Hubert Phillips Bridge Books

Hubert Phillips was the founder and editor (1932-9) of the British Bridge World, and a pioneer of bridge organisation in England. He was a key person in setting up the first Anglo-American match (Buller v Culbertson). He was the devisor and co-presenter of the first ever bridge programs on television, BBC 1936. These were programs which involved discussion of pre-selected hands, displayed on boards, followed by their bidding and play by expert pairs. Some of the hands were taken from famous matches, others were devised by Phillips. After play, comparison might be made, for example, with the play on the same hand in the Beasley–Culbertson match. The series was thought to be a great success, though of course viewership was limited in those days. As an author (the greater part of his income) he wrote on bridge, and on general knowledge, intellectual, mathematical and bridge puzzles and quizzes. Chess, he said, was his favourite game, but he wrote little on that subject. He wrote over 100 crime stories. He composed thousands of puzzles, both mathematical and inferential, and about 6000 crosswords.