Famous People Who Play Bridge Trivia Quiz

Answer: Omar Sharif

Omar Sharif was born Michel Chalhoub in Alexandria, Egypt. He rose to fame when he was selected by director David Lean to play the critical role of Sharif Ali in "Lawrence of Arabia". After being nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar and winning the Golden Globe, he followed up with another award-winning turn as the lead actor in "Doctor Zhivago".

However, he was also very good at bridge, at one point ranking within the top 50 players in the world, and lending his name to a popular weekly bridge column.

It's possible that he spent too much time playing bridge at the expense of his career. He is known to have said, "Acting may be my business, but bridge is my passion."

Answer: Mohandas Gandhi

Gandhi is famous for his non-violent approach towards change, but he apparently enjoyed a rubber of bridge in his spare time. He apparently took up the game in his youth and reportedly said he first felt the hand of God upon him during a bridge game, when he felt one of the other players was making a pass at him.

He also used bridge to teach the difference between karma (fate) and dharma (action): The hand you are dealt is your karma, but how well you play it is your dharma.

Answer: Chico Marx

Chico, the eldest of the Marx brothers, was born Leonard Marx and was nicknamed "Chico" as short for "Chick-o" due to his inability to resist a pretty face. He apparently lost lots of money off-set gambling on bridge, other card games, horses, and sports betting.

His final on-screen appearance, was, oddly enough, on an episode of "Championship Bridge", a TV program showing people playing bridge, and hosted by bridge expert Charles Goren. Chico and his partner lost by a large margin.

Answer: Martina Navratilova

Martina Navratilova is seen as one of the greatest players in tennis history. She was one of the few women players to have won every Grand Slam singles, doubles, and mixed doubles tournament. She was born in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) but applied for political asylum and ultimately citizenship in the USA when she found its communist government too oppressive. In her spare time, she greatly enjoys playing bridge, saying: "No matter where I go, I can always make new friends at the bridge table."

Curiously, the term "grand slam" first originated in bridge, and not sport. It was then adopted by baseball in the 1930s when an announcer linked the concept of scoring the maximum amount on offense to a 4-run home run. As baseball became more popular, other sports such as tennis and golf also adopted the term.

Answer: Dwight Eisenhower

The leader of the Allied armies in the European theater of World War II, Dwight Eisenhower was a huge fan of using bridge as a way to blow off steam. At one point, he was reported to have played bridge 6 nights a week for 5 straight months. He was a notoriously natural bidder: the only artificial bid he deigned to use was the Blackwood 4NT convention to ask for aces.

The wrong answers are also US Presidents who were generals, but all lived before contract bridge was invented in 1925.

Answer: George Kaufman

George Kaufman was one of the most accomplished playwrights in the early 20th century. A member of the famed Algonquin Roundtable of writers, he was known for his witty remarks and cutting insults at the bridge table. He is reported to have said to a new partner after she made an error, "When did you learn to play bridge? I know it was yesterday, but what time yesterday?"

Answer: Wilt Chamberlain

"Wilt the Stilt" is more famous for other off-court exploits, but he did take up tournament bridge shortly before his early death in 1999. He once described playing against two little old ladies at the bridge table as a more fearsome experience than facing off against some of the greatest basketball players who ever lived.

Answer: Isaac Mizrahi

Isaac Mizrahi is also well-known for his fashion lines that quote his name (IS**C, IsaacMizrahiLIVE!, Isaac Mizrahi New York, etc.) He also has a strong TV presence, appearing in "The Apprentice", "Men in Black", "The Big C", and "Sex and the City", and designs costumes and sets for operas and musicals.

He apparently unwinds from his busy schedule by playing bridge: he was mentioned in a 2014 "New York Times" bridge column for finding the best defense to a 2S part-score.

Answer: Gus Hansen

Born in Denmark, Gus Hansen is known for his daring and imaginative play. He frequently plays hands with low expected value, known as "guses", and gets paid off when people can't put him on them. He is also a world-class backgammon player. Recently, he has been experimenting with adapting his wild, aggressive poker style to bridge by employing a system with frequent psych bids (bids that have no relation to the actual hand he is holding).

He also is an investor in Bridge+, a company that aims to automate the dealing of bridge hands.

Answer: Bill Gates

Bill Gates is one of the world's most famous and richest men. He was taught how to play bridge by famed billionaire investor Warren Buffett, and quickly grew addicted. One of my friends who runs an online bridge bookstore told me that Gates went and bought the entire store inventory when he was learning the game. He only plays in national tournaments, but he does come to quite a few, and I have personally played against him three times. The highlight of my experiences playing against him is setting him for 1100 points when he unwisely chose to overcall 3 diamonds against our strong 1NT opening bid.

All of the answers are affiliated with Microsoft, but Gates is the only one of the four who was both founder and CEO. Allen was a founder but never CEO, and the other two were CEOs but did not found the company.