The Setting Trick: Conversations with World Class Bridge Players

In this episode of The Setting Trick, I sit down with Emma Kolesnik, who just won the Mixed Teams at the 2026 World Bridge Series in Katowice, Poland. She partnered her husband Adam Grossack, and their teammates were prior Mixed champions Sabine Auken and Roy Welland. Emma takes me through their quarterfinal win, decided by a single imp, including a seven imp time penalty. The final was a marquee matchup against Adam's brother Zach.

We talk about pressure at the table, paying college students to learn bridge, and how the game turned her younger brother Finn Kolesnik into a close friend. We also get into playing with your spouse, family trips built around the European championships and why her family gave up cooperative games.

__________________________________________________

⏱ One IMP, After a Penalty: Seven minutes over cost seven imps, so a win by eight became a win by one.

🧠 Bridge is Grinding: Adam has helped Emma work hard on every deal.

🎓 Paid to Learn Bridge: With Mitch Dunitz, she paid college friends to come to four lessons.

👫 How Finn Came Around: He refused to play until he learned Emma was being paid to go to the youth NABCs.

🎲 Ticket to Ride: The team name came from a board game, and her family learned cooperative games only start blame games.

__________________________________________________

🏆 2026 World Bridge Series results

📸 The Setting Trick on Instagram

🎧 Subscribe to The Setting Trick on Apple Podcasts

__________________________________________________

00:00 Cold open

00:52 Welcoming Emma Kolesnik

01:47 A quarterfinal won by one imp

03:39 The seven imp time penalty

05:21 Checking scores on the tablet

07:18 Facing Klukowski and Zmuda

09:03 Pressure, and the grind

10:30 Seven spades doubled

11:44 The last board, two notrump

15:11 Bridesmaids who don't play

15:53 Paying students to learn

19:25 Did she cry? Finn's Soloway

21:32 A final against Zach Grossack

22:45 A comedy of errors

25:09 Rooting in the semifinal

26:56 Six years apart, bridge friends

28:31 Why Finn finally played

30:50 Adam asks Finn's permission

33:20 Playing with your spouse

36:14 Turning down a pro offer

38:23 Tablets, screens, the ACBL

41:56 Roy, Sabine and golf

43:06 Watching the Bermuda Bowl

48:09 Watching family on ViewGraph

49:57 Tromsø and family trips

52:56 How many countries

55:50 Museums on bridge trips

57:22 Why Ticket to Ride

60:56 No more cooperative games

63:10 Nationals with her dad

65:36 A yoga retreat instead

68:16 Boards that stick with you

73:01 The round of 16 ruff

76:06 When she plays next

In this episode of The Setting Trick, I sit down with Alessandro Calmanovici, the founder of Bridge Tricks, a site that became a big part of my own bridge learning. His name rang a bell the first time I found it. He appears in Double Dummy, the film I made at the 2012 World Junior Championships, winning imps on each of the last four boards to scrape into the knockout.

We dig into suit combinations and how a solver changes the way you think, the Survivor streaks that have players like Giovanni Donati obsessed, and the Bidding Architect that turns your own system into flashcards. Alessandro built all of it around a full time job and a new baby. We also get into why he thinks the game needs a better public image.

__________________________________________________

🎬 Finding Himself in Double Dummy: Alessandro watched the film years later, recognised the event, and realised the player on screen was him.

🧠 Fifty Suit Combinations in a Row: Giovanni Donati ran a Survivor streak of fifty and spent an hour on the last one.

📐 Commit to the Plan Before They Play: 54% against 51.7% on a disputed combination, and why the plan you settle on first wins.

🤖 Built With AI, Starting From Nothing: His wife mentioned a tool at work. Turned down for help, he wrote the solver himself a year later.

♣️ As Popular as Chess: Juniors are close to extinct in Italy and the Swiss scene is thinner still. He wants to change the game's image.

