MKB: Medals, Missions and a Taste for Kinders
Who is this new recruit? What is her role at Funbridge? One thing is certain: you haven’t heard the last of her.
Summary:
Portrait of a bridge player
It all started in Alès in the Gard region
A (very) full-time bridge player
A long relationship with Funbridge
A card player who gave up her studies
Click, lead and Kinder chocolates: her recipe for bridge
Advice for players who want to improve their bridge game
The Chinese portrait
A cup in her hand, a permanent contract in her pocket
Portrait of a bridge player
Can you introduce yourself to Funbridge players?
Hi, I’m MKB. 😎 I’m 23 years old, I’ve just moved to Lille and started my adventure at Funbridge. I’m currently playing for the French Junior and Women’s teams. Oh, and one very important piece of information: I have two cats, Patate and Rodrigo.
It all started in Alès in the Gard region
I started at the age of 15 in a club in Alès, where I’m from, because my mother was looking for a partner. After meeting a bridge player, she suddenly wanted to learn so she could spend more time with him… Don’t worry, they’re together now 😉
I took lessons with Robert Césari and Johan Baptiste, then I competed in Espérances (the lowest level of competition) with my mum, and it was great to qualify for Paris!
We then continued to play together at the Promotion level until she replaced me with her boyfriend. But sometimes I still get to play with her!
I think it’s thanks to the Alès club that I fell in love with bridge because all the members were so lovely to me. I was also lucky enough to be spotted very early on by the French team coaches and to start training with the Girls team two years after I started.
My first international competition: in 2020, in the Girls category, I won my first Channel Trophy (every year, on the weekend before Christmas, the four countries bordering the Channel – the Netherlands, Belgium, England and France – come together for a friendly competition featuring three categories: U21s, Juniors and Girls). It was in London, and I played opposite Marie Coupel, with Anaïs in the team, who would, by the way, become my perfect partner ✨
A (very) full-time bridge player
Is bridge a big part of your life?
Yes, it is! I have a job related to bridge, I spend two or three evenings a week training with my partners, I work for the Federation (as a member of the management committee) and, finally, in November we started a club open to young professionals on Wednesday evenings in Lille! It’s not always easy to find time for activities outside of bridge 🙂
Can one have several bridge partners?
Yes, of course! Personally, I mainly play with Anaïs, my partner in the French Women’s team. We play about half of the competitions together and practise together one evening a week.
But I always find it nice to vary things a bit to see different approaches to bridge. I have lots of other partners I really enjoy playing with (Roro, Clara, Luc, Zoey, Matt, Eulalie…) and sometimes I play more relaxed because there’s less pressure to perform 🙂
And playing with weaker partners to help them improve is awesome too! ❤️🔥
Can you tell us more about the specifics of having a partner of a different nationality?
I really enjoyed playing with foreigners during Team Funbridge events! I played with Andreas, Sofie, Andrea and Federica, and it was great fun every time! You realise that it’s easy to develop a common system. And I like adapting, trying out new card play conventions too… and improving my English at the same time!
A long relationship with Funbridge
How long have you been playing on Funbridge?
Since 2018, so as soon as I started playing bridge!
When did you join Team Funbridge?
I joined Team Funbridge when it was created in 2023. At that time, there were eight players, compared to fourteen today, including seven women. There are two French players in the team as Léo Rombaut is also a member.
Andrea (from Sweden), Federica (from Italy) and me
And what is your role at Funbridge today?
I’m a Partnerships Manager, which involves maintaining dialogue with our various partners (Funbridge ambassadors, streamers, and sometimes federations or clubs), and proposing and creating tournaments on the application.
Apart from that, I write articles for the blog, which I really enjoy.
The article I enjoyed writing the most?
I think it’s either our victory at the European Youth Championships in the Girls category in Wrocław or when we won the France Women’s cap. Both were very memorable events for me, and I really enjoy looking back at the photos or rediscovering the deals from time to time 🙂
A card player who gave up her studies
Does your family like bridge? Do they understand your passion?
Almost everyone in my family plays bridge, even if they’re not great champions! But we play together regularly, especially with my mum, who was my first partner. And my whole family takes an interest in my various trips and bridge competitions.
And then there’s my boyfriend Luc, with whom I play the mixed pairs every year. 🐢
What did you want to be when you were a child?
I wanted to be a schoolteacher, but I couldn’t manage to balance my studies with all the time I spent away playing bridge, like at the World Bridge Games in Buenos Aires at the end of 2024. So I gave it up, at least for the time being, and I’m very happy with my choice because I really enjoy working at Funbridge.
