The Setting Trick: Conversations with World Class Bridge Players

Today on The Setting Trick, we’re thrilled to welcome Richard Zeckhauser, a towering figure whose expertise spans both economics and competitive bridge. A professor at Harvard Kennedy School, Richard has spent decades exploring the complexities of decision-making, risk, and strategic behavior. His groundbreaking work has shaped the fields of economics and public policy, offering

John McAllister chats with 35-year-old Owen Lien of Oak Park MI about Junior Bridge, directing on BBO, playing professionally and reaching highs and lows in national events. Owen has won two limited NABC events: The 10K Swiss in 2016 and the 0–5000 Mini Spingold in 2009. He was second in those same events in 2014 and 2007. A Platinum Life Master with over 18,000 masterpoints –

Matthew Granovetter is a six-time NABC champion. He also won a world championship, the Mixed Pairs, in 2006. He is a popular author and teacher, along with his wife, Pamela. They are best known for their theories on bidding via their system GUS (Granovetter Unified System) and their books on defensive play. Matthew is Hasidic (a branch of Orthodox Judaism); his spirituality is w

Just before the Toronto NABC, John sat down with Ladawna Parham, executive director of the ACBL Educational Foundation, and Bronia Jenkins, executive director of the ACBL. Jenkins, “one year in,” still has the energy and vision she started with, if not more. Parham, who took the position in November, has had to start from the ground up, with no bridge experience (although she d

John welcomes back his first-ever guest, Gavin Wolpert, a seven-time NABC winner, including the 2021 Soloway Knockout and the 2005 Blue Ribbon Pairs with his wife, Jenny, and a two-time bronze medal winner in Open World Championships. Gavin is one of the internet's favorite Bridge teachers, using interactive problems to allow students to make mistakes and learn from them, emphasizi

Today, my guest is in-demand tournament player, winner of one of Bridge’s crown jewels, the 2022 Vanderbilt, club owner, multiple club owner, and Junior Bridge mentor extraordinaire, Aaron Silverstein. Aaron played in the first ever Junior World Championships in 1987, and his daughter, Avery, playing on a team that he mentored, won a silver medal in the 2023 Junior World Champion

My guest is Simon de Wijs from the Netherlands. Simon has a great bridge resume. He has won the Bermuda Bowl, the Olympiad, the mixed World Championship, and multiple European championships. He is a mainstay on the Dutch national team, always one of the favorites in open competition. At the recent Louisville NABC, Simon showed up with his twin 19-year-old daughters, who are budding

Today my guest is Brian Platnick. He’s a world champion (1991 World Junior Teams and 2010 Rosenblum Cup) with six NABC+ titles, including two Spingold wins (2010, 2017) and a victory in the Blue Ribbon Pairs (2012). Brian is a perfect example of what inspires this podcast: the opportunity to have longer-form conversations with fascinating bridge players. The genesis for this epis

Today, we're debuting a new format called Event Review, where my partner and I get together and discuss some of the most amusing incidents and some of the best and worst plays from a recent event. It's going to be shorter than my typical long-form interview and also, hopefully, just kind of fun. I'm speaking with my partner for the District 6 Grand National Teams Qualifying se

Episode 73: Rise and Fly! Lamont Jones and The Gist of Bid Whist Normally, this is a Bridge podcast, but today my guest is Bid Whist evangelist Lamont Jones. Lamont recently published the book called The Gist of Bid Whist culminating a project he began in earnest in 2012. He's on a mission to share his love for Bid Whist with a wider audience. If you've ever been curious about Bi