Tom Townsend
Thomas George Townsend | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 19, 1971 England |
| Occupation(s) | Professional bridge player, author |
| Known for | Bridge columnist for The Daily Telegraph; World International Master in bridge |
Thomas George Townsend (born 19 February 1971) is a distinguished English professional in the field of bridge and an accomplished author.
Personal life
Townsend received his education at Wellington College followed by Cambridge University. He currently resides in Shepherd's Bush, London with Ewa Kater, a Polish-born women's international player who also acquired English nationality in 2022, along with their son Max.
Bridge career
For more than twenty years, Townsend has been a consistent presence on British and England international bridge teams. He holds the designation of World International Master awarded by the World Bridge Federation. Since 30 September 2013, he has contributed as the bridge columnist for The Daily Telegraph from Monday to Friday, and starting July 2019, he took on the role of Sunday Telegraph bridge columnist as well.
International honours
Together with Jeffrey Allerton, Townsend was a member of the British squad that secured victories at both the European and World Junior Championships in 1994 and 1995. He represented England in the open team that finished second to Italy at the 2008 Bridge Olympiad held in Beijing. Partnering with David Gold during that period, Townsend achieved third place in the 2005 European Pairs event in Tenerife and competed in the Bermuda Bowl in Estoril the same year. Playing alongside David Bakhshi, he helped the England team achieve fourth place at the 2012 European Championships in Dublin and advance to the quarter-finals of the 2013 Bermuda Bowl in Bali. The duo repeated reaching the quarter-final stage at the 2022 Bermuda Bowl hosted in Salsomaggiore. In partnership with Ben Handley-Pritchard on the Knottenbelt team, Townsend attained third place at the 2023 World Transnational Open Teams tournament in Marrakech. Additionally, this pairing was runner-up in the 2023 ACBL Blue Ribbon Pairs event held in Atlanta.
Domestic honours
With David Gold as his partner, Townsend won several notable events including the Brighton Four Stars Teams in 2000, the English International Trials in both 2004 and 2006, and the English Premier League title in 2008. Teaming up with David Price, he captured two Crockfords titles and triumphed at the Camrose trials in 1999. Alongside David Mossop, Townsend secured two British Premier League championships as well as victories at the Spring Foursomes. In 2013, he earned the Lederer Memorial Trophy playing with Stelio di Bello and claimed the EBU Premier League title with David Bakhshi—a feat they replicated in 2019 and again in 2022. Together with Bakhshi, Dror Padon, and Thor Erik Hoftaniska, Townsend won the BGB Gold Cup twice: first during its online edition in 2021 due to Covid restrictions and then again under traditional conditions in 2023.