The World Bridge Games are a bit like the Olympics of bridge, taking place every four years for adult categories. The Women’s team was sent to compete. No medals this time, but an incredible experience!
What are your other hobbies?
I’m not very sporty (though I should still be able to beat Vincent Gallais in an arm-wrestling contest, he’s so slim 🦐), so what I do outside of bridge mostly boils down to playing Switch games, baking cakes (and above all eating them!), listening to music, cuddling my cats…
Click, lead and Kinder chocolates: her recipe for bridge
What do you like about bridge?
I love the fact that it’s played in pairs. I don’t think I would have been as interested if it had been an individual game.
I also really like that you can play at a good level without being a hard worker, without reading books or playing on Bridge Master (although I should probably get started on that!). You can think at the table, play on instinct, listen to advice… and improve in many ways 🙂
What do you enjoy most in a game of bridge?
I think my favourite part is the opening lead. That’s when you can be a little creative while listening to the bidding, and I often find good ones (and it’s even better if it’s from a doubleton honour).
What was your favourite competition? Why?
I think my favourite competition was the Champions Cup in Dubrovnik, Croatia. It was my first international competition with Anaïs, and our first in the Women’s category.
There were eight teams (one per country – it’s a European competition) and the winners of the Women’s National Division qualified. As they were only four to go, they asked Anaïs and me to join the team, and we won the first edition of the Women’s Champions Cup 🙂
We didn’t think we would win at all at the start, which is why we said that if we did win, we would have champagne, which was served at will at eight in the morning. Well, it was a first 😉 It was an incredible experience, between the beautiful city, the hotel which was far too nice with a dessert buffet, the very friendly team, and the victory of course. 🥇
I think this competition was the starting point for Anaïs and me in the Women’s team. Shortly afterwards, we won the cap, and the following summer we were European vice-champions. It was a very successful year, thanks to our teammates who gave us the chance to show our progress and our desire to win!
What are your bridge habits?
To start with, I always play in South whenever I can, so I don’t get confused when I look at the diagrams later, and I like to take care of the deals or the tray when we play with screens. Also, I always play better when I’m nibbling Kinder chocolates 😉
Do you have a big win and a big disappointment to tell us about?
Victories, yes, disappointments, not really. It was a bit of a shame not to have done better at the World Bridge Games in Argentina, but apart from that, I feel like I’ve already won several medals that have made me very happy, in international competitions and elsewhere.
My playing record:
- 2022: Gold with Clara at the Transnational Girls Pairs in Salsomaggiore🥇
- 2023: Gold at the Champions Cup in Dubrovnik🥇
- 2023: Silver at the Transnational U26 mixed pairs with Luc🥈
- 2023: Silver at the World Girls Championships🥈
- 2024: Silver at the European Women’s Championships🥈
- 2024: Gold at the European Girls Championships🥇
Is there a contract you hate playing?
I would say 3-2 contracts… More seriously, the 3-level in a major after a trial bid because if you don’t take exactly the right number of tricks, you either go +1 and skewer, or you go down and think you should have refrained from inviting to game!
Advice for players who want to improve their bridge game
I would say that my advice would be to choose your partners carefully!
Bridge should remain a game, and if you want to improve, you should have fun and be indulgent. 🤍
For my part, I only play with lovely partners, and that helps me discuss deals more easily, accept criticism better, and enjoy winning with them more from time to time 😉
Another tip: make sure you put the second card from four cards when you want to give count, otherwise even your kind partner will scold you…
The Chinese portrait
♣️ If I were a bid, I would be a penalty double (yes, I know, that’s a call, not a bid).
🎼 If I were a song, I would be « Message Personnel » by Françoise Hardy.
🦄 If I were an object, I would be a unicorn headband.
🥞 If I were a dessert, I would be a Nutella, whipped cream and Kinder crêpe 😉
🩴 If I were a season, I would be summer.
✨ If I were a colour, I would be gold. I wear it whenever I can.
🏙️ If I were a vehicle, I would be a Renault Captur. 🤩
💭 If I were a fictional character, I would be Monica Geller from the TV series « Friends ».
🐈 If I were an animal, I would be a cat (shout out to Patate).
A cup in her hand, a permanent contract in her pocket
After two years with Team Funbridge, Margaux signed a permanent contract as Partnerships Manager. Expect to see her often on the Funbridge blog!. She will be offering you high-quality tournaments and articles.
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