Hong Kong bridge ‘addict’ launches online course in card game loved around the world, whose devotees include Bill Gates and Warren Buffett
- Tania Mohan wants others to get excited about playing bridge, and hopes to ‘demystify the game and also give its image a bit of a shake-up’
- She and two partners have launched Tania’s Bridge Table, which offers an online introductory course in the popular card game
Hongkonger Tania Mohan happily admits that she’s addicted to bridge, the card game that pits two pairs against each other. She got hooked “in a good way” about 20 years ago and has fond childhood memories of her mother sitting at a table playing the game.
But never in her wildest dreams did Mohan think that one day she’d be giving lessons. “These are strange times we live in,” she laughs.
This month Mohan launched Tania’s Bridge Table, an online introductory course where she shares the basics of the game – and a few secrets.
Also behind the project is Hong Kong entrepreneur Elaine Young – the co-founder of Shama serviced apartments and Shanghai-based Tulu co-living – and Young’s son, Tristan.
“Elaine promised to give me golf lessons if I taught her how to play bridge while she was in quarantine last year – that’s how the idea for the business started,” she says. “Tristan handles the tech side of things.”
Mohan might not seem like your typical bridge player. The qualified barrister – she has also worked as a fashion editor and model – is the founder of Tabla, a luxury lifestyle brand that showcases the artistry of India, a nod to her heritage.
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She wants people to forget stereotypes. Bridge, she says, is for everyone and not just for the oldies. “I want to demystify the game and also give its image a bit of a shake-up,” she says.
Chess got an image overhaul in 2020 following the release of Netflix drama series The Queen’s Gambit, which followed a young woman’s rise to the top of the chess world. As for bridge, it received the pop-culture treatment last year with the release of Dirty Tricks, a documentary that gives a glimpse into the world of competitive bridge.
Yes, bridge – played by millions of people globally in clubs, tournaments, online and with friends at home – is seriously competitive. It is also a sport, although that classification has been the subject of much debate following the decision to have it included for the first time in the Asian Games in 2018. Chinese-Indonesian billionaire and bridge fanatic Michael Bambang Hartono fought hard for years to have bridge included – he even won a bronze medal when it debuted.
It is also part of this year’s Asian Games, to be held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in September.
Mohan says being able to play online with people around the world is another reason bridge is the ideal lockdown hobby. “I’ve met a lot of great people through bridge,” she says. “It’s a big part of my social life.”
“There’s that famous quote by [US magnate] Warren Buffett who said that he would be OK with going to prison if he had three cellmates who played bridge,” says Mohan. “He even met Bill Gates through bridge.”
It also keeps the mind active. Studies show that mind games such as bridge, which involve skill and logic, can help reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
“My mother used to tell me that if you want to switch off from the world then play bridge,” says Mohan. “It’s so true because you have to stay fully focused. Playing while texting is not an option – you can’t let your mind wander.”
And according to a 2000 study by the University of California-Berkeley, playing bridge can boost the immune system.
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“The way I think about bridge is how I think about life: ‘This is the hand that I have been dealt with so what’s the best way to respond?’”
For details, visit taniasbridgetable.com
