Irene Baroni began her bridge career in the junior ranks, and after finishing second at the European Junior Open Teams, she went on to win the Transnational Open at the Rosenblum Cup in Verona. She then took a break from bridge to devote herself to professional poker for seven years.
After returning to professional bridge, she collected several international medals, including two European golds and a world bronze in the women category, as well as one European bronze and two world bronzes in the mixed category.
Between tournaments, she enjoys her passions : cooking, skiing, and her dog Sheldon!
Michel Bessis is he founder of a great bridge family, which earned him the nickname “Top of sequence”! He is one of the most famous bridge teachers in France and the creator of the bridge website Bridge Academy.
He also has many outstanding achievements : World Senior Bridge Champion with Philippe Cronier, European Mixed Champion with his wife Véronique (who is herself a two-time world champion), and several major successes with his son Thomas (European Open Teams, World Open Transnational Teams, TGR pairs here in London, and the Vanderbilt Trophy).
Outside of bridge, his passions are horse racing — especially steeplechase — and Paris Saint Germain.
Thomas Bessis is a French professional bridge player, and forms with Cedric Lorenzini one of the finest pairs in the world. Since their debut together 5 years ago, they won together amongst other things four American National titles and a European championship.
Michel and Thomas haven’t played together on the International stage since 2014, but careful as this kind of father and son connexion never really dies!
Guy Laffineur: After almost forty years in Banking, having worked in various firms and various countries in Financial Markets, and being now partially retired, Guy can finally find time to pursue his passion for bridge. He’s had a few good results in the past, including a French junior pair title, two French open championships (DN1), two French Cup wins, and more recently the French Interclubs championships.
His aims now are to achieve success in the international field, but above all to enjoy this wonderful game and this great community.
Lederer Trophy 