__________________________________________________

🃏 Bridge Tricks, Alessandro's platform

📝 Bridge Tricks on BridgeWinners

📘 Peak, on deliberate practice

🎯 Cuebids, the bidding practice app

🎧 Subscribe to The Setting Trick on Apple Podcasts

__________________________________________________

03:00 Bridge With Ballers and athletes

04:30 Hooking beginners with BridgeMaster

06:00 Pisa, a classmate's first ten hands

07:30 Taicang, the last four boards

12:00 Suit combinations, the feedback loop

13:30 Survivor streaks, fifty in a row

16:30 Reading par in seconds

19:30 Launching the site, built with AI

21:00 Bridge Lab and Bidding Architect

22:30 Daily users, Fred Gitelman's message

24:00 Why a solver beats an encyclopaedia

25:30 Leonardo Cima says it is wrong

27:19 A possible Cuebids collaboration

31:49 Learning bridge at twelve, Cagliari

34:49 Why the Italian scene shrinks

37:49 Bridge as popular as chess

39:19 Building the solver after a refusal

43:49 Simon de Wijs, its best advocate

46:49 Flashcards for your bidding system

49:49 Being copied, and AI for small builders

52:49 A bridge class in Zurich

54:19 The dinners, not the squeezes

57:19 How Double Dummy got made

61:49 The cup and the daily combination

66:19 Survivor, Rush, where to start

69:19 Paying students, chasing Chess.com

In this episode of The Setting Trick, I sit down with Nabil Edgtton, one of the best bridge players in the world, and AJ Antonios, a professional poker player who learned bridge from scratch then won the 2020 Gold Coast Open Teams three months later. Longtime friends from poker, Nabil and AJ were living together, when Nabil finally convinced AJ to learn bridge. What followed was three hours of study every morning, five days a week. AJ describes a teacher with enormous knowledge and no patience. Nabil describes a student he expected to remember everything first time. When they won their first club game, after about a fortnight, opponents refused to believe AJ had just started!

They both love to razz each other, starting from the story of how they first met. Nabil stacked AJ three times in a small poker game, then told him he was too good for these stakes. AJ explains why he rates bridge among the most skill based games he has played, and why its community beats every other he has been part of. Then there is the golf bet, which began with a claim that Nabil could clear the fence at a driving range and ended with a $220,000 wager, an acupuncture session and a punctured lung. AJ closes on Australian Survivor, where he finished third, and on the one minute that undid seven weeks.

__________________________________________________

🃏 Three Months to a National Title: AJ learned bridge from zero, won the 2020 Gold Coast Open Teams, then stopped playing.

🔑 Teaching From the Student's Side: Nabil is blunt about his own coaching. You have to explain a game from the learner's side, not your own.

🧠 A Flexible Mind Beats One Foundation: AJ credits Magic, poker, Yu Gi Oh and a Lebanese game called Tarneeb for giving each new idea somewhere to sit.

🎰 Stacked Three Times, Then Recruited: Nabil took AJ's money three times at a poker table, then told him he belonged in bigger games.

⛳ The Bet That Went Over the Fence: A claim about clearing a 350 metre fence became a $220,000 bet that Nabil could reach a three handicap.

🏝 Survivor Tests You at Your Worst: AJ finished third after 47 days in Samoa, lost 15 kilos, and stopped eating to kill a rumour.

🃏 Nabil Edgtton's ABF player profile

🏆 The 2020 Gold Coast Open Teams honour board

📰 Liam Milne's match report on the Gold Coast final

🎙 Episode 26, our earlier Nabil interview

🏝 AJ on Australian Survivor

🃏 Grand Archive, AJ's next worlds

📚 Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool

📸 The Setting Trick on Instagram

🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

In this episode of The Setting Trick, I sit down with Nabil Edgtton, one of the best bridge players in the world, and AJ Antonios, a professional poker player who learned bridge from scratch and won the 2020 Gold Coast Open Teams three months later. Nabil talked AJ into moving in together, then announced on day one that they were learning bridge. What followed was three hours of study every morning, five days a week. AJ describes a teacher with enormous knowledge and no patience. Nabil describes a student he expected to remember everything first time. Within a fortnight, opponents at his club refused to believe AJ had been playing for weeks.

