I was inspired to interview Maya Jonas-Silver because of this post she made on Bridge Winners bemoaning the lack of playing opportunities for her recent bridge initiates. After winning the 2023 20-50 Mini McKenney award Maya hasn't stopped, becoming a passionate advocate for bringing young adults into the game.
She shares her journey from learning bridge at summer camp to teaching and directing at Honors Bridge Club in New York City. Her philosophy: bridge isn't intimidating and doesn't take years of study before you can play and enjoy it. Get beginners to the table quickly, and no feedback!
We discuss the barriers facing young players, the mentors like Yoko Sobel who encouraged Maya and her husband Jack, and her vision for growing the game. Plus, playing with your spouse and balancing bridge with parenthood.
Key Highlights:
🎓 Teaching Bridge Fast: get beginners playing right away - bridge is simple enough to learn in an hour.
🏆 From Beginner to Nationals: from kitchen table bridge to Nationals in GNT, with students playing only 6-18 months.
💡 The Mentorship Gap: Yoko Sobel, Alan Davidson, and Drew Cavalier invested in her - young adults need that network.
🎯 Making Bridge Accessible: free or low-cost beginner games, online modules, better pathways from lessons to duplicate.
❤️ Playing with Your Partner: Maya and Jack on being bridge partners and life partners.
🎲 Bridge vs. Board Games: bridge is simpler than games like Settlers of Catan.
Resources & Next Steps:
📱 FunBridge - Maya's favorite beginner app. 🎯 Cuebids - bid with your partner asynchronously.
🏛️ Visit Maya at Honors Bridge Club in NYC (110 East 55th Street). 📱 Maya's instructions for teaching beginners.
🎧 Subscribe · follow @thesettingtrick on Instagram.
Chapter Timestamps:
0:00 Start
1:40 Mini McKenney win
2:40 Teaching young adults; the program gap
5:00 Maya's 10-week teaching structure
6:20 GNT success: students reach Nationals
8:20 Losing to the eventual GNT champions
11:00 Learning bridge at summer camp
14:00 Moving to New York
15:00 Meeting Yoko Sobel; bar bridge in Brooklyn
18:00 Directing at Honors Bridge Club
19:00 Playing in the Mixed Trials
21:00 Why GNT matters for young players
23:00 Katie Sullivan and young success stories
26:00 Playing with Omer in NAP
28:00 Playing with James Holzhauer
31:40 Bridge as a career; existential dread
35:00 Summer camp and teaching philosophy
36:40 Bridge as a victim of its own success
38:30 Teaching: no trump, suited play, then bidding
40:00 Document for teaching friends in one hour
45:00 Teaching David Ger's friend
48:20 Not giving too much feedback
53:00 Teaching quantitative traders to bid
54:20 Working and directing at Honors
56:40 The Revenge Mitchell movement
1:00:30 Rubber bridge at the Regency
1:07:00 Making bridge free for young adults
1:09:40 A compelling bridge film or series
1:11:00 Favorite resources: FunBridge and Cubits
1:16:20 Bridge fights and playing with your spouse
1:19:30 Bridge and parenthood
1:26:00 Getting hired to play vs. teaching
1:28:00 Evolutionary biology at Harvard
1:30:00 The evolution of cooperation and bridge strategy