Michael Byrne is 26 and lives at Manchester Bridge Club (no, really!) in Manchester(surprisingly), where he graduated from University in 2002.
After taking his 4th successive gap year he has finally settled down and teaches bridge as part of the MSB teaching firm in South Manchester - if you know anyone that wants to learn send them to him as quickly as possible!

He first played competitive bridge in 1999, where he captained his school team to the School's Plate, held in Nottingham University. Six months later he went to Manchester to University, where he met fellow student Edward Levy and juvenile delinquent Alex Morris, two people who would come to have a ertain amount of influence on his bridge career... Six months after that he played in the Under 20's pairs....

...This was not in itself particularly memorable, but he played against two promising young players named Ben Green and Duncan Happer, who, although they weren't playing together at the time, would come to be England team-mates on countless occasions. Had he known that, he might have been a bit nicer to them at the time.

International success soon beckoned and a stormy second place in the trials soon led to selection to play for England with Edward Levy in the 2001 Peggy Bayer Trophy. Soon after he formed a new partnership with Alex Morris, who at 15 was four years his junior, and they went on to represent England in the Junior Camrose Trophy in 2002 held on home soil. The majority of their success however, has come in the open game, and in 2001 at their first ever attempt, knocked out the no.3 seeds from the gold cup, reaching fifth round, (on a team also containing Edward Levy).

In 2003 they went two rounds further and reached the quarter finals. In August 2002 they traveled half way around the world to Canada, to play in the World Open Championships in Montreal. The junior event was cancelled due to not enough entry, so they were slotted in to the main Rosenblum Cup, where they played a round robin stage with nine other teams. Although a heavy loss to the legendary Polish pair Cezary Balicki and Adum Zmudzinski ended their chances of qualification, they did destroy the Italian junior team who had won the European Junior teams in Torquay earlier that year.

They have also played with some success in the England Open Trials on a team with fellow squad members Andrew Woodcock and Edward Levy, in 2001 they were 6th with 3 qualifying, and in 2002 they went one better and qualified for the final round robin stage, where, unfortunately they finished an inglorious 8th out of 8. Still...you've got to laugh haven't you?

In 2003 the team they were playing on managed to win them their second national competition, the Garden Cities trophy for Manchester.

2006 has seen many new changes arrive, a good run in the Spring Fours with Andrew, Ben and Duncan was followed by his turning 25 in June. (and not 26 as the rest of the world seems to think!) Michael headed off to play in Verona, Slovakia and er..Kettering, with a 100% record - played 3, won 0.
Having said that the practice must have done him some good, since he returned to England and in his new partnership with Andrew Woodcock won several competitions over the Summer, capped by winning the Brighton Teams Championship - the "4 Stars". (If you ever hear him referred to as 4 stars, that's because in an effort to remind everyone of the fact he did actually win something he has included in his MSN address -and not because as many people think he is a 4 star regional master!)

In 2006 Michael has been appointed as Mel Starking's replacement as squad leader for the England under 20's team, the EBU deeming him suitably responsible and a good role model - little do they know...

He hopes to be able to give back a lot of the energy and time that was invested in him when he was learning to play and was brought on by the Under 25's squad, run over the years by Jason Hackett and then Paul Bowyer.

Away from the bridge table, though he doesn't spend much time there, admittedly, Michael enjoys cooking, watching films, going out with his friends, ( a few of them non bridge players ) and watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer on TV. Though since it ended he's had to rely on his video to stave off withdrawal symptoms. Michael has won the Peggy Bayer once and the Junior Camrose three times, and has represented England in three Channel

Trophies, three Carousel Cups and three World Junior Pairs. His ambition is for someone to read this article in full length, since it took him ages to write it. (He's given up trying to win the Bermuda Bowl since the standard has dropped too much)