EBU - Key Persons
Aaron is 23 and works as a software developer for an agricultural robotics startup. In 2014, one of Aaron's teachers suggested he attend the Loughborough Junior Teach-In which is where he first experienced bridge. He continued to play at secondary school, competing in the Schools' Cup and at the local club. In 2016, Aaron began studying Computer Science at Cambridge where his bridge quickly improved, and he joined the under-26 squad in 2018. Aaron has competed twice internationally, playing in both the 2019 and 2020 Channel trophies.
Alan is a mostly-retired economist who has lived in Oxfordshire for the past 20+ years after being Surrey-based for 30+ years before that. He learnt to play bridge with some friends at school, but the game took second place to chess until after university.
His bridge successes are too few to list, being a perennial member of the game's supporting cast: best result in the Gold Cup reaching the semi-final once; best result in Crockfords reaching the final on 3 occasions but never making the top half in the final; similarly qualifying for the Tollemache final on 3 occasions but never making the top half in the final; best result in the Premier League 2nd in Division 2; and so on.
He has been a member of the EBU's Laws & Ethics Committee since 2017. His only foray into international representative bridge has been as non-playing captain of the EBU team for the Tetscher Trophy in 2021.
Job Titles:
- Reception & General Enquiries
- Reception Admin Assistant
Andrew Petrie has served in numerous positions for the EBU (see below).
He is currently the Chairman of English Bridge Education and Development, the national charity for the promotion and development of bridge having taken the position in November 2015.
I was born in Carlisle in 1967 and have been aware of bridge for most of my life. My Mother started to play when I was about 9 and sat for hours dealing cards to herself and staring at them. It must have worked because she has been, and still is, a very good club player, however it didn't ignite my imagination.
After leaving 6th Form with some mediocre A Levels my short banking career ended with the birth of my second child and for the next few years I worked anywhere and everywhere taking breaks to have two more children.
I found myself a single mother and at about 32 was offered a job behind the bar at the new St Georges Bridge Centre in Darlington. Initially I only worked one night a week and then gradually I was offered more hours, cleaning and generally helping out. At more or less the same time I met my second husband.
Eventually I was given the title Bridge Centre Manager and took on more day to day running of the centre, duplicating boards, taking responsibility for the monies etc with my husband as my unpaid right hand man. Once given this title it seemed strange to have to say sorry I don't play when asked, what would you bid/lead with this hand at the end of the evening. I took a few lessons so I could hold my own in conversation and now I'm hooked!
I'm not the greatest player but I love it and believe everyone should have the opportunity to play. I teach which I enjoy immensely and am a member of the North Eastern Bridge Association Executive.
I'd like to say I read but if I do it's mostly poetry. I love to swim, really enjoy litterpicking and spending time with family and friends.
I was born and brought up in Retford, Nottinghamshire attending the County High School for Girls followed by Oakham School for the sixth form. I then spent 3 blissful years at Downing College, Cambridge, supposedly studying natural sciences and law, but spending most of my time rowing up and down the river in a boat or cycling along the river bank encouraging others to do the same. Following a gap year in Asia and Australia, I moved to London and qualified as a solicitor specialising in patents and trade marks. I met my husband, Iain, a barrister, whilst working on a case about radiator valves and we lived in Highbury within earshot of the (old) football ground for 10 years. We moved out to Little Chalfont 15 years ago for more space, and then to our present home in Chesham Bois. We have three children, two now at University and one still at school. Jonty is reading Geography, Iona is studying Music and Drama and we have hopes that Archie will take a useful subject when he leaves home. When I had enough of commuting into London, I gave up the soliciting and kept busy in the community as a school governor and as a panel member for Bucks County Council sitting on School and Exclusion Appeals. My hobbies include sailing, beekeeping and of course, bridge. I'm a volunteer for the Rona Sailing Project which gives young people the opportunity to sail big boats across the channel. In the Summer I can often be found in full bee-suit with smoker, inspecting my 3 hives or chasing swarms around the village. Holidays are often spent in our much loved 1973 VW Campervan, or attending the Edinburgh Fringe with the family. A good friend introduced me to bridge maybe 30 years ago and I remember attending a couple of lessons but never making much of it. I was surprised to find out how much I enjoyed it when starting playing around the kitchen table 4 years ago. Of course I'm still a beginner in bridge terms but am now hooked and regularly play duplicate at various local clubs. I saw the vacancy for Club Liaison Officer when checking my recent scores on the website and am now excited to be joining the EBU team.
