Bill Gates meets Mumbai teen who created history at bridge championship: 'I'm your guy'

(Image credit: Screengrab from video Instagrammed by thisisbillgates)

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates met Anshul Bhatt, a Class 9 student from Mumbai, who made history last year by becoming the youngest winner at the World Youth Bridge Championship in Italy. The billionaire philanthropist, who it seems shares his love for cards, met the teenager during his visit to India.

“It was fun meeting Anshul and picking his brain about our favourite pastime. Anshul, if you’re ever looking for a new bridge partner, I’m your guy,” Gates wrote on Instagram, sharing a short clip of his meeting with the Indian boy.

“We talked about how we both like to play online and what it feels like to be the youngest player at the table,” Gates said.

“Looking forward to playing bridge with you soon.”

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Anshul Bhatt clinched three medals at the card game event in Italy last September, including one for overall performance. He had received a congratulatory message from Bill Gates.

"Very fun to learn more about the new youth world champion of my favorite pastime," Gates had said in a tweet. "Here’s a belated congratulations, Anshul Bhatt!"

Bhatt, a student of Mumbai's Dhirubhai Ambani International School, has spoken about his love for analysing cards.

"I also love playing bridge because I meet new friends," he had told Business Standard in an interview in 2018. "I hope to keep learning from my mistakes and improving next year and the year after that as well”.

The year before that, he had won the coveted Joan Gerard Youth Award. The prize honours one player globally for "aptitude, fair play, and international spirit".

Bridge, the game that Bhatt plays, involves a contest between two pairs. One session comprises several deals.

"The aim of a single deal is to achieve the highest score with given cards," says the Olympics website. "The score is affected by two principal factors: the number of tricks bid in the auction, and the number of tricks taken during play."