Hi!
The IIT bridge coaching camp is an initiative undertaken by the Tamil Nadu Bridge Association (TNBA) with the support of several ardent bridge players from the city, to promote the game of Contract Bridge.
Contract Bridge (or bridge for short) is an intensely challenging intellectual game that has been popular around the world for centuries. Rivalling the game of chess in the mental challenges it presents, bridge offers much more than chess in terms of promoting teamwork, psychology, planning, organization and communication. Bridge fosters and enhances several of the qualities that are critical for success in today's world.
Bridge is extremely popular in India as well. However, being a card game, bridge is associated with many of the games that contain an inherent element of gambling, leading to the game being stigmatized in Indian society. While bridge can be played for stakes, the most popular form of the game, tournament bridge, has nothing to do with gambling whatsoever. On the contrary, bridge tournaments are prestigious events, similar to chess and cricket tournaments, and the people who do well in these events occupy the top stratum of intellectuals in the society. This is easily demonstrated by the number of top Indian industrialists and businessmen who have a passion for bridge (e.g. Dr. Tolani of Tolani shipping corporation, Mrs. Kiran Nadar from HCL etc).
For students who are in the process of building a career, the advantages of playing bridge are manifold: not only does their thinking get stimulated by the intellectual challenges within the game, but they also get to meet and mingle with many of the top intellectuals and businessmen of society. In short, bridge is the ultimate challenge with multi-faceted rewards.
In order to make this program a success, please ensure that you are as committed to these classes as you would be to one of your departmental courses (or, in some cases, perhaps more committed :-). Please attend as many classes as you can and spend as much time as possible outside of the class reading bridge books, playing with your classmates and studying the material from class.
On this website, you can get information about the program such as schedules, contact information, course material etc.
