Page 31 - ABF Newsletter April 2025

Avinash Kanetkar 1946 - 2025
Avinash Kanetkar, fondly remembered as simply “Avi” to all who knew him, passed away suddenly on the evening of 8th of March 2025. He was a true giant of the game of bridge, not only in Australia where he reached legend- ary status, but also internationally. He has won more than fifty national titles and represented Australia in both the Open and Seniors categories. He will be greatly missed by his family, the Indian community, the bridge fraternity and those who were fortunate to have made his friendship.
Avi was born in the province of Gujerat, India in 1946 from bridge play-ing par-
ents, his mother being a well-known champion. At a young age all Avi wanted
to do was play bridge but his parents insisted he get a decent education and a
degree first. After qualifying as a medical doctor he became disillusioned with
the hospital system in Mumbai and sought greener pastures in the West. The
immigration queues to the USA and UK were so long and not known for his patience, Avi found the waiting time for Australia was much more to his liking. So in 1972 he found a new home down-under where his med- ical qualifications were happily accepted without fuss or red-tape.
He returned to India in 1974 where his parents had arranged 14 potential brides for him to choose from. He eventually chose Lalita the last of these. Whereas the previous 13 had all prepared traditional Indian fare at their meetings, Lalita presented him with ice-cream, a rarity in India at the time, and a dish which appealed to his now very Western tastes. They married in 1975, came back to Sydney and raised two fabulous daughters there.
Besides being a gifted bridge player, Avi was an avid sportsman excelling in tennis, squash, cricket (he always supported India when they played the Aussies), table tennis, badminton and golf. He was also a majestic and strategic carrom player (yes, I had to look it up too). In 2018 the Indian community of Sydney voted him the Sportsperson of the Year. He particularly loved classical Indian music and was himself a very proficient singer with an admirable tenor voice.
Avi was talent-spotted very early on in his bridge career in Australia, by the likes of the fab-four (Tim Seres, Roelof Smilde, Denis Howard and Dick Cummings) who picked him as a stand-out amongst the younger bridge players. And how right they were when he won the prestigious NOT in 1978 with a bunch of other young stars-to-be. As a bridge player Avi was widely seen as an extraordinary talent. He had a deep and instinctive feel for the game, understood and saw the issues of a complex deal in a heart-beat and played at lightning speed. His oft stated motto was “ better to play quickly and make a mistake, than to play slowly and make the same mistake! ”
Avi’s partners over the years: Ross Stuart, Pauline Gumby, Chris Hughes, Terry Brown, Ron Klinger, Bruce Neill, Matthew Thomson, David Beauchamp, Sartaj Hans, Ella Jacob and most recently George Kozakos all played his system known as “Avi Standard”. This was a well-thought out system stripped to the bones of unnecessary complication and admirably suited to Avi’s very direct but aggressive bidding style. I once played a tour- nament with Ron Klinger and we had to decide what system to play. We looked at each other, nodded and simultaneously said: “Avi Standard”.
As mentioned previously Avi has won more than 50 national events. They include 2 Open Playoffs, 9 Seniors Playoffs (including the 2025 Playoff), 8 Grand National Teams, 5 National Seniors Teams, 3 Spring National Teams, and a host of other events including that 1978 NOT. Internationally he was part of the winning 2010 and 2013 Asia Pacific Seniors Teams and a finalist in several Seniors World Championships.
Avi’s amazing bridge record speaks for itself. But Avinash (which prophetically means “no end” in his native Marathi) himself always said “when I can’t play bridge anymore that will be the end”. And so it has come to pass that he was taken too early and we are all much the poorer for it, as he still had so much to give.
Peter Buchen
Australian Bridge Federation Ltd. Newsletter: April 2025 Page: 31