Leveling Up

Josh Donn (or Jdonn, as he is commonly known in the world of bridge) is a professional bridge player, teacher, and writer. He was a member of the winning US junior team at the World Junior Team Championships in 2006. He won the Jacoby Open Swiss Teams recently in St. Louis, the Blue Ribbon Pairs in 2011, and the Roth Open Swiss Teams three times, in 2008, 2016, and 2019.
Josh first learned bridge in 1996, playing exclusively with his parents and grandparents for the first several years. He graduated from the University of Rochester in 2004 with a double major in mathematics and economics and a minor in actuarial studies. He moved to Los Angeles for two years and worked as an actuary, before finally settling in Las Vegas in 2006. He worked as a supervisor and manager in the Casino Accounting departments of several major casinos for the next eight years, jumping from the Bellagio to the MGM Grand to the Cosmopolitan. He resigned to become a full-time bridge player at the end of 2014. He also worked for BBO for the next four years, helping improve GIB and do cheating investigations.
Along with playing and teaching private lessons, Josh has co-written a book, written numerous columns, taught seminars, volunteered on several committees, and regularly gives free lectures at regionals.

Adam Wildavsky is a retired software engineer and lifelong bridge enthusiast. An MIT graduate, he is an avid skier, swimmer, and Lindy Hop dancer. A student of Objectivism—the philosophy of Ayn Rand—he believes its principles are especially valuable for bridge players. When not traveling, Adam divides his time between Colorado in the winter and New York City, Paris, and Sarasota in the summer.
Adam is a two-time winner of the Blue Ribbon Pairs (1992, 1997), a Reisinger BAM winner (2003), and a Bronze Medalist in the 2003 Bermuda Bowl. He has won multiple national and international titles, including the USBC (Open Team Trials) in 2003 and 2009, the Lebhar IMP Pairs and Fast Open Pairs in 2008, and the inaugural JLall Memorial online event in 2020. He has over a hundred regional victories and has represented both the United States and Switzerland in international play.
Away from the table, Adam serves on the WBF Executive Council and chairs its Technology Committee. He is the Vice-Chair of the ACBL National Laws Commission and has held numerous administrative roles advancing fair play and tournament innovation.
As a writer and theorist, Adam has contributed to The Bridge World, Bridge Today, and the ACBL’s Magazine and Daily Bulletins. He co-created the “Keller” convention and is an authority on the Kaplan-Sheinwold bidding system. His advocacy of Ayn Rand’s ideas in relation to bridge led to a 2003 New York Times Magazine profile titled “Ayn Rand in Spades.”

Frances Hinden started playing bridge seriously at Cambridge University, where she won the Portland Bowl, the Junior Camrose, and gained a silver medal in the first European Universities Championship. Since then she has won many UK events, including multiple Camrose trophies and the Premier League, Gold Cup and Spring Foursomes twice each. She played with Graham Osborne in the Open team for the Mind Sports games in Wroclaw in 2016 and she and Graham are now regulars on the English mixed team. Frances is also vice-chair of the EBU’s regulation committee and a member of the EBU Board. Frances is retiring from full-time employment in April and is looking forward to a more relaxed lifestyle involving travel, eating, drinking and bridge.

Joyjit Sensarma is a coach to many high-level partnerships. He was the coach of the USA Seniors teams that won the world championship in 2024 and finished third in 2025. He has also coached the Indian and Irish national teams.

Gonzolo Goded started playing on Spain’s junior team in 1996 and joined the open team in 2008. He studied computer science and worked as a programmer before he became a full-time pro. He is currently working on the Bridge Owl system, which uses cameras at clubs and tournaments to create a full and (hopefully) accurate record of the bidding and play. I first met him at the NABC in San Francisco, where he was doing a test of the system in the Soloway.