We also get into how they met at a poker table, where Nabil stacked AJ three times, then told him he was too good for his stakes. AJ explains why he rates bridge among the most skill based games he has played, and why its community beats every other he has been part of. Then there is the golf bet, which began with a claim that Nabil could clear the fence at a driving range and ended with a $220,000 wager, an acupuncture session and a punctured lung. AJ closes on Australian Survivor, where he finished third, and on the one minute that undid seven weeks.

__________________________________________________

🃏 Three Months to a National Title: AJ learned bridge from zero, won the 2020 Gold Coast Open Teams, then stopped playing.

🔑 Teaching From the Student's Side: Nabil is blunt about his own coaching. You have to explain a game from the learner's side, not your own.

🧠 A Flexible Mind Beats One Foundation: AJ credits Magic, poker, Yu Gi Oh and a Lebanese game called tanib for giving each new idea somewhere to sit.

🎰 Stacked Three Times, Then Recruited: Nabil took AJ's money three times at a poker table, then told him he belonged in bigger games.

⛳ The Bet That Went Over the Fence: A claim about clearing a 350 metre fence became a $220,000 bet that Nabil could reach a three handicap.

🏝 Survivor Tests You at Your Worst: AJ finished third after 47 days in Samoa, lost 15 kilos, and stopped eating to kill a rumour.

__________________________________________________

🃏 Nabil Edgtton's ABF player profile

🏆 The 2020 Gold Coast Open Teams honour board

🎙 Episode 26, our earlier Nabil interview

🏝 AJ on Australian Survivor

🃏 Grand Archive, AJ's next worlds

📚 Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool

📸 The Setting Trick on Instagram

🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

In this episode of The Setting Trick, I sit down with Tim Verbeek, professional bridge player and Chairman of the Dutch Athletes Committee, for a wide-ranging conversation about competitive bridge in the Netherlands and beyond. We open by reminiscing about a dinner in Lyon at the 2017 Transnational World Championships, where he helped pull me out of my post-elimination funk. From there we get into the remarkable depth of Dutch bridge talent, and the origin story of Tim's partnership with Danny Molenaar, which started when they were 12 and 13 years old and has now spanned 28 years.

We also dig into one of the most uncomfortable topics in competitive bridge: cheating. Tim walks through real cases, from the Lotan Fisher scandal to an online incident during COVID to a player at the Dutch Bridge Federation who duplicated a key to access hand records. He explains how he developed an eye for suspicious patterns, and why the standard of evidence required to convict in bridge is so much higher than for doping in other sports. We close on the emotional toll of losing, raising a four-year-old daughter while traveling the circuit, and the surprising lack of a definitive beginner's guide to the game.

__________________________________________________

Key Highlights

🇳🇱 The Golden Era of Dutch Bridge: Why the Netherlands keeps producing world-class pairs every five to ten years, and Tim's bet that the Dutch will be world champions again within the decade.

🏆 From Fill-ins to Full-Time Teammates: How Tim and Danny Molenaar went from last-minute fill-ins at a US National to permanent members of Patty Cayne's team, thanks to an Israeli pair's bad manners.

🔍 Catching Cheaters in the Bridge World: From Fisher and Schwartz to an online player who sent strategy messages to the wrong group chat, how Tim developed his instinct for spotting cheating.

⚖️ Bridge vs. Doping: Athletes get banned for trace substances, while bridge players suspected of cheating often walk free because federations demand an impossibly high standard of proof.

💔 The Emotional Weight of Losing: My tearful near-miss at the Lyon Transnationals, Tim's moment of self-doubt in Belgium, and how even top professionals lose far more often than they win.

