Andrew Robson
{{Short description|British bridge player (born 1964)}}
{{for|the Australian jazz saxophonist|Andrew Robson (musician)}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{ infobox writer
| name = Andrew Robson OBE
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| birth_name = Andrew Michael Robson
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1964}}
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| occupation = Bridge player, teacher, club owner
| nationality = British
| ethnicity =
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| period = 1988–present (as player)
| genre =
| subject = Contract bridge instruction
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| website = {{url|www.andrewrobson.co.uk}}
}}
Andrew Michael Robson OBE (born 1964) is an English professional{{OEB|5|721-722}} bridge player, writer and teacher. He is a British and English international.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/crosswords/bridge/17card.html |newspaper=The New York Times |first=Phillip |last=Alder |date=16 December 2009 |access-date=11 July 2011 |title=Pointers for a Favorite Player, in Books or 365 Days a Year |archive-date=17 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317113432/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/crosswords/bridge/17card.html |url-status=live }} Robson is the bridge columnist for The Times and Country Life.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/19/arts/bridge-californians-take-pairs-title-at-nationals.html |newspaper=The New York Times |first=Alan |last=Truscott |author-link=Alan Truscott |date=19 March 2001 |access-date=11 July 2011 |title=Pointers for a Favorite Player, in Books or 365 Days a Year |archive-date=4 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104113910/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/19/arts/bridge-californians-take-pairs-title-at-nationals.html |url-status=live }} He was a member of the Great Britain Juniors team that won the World Youth Team Championship in 1989, and of the Great Britain Open team that won the European Open Teams Championship in 1991.[http://www.worldbridge.org/people/ World Bridge Federation people finder] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110730102652/http://www.worldbridge.org/people/ |date=30 July 2011 }} Retrieved 4 August 2011. He is from London.
Personal life
Robson attended Abingdon School as a dayboy in Randolph House from 1977 to 1982. He obtained a BSc at the University of Bristol in 1985, and a Cert Ed the following year.[http://www.bris.ac.uk/media-library/sites/alumni/documents/nonesuch/nonesuch_spring_2006.pdf Nonsuch, the University of Bristol Magazine, Spring 2006, page 12] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014060721/http://www.bris.ac.uk/media-library/sites/alumni/documents/nonesuch/nonesuch_spring_2006.pdf |date=14 October 2016 }} Retrieved 13 October 2016
File:England_Andrew_Robson_(14362698020).jpg
In 2001 he suffered serious injuries when he slipped on ice when hill-walking in the Lake District and fell thirty feet. He broke many bones, spent two months in hospital and was in a wheelchair for much longer. Robson was able to return to the bridge table five months after the accident, the speed of his recovery astonishing his doctors. As a result, he received the International Bridge Press Association (IBPA) Sportmanship Award in 2002 "for his spectacular recovery from adversity". He was also the joint winner of the IBPA's Bridge Personality of the Year award in 2013.[http://www.worldbridge.org/Data/Sites/1/media/documents/tourn/13bali/onlinebulletin/IBPAAwards.pdf 2013 IBPA Awards] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419161358/http://www.worldbridge.org/Data/Sites/1/media/documents/tourn/13bali/onlinebulletin/IBPAAwards.pdf |date=19 April 2014 }} Retrieved 13 October 2016
He is married and has two daughters.[http://www.ebu.co.uk/general/biographies/players/andrewrobson.htm EBU site profile of Andrew Robson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716141044/http://www.ebu.co.uk/general/biographies/players/andrewrobson.htm |date=16 July 2011 }} Retrieved 4 August 2011
Bridge career
As well as winning the World Youth Team Championship in 1989 Robson was also a member of the team which won the junior Common Market Championship the same year, on both occasions partnering John Pottage.
On turning 25, later that year, he was no longer eligible for junior events, and Tony Forrester proposed that they should form a partnership. This lasted for seven years and was highly successful. They were part of the team which won the European Open Championship in 1991, and amongst the pairs events which they won were the prestigious Cap Gemini and Sunday Times-Macallan.
