Bridge as a ‘Mind Sport’

The first major use of the term ‘mind sport’ was as a result of the Mind Sports Olympiad in 1997. The phrase had been used prior to this event with backgammon being described as a mind sport by Tony Buzan in 1996.

In June 1995, the International Olympic Committee(IOC) admitted the World Bridge Federation (WBF) as ‘part of the Olympic Movement’, awarding it the status of a ‘Recognized Sport Organization’. This recognition was accorded under Rule 4 of the Olympic Charter.

In 2002 British Minister for Sport, Richard Caborn said: “I believe we should have the same obligation to mental agility as we do to physical agility. Mind sports have to form UK national bodies and get together with the government to devise an acceptable amendment to the 1937 Act that clearly differentiates mind sports from parlour board games”.

Benefits of Bridge

In 2000, Professor Marian Diamond(Berkeley University), showed that there are significant health benefits from learning to play bridge. Playing bridge regularly stimulates your brain and helps keep your memory active and your brain alert. It requires you to use maths, strategy and concentration. There is an old saying: “use it or lose it” – playing bridge helps you to “use it”. While you are playing a game of bridge you brain is kept fully active, working out your hand, working out your best approach to bidding, following your partner’s bidding and working out how their hand fits with yours and, finally, when you are actually playing the hand, working out the best strategy for maximising the number of tricks won by you and your partner.

Bridge and Dementia

An intensive and more recent study by Mayo Clinic (2017) shows that playing contract bridge reduces the likelihood of mental decline before the onset of dementia. Further studies also show that mentally stimulating activity such as playing cards or completing crosswords can reduce the risk of developing dementia by as much as 75%. (acbl.org/learn)

Bridge and the Immune System

A study in 2000 at the University of California, Berkeley, found strong evidence that an area in the brain used in playing bridge stimulates the immune system. Researchers suggest that is because players must use memory, visualization and sequencing. (acbl.org/learn)

Bridge and Educational Attainment

An educational study conducted by Dr Christopher Shaw (2005)reports that students who played contract bridge showed higher fifth grade test scores when compared to the students who didn’t play the game. (acbl.org/learn)

Bridge and General Well-Being

Research from Oxford University has delivered a surprising finding: time spent playing games is positively associated with well-being. It explored the roles of player experiences, specifically how feelings of autonomy, relatedness, competence, enjoyment and feeling pressured to play related to well-being.

A research partnership between English Bridge Education and Development and the University of Stirling has also analysed the social and cognitive benefits of playing bridge. Their study was based on a 2016 survey of 7,000 players which was compared with 10,000 non-bridge players. The key finding was that bridge players have subjectively higher levels of well-being than those who do not play. The sample included players of all ages but focused mostly on the 55+ age group, with respondents mainly from the UK.