👶 Life as a Bridge Pro and a Father: Two-week tournaments away from his four-year-old daughter Rosa, and coming home to find that "everything in our life is done by Mommy."

📚 The Missing Beginner's Guide to Bridge: Berry Westra's untranslated book, apps like Tricky Bridge, and why the game still lacks a simple learning path for new players.

__________________________________________________

Resources & Next Steps

🎴 Learn more about the Dutch Bridge Federation (Nederlandse Bridge Bond)

📱 Try Tricky Bridge, the bridge learning app by Scott Hoffer

📖 The Complete Idiot's Guide to Bridge, recommended for beginners

🏅 Follow the Dutch Athletes Committee and their Olympic qualification work

🎧 Subscribe to The Setting Trick on Apple Podcasts

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

In this episode, I sit down with Adam Parrish, a two-time winner of the American Bridge Teachers Book of the Year Award, host of the Leveling Up podcast, and author of six bridge books. Adam spent all of 2025 on a self-improvement project, dedicating an entire year to getting better at bridge while documenting every step publicly. We dive into what that year actually looked like, from tracking hours of study instead of chasing results, to working with top coaches like Joyjit Sensarma and learning key lessons from players like Steve Weinstein, Bobby Levin, and Gavin Wolpert. Did he actually level up?

We also dig into some boards from the team trials, the art of listening as a podcaster, and why Adam believes you cannot improve in isolation. He shares stories about his longtime partner Greg Humphreys, how their NABC Fast Pairs win unfolded in Reno, and his experience playing the USA Team Trials on LoveBridge. Plus, we explore his journey from learning bridge from his maternal grandmother to writing a bridge novel, and what it takes to truly level up at this humbling, wonderful game.

• 📋 The Leveling Up Project: Adam spent all of 2025 publicly documenting his year-long mission to improve at bridge, tracking hours of study and process rather than just chasing results.

• 🏆 NABC Fast Pairs Victory: The story behind winning the national Fast Pairs with partner Greg Humphreys in Reno, including the celebration dinner, the trophy photo scandal, and the near-repeat the following year derailed by COVID.

• 🎯 Learning from the Best: How working with coaches like Joyjit Sensarma, and picking the brains of Gavin Wolpert, Bobby Levin, and Steve Weinstein, transformed Adam's approach to system and decision-making at the table.

• 🖥️ LoveBridge Team Trials Deep Dive: Why Adam loves the USA Team Trials format on LoveBridge, how he uses VuGraph sessions for study, and who is more fun to share a room with Marty Fleisher or Kevin Bathurst at the event.

• 📚 Six Books and Counting: From a bridge novel to "When to Draw Trumps" and beyond, Adam explains what inspires each book, how student feedback shapes his writing, and why a simple request can turn into 350 pages.

• 🎭 The Art of the Interview: A candid conversation between two podcast hosts about preparation, listening, letting conversations breathe, and why going in without a rigid agenda produces the best results.

• 🎧 Listen to Adam's podcast: Leveling Up with Adam Parrish.

• 📰 Explore Adam's monthly newsletter.

• 📖 Browse Adam's bridge books including When to Draw Trumps and his other titles.

• 💻 Check out the Love Bridge  and experience the online bridge platform Adam recommends for serious study.

• 🎴 Watch hands and study expert play using Bridge Winners, the website built by Greg.

• 🎧 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 and for episode drops, tournament pics, and more.

