The Setting Trick: Conversations with World Class Bridge Players – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, I sit down with Luc Bellicaud - a three-time Junior World Champion from France and the developer of Lia, the AI bridge robot at IntoBridge.

Why is Luc the first French bridge player I’ve interviewed? Because last month, IntoBridge, launched a powerful new AI coaching tool, named after him. Coach Luc is designed to help beginner and intermediate players spot their bidding mistakes(!) in real time. And I wanted the scoop!

Luc started building Lia as an intern, describing himself as "quite clueless." Through time he has created an excellent partner and opponent. We discuss how he built her from the ground up and how he fixes her mistakes.

Having the coach named after you comes with pressure! Luc shares the controversy over Lia's full-deal access and why LLMs are still no match for hand-coded bridge logic.

Luc dates a bridge player who represents France internationally - and amusingly, she works for rival company Funbridge! Together they run a free weekly beginners club in Lille, fuelled by…FREE PIZZA!

Away from the table, Luc runs France's biggest YouTube bridge channel. He also refuses to fly unless he must in order to represent his country.

10:20 PM

Key Highlights:

• 🤖 Building Lia from Scratch: Starting with zero experience, Luc built Lia into a top bridge robot opponent and partner.
• 🎓 Coach Luc Goes Live: A brand-new AI feature giving real-time bidding feedback, now in beta.
• 🃏 Full Deal Access: Lia sees the full deal during card play - not to cheat, but for speed and better user experience.
• 🎥 YouTube & Bidding Systems: Luc runs France's biggest bridge YouTube channel and invented his own bidding system as a joke.

Resources and Next Steps:

🤖 Try Coach Luc on IntoBridge - Play a game and see if Coach Luc has any notes on your bidding.

▶️ Watch Luc's French Bridge YouTube Channel for weekly bridge content and lessons.

🎬 Watch the documentary Double Dummy featuring the USA junior team - with some familiar faces from Luc's opponents.

🎧 More Stories Like This - Subscribe to The Setting Trick wherever you listen to podcasts for more deep dives into the world of bridge.

📱 Follow @thesettingtrick - Stay connected on Instagram for episode drops, tournament pics, and more.

YouTube Chapter Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction – Luc Bellicaud

1:53 Coach Luc: The AI Bidding Coach on IntoBridge

7:06 Learning Bridge: Beginners, Teachers & The Lille Club

14:07 Bridge Companies, FunBridge Fallout & AI Controversy

23:21 Building Lia: Coding, Bidding Logic & Design Choices

36:06 The Story Behind Lia’s Name

39:22 Bridge Life: Travel, Tournaments & Playing with His Girlfriend

49:47 Bridge Systems, Partners & Competitive Play

58:39 The Bermuda Bowl Final in Lyon

1:04:04 Double Dummy Documentary & Youth Championships

1:13:00 Luc’s YouTube Channel & Closing

Samantha Punch started playing bridge as she finished up her PhD in Sociology. Now she is on the Scottish Women's bridge team. Placing 7th in the 54th European Team Championships, allowed her team to qualify for the Venice Cup for the first time.

Sam is a sociologist at the University of Stirling and is helping them to start the academic study of the Sociology of Bridge. Sam hosted a screening of Double Dummy at the Macrobert Filmhouse in June. In this episode Sam shares how that screening has led to the creation of a university bridge club with people aged 8-78 making appearances. 

