Kevin Wilson, Bridge Professional in Knoxville, TN

The world has plenty of bridge professionals, but a bridge professional that can teach at any level is quite rare and valuable - Introducing Kevin Wilson

I teach bridge lovers about ways to improve their game. I decided to become a Bridge professional about ten years ago after playing bridge for over 25 years. Bridge had been a hobby for me until I decided to make a big change. Now I speak, teach, write, and play professional bridge.

My passion is speaking about the game and I really enjoy sharing my passion with players of all different skill levels. I like to involve the audience and have them challenge me and I like to mix in some bridge humor. I enjoy meeting new people and I’ve been told that I’m friendly and approachable. I think that is a big reason why people like to see me speak. My favorite topic to talk about is always some form of hand evaluation. New players stick to High Card Points so tightly that I love to talk about why they shouldn’t.

There are several things that I believe set me apart from other bridge teachers. The first is my experience and playing ability. I've competed and succeeded at the highest levels of bridge and there is no bridge topic that I'm afraid to approach. The second is my ability to speak to any player with an answer that is appropriate for their level. I perform Learn Bridge in a Day seminars which are designed for people who have never held a deck of cards and I recently wrote a seminar on the Lebensohl convention, one of the most complicated and advanced agreements in the game of bridge. I can effortlessly switch between the two groups and give answers commensurate to their ability. I think my best hidden teaching ability is the ability to take a general question from an audience and turn it into an example hand that I can write on a blackboard. I can then talk to the entire group about something interesting and the person asking the question gets an amazing answer. Thinking fast on my feet to create exceptional examples is something I do regularly as a teacher and speaker! Finally, I'm approachable and don't mind being bombarded with bridge questions. People seem to feel comfortable coming up to me and asking a question and that is outstanding!

Handouts from My Talks

You can find free copies of my handouts from each of the 15-30 minutes talks I do on the photo gallery page of this website, found under the MORE tab on the far right.

I charge for extra handouts from my seminars but they are 16-24 page booklets that are focused on narrow topics. They include notes, exercises, and hand write-ups from the live seminar. You can find those under the Store tab.

Cruise with Kevin and 2019 ABTA Teacher of the Year Jim Ricker!

Athens to Barcelona

Click for Flyer

My favorite topics to write about are the many facets of hand evaluation and trying to get advancing players away from using high cards points for everything. My favorite conventions are some I created or worked on with my partners. I hope one day they may be considered “Standard”. I like Splinter bids and have written about them extensively, including how to re-evaluate your hand once your partner has made a Splinter bid. I love Losing Trick Count because it is simple for newer players to understand and, in my opinion, a more effective evaluation method than high card points. In my own game, I’ve adopted a less common version of Losing Trick Count, called Modified Losing Trick Count (MLTC), and I write about it as well. I suggest everyone play Accu-Splinters and Wilson 2NT, because I find they are such improvements over Splinters and Jacoby 2NT… both are based on MLTC.

I started to get more involved in the Bridge organization when I decided to become a full-time professional. My memberships and accolades include or have included:

North American Bridge Champion (2005, Pittsburgh)

4th World Junior Teams Championship; 1993 Arhus, Denmark; Bronze Medal

Featured Speaker at many North American Bridge Championships

Past Coach and Captain - US Bridge Federation Junior Team

Rated #1 Player in District 7 and #13 overall- July 2019 (www.bridgepowerratings.com)

American Bridge Teachers Association Master Teacher (Highest Level and Certification a Teacher Can Achieve)

Current Member - American Contract Bridge League Board of Governors - District 7 (2nd Alternate to the Board of Directors)

Current Member - ACBL Ethical Oversight Committee – Appointed by a Past President
Current Member - American Bridge Teachers’ Association (ABTA)
ACBL Certified Director
Certified Presenter - Learn Bridge in a Day? Seminar (for beginners)
National Finalist in both GNT and NAP - 2017