Source: English Bridge Union

David, pictured here with Liam, turned 30 in September, and celebrated by representing England in Istanbul (his first major championship at Open level). He currently lives in Fulham, with his wife Heather, five year old step-son Liam, and new baby daughter Jasmine, where he works as a professional player and teacher.

Brought up in North West London, he was introduced to the game by Ian Johns, a teacher and friend, who possessed a real flair for the game, but had only occasionally ventured into the tournament world. David had just turned fifteen, and was eager to learn more about this fantastic game. With the support of his parents and younger sister Kiran (who despite his career choice, still don't play Bridge themselves!), he switched his attention from music (which had been his main interest, playing the trumpet in several bands), and began playing at the Young Chelsea Bridge Club .

It was at the YC that David met many of the people who were to play a role in developing his bridge playing career. Within several months, he had attended the Britsh Junior Camp, superbly run by Anna Gudge, and played in his first set of Junior Trials, which resulted in an invitation to join the British Junior squad having been identified as having 'great potential'. It was through his involvement with the Junior squad, that David first met his current partner, Andrew Robson , the 'man who has had the greatest single influence on my career'. David quickly identified Andrew as the player whose qualities he most admired, and hoped he would have the opportunity to form a top-level partnership with him.

Over the next ten years, David successfully represented Britain and England in numerous International competitions, including several Channel trophy, Peggy Bayer, and Junior Camrose events. He also played in three European Championships (one Schools, and two Junior).

Along the way, he also managed to fit in a Psychology degree at the University of Exeter , before returning to London in 1997, in need of inspiration in determining an interesting career path. It was around this time that he and Robson again crossed paths, and discovering that David was open to offers, Andrew invited him to join his enterprising teaching club - the Andrew Robson Bridge Club . Delighted to have the opportunity to work with his mentor, David jumped at the chance, and has developed into the main teacher at the club, a role which allows him to enjoy the combination of teaching and playing for a living.

Having worked as assistant Coach to the England Open Team alongside David Burn at the 1999 European Championships, the new Millenium started with an invitation to coach the England Open Team at the World Teams Olympiad, where England finished a creditable 4 th . David retained the role for the Europeans in 2001.

However, David's partnership with Andrew has provided the major highlights of his playing career so far. Together they won the Gold Cup in 2002, and finished 11 th at the inaugural European Open Pairs in 2003.

2004 proved to be his most successful year so far. In March he made his full Camrose debut in the record breaking victory over Scotland, while in August, he and Robson won the Brighton Swiss Pairs and narrowly failed to complete the 'double', when they finished 2 nd in the Swiss Teams. September saw David and Andrew McIntosh finish 2 nd in the Hecht Cup, a prestigious invitational event in Denmark , while October saw David finish 2 nd in the Lederer , where he and Robson were awarded the prize for the 'Best Defended Hand'.

At the Olympiad, England were defeated by Pakistan in the last 16 following an undefeated campaign in the Round Robin stage. Despite this disappointment, the return to England has seen David win the Gold Cup for the second time (with Robson, Allfrey and McIntosh), and a fine year was capped off when he won the Swiss Pairs at the Year End Festival in London, in partnership with Martin Jones.

In addition to his partnership with Robson, he considers himself lucky to be able to include Alexander Allfrey, Tommy Garvey, Martin Jones, Andrew McIntosh and Neil Rosen amongst his semi-regular partners. Indeed his most notable success without Robson, came in partnership with Andrew McIntosh, winning the 2003 Lederer Memorial Trophy.

Away from the Bridge table, David's main interests remain music (only listening now though), and his latest interest - Running. He has now run several 10K races, and his main ambition, other than helping England to win a European or World Championship, is to run 10K inside 40 minutes.