Language English Role Bridge Player Name Tony Forrester | Partner Diana Nationality British | |
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Occupation Bridge player and writer Genre Non-fiction – contract bridge Books Secrets of Expert Defence, Secrets of Expert Card Play, Vintage Forrester, Secrets of Success: Europe's, The Daily Telegraph Play Brid Similar People Andrew Robson, Geir Helgemo, Alan Sontag, Bob Hamman, Norberto Bocchi | ||
Anthony R. (Tony) Forrester (born 1953) is an English bridge player and writer. He is a British and English international and a World Bridge Federation World International Master. Forrester is a bridge columnist for The Daily Telegraph (since 1993) and The Sunday Telegraph (since 1996).
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Personal life
Forrester was brought up in West Yorkshire. He is married to Diana, and they live in Herefordshire.
International honours
Forrester won the European Youth Team Championship in 1978 and the European Team Championship in 1991. The European Team Championship win was in partnership with Andrew Robson, with whom he played for seven years. The pair also won the Cap Gemini and the Sunday Times-Macallan. Around that time he was regarded, by the English Bridge Union, as England's number one player.
Playing for Rita Shugart's team, in 1998 he was the first Briton, with teammate Robson, to win a prestigious US Major, the Reisinger, and the same squad won the event a second time the following year. Forrester has won the US Board-a-Match Teams on two occasions, 1999 and 2013.
In 2014 he and Robson revived their partnership, and played together as part of the England team in that year's European Open Championship. The team finished third, thereby winning the bronze medal and qualifying for the finals of the 2015 World Championships.
With 43 caps for England in the Camrose Trophy, Forrester is Britain's most capped player.
Domestic honours
Forrester has won the Gold Cup, the premier British teams competition, 13 times: in 1983, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014, putting him first in the all-time list. He won the Spring Foursomes in 1983, 1996, 1999, 2009, 2016 and 2017. His six victories represent an all-time record. He has won the Crockfords Cup (English Teams of Four Championship) a record nine times: 1982, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2008 and 2012.
In 2010, he won the Brighton Four Stars A Final, with team mates Alexander Allfrey, Andrew Robson and Peter Crouch.
In 2015 he was one of the first two winners of the English Bridge Union's Diamond Award, introduced to recognise players who have "represented England (and earlier Great Britain) with distinction over a long period".