David Bakhshi is one of the leading professionals in the UK, with numerous successes in domestic and international tournaments. He is also a highly successful bridge coach and teacher. See David’s EBU profile.
David’s has represented England at the World Team Olympiad (2004), the European Team Championships (2012 & 2014) and the Bermuda Bowl (2013 & 2015). Playing with Artur Malinowski he will be representing England in the Bermuda Bowl in 2019.
David also plays in many major tournaments around the World, and his International achievements include a bronze medal in the European Open Teams (2005), and a 6th place finish in the 2006 World Open Pairs (the highest placing by an English pair in over 30 years). More recently, David has won the NEC cup in Japan (2011), and was a runner-up in the Vanderbilt (2011), one of the most prestigious team events in USA.
Janet de Botton has been playing bridge for over fifteen years. She has won each of the following twice: the Spring Foursomes, Crockfords and the Gold Cup. Other successes include a Hubert Phillips win in 2007 and a bronze medal in the European Open Mixed Teams. She is a well-known patron of the arts, is a DBE (for charitable services to the arts) and was a Trustee of the Tate Gallery for 10 years. See Janet’s EBU profile.
Thor-Erik Hoftaniska is a bridge professional and Norwegian International. He has been a core member of the de Botton team for some years and was instrumental in victories such as the Spring Fours in 2013. He was in the Middlesex team that won the 2015 Tollemache. He and Espen Erichsen have just won the pairs in the Reykjavik Bridge Festival.
Krzysztof Kotorowicz
Artur Malinowski was born in Poland, moved to Norway and then England where he is now a full-time bridge professional. He also manages TGRs Bridge Club. See Artur’s EBU profile.
He won the silver medal at the 2007 European Pairs in Antalya, and was in the England Open team that took the silver medal in the World Mind sport Games in Beijing in 2008. He also has two bronze medals in the European Mixed Teams, and has won Crockfords as well as the Gold Cup. He will be playing for England in the Bermuda Bowl in 2019 with David Bakhski.
Tom Townsend, 48, lives in Shepherd’s Bush with Ewa Kater and their son Max. Tom was part of the junior team captained by Raymond Brock, which won the 1994 European and 1995 World Junior Championships for Great Britain. He’s played numerous times since then for England at Open level, most notably in the 2008 Olympiad in Beijing, where England reached the final and lost to Italy. Tom is the Telegraph daily bridge hand columnist.
Lederer Trophy 