David is one of the leading bridge professionals in the UK, with numerous successes in domestic and international tournaments. Over the last 30 years, he has represented England and Britain at both Junior and Open levels of competition.
David began playing Bridge as a teenager, and during his Junior career, he represented Great Britain in three European Championships, and several Channel Trophy, Peggy Bayer and Junior Camrose events.
As he approached the end of his time as a Junior, David began teaching and playing Bridge for a living. During this time, he has represented England at the World Team Olympiad/World Bridge Games (2004 and 2016), the European Team Championships in 2012 (where England achieved a 4th place finish), 2014 (where they won a bronze medal - later upgraded to a silver medal following the disqualification of the winning Israeli team), 2016, and 2018, as well as the 2013, 2015, 2019 and 2022 Bermuda Bowls (at the 2015 Bermuda Bowl, England finished 4th after two extremely narrow defeats in the semi-final and bronze medal play-off). During the 2022 Bermuda Bowl, David was one of several top players invited to participate in WBF promotional video interviews.
David’s achievements as a player include winning a whole range of domestic events – the Gold Cup (six times), Crockfords (twice), the Spring Foursomes (three times), the Lederer Memorial Trophy (four times), and the Premier League (five times).
However, David also plays in many major tournaments around the World, and his International achievements include a bronze medal in the European Open Teams (2005), and a 6th place finish in the 2006 World Open Pairs (the highest placing by an English pair in over 30 years). More recently, David has won the NEC cup in Japan (2011), and was a runner-up in the Vanderbilt (2011 and 2017), one of the most prestigious team events in USA. David is a frequent visitor to the North American Bridge Championships, and has recorded several top ten finishes in major US pairs events. In 2013 he won the Silodor Open Pairs, and in 2023 he won the Jacoby Open Swiss Teams.
In addition to representing England as a player, David has also coached the England Open Team at the World Teams Olympiad (2000) and the European Teams Championship (2001). More recently he was the coach of the England U16 team at the 2015 European Youth Team Championships, and NPC of the England U26 team at the 2019 European Youth Team Championships. David’s children, Jasmine and Liam have represented England Junior teams several times, and his wife, Heather has represented England in the Lady Milne Trophy.
The other side of David’s professional life revolves around teaching Bridge. David is an accomplished teacher, and has taught thousands of students over the last twenty years. He is a regular contributor to English Bridge, and a member of both the EBU Selection, and Laws and Ethics committees. He has also created his own website, www.davidbakhshi.com.
Away from the Bridge table, one of David’s major passions is Running, and his almost certainly one of the fittest Bridge players in the World. He enjoys running with friends as well as participating in races of varying distances. In 2022, David enjoyed his most successful year so far – in July he ran his first sub 20 minute 5K (19:21), before stepping up to run his first marathon. In September he completed the Berlin Marathon (3:16:50), won by Eilud Kipchoge in a World Record time of 2:01:09, and in December he completed the Kiawah Island Marathon (3:13:15).
Last updated: August 2023
An interview with David and family - English Bridge, April 2016
Major International Appearances
European Championships: 2012 2014 2016 and 2018
Bermuda Bowl: 2013, 2015 2019 and 2022
World Olympiad: 2004 and 2016
European Junior Championships: 1994 1996 and 1998
European Champions’ Cup: 2004 2005 2014 2015 and 2017 and 2021
Camrose Trophy Selections: 2004 2007 2009 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2022 and 2023
Junior Camrose Selections: 1996 1997 and 1999
Peggy Bayer Trophy Selections: 1991 1992 1993 and 1994
Gold Cup Winner: 2002, 2004, 2007 2009 2014 and 2021
Crockfords winner: 2005 and 2008
Premier League Winner: 2013 2014 2016 2019 and 2022
Spring Foursomes Winner: 2009 2016 and 2017
Brighton Pairs, Harold Poster Cup Winner: 2004 and 2005
Brighton Four Stars Teams Winner: 2006 and 2013
Autumn Congress Two Stars Pairs Winner: 2010 and 2011
National Teams Congress winner: 2010
Easter Congress Guardian Trophy winner : 2000 and 2017
Player of the Year Championship: 2014/15 - 2nd=; 2015/16 - 6th=; 2016/17 - 4th; 2017/18 - 20th=; 2018/19 - 13th=; 2020/21 - 3rd=
National Point a Board Teams: 2021