0:00 Introduction

1:05 Meet Adam Parrish and the Leveling Up podcast

4:06 What is the Leveling Up project and why he started it

6:57 Tracking process over results and working with a sports psychology coach

9:12 A tough year at the nationals with Greg Humphries

11:10 Why you cannot improve alone and the value of mentorship

13:26 Has Greg actually leveled up? Talking about his long-time partner

18:16 Live hand analysis from the USA Team Trials

25:00 What separates different levels of players on the same decision

27:13 The most consistent takeaway from a year of learning from the best

35:58 Learning bridge from his maternal grandmother

38:01 Finding duplicate bridge in high school and college

42:44 The NABC Fast Pairs win in Reno with Greg Humphries

46:41 Third place in the Platinum Pairs and the revoke karma story

50:47 Stories about Greg Humphries and what makes him special

58:30 Trying to wrangle Greg for the GNT and team commitments

1:00:00 Why the LoveBridge Team Trials format is exceptional

1:02:43 How Adam uses view graph sessions for serious bridge study

1:05:06 Editing Kit Woolsey's Matchpoints and the book's legacy

1:06:55 Writing six bridge books and what inspires each one

1:15:00 Tournament routines, preparation, and the importance of rest

1:18:53 Podcast preparation and the art of the interview

1:22:47 Plans for the World Championships in Poland and upcoming events

1:25:42 Final reflections and wrap-up

In this episode, I sit down with Avery Silverstein, a 17-year-old bridge prodigy who has fallen hard for the game. Despite her young age, Avery has already earned two medals at the Junior World Championships and reached the round of 16 in the Vanderbilt as my partner. We discuss her journey from family bridge club kid to international competitor, including having her father, professional player Aaron Silverstein, as her primary mentor. Avery talks candidly about balancing her senior year of high school with competitive bridge, her training regimen, and how she manages the pressure of representing her country on the world stage.

From our dramatic 62-IMP comeback victory against the seventh seed to her heartbreaking silver medal finish at the U16 World Championships, Avery shares the emotional highs and lows of being deeply invested in the game. We explore her multifaceted life, which includes being close to a black belt in mixed martial arts and playing on her school's rugby team. Avery also discusses the college admissions process, her 26 college applications, and the possibility of taking a gap year to focus on professional bridge. With warmth and maturity beyond her years, she reflects on mentorship, the importance of being a great teammate, and her mission to help grow the next generation of junior players.

🏆 Silver Medal Journey: Avery recounts her team's incredible comeback from being the bottom three or four teams after two days to reaching the final and earning silver at the U16 World Championships.

🎯 Epic Vanderbilt Comeback: The story of our partnership defeating the seventh seed in the Vanderbilt after being down 62 IMPs at halftime, including the dramatic final quarter where our opponents took a 10-minute break and we closed with three consecutive double-digit wins.

👨‍👧 Father-Daughter Mentorship: Avery discusses the unique dynamics of having Aaron Silverstein as both her dad and primary bridge mentor, including managing nepotism concerns, disagreeing with his advice 15-20% of the time, and how their system evolves differently from his professional partnerships.

📚 System Evolution: How Avery and her partner Jack Boge have built an 80-90 page system document by borrowing from top professionals, playing transfer club, constructive two-bids, and constantly refining their approach through weekly practice sessions.

🎧 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.

0:00 Start

0:00 Introduction to Avery Silverstein

1:30 Growing up with professional bridge player parents

2:10 Becoming better than mom at bridge

3:10 Life at the family bridge club

4:20 What friends think about bridge

6:30 Previous podcast appearances and media coverage

7:20 Managing school absences for tournaments

8:10 The beautiful Madeira tournament experience

15:00 Partnership dynamics and playing with different people

24:00 Competing at World Junior Championships

35:00 The intense preparation and practice routine

45:00 Memorable hands and tournament moments

55:00 International bridge community and friendships

1:03:00 Norwegian competitor Nikolai Berg Evans

1:05:00 The pressure of must-win matches

1:06:00 Silver medal heartbreak and "chasing gold"

1:07:30 Weekend plans and upcoming tournaments

1:08:10 MMA training and competition record

1:09:00 Four gold medals and three silver medals in MMA

1:10:00 Looking ahead to St. Louis and future competitions

I was inspired to interview Maya Jonas-Silver, because of this post she made on Bridge Winners bemoaning the lack of playing opportunities for her recent bridge initiates. After winning the 2023 20-50 Mini McKenney award Maya hasn't stopped. She has become a passionate advocate for bringing young adults into the game.

