Simon Says

Priyanka Gulati and Simon Stocken

The Willingdon Club personifies old world charm and sporting leisure, and evokes a sense of warmth, nostalgia and recreation. This marvelous establishment not only symbolizes the grandeur and wealth of the British Empire, but also the history and culture left over for us to enjoy.

In 1918 Lord Willingdon, the Governor of Bombay established the club because, as legend has it, he had been forbidden from bringing his guest, an Indian Maharaja, to the Bombay Gymkhana. At that time only whites were allowed entry, and so, outraged by this injustice, he started a club of his own where Indians and Europeans could go and socialize without prejudice.

This last weekend saw Sanjit and Binod, (both from West Bengal) form a trio with Simon (from England) to echo this founding history and celebrate the common bond of humanity, togetherness and partnership - a fine epithet for the game of bridge itself.

But who is Simon?

How did this unlikely trio come into being? And how did they manage to come back from 27th (out of 32) to top the leaderboard?

As Simon himself says:

 

 

“Was it pure luck or divine providence that brought me to Mumbai at the very time the prestigious Willingdon Swiss Pairs was happening? I don’t know - perhaps these two are just one and the same anyway. Certainly Prasad Keni, as is often the case, was the prime architect of this wonderful serendipity.

I had originally booked my flight to India for New Years Eve 2021, over a year ago. I had to keep pushing back the date and 2022 passed swiftly with the enticing promise of an imminent return to India. I have a 5-year tourist visa and a return flight many months away. 

After traveling the world several times over for bridge in the years prior to March 2020, including commentating at the Wuhan championships in 2019, I have been almost entirely confined to ‘Blighty”. Virtually my only opportunity to escape England was to teach bridge to 120 people in Italy. I was called in to substitute for my elder brother to teach an Andrew Robson bridge holiday beside the sun-drenched Lake Garda. Teaching bridge has been very good to me and my family over the years.

I decided upon January 26th as my arrival date in India to allow my mother to assist on a bridge-break in The Cotswolds, run by my younger brother. My sister and brother organize bridge holidays together. Meanwhile, I was in Yorkshire, looking after my 82 year old dad, who despite his mini-stroke still plays a decent game of bridge. 

A few days later I was escaping the misery that is wintery England to arrive in sun-drenched India with joy in my heart. The landing is always gentle for me in Mumbai as Prasad allows me to stay in his apartment in Santa Cruz. 

I was on the verge of booking my ticket out of Mumbai when Prasad messaged me: “Wait - don’t book a flight yet. I’m coming to Mumbai and there’s a bridge game happening this weekend.”

After arriving Thursday morning, I met Binod and Sanjit at Prasad’s apartment on Friday night and joined the team for bridge on Saturday. Prasad was due to play himself, but he had other commitments so I stepped in. 

We barely had a chance to discuss system. I played mostly with Binod, “The Maverick”, I call him. He bids aggressively, putting pressure on opponents and creating myriad opportunities for swings. Expect the unexpected. Sanjit, in contrast, is the anchorman, The Philosopher if you like. Binod’s English is a little better than my Hindi so we had a few misunderstandings. 

Both were great fun to play with and both were very kind when I erred. Natural bridge players, great technicians and fine ambassadors for the game. To comeback from 27th place within 6 sets of 6 boards is testament to their style and effectiveness.

Meanwhile, I’ve only really been playing robot bridge these last three years, terrible for one’s game, I’m realising now - so I was decidedly rusty on the Saturday. I love and perhaps need good coffee to bring out my best game and it’s been hard to find up in Santa Cruz. My attempt to secure a decent cup in the club itself was met with a request for my membership card…..exit Simon back to the playing area. Perhaps Madame Lavazza could be persuaded to sponsor the coffee next time.

I've been a bridge teacher most of my life, the first of my family to choose it as a profession, although my father had two tenures as Chairman of the English Bridge Union. Now all three siblings and both parents are bridge-teachers. I helped Andrew Robson establish his club on the Fulham Road in London in 1995 after working with him at the Acol bridge club in West Hampstead. I met Andrew while in the England U25 squad partnering elder then younger brother in turn. 

My passion is bringing young players into the game and I will be back in Raibidpura for my 3rd visit (with a cameraman) in May, timing it to coincide with Kalpana and Vidhya’s return home from teacher-training in Madurai. I’m looking forward to seeing their medals. On my last visit I taught a class of 28 very enthusiastic children in the small room above the bridge club. They have since moved to a new premises.

My bridge hero would be Zia - Bridge My Way is still one of the greats and he is a fine diplomat for the game and a friend also. 

I have played bridge in places as far afield as Botswana, Taiwan, Japan and Uruguay - every continent except Australasia and Antartica, in the four years preceding Covid. We even had an earthquake during a tournament in Yokohama. World-wide, the game of bridge has introduced me to communities and people and made me many friends for life.

The HCL in Delhi has been my favourite tournament with its wonderful hospitality, great food and exceptional prize money - typical of all Indian bridge tournaments I now see. I have the upcoming events in Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar firmly in my sights - all I need now is a partner. I love playing bridge so I don’t generally like to sit out although watching BBO as Binod and Sanjit played the final set was one of my most thrilling 30 minutes in bridge to date. I’ve played the game for 43 years now, so that’s quite something.

I have even played some bridge on the top of Mt Kilimanjaro. I sponsored the porters to carry a table and four chairs up so that we might raise extra money for our chosen charity.

My interests are not confined to cards.

I am a 3rd generation hand-cut wooden jigsaw puzzle maker - for virtually the whole of the last three years, my sister and I have been busy pedalling away on our ancient machines. The Queen enjoyed several of my puzzles and I was featured on the cover of the EBU magazine in 2002 with a 2512 piece, multi-layer puzzle I presented to HM for her Golden Jubilee.”

Phew it was so inspiring talking to Simon.

Simon, Binod and Sanjit recreated history in the beautiful elegant Willingdon club to celebrate cultural diversity and togetherness and I’m sure Lord Willingdon was smiling from heaven.

 

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