After his partnership with Forrester broke up, Robson played on a number of occasions with Zia Mahmood, with whom he won the Cap Gemini two more times. He has also partnered David Bakhshi, with whom he won the Gold Cup in 2002, and Alexander Allfrey, who was a teammate when he won the Gold Cup a second time in 2004. Robson has since had five further wins in 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014.{{cite news|url=http://www.bridgewebs.com/bgb/4%20Gold%20Cup%20Wins.pdf |publisher=Bridge Great Britain |access-date=16 December 2014 |title=Most Gold Cup Wins |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219220957/http://www.bridgewebs.com/bgb/4%20Gold%20Cup%20Wins.pdf |archive-date=19 December 2014 }} He has also played a large amount in the United States, partnering Rita Shugart. In 1998 he was the first Briton, with teammate Forrester, to win a prestigious US Major, the Reisinger, and the same squad won the event a second time the following year.[http://www.acbl.org/nabc/2008/03/bulletins/db8.pdf 81st Fall North American Bridge Championships Daily Bulletin, Number 8, p11.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216122325/http://www.acbl.org/nabc/2008/03/bulletins/db8.pdf |date=16 December 2014 }} Retrieved 7 August 2011
In 2014 he and Forrester revived their partnership, and played together as part of the England team in that year's European Open Championship. The team finished third, thereby winning the bronze medal and qualifying for the finals of the 2015 World Championships.Daily Telegraph, "Bridge News", 3 July 2014, p28.
As well as his daily column in The Times, Robson writes a column for the weekly magazine Country Life. In the past he has also written for The Oldie, The Spectator and the Express on Sunday.[http://www.arobson.co.uk/about_ar.php?pid=about About Andy Robson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328125436/http://www.arobson.co.uk/about_ar.php?pid=about |date=28 March 2012 }} Retrieved 4 August 2011
In addition to the books that Robson has written (see Bibliography below), in 2008 he produced a DVD entitled Play Modern Bridge, and he is also responsible for five instructional CDs.[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Play-Modern-Bridge-Andrew-Robson/dp/B0012YW2CM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312576185&sr=8-1 Amazon UK entry for Play Modern Bridge DVD] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706180915/https://www.amazon.co.uk/Play-Modern-Bridge-Andrew-Robson/dp/B0012YW2CM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312576185&sr=8-1 |date=6 July 2022 }} Retrieved 5 August 2011[https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dvideogames&field-keywords=Andrew+Robson&x=16&y=17 Amazon UK entry for Andrew Robson CDs] Retrieved 5 August 2011
He opened his own bridge club, The Andrew Robson Bridge Club, in London in 1995.[http://www.arobson.co.uk/about_theclub.php?pid=about Andrew Robson Bridge Club] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328125454/http://www.arobson.co.uk/about_theclub.php?pid=about |date=28 March 2012 }} Retrieved 5 August 2011
Robson has put his training as a schoolteacher to good use by heading many instructional seminars around the UK, as well as hosting master classes and charity bridge events and teaching at his club.
He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to bridge and charity.{{London Gazette |issue=60367 |date=29 December 2012 |page=13 |supp=y }} Later the same year he was the joint winner of Personality of the Year at the International Bridge Press Association's annual awards, together with Netherlands' Bauke Muller.Daily Telegraph, "Bridge News", 27 September 2013, p34.
In 2018 he was a winner of the English Bridge Union's Diamond Award, introduced to recognise players "in recognition of excellence and success over a sustained period for England's international teams".English Bridge, February 2019, p36.