The University of Stirling is in the process of setting up a crowd funder for the Sociology of Bridge research that Sam is leading. If anyone would like to find out more, including the best way to make a donation (which can be tax efficient), please contact alumni@stir.ac.uk  or email Sam directly: s.v.punch@stir.ac.uk

Sam is also happy to hear from those who would like to be added to the bridge research mailing list (you would be sent a summary 1-2 times a year) or who are keen to participate in future research collaborations. You might like to follow them on Twitter:  @soc_of_bridge

She also mentioned the Bridge Zone, which is a 30 minute radio programme dedicated to bridge topics and supported by New Zealand Bridge. You can listen to the recent podcast (or via https://oar.org.nz/event/the-bridge-zone/)

http://accessradio.org/ProgrammePage.aspx?PID=6379a3ce-8450-482c-bad1-6b4cc2574313

On March 13th Walt Schafer began organizing bridge games on BridgeBase in response to the global shutdown. Walt continues to organize what has become known as "The Schafer Game," selflessly out of his love for bridge. I got to play with the legendary for Bob Hamman for the first time in Walt's game and we went on to win. Beating Episode 23 guests Finn Kolesnik and Jacob Freeman among others. 

A friendship has developed between the two of us thanks to this podcast conversation and I am delighted to share this conversation with a fine player and fellow bridge lover.

Episode highlights:

2:55- Previously organized bridge games at the exchange

• 8 player
• 7 week schedule
• $5 per imp

7:35- How Walt's directed tournament came to be what it is now

14:45- Walt's Bob Hamman story of a great declarer play which to this day, Walt still does not understand why it was necessary

• Written up in the bulletin
• Took a double dummy software two and a half days to make the same play

19:55- Another Bob Hamman declarer play story

22:20- a Tom Fox story

• Strong club system
• New Orleans
• Walt set up Greco and Hampson

28:40- Baby Levin

31:50- A Spingold story involving Kit Woolsey

• Ed Manfield: "Those are the best 16 boards I've ever been involved in my life"

39:00- Sometimes getting knocked out on the first day of the Spingold is a blessing in disguise

43:45- D22 GNT Qualifiers story

45:55- Junior star Finn Kolesnik

47:45- How Walt learned bridge

51:40- Walt's mentors: John and Bart Bramley

55:25- Bridge players succeed in trading options

1:13:05- Walt's first compound squeeze and how Bart just deflated him

1:15:05- Walt's greatest/favorite played hand where he uses the delayed duck squeeze

• Redouble can be a great psychological weapon

1:26:05- Walt's role in the history of the Helgemo hand

1:30:30- Walt's physic abilities

1:35:50- Walt is a bridge player at heart

• Bridge versus poker in terms of prize money

1:45:30- Walt's invented conventions

• Look out for the Shaferton

1:50:55- Hamman still got it in bridge

1:52:00- Junior bridge

1:59:55- Instant classics

Today's guest is Denmark's Morten Bilde. In addition to being a world-class bridge player with a win and a second in the U.S. Vanderbilt, Morten left his day job in 2015 to focus on getting bridge in the schools in Denmark. Stay tuned to find out why Morten says that's the best job he's ever had, as well as what the challenges are in that undertaking. Morten and his wife, Dorte met through bridge and their son, Dennis, is a real bridge superstar.

The three of them teamed up at the recent Icelandic Bridge Festival and won the team event for both the festival and the World Bridge Tour event, which preceded it. Those of you with children might be interested to learn how Morten approached teaching Dennis the game. If you've got a passion for introducing youth to bridge like I do, then Morten is your guy. He's happy to answer any of your questions, and he gives his email address towards the end of our conversation. Please enjoy my conversation with Morten Bilde. 

Alex Kolesnik: Bridge Dad +

Move over, Soccer Moms, there's a new game in town. Alex Kolesnik and his wife, Sharon Beynon, are California-based professors who play bridge. Somehow, they got both of their children interested in playing bridge too. Now ages 25 and 19, Emma and Finn are top-ranked players.

Alex, a Platinum Life Master, describes his journey as a husband, professor, player and father, encouraging his kids in all their endeavors, maintaining balance and keeping perspective. 

The Setting Trick

Episode 61: Sartaj Hans Keeps Getting Better

This week's guest is many-time Australian national champion Sartaj Hans. Originally from India, Sartaj has several high finishes in NABC events, including making the semifinal of the recent Spingold Knockout Teams in Chicago, where he played four-handed with partner Andy Hung and teammates Nabil Edgtton and Michael Whibley. 

