RealBridge Bidding Contest - Experts

Bobby and Jill Levin have been at the top of the bridge world for more than 40 years.

Bobby won the Bermuda Bowl in 1981 at his first attempt, at the time being the youngest player ever to win the event (a record that lasted until 2015). His other wins in World and North American events include a Rosenblum, a World Pairs, 6 Vanderbilts, a Spingold and a Reisinger. Jill has won five women's world championships and numerous North American titles.

Recent medals

Cedric won two European transnational teams events in 2023, as well as coming 3rd in the European Winter Games (which he won in 2018). He first represented France in 2008. In a glittering career as a junior, he collected medals of all hues including three gold, winning the Youngsters Teams at the 2008 World Championships and the European Junior Teams twice, in 2009 and 2013. He won a bronze medal in the Open Pairs at the 2014 World Series, and in the Open Pairs at European Transnational Championships he won silver in 2015 and gold in 2019.

He has since established himself in the French Open Team, winning the 2016 European Championship in Budapest and coming second in the Bermuda Bowl the following year.

Recent medals

One of the most flamboyant characters in world bridge, Zia first gained international recognition as the leader of the Pakistan team that finished second at the 1981 Bermuda Bowl. He first became a World Champion with victory at the 2004 World Transnational Mixed Teams Championship, and has since won the Mixed Teams at the 2014 World Bridge Series, the Senior Teams at the 2016 World Bridge Games and the Open Teams at the 2018 European Winter Games. Representing USA, he has twice won the Bermuda Bowl, in 2009 and 2015.

Recent medals

Paul is originally from New Zealand, but he has lived in Sydney since 1981. As a competitor he has won more than 50 national open titles, including 6 international pairs titles. He has won bronze in the world pairs and the Cavendish Pairs, twice won the Cavendish teams, and semi-final in the Bermuda Bowl. He is still very involved in bridge, but he stopped competing in 2007.

He is a full-time bridge teacher/writer and owner of the Grand Slam Bridge Centre. His books have sold more than 550,000 copies and he writes a weekly column in the Australian.

Photo: PM

Liz McGowan has been the Queen of Scottish bridge for as long as I can remember. Liz was a member of the Great Britain/Iceland team that won the World Mixed Teams in Rhodes in 1996. Representing GB, she won silver medals at the 1988 Venice Cup and the 1992 World Team Olympiad, and gold from the European Teams in 1997 and 1999. She was a member of the best-performing Scottish team ever, finishing fourth in the Women’s Teams at the 2016 World Games.

Originally from Scotland, Andrew made numerous appearances in the Junior Camrose and the full Camrose between 1986 and 1999, before switching his allegiance to England. He finished sixth in the 2006 World Open Pairs partnering David Bakhshi. As a long-time member of the BLACK team, he collected a silver medal from the Open Teams at the 2016 European Winter Games in Monaco, finished third in the 2018 European Champions Cup, and third again in the 2022 Rosenblum.

Recent medals

Jill won the 1998 World Womens Pairs playing with Shawn Quinn. She has finished in all three medal places at the McConnell Cup (the Womens Teams at the open World Championships staged every four years), finishing third in 1998, winning in 2002, and losing in the final in 2006. She also won the Mixed Teams at the 2000 Olympiad playing for E-Bridge. Jill first represented the USA at the 1991 Venice Cup, and she won that event for the first time two years later in Santiago, Chile. She has since reached the final of the Venice Cup on four more occasions, winning in 1997, 2007 and 2013, and losing the 2000 final to the Dutch. She has also reached the final of two other World Championship events, collecting silver medals in the Womens Teams at the 2004 Olympiad and the Mixed Teams at the 2019 World Teams Championships in Wuhan, China.

Recent medals

Alan is a former conductor of the ‘Marks & Comments’ feature in Bridge Magazine. He has represented England many times as a player, coach and NPC, and won a European championship as coach of the England Women’s team in 2001. His partnership with John Holland was instrumental in the England team reaching the final of the Seniors Teams at the 2019 World Championship in Wuhan. Most recently, he won a Bronze medal in the senior teams at the World Bridge Series in Wroclaw in 2022.

Recent medals

Nick reached the final of the Grand National Teams back in 1983 and he won his first National event in 1991, the Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs partnering Bob Hamman. He has now won 25 US National titles (plus 16 second-place finishes), including the Spingold 9 times, the Reisinger 8 times, and the Vanderbilt 5 times, most recently in Louisville just a few weeks ago. Representing the USA, Nick won the Bermuda Bowl at his first attempt, in Beijing in 1995. He has since won three more times (2000,2003 and 2009) and picked up two silver medals and one bronze from the game’s most prestigious event. Most recently, he won the Rosenblum Cup at the 2022 World Championships in Wroclaw in his second final of that event.

Recent medals

Mats made his debut in the Swedish Open team at the 1972 Olympiad. He collected bronze medals from the Rosenblum Cup in 1986 and 1998, and the 1991 Bermuda Bowl. He has twice finished second in the European Teams Championship, in 1991 and 1999.