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Teen and senior bridge generation gap

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Dream team: Tyler Irby and Nea Willits after their game (Photograph by Blaire Simmons)

A teenager teamed up with a 91-year-old woman to compete in a “landmark” game of bridge this week.

Even though they did not win, Nea Willits said Tyler Irby, 17, played “very well”.

“I enjoyed the game very much,” Ms Willits said, adding that although Tyler had not been playing for long, “his defence was particularly good”.

“I’d love it if he came back,” she added,

John Burville, who established the Bridge in Schools programme, came up with the idea to pair the two up.

He said that it was a “landmark game because it represents that bridge has no age barrier”.

But Mr Burville also wanted people to see the “mental acuity” of Ms Willits, because people would not imagine “how bright her mind is at that age”.

The president of the Bermuda Bridge Club added that Tyler’s performance was excellent for someone who only started playing bridge a couple of years ago.

“I offered four boys who recently competed in a competition in Chicago and Tyler was the first one to get back to me,” Mr Burville said.

The game was held at the Bridge Club on Pomander Road, Paget, on Thursday evening.

Nea Willits, 91, and her playing partner, 17-year-old Tyler Irby, show that there is no age barrier in the game of bridge (Photograph by Blaire Simmons)
Nea Willits, 91, and her playing partner, 17-year-old Tyler Irby, show that there is no age barrier in the game of bridge (Photograph by Blaire Simmons)