HCL International Bridge Championships, 2026 – Reflections

The 23^rd HCL International Bridge Championship concluded yesterday. The efforts by the organization to ensure everything happened with clockwork precision were very little short of supernatural (for want of a better word). From the scheduling to the hospitality, every detail reflected careful planning and a great deal of hard work.

Not enough can be said of the munificence of the HCL Group, spearheaded by Mrs. Kiran Nadar, in making this the biggest tournament in India and, arguably, one of the bigger tournaments in the world.

I am penning down a few thoughts (all my own work) about the great week that was. As is my wont, I will be paying a little attention to a few different things from the ones that have been brought to you in the bulletins of this event.

Year of the Amateurs

If one thing stands out in this event, it is the performance of relative amateurs.

In this list, of course, the team of I-Doctors consisting of Dr. Yogesh Shah, Shrikant Tembey, Dr. Rajesh Nathani, Dr. Thakur Hingorani, Dr. Rajul Dalal and Deven Doshi stands out. None of these players, by any stretch, can be called a regular player on the bridge circuit these days. This team punched way above their weight to make the quarter-finals. In fact, during the knockout stage, they played as a four-member team, which makes their performance even more superlative. Their run showed that good partnerships and enthusiasm can rival years of tournament experience.

The IMP pairs produced a stunning result with Ms. Anuradha Bakshi and Soumitra Das winning handily. Ms. Bakshi is a recent entrant into tournament bridge and, till the start of the tournament, had fewer than 50 Master Points (Fed and Local) to her credit! I am personally totally bowled over by this result. It is a heartening reminder that the game welcomes newcomers as warmly as it does veterans.

Gladiators

The team that won the Silver Teams final has not done so by accident. Over the last two years, the core team of Tarun Singhal, Anurag Pandey, Umesh Singh and Rakesh Sharma has been turning in consistent performances in event after event. This year, they have incorporated a younger pair in the form of Pintu Sao and Pankaj Chaudhari. They comprehensively beat every opponent they faced including a sensational 100-IMP win in a single session, which surely must be a world record of sorts. The team they steamrolled was ironically named Conquerors!

Aniruddha Prakash

The announcement of his brilliant defence securing a nomination for the IBPA awards seemed to have been just a blink-and-miss affair. In fact, when I congratulated him on this, he was absolutely unaware of what I was talking about. While it goes a long way to show his humility, it also reflects poorly on us for not celebrating his performance enough. This is a small effort to make up for it.

I am taking the liberty of reproducing the article by Mark Horton here because I could never do his play the same analytic justice. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

His play on this deal has been recognized as a potential contender for one of the prestigious IBPA awards in defense category.
Congratulations to Anirudh Prakash on this remarkable achievement!

In conclusion

The event is best summed up by this comment below.

"For me, the HCL is more than a tournament. It is a reunion of friends, a classroom for learning and a celebration of a game we all love. My thanks to the organizers, the directors and every player who made this week what it was."

If, like me, you have other such interesting thoughts and memories of the events, please do write in the comments below. Until the next edition, here is to many more memorable weeks of bridge.

Disclaimer : All opinions are entirely those of the author and are no reflection of the views of the BridgeFromHome Team.