Honouring Tim Cope: A journey through South Africa's bridge grandmaster's legacy

The Western Cape Bridge Union (WCBU) paid tribute to the doyenne of South African bridge, Tim Cope, with a cocktail party at the Bridge Centre in Green Point on Sunday, January 18.

Around 80 bridge players gathered to hear the bridge grand master, who now lives in Observatory,  in conversation with WCBU chairman and former bridge partner, Glen Holman.

Mr Cope entertained the audience with anecdotes spanning his remarkable 60-year career.

He recounted learning the game from his grandmother in England, progressing to represent South Africa as an International Grandmaster, and qualifying for two world championships.

Mr Cope's grandparents taught him and his brother to play bridge at age 12, but he only started taking the "game seriously" when he was about 30-years-old. 

"I was very lucky, I went to a school where bridge was a formal activity, about 60 schools in the London league at the time. At Chelsea Bridge Club, where we all had to be under-40," he said.

Mr Cope said reading about bridge was key to succeeding in the game.

"You have to read the cards, play the hand, and defend the cards. I read Card Play Technique: The Art of being Lucky," he said.

Despite admitting to spending more time on the game and student life than studying, Mr Cope graduated with a law degree from Cambridge. 

After a brief stint as an investment analyst, his passion led him to the prestigious St James Club, Britain’s premier rubber bridge club, where he took up the demanding role of assistant manager.

The 24/7 nature of the job, however, eventually curtailed his competitive play, and in 1983, he moved to South Africa, settling in Cape Town two years later.

In the Mother City, Mr Cope transitioned into the tech and finance sectors, completing an IBM computer course and working as an analyst until his retirement. 

Yet, through all the chapters of his life, bridge remained his greatest passion, the consistent thread throughout an extraordinary career.

For more information about bridge, visit the WCBU website. 

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