Georgia Tech Bridge Club Dominates Collegiate Championship

Players from the Bridge Club at Georgia Tech dominated this summer’s North American Collegiate Bridge Championships, which took place in Chicago. The event consists of two tournaments, a Teams Championship and a Pairs Championship, and is organized annually by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL), the premier bridge organization in North America.

In the Teams Championship, after a preliminary round of matches, Tech defeated teams from Washington University in St. Louis in the quarterfinals and from the University of California at Santa Barbara in the semifinals. The finals pitted Georgia Tech against Carnegie Mellon University. After trailing slightly halfway through the match, Tech regained the lead and won the match 70-59. This is the second North American Collegiate Teams Championship won by Georgia Tech in a face-to-face tournament. Tech had previously won the title in 2017 in Toronto.

Spurred on by the victory, Tech players dominated the Pairs Championship. Bo Han “Bruce” Zhu and Vincent Zhu (no relation) came in first overall. This is an encore for Bo Han, who won the Pairs Championship last year playing with Richard Jeng. Additionally, two other Georgia Tech players, Weilong Shen and Alan Yu, came in second overall and first in the 0-99 MP bracket. When combined, these results make the 2023 Collegiate Bridge Championships the most successful ever in the history of the Bridge Club at Georgia Tech.

"It was really gratifying to win,” said Vincent Zhu. “After not doing well the last two years, seeing all my training and practice pay off was super rewarding.”

Zhu has been playing bridge since he discovered the game at his local library the summer before fourth grade. “I was instantly hooked, and I have been playing on and off ever since.”

What he enjoys most about the game is meeting new people. “Bridge is played in multiples of four, so there are always opportunities to make new friends every time I play.”

The mission of the Bridge Club at Georgia Tech is to promote the game to Tech students. Some students play bridge to relax, while others play as a competitive sport. The Bridge Club welcomes all players, as well as anyone who may not be familiar with the game and would like to learn.

“I’d like students to know that bridge isn’t just a cliche game for old folks, and that plenty of young people also play,” he said. “You’ll never know if you’ll like bridge until you try it, so give it a shot!”

During fall and spring semesters, the club hosts twice-weekly casual games on campus (Thursdays, 6-9 p.m., and Fridays, 3-6 p.m.). Learn more about the club on its Engage page.