Here she shares her journey from learning bridge at summer camp to becoming a bridge teacher and director at Honors Bridge Club in New York City. Her teaching philosophy, that bridge doesn't need to be intimidating or require years of study before you can actually play and enjoy the game, has helped me be more willing to introduce friends to the game using her framework. Maya believes in getting beginners to the table quickly, and no feedback!

We discuss the barriers facing young bridge players, from finding affordable games to navigating the tournament scene without mentors. Maya reflects on the critical moments in her own bridge career, when someone like Yoko Sobel stepped in to encourage her and her husband Jack. She also shares her vision for growing the game, including making beginner classes more accessible, creating online teaching modules, and building a network of bridge mentors to help newcomers transition from lessons to competitive play.

Plus, we touch on the joys and challenges of playing bridge with your spouse and balancing bridge with parenthood.

_____________________________________________________________

🎓 Teaching Bridge Fast: Maya's approach to teaching beginners focuses on getting people playing right away. She believes bridge is simple enough to learn in an hour and emphasizes playing over endless study.

🏆 From Beginner to National Competitor: Maya shares how she went from playing kitchen table bridge to qualifying for Nationals in GNT, finishing second and sending teams to represent New York, including students who had only been playing for 6-18 months.

💡 The Mentorship Gap: Maya discusses how critical it was to have people like Yoko Sobel, Alan Davidson, and Drew Cavalier invest in her development, and why building a network of mentors for young adults is essential for growing the game.

🎯 Making Bridge Accessible: Maya advocates for free or low-cost beginner games, online teaching modules, and better pathways from lessons to duplicate play. She sees young adults as an underserved demographic in the bridge world who need structured support.

❤️ Playing with Your Partner: Maya and her husband Jack navigate the joys and tensions of being bridge partners and life partners. She shares their philosophy: she can handle being the better player, but when he's better, expectations get too high!

🎲 Bridge vs. Board Games: Maya compares bridge to popular board games like Settlers of Catan, arguing that bridge is actually simpler than many games people willingly spend hours learning.

_____________________________________________________________

📱 Practice your skills on FunBridge - Maya's favorite app for beginners because you can replay hands and learn from mistakes.

🎯 Bid with your partner asynchronously using Cuebids - A great tool for getting more practice without needing to coordinate schedules.

🏛️ Visit Maya at Honors Bridge Club in New York City (110 East 55th Street) for beginner classes and supervised play.

📱 Maya's Instructions for teaching bridge to beginners

🎧 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.

_____________________________________________________________

0:00 Start

1:40 Mini McKenney win

2:40 Teaching young adults and the gap in bridge programs

5:00 Maya's 10-week teaching structure

6:20 GNT success: students qualifying for Nationals

8:20 Losing to the eventual GNT champions

11:00 Learning bridge at summer camp

14:00 Moving to New York and finding the bridge community

15:00 Meeting Yoko Sobel and bar bridge in Brooklyn

18:00 Becoming a director at Honors Bridge Club

19:00 Playing in the Mixed Trials

21:00 The importance of GNT for young players

23:00 Katie Sullivan and rare young bridge success stories

26:00 Playing with Omar in NAP

28:00 Playing with James Holzhauer (Jeopardy champion)