Bridge accomplishments
=Wins=
- Gold Cup (7) 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014 {{cite web
| title = Gold Cup Winners
| url = http://www.bridgewebs.com/bgb/Gold%20Cup%20Roll%20of%20Honour.htm
| access-date = 31 July 2016
| archive-date = 7 March 2016
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160307035845/http://www.bridgewebs.com/bgb/Gold%20Cup%20Roll%20of%20Honour.htm
| url-status = live
}}
| title = Mitchell BAM Winners
| publisher = ACBL
| url = https://web3.acbl.org/nabcwinners?event=Mitchell+Open+Board-a-Match+Teams
| access-date = 31 July 2016
| archive-date = 14 October 2017
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171014034457/https://web3.acbl.org/nabcwinners?event=Mitchell+Open+Board-a-Match+Teams
| url-status = live
}}
- Reisinger (2) 1998, 1999 {{cite web
| title = Reisinger Winners
| publisher = ACBL
| url = https://web3.acbl.org/nabcwinners?event=Reisinger+Board-a-Match+Teams
| access-date = 31 July 2016
| archive-date = 16 June 2018
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180616054045/https://web3.acbl.org/nabcwinners?event=Reisinger+Board-a-Match+Teams
| url-status = live
}}
=Runners-up=
- Gold Cup (2) 1991, 2011
- North American Bridge Championships (1)
- Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match (1) 1998 {{cite web
| title = Mixed BAM Previous Winners
| publisher = ACBL
| url = https://web3.acbl.org/nabcwinners?event=Mixed+BAM+Teams
| access-date = 31 July 2016
| archive-date = 3 June 2016
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160603063126/https://web3.acbl.org/nabcwinners?event=Mixed+BAM+Teams
| url-status = live
}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book
|last1 = Robson
|first1 = Andrew
|last2 = Segal
|first2 = Oliver
|title = Partnership Bidding at Bridge/The Contested Auction
|publisher = Faber & Faber
|location = London
|pages = 408
|year = 1993
|oclc = 29357782
|isbn = 978-0-571-16432-5 }} – (1993) Los Alamitos, CA: C&T Bridge Supplies, pp. 408. {{ISBN|978-0-9628297-3-4}} {{OCLC|32361687}}.
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
|publisher = Times Books
|location = London
|pages = 205
|year = 2005
|oclc = 271857261
|isbn = 978-0-00-720410-6}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Bridge Lessons: Double
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 40
|year = 2006
}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Bridge Lessons: Finesse
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 36
|year = 2006
|oclc = 713600273
|isbn = 978-0-9552942-2-8}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Bridge Lessons: Opening Lead
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 40
|year = 2006
}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Bridge Lessons: Overcall
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 35
|year = 2006
|oclc = 713600272
|isbn = 978-0-9552942-1-1}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Bridge Lessons: Slam
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 50
|year = 2006
}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Bridge Lessons: Stayman and Transfer
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 44
|year = 2006
|oclc = 713600275
|isbn = 978-0-9552942-4-2}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Bridge Lessons: Weak Two
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 44
|year = 2006
|oclc = 713600274
|isbn = 978-0-9552942-3-5}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Bridge Lessons: Endplay and Squeezes
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 40
|year = 2007
}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Bridge Lessons: Signal and Discard
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 40
|year = 2007
}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Bridge Lessons: Bidding as Opener
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 43
|year = 2008
}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Bridge Lessons: Responder and Fourth Suit Forcing
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 50
|year = 2008
}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Bridge Secrets
|publisher = HarperCollins Publishers
|location = London
|pages = 221
|year = 2007
|isbn = 978-0-00-724939-8}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Bridge: What Should Have Happened
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 251
|year = 2009
|oclc = 631458130
|isbn = 978-0-9557818-5-8}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Need to Know?/Bridge
|publisher = Collins
|location = London
|pages = 191
|year = 2008
}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Essential Bridge Flipper
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 26
|orig-year = 2007
|year = 2009
}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Beginner Bridge Flipper
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 26
|year = 2007
}}
- {{cite book
|last = Robson
|first = Andrew
|title = Bridge Lessons: Defence
|publisher = Andrew Robson Bridge Club
|location = London
|pages = 64 |year = 2010
|oclc = 271857261
|isbn = 978-0955781889}}
- 'People who Train People: An interview with Andrew Robson'. (2017) The Teacher Trainer Vol. 31. No. 2. Pilgrims: Canterbury. P 16.
Videography
- Play Modern Bridge. 2005
- Learn Bridge. 2011
- The Next Level. (7 hours 10 minutes). 2018
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website |arobson.co.uk |Andrew Robson Bridge Club}}
- {{WBFpeople}}
- {{LCAuth|no2011174519|Andrew Robson|1|ue}}
{{WPCBIndex}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robson, Andrew}}
Category:English contract bridge players
Category:Contract bridge writers
Category:Alumni of the University of Bristol
Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:Bridge players from London