I was sad to learn that Geoff Smith passed away earlier this year, what would have been his 92nd year.
Geoff was one of the superstars of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Bridge and its predecessor Southern Counties. I was Geoff’s last regular partner and we played together every week at Badger Farm for over twenty years. We also played at county level and occasionally nationally though neither of us was that keen to venture too far afield.
However, many of Geoff’s successes were long before my time as ‘I.G.Smith’ was engraved again and again on most of the county cups and trophies throughout the 60’s and 70’s when Geoff enjoyed a long partnership with Joe Burkeman. Anyone from that era will remember them as formidable opponents and they were definitely the ones to beat. Their clever but quirky bidding and skilful card-play made them a force to be reckoned with. In his earlier days Geoff played in most of the national events, even venturing abroad, playing in some of the French congresses.
When I first started playing competitively myself, I remember Geoff being fabled as the best card player in the south of England. I would certainly second that as I cannot remember a defence when he didn’t have the right card at the end and, as Declarer, there were many occasions where he used card-play psychology, sending the opposition down the wrong avenue and into a cul-de-sac. It was wonderful to watch!
Way back in 1963 Geoff invented ‘Smith Peters’, an excellent signalling mechanism when defending a No Trump contract and adopted by many of today’s good Bridge players.
Geoff played Acol with me but for many years he played various other systems, including Precision and Blue Club. Over his many decades at the Bridge table, Geoff moved with the times as the game become more and more competitive. As a partner he was always generous with praise and comments, with the occasional Geoff glance making you aware you could have done something better! As an opponent Geoff was always polite and gentlemanly though he was nevertheless feared by some as his reputation went before him.
Away from the Bridge table Geoff was an accomplished linguist. Fluent in a number of languages, Geoff taught French at Peter Symonds in Winchester for over thirty years.
Geoff and his lovely French wife Claude moved to Norwich in 2014 to live near their son Martin so that was the end of our Bridge partnership and Geoff’s very long Bridge career. They also have a daughter, Loraine, who lives in Tenerife and it is a great accolade to Geoff that Loraine has now taken up Bridge.
Fred Hotchen
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