31:40 Bridge as a career and overcoming existential dread

35:00 Learning bridge at summer camp and teaching philosophy

36:40 Bridge as a victim of its own success

38:30 Teaching beginners: no trump, suited play, then bidding

40:00 Document for teaching friends in one hour

45:00 Teaching David Ger's friend at the bridge club

48:20 The importance of not giving too much feedback

53:00 Teaching quantitative traders how to bid

54:20 Working at Honors Bridge Club and directing

56:40 The Revenge Mitchell movement

1:00:30 Playing rubber bridge at the Regency

1:07:00 Making bridge free for young adults

1:09:40 Creating a compelling bridge film or series

1:11:00 Favorite resources: FunBridge and Cubits

1:16:20 Bridge fights and playing with your spouse

1:19:30 Bridge and parenthood

1:26:00 Getting hired to play vs. teaching

1:28:00 Studying human evolutionary biology at Harvard

1:30:00 The evolution of cooperation and bridge strategy

In this episode, I sit down with Ethan Derman, a remarkable young talent who just got accepted early decision to the University of Virginia. Ethan shares his journey from playing baseball and water polo to becoming a junior world championship medalist in bridge. We dive into our dramatic Vanderbilt comeback against the heavily favored Rubenstein team featuring Zach Grossack, Michael Rosenberg, Joe Grue and Brad Moss. Where we were down 62 IMPs at the half. Then pulled of one of the most satisfying wins I've ever experienced. Ethan goes into his difficult decision to quit competitive baseball to focus on bridge, and how that choice has shaped his path forward.

We explore how water polo taught him teamwork and mental toughness that translates directly to the bridge table. Ethan discusses his partnership with Avery Silverstein, training with legendary player Chip Martel, and invaluable coaching from Aaron Silverstein, Avery's dad. From winning silver and bronze medals at junior world championships to balancing college applications with tournament play, Ethan has a big future ahead in the game. His summer plans include playing multiple European tournaments as well as the nationals and world championships.

•       🎓 UVA Early Decision: Ethan shares the emotional moment of getting accepted to UVA early decision, his top choice. Though he's not sure how much he'll be involved with Hoos Playing Bridge, the UVA club.

•       🏆 The Epic Vanderbilt Comeback: How our team, Silversetin and the Destroyers, rallied from down 62 IMPs at halftime to defeat the 8th overall-seed.

•       🥈 World Championship Medals: Ethan recounts winning silver in the Under-16 and bronze in the Under-21 world championships, including dramatic qualification battles and playing against the best junior teams in the world.

•       ⚾ Choosing Bridge Over Baseball: The difficult decision to quit competitive baseball despite being on track for college recruitment, and how falling in love with bridge made that choice clear.

•       🤽 Water Polo's Impact on Bridge: How being a varsity water polo player taught Ethan about teamwork, handling pressure, and the goldfish mentality of forgetting the last board, essential skills for competitive bridge.

•       👨‍🏫 Training with the Best: Ethan's structured training regimen have at times included weekly sessions with Chip Martel, one of the winningest players in ACBL history, and constant mentorship from Aaron Silverstein.

•       🎧 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.

0:00 Introduction and Welcome

1:45 Getting Into UVA Early Decision

5:41 Future Bridge Goals and Summer Training Plans

8:36 Training with Chip Martell

12:06 The Importance of Mentorship in Bridge

15:17 First Meeting and Playing Together

22:39 Starting Bridge and Playing with Paul Holmes

26:46 Traveling Solo to Tournaments

30:13 Family Background and Bridge Heritage

32:58 College and Career Goals in Finance

35:31 Balancing Bridge with Future Career

37:17 Water Polo and Its Impact on Bridge

42:38 Aaron Silverstein as Coach and Mentor

43:17 The Epic Vanderbilt Comeback Against Grue-Moss

50:10 Quitting Baseball to Focus on Bridge

54:31 Under-16 World Championship Silver Medal

01:01:04 Under-21 World Championship Bronze Medal

01:07:45 The Importance of Aaron's Coaching

01:12:32 Beating Team Rubenstein - Biggest Achievement

01:14:04 Playing on Vugraph Against World-Class Players

01:19:54 Summer Bridge Tour Plans in Europe

01:22:27 Friends' Reactions to Bridge Career

01:26:11 Wrap Up and Looking Ahead