He is of the Ages
Paul Chemla, one of the legendary figures of French Bridge, passed away at the beginning of October. His titles included three World Championships; the Generali World Masters Individual and the Sunday Times pairs championship. He was affectionately known as the enfant terrible and the Cigar. From the many anecdotes with which he is associated these two illustrate his wonderful sense of humour:
Often frustrated at what he perceived as the misguided efforts of his teammates, on one occasion, having endured a series of what he believed to be below par efforts, he could contain himself no longer, exclaiming, Five against one, five against one, five against one – Every event, every match, it is five against one.
Pausing to catch his breath he added, Yes of course I can still win, but I need a little luck…
Arriving in Morocco he noticed that his partner Michel Lebel, completing his landing card, had written under profession, “Professional Bridge player/writer.” Having landed, the passport officer looks at Chemla (over one hundred pounds of weight) with surprise and says, “You claim to be a ballerina of the Opera of Paris!?” “Certainly” replies Paul (pointing to his colleague), “if Mr. Lebel is a professional bridge writer, I am a ballerina of the Opera.”