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Bill was EBU Chairman in 1984 and EBU Vice President 1993-2016.
Camrose Selections: 1972 1974 1977 1978 and 79
Gold Cup Winner: 1979
Crockfords Winner: 1978
Schapiro Spring Foursomes Winner: 1974 and 1975
Tollemache Winner: 1977 and 2000
Chris is the owner of Danby Advertising.
Danby Advertising started in 2004 offering advertising sales, design and marketing services for the national journal for Amateur Radio in the UK, RadCom magazine. Chris manages advertising within the magazine and liaising with many companies within the sector. Danby Advertising secured the contract for a similar service for the English Bridge Union and English Bridge magazine and the rest is history. Chris's background prior to this was repro/design studio manager and sales within the print sector.
Chris lives in Norfolk with Tina and black Labrador Molly. His interests include gardening, golf when time permits, walking the dog, and amateur radio, holding the call sign G0DWV.
Chris learnt to play bridge as a teenager and enjoyed playing very badly for some years before she was obliged to improve in order to be able to communicate sensibly with her first husband, the original Chris Duckworth, and her second husband, Brian Callaghan.
After a career in computing and training with BT and a short period of self-employed bridge teaching she joined the EBU for a 10-year stint as Education Services Manager, where she particularly enjoyed working on the development of young players.
Job Titles:
- Member of the EBU 's Selection Committee
Claire is originally from Newcastle but has lived in London for many years. In 2020, she gave up her role as Head of Maths in a large London prep school to tutor online - Maths and bridge. Claire learnt to play bridge originally over a lunch table in her previous career at the Bank of England but did not really take up the game until years later. She began actively playing in 2012 by first going along to duplicates at the Andrew Robson Bridge Club and avidly reading every bridge book she could find. Claire was soon addicted, playing bridge in every spare moment. She has even recently persuaded her mum to have a go and learn the game. She is now an avid BBO watcher when Claire is playing.
Claire formed a partnership with Heather Bakhshi in 2014 and developed under the watchful eye of Heather's husband and long-time England international, David. The pair qualified for their first Lady Milne in 2017 and then played again in two of the next three years.
When not playing bridge Claire plays poker (Las Vegas is her favourite place in the world) and loves to swim fast and play tennis. She has recently got into board gaming her favourite games being Quacks of Quedlinberg and Castles of Burgundy. Her favourite food is ramen!
Claire is a member of the EBU's Selection Committee and the Squad Leader for the Under 26 Women.
Job Titles:
- Accounts Assistant
- Administration
Job Titles:
- Education and Development Manager
David is one of the leading bridge professionals in the UK, with numerous successes in domestic and international tournaments. Over the last 30 years, he has represented England and Britain at both Junior and Open levels of competition.
David began playing Bridge as a teenager, and during his Junior career, he represented Great Britain in three European Championships, and several Channel Trophy, Peggy Bayer and Junior Camrose events.
As he approached the end of his time as a Junior, David began teaching and playing Bridge for a living. During this time, he has represented England at the World Team Olympiad/World Bridge Games (2004 and 2016), the European Team Championships in 2012 (where England achieved a 4th place finish), 2014 (where they won a bronze medal - later upgraded to a silver medal following the disqualification of the winning Israeli team), 2016, and 2018, as well as the 2013, 2015, 2019 and 2022 Bermuda Bowls (at the 2015 Bermuda Bowl, England finished 4th after two extremely narrow defeats in the semi-final and bronze medal play-off). During the 2022 Bermuda Bowl, David was one of several top players invited to participate in WBF promotional video interviews.
David's achievements as a player include winning a whole range of domestic events - the Gold Cup (six times), Crockfords (twice), the Spring Foursomes (three times), the Lederer Memorial Trophy (four times), and the Premier League (five times).
