Trinity students to represent England in Bridge tournament

Trinity students Dido Coley and Lily Kearney will become the youngest pair of players to compete for the 2025 Lady Milne Trophy in April, a prestigious tournament in the Bridge world.

The duo were the youngest pair to win the Lady Milne Trials in January and credit their success to regular practice and support from the College to attend Bridge competitions and festivals last summer.

During the Lady Milne Trophy competition, which will be in Bristol, 11-13 April, Dido and Lily will compete with two other pairs representing England against three pairs each from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Lily, who is studying for a Masters degree in Systems Biology, said:

While we are accustomed to competing at a national level, and at an U26 level internationally, this is the first time we are competing at an open-age event internationally. None of this would have been possible without the experience that we gained over the summer with a grant from the Trinity Projects Fund.

Bridge is points-based card game for four players in pairs and is notoriously tricky to learn, particularly acquiring the strategic skills necessary to set the trump suit and win tricks.

Dido, who is in her second year of a Classics degree, said:

Bridge is not an easy game, to the extent that AI has been unable to crack it, and human judgement has the edge. It isn’t something that you can crack overnight or naturally walk into at a high level.

You need to be willing to commit a decent quantity of time into learning the basics and understanding the fundamentals of the game before you can start to see results; the learning curve is certainly steep but most rewarding as you become better and better.

Dido met Lily at an under-21 training weekend and have since competed in the World Youth Pairs Championships taking bronze, with wins at Bridge festivals in Norway and Sweden and, most recently, at the Manchester Congress.

These experiences helped them improve their Bridge skills and strategy. ‘Exposure to different systems and ideas about playing the game gives us the opportunity to consider problems from previously unknown angles which in turn allows us to perform at a higher level,’ said Lily.

Studying at Cambridge and playing competition-level Bridge requires excellent time management but the pair find practice ‘light relief’ during the working week, which they plan in advance.

The stereotypes about Bridge – a gentle pursuit for retired people – are unfair, says Dido. An estimated 220 million people play Bridge around the world.

Dido said:

There is a vibrant and active community of players amongst the younger generations. It also opens so many opportunities to travel and meet new and interesting people.

It’s simply the best game there is. No two hands of bridge are the same which means the game never gets dull.

More than that though, it is completely universal; you do not need to speak the same language or be at the same point in life to derive enjoyment from the game.

She recommends any students interested in Bridge to talk to her or Lily, or try the University of Cambridge Bridge Society. There is also a growing online presence for all abilities at Bridge Base Online or at the English Bridge Union.