IN THE CARDS

As every bridge player knows, playing your cards well is only half of the game. The other half, which is perhaps even more challenging, is dealing well with your partner. The relationship that exists between two bridge partners is often as intimate, as complicated, and as volatile as a marriage. It's that dynamic that separates bridge from almost every other game. And it's that dynamic that makes the game so exciting,

In The Cards is a one-hour television documentary airing on CTV on April 7 at 7 p.m.  (check your local listing) that's about one of the most exciting partnerships in the world of bridge. They're young. They're brash. And they're Canadian. Their names are Gavin Wolpert and Vincent Demuy, and In The Cards follows them for almost two years as they struggle first to prove themselves as a professional partnership, and then to maintain their partnership, and even their friendship, as the competitive pressure mounts.

Filmed during a variety of events between 2004 and 2007 -- including the National Swiss, the Blue Ribbon Pairs, the Spingold, the Reisinger, the Cavendish, the World Junior Championships, and the Canadian Nationals -- the documentary captures the intensity and the excitement of high-level bridge.

How will the boys do when they're hired by Jim Mahaffey, a real estate tycoon and one of the richest sponsors in bridge? Will Gavin be able to keep up with Vince's prodigious talent? Will Vince be able to control his temper when Gavin makes mistakes? And what happens to their partnership when Gavin starts to play with his girlfriend, Jenny Ryman, as well as with Vince?

The documentary also features cameos by such well-known bridge figures as Fred Gitelman, George Mittelman, Hazel Wolpert, Rose Meltzer, George Rosenkranz, and Sabine Auken. Eric Kokish, the renowned bridge coach from Toronto, is a major commentator throughout the documentary.

But at heart, In The Cards is a story about two young men trying to make their way in the world. It's got a heart-warming ending, but there are plenty of twists and turns along the way.