However, David also plays in many major tournaments around the World, and his International achievements include a bronze medal in the European Open Teams (2005), and a 6th place finish in the 2006 World Open Pairs (the highest placing by an English pair in over 30 years). More recently, David has won the NEC cup in Japan (2011), and was a runner-up in the Vanderbilt (2011 and 2017), one of the most prestigious team events in USA. David is a frequent visitor to the North American Bridge Championships, and has recorded several top ten finishes in major US pairs events. In 2013 he won the Silodor Open Pairs, and in 2023 he won the Jacoby Open Swiss Teams.
In addition to representing England as a player, David has also coached the England Open Team at the World Teams Olympiad (2000) and the European Teams Championship (2001). More recently he was the coach of the England U16 team at the 2015 European Youth Team Championships, and NPC of the England U26 team at the 2019 European Youth Team Championships. David's children, Jasmine and Liam have represented England Junior teams several times, and his wife, Heather has represented England in the Lady Milne Trophy.
The other side of David's professional life revolves around teaching Bridge. David is an accomplished teacher, and has taught thousands of students over the last twenty years. He is a regular contributor to English Bridge, and a member of both the EBU Selection, and Laws and Ethics committees. He has also created his own website, www.davidbakhshi.com.
Away from the Bridge table, one of David's major passions is Running, and his almost certainly one of the fittest Bridge players in the World. He enjoys running with friends as well as participating in races of varying distances. In 2022, David enjoyed his most successful year so far - in July he ran his first sub 20 minute 5K (19:21), before stepping up to run his first marathon. In September he completed the Berlin Marathon (3:16:50), won by Eilud Kipchoge in a World Record time of 2:01:09, and in December he completed the Kiawah Island Marathon (3:13:15).
Job Titles:
- Member of the EBU Board of Directors
David was born in 1956 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He was educated Dulwich College and Caius, Cambridge, and is an IT consultant. He has played for England in 7 Camrose matches, 1 European Championships and 1 World Olympiad. He coached Britain to Bermuda Bowl silver medal (1987) and victory in the European championships (1991), has coached the highly successful England Women's team over recent years, picking up numerous medals, including victory in the 2016 European Championships and silver medals in the 2013 and 2017 Venice Cups, and aided the Senior team in their victory in the 2014 European Championships. He has also acted as NPC for recent Camrose teams. He is divorced with no children, and lives in London with a cat called Christopher Marlowe. He is a popular bridge journalist, writing his own columns and often ghost writing for Zia Mahmood. His other interests include reading, classical music, going to the theatre, and enjoying beer and curry. David received the Diamond Award at the 2015 EBU AGM in recognition of his excellence and success over a sustained period for England's international teams. Last updated: January 2018
David Harris - Chairman, Chief Legal Officer
David Harris was appointed WBF General Counsel in 2014 in Sanya and reconfirmed in 2018 in Orlando. He joined the Board of the English Bridge Union in 1990, was Vice-Chairman from 1994 to 1999, and Chairman from 1999 to 2002. He was been Honorary Counsel to the English Bridge Union from 2006 to 2014, and was appointed as a Vice-President in 2008.
He was a member of the EBL Executive Committee from 2003 to 2018, being Treasurer member of the Presidential Council from 2010 to 2014. He was a member of the WBF Executive Council from 2012 to 2014. He is Chairman of the Constitution & By-Laws Committee.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Geoffrey Butler, Lewis Ellison ( Resigned Dec 1951 Replaced by Sidney Kastell ), JG Hartley, Richard Preston, Terence Reese, Louis Tarlo
- Geoffrey Butler, Lewis Ellison, JG Hartley, Gordon Johnstone, Edward Bruce Parker, Madge Trollope
- Geoffrey Butler, Sidney Kastell, JG Hartley, Edward Bruce Parker, Terence Reese
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive / Chief TD
- Management
Job Titles:
- Services IT Development and Support
Job Titles:
- Laws & Ethics Administrator
Job Titles:
- Club Liaison Officer and EBUScore
Job Titles:
- Office Manager and Membership
Job Titles:
- Administration Assistant & Licensing
Job Titles:
- Competitions Administrator
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Paul Spurway ( Vice Chair ), Harry Scully ( Treasurer )
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chief Tournament Director and Master Points