbul.

Rob Cliffe is a computer programmer and yet another of the Cambridge University group. He has played for England in Camrose matches and won numerous National titles and major congress events. He is still scarred from losing a Gold Cup semi-final after leading by more than 50 IMPs with eight boards to go. Rob won the Grand Master pairs last year, playing with Heather Dhondy. Ian Payn, after many years in IT, is now manager of a Barrister's Chambers. He is another regular winner on the tournament circuit, his most recent success being the 2004 Tolle-mache, playing with David Burn. Ian is a regular supporter of the Lederer, providing witty comments and ‘in-depth’ interviews on the YC web-site.