John had his first big knockout match win in the 2014 Spingold teaming with Sartaj to beat the then 7th- seeded Cayne team.

Sartaj's book, Battling the Best, won the 2107 IBPA Book of the Year award. He also won the declarer play of the year in 2019. On top of all that, he has a successful career and is married to fellow tournament bridge player Sophie Ashton; they have two young daughters.

Sartaj discusses the psychology of bridge and how belief can make you a better player.

The need for developing a way to categorize bridge mistakes because bridge problems have so much variance.

Why postmortems are "rubbish."

Sartaj hits upon a hot-button issue: playing top-level events on computers.

A couple of book recommendations from Sartaj.

Sartaj's belief that focusing too much on system in a casual partnership is not effective.

In bridge, everyone has a chance to win. 

Working on improving and how even experts have coaches and mentors.

Finally, Sartaj philosophizes on enjoying the process.

Read Sartaj's post on Bridge Winners about playing on tablets:

https://bridgewinners.com/article/view/the-case-for-tablets/

Sartaj Hans' book, Battling the Best:

https://www.baronbarclay.com/battling-the-best/

Sartaj Hans wins Declarer Play of the Year:

https://www.abf.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2020_IBPA_Declarer_Play_of_the_Year.pdf

TST Episode 63: Katie Sullivan is not pumping the brakes

Katie Sullivan, as a second-year student at the University of Virginia, has infused her love of bridge with her college experience, starting an officially recognized student organization and recruiting other college kids into competitive bridge. Hear about her meteoric rise in the game and her plans for UVA world domination. 

3:47 "Chalk it up" – how creative marketing got Katie needed contacts to create a bridge club.

10:50 Obtaining CIO status and how the club fair was a game-changer.

12:26 Trumpet players and bridge. Who knew?

17:09 Hoos Playing Bridge on Instagram.

18:50 Trying to teach the fundamentals, struggling with supplies. Creating slide presentations.

28:21 A shout-out to any UVA alumni who might want to help. Many students have branched out to playing sanctioned events at clubs. Katie is proud.

32:51 Katie, in her first year of college at Amherst, meets Michael Xu.

38:41 Recovering from a painful misbid by partner.

49:06 After success at the World Youth Teams Championships, Katie plans to get "seriously serious."

53:40 Loving the postmortem.

1:05 Katie encourages all youth bridge players to plan on attending UVA when it's time for college.

Katie's article on Bridge Winners about starting a bridge club at college.

Hoos Playing Bridge on Instagram.

Katie's first BW post: a love letter.

Katie in the New Orleans NABC Daily Bulletin.

Like cards? Play bridge!

Being on our longest interview yet, Bart Bramley, a world-class bridge champion, delivered throughout the entirety of the podcast. This episode was not a typical interview. Indeed, it was Bart who steered the conversation, captaining the exploration of his fruitful life. As a master storyteller, Bart recounted innumerable adventures and provided an incredulous level of detail in each of his stories.

At the age of 71, Bramley has lived life. He may be old in terms of the myriad memories he can reminisce about, but he still has the sharp humor of a young man. Bart invites you, listeners, to experience vicariously his life journey and encounters with some of the world's greatest and most renowned players.

Highlights from Episode:

5:30- Bart's relatively low weight and his experiences with it

12:50- John Mcallister's weight and height

17:00- Bart's recollection of tournaments that he played in

21:10- Stories about Lou Bluhm

37:00- Stories about Bob Hamman

40:10- Bart's outside-of-bridge- career path

48:40- Bart's experience partnering with Bob Hamman

57:40- Bart's explanation for why Bob Hamman is a great bridge player

58:50- The importance of putting a bad board behind you

1:01:15- Bart's love for baseball

1:07:00- A funny space work project

1:27:40- A story about Harold Lilie

1:36:30- Stories about Sidney Lazard and the famous 6D hand

1:45:30- The famous Geir Helgemo hand

1:53:40- Bart's favorite event