- Born in London, 23-11-1944
- Educated at Dulwich College (1953-1961)
- Studied law with Lord Barnet Janner and at the Law Society’s College of Law (1961-1966)
- Graduated and completed articles.
1964- International Bridge Career
- 1964 Part time teacher at the London School of Bridge under Nico Gardener
- 1966-7 Principal teacher at the London Bridge Academy with John Collings and Jack Nunes
- 1968-73 Manager and principal teacher at Stefan’s Bridge Club, London.
- 1974-86 Owner and proprietor of the world famous Acol Bridge Club in West Hampstead, London. Principal teacher of the Acol School of bridge
- 1972-1976 Coach and Manager of the Great Britain Women’s International squad.
International Playing record
- 1971 European Open Championships(Athens) (Silver Medal)
- 1972 World Teams Olympiad (Miami Beach) (6th place)
- 1978 European EEC Championships (Birmingham) (Gold Medal)
- 2008 European Bridge Championships (Pau) (7th place)
- 2008 World Mind Sports Games (Olympiad) Beijing (Quarter-finals)
Various Frequent player in Home Internationals (Camrose), unbeaten record.
National Competition titles
Gold Cup 3 times
National Pairs 2 times
Crockfords Cup, Pachabo Cup, and most other national titles.
Non-Playing Captain Roles
NPC of British and English teams 8 times (2 X Women’s team, 1 X Open team, 1 X Senior team and 4 X U25 team) Also several Camrose captaincies.
His association with top level bridge continues to the present day. He has been chairman of the English Bridge Union selection committee with the responsibility of selecting English international teams. He was also a board member of the EBU and has been the captain of many English teams in European and World Championships
Most recently he represented England in the European Championships in Pau, France in June 2008 and in the inaugural Olympic World Mind Sports Games in Beijing in October 2008 (Quarter finalist). He successfully represented England in the 2010 Home Internationals (Camrose) following his success in the 2009 international trials.
Since 2010 Chris has been engaged by the European Bridge League and the World Bridge Federation as a member of the Appeals Committee for European and World Championships.
Locally, Chris is a regular player at Bath Bridge Club and in Wiltshire County bridge events.
1984 – 2003 Flare Software Systems plc
Founded this software company in London in 1984 which became one of the leading providers of management software to Local Government in the UK. Flare relocated to Bath in 1989 and Chris remained chief executive and sole shareholder. The company was sold in 2005 to Civica plc by which time it was employing about 70 people.
Chris is now retired but retains business interests in commercial property in central Bath.
Personal Life
Married in 1971 to Maria-Luce Faina with whom he had 3 children, two of which are still living in or close to Bath. He was divorced from Maria-Luce in 1988 but remained friends until her untimely death in 2001. Chris is a grandfather to his eldest daughter’s two children, born in 2004 and 2007.
Chris has two further children (now in their 20s) and was a foster carer for about 13 years, caring for nearly 40 infants during this time.
Chris was appointed a magistrate for the Bath and Wansdyke bench in April 2008.
Hobbies
Apart from top level bridge, Chris has several other interests.
The Theatre – Chris is an Associate member of the Theatre Royal in Bath and a very regular attendee generally on opening nights.
Music – Chris is a keen amateur musician and plays double bass with Bath Symphony Orchestra. He has an extensive knowledge of, and great love for, classical music.
Expedition Travel – Chris is an intrepid adventurer who has made several trips to the Arctic and Antarctic Regions including the South Pole and the North Pole (in 2008 by ski on an expedition led by David Hempleman-Adams). He has also crossed the Sahara desert in pursuit of an eclipse of the sun.
Chris is also an accomplished linguist, speaking Italian fluently as well as conversational German and French.
He is a well known local lecturer giving illustrated talks to schools, clubs and other organisations generally on the topics of the Arctic, Antarctic, Antarctic Wildlife (including penguins), Polar exploration and solar eclipses.
Many of his expeditions are documented and illustrated on this website.
Major International Appearances
European Championships: 1971
World Olympiad: 1972
Senior European Championships: 2008
Senior World Olympiad: 2008
Camrose Trophy Selections: 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 and 2001
Teltscher Trophy Selections: 2008^ 2009^ 2011^ and 2016
Gold Cup Winner: 1972 1974 and 1985
Crockfords Winner: 1971 and 1975
Brighton Four Stars Teams Winner: 1981
Autumn Congress Two Stars Pairs Winner: 1969
National Pairs winner: 1995 and 2002
^ - selections for GB/Patron's team