World Champion Donna Compton Answers Our Questions

When we heard that a world champion was playing at the tournament and speaking twice we knew we wanted to interview her, so we sat down (really exchanged emails) with Donna Compton and talked about bridge.

Donna Compton is a World Champion & Master Teacher and lives in Dallas. Donna won the World Mixed Pairs Championship in Philadelphia in 2010 playing with Fulvio Fantoni from Italy. Donna owns and runs Bridge Academy of North Dallas. BAND has grown into a top 25 bridge club in the last 5 years. Donna is married to Chris Compton, who is also a professional bridge player.

Donna often acts at the non playing captain (NPC) for American teams playing in World Championships. She was the NPC for USA 2 in the d'Orsi Senior Bowl in Bali in October 2013 where the USA 2 team discovered that a pair from their German opponents were using coughs and other signals to communicate information to their partner. Germany won the final, USA 2 filed a complaint. The German pair was found guilty of cheating, the German team was disqualified and USA 2 was declared the winners.

Donna has also been the NPC for USA in all of their Buffett Cup appearances (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012) and for the USA 2, winners of the Bermuda Bowl in 2009.

Donna, what brings you to our January Cleveland Regional? My partner and I try to play different regionals every year so we can venture out to the surrounding areas between sessions.  Cleveland has been on our list for several years.  In fact, we are flying in a day early to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

When did you start playing bridge? I started playing competitive bridge by the time I was 8 years old.  I really began studying the game as a young teen and have been a student of the game ever since! 

Tell us about your teaching programs. I have several different methods of teaching.  My primary teaching platform is my online lessons at www.PlayBetterBridge.com.  I currently have 66 lesson videos, 136 lesson bundles and private playing lessons on BBO and at regionals.  In addition to my online lessons, I teach at land cruises along with my husband Chris Compton and our business partner Gary King.  Finally, I love to present mini lessons at regionals meeting people from all walks of life as I travel the country with Chris and our King Charles Spaniel “Roadie”.

Sounds like a full teaching program, so how often do you play?  Club games?  Sectionals?  Regionals?  NABCs? I attend all three nationals, approximately forty regionals, one sectional and 16 club games a year.

Briefly what is your bidding system? Any common conventions that you do not use? I have played them all! My favorite bidding system is strong club with four-card majors.  However, I usually play 2/1 Game Force with gadgets.  In reality, I play my partner’s card! My system pet peeve is any artificial defensive carding.  It is much more useful to play standard (or upside down) carding and use logic to figure out what is going on with the defense.

What one tip would you give to intermediate players? MY one tip for any level player is to take the emotion out of the game.  Keep the highs and lows to a minimum.  Approach each hand as a new adventure and the previous one as ancient history.  When acting as a Non-Playing Captain of world class teams, I tell them that I will not mention the 1400 on board 8 but if I see you do something silly on board 9…oh will you hear from me! [Editor's Note:  Be sure to read Mike Lawrence's tip on Ecstasy in the Sunday Daily Bulletin.]

You won a world mixed pairs championship, but do you prefer IMPs or matchpoints? I much prefer imps because it is not as stressful.  At matchpoints, every trick matters-and matters big!  Imps is more forgiving when you try a new idea and it doesn’t work!

The coughing German doctors is one of the infamous cheating episodes in bridge. What was your first thought when your team suggested the pair was cheating at the 2013 world championship? Actually, the German pair who’s’ code I cracked in 2013 had been cheating for a good 30 years but fellow players along with the World Bridge Federation had no incentive to figure out how they were cheating.  In fact, once I figured out their code, it took over a year and a half of political and legal maneuvering to strip the Germans of the medal and award my team the Gold.

What suggestion do you have to stop cheating at tournaments? I tell everyone to be vigilant and report suspicious behavior no matter what level of play.  There is a movement to hold top level tournaments online.  I actually think this takes away a big part of the game.  The ACBL and WBF now have cameras on all national level and above events.  I think this is a great deterrent and we will see less cheating at those levels in the future.

Is bridge irrevocably declining? NO!  It is definitely cyclic, however.  Regarding youth…The game skipped my generation (70’s & 80’ youth) with all of the new technology, but I can see it coming back in the current young people.  As for the baby boomer generation, I see a lot of people returning to the game who once played “back in college.”  I believe the game is stable and growing in the right direction.

Thanks Donna, and good luck in the tournament.