Mumbai, May 23: Bridge anyone? There’s at least one multi-billionaire who will put his hand up to play the mentally-stimulating card game — Bill Gates, the Microsoft maestro. Bridge is a passion for Gates. He plays it whenever he finds time. During his India visit, he had casually mentioned in an interview to The Economic Times that ‘‘playing better bridge’’ was one of his goals in life. The Times of India caught him on that remark, probing further his passion for the game. Facilitating the interview via e-mail was his friend Fred Gitleman, who once won the IOC Grand Prix in Salt Lake City and has devised a bridge software which Gates uses often to play the game online. Fred was in the foursome when Gates played along with Sharon Osberg, twice world champion and Warren Buffett in 1998. Buffett is a stock market king in the US. The four men once undertook a train journey in 1998 and played bridge all the waking hours over two days. This single instance amplifies Gates’ deep interest in the game. Gates plays socially and his wife has begun learning the game. Gates played in a mixed pairs event at the Open World Championships in Montreal last year. There he was asked if computers could become as good at bridge as they are at chess. He replied that computers, at the moment, are way behind at bridge. ‘‘Even I consider myself a better player than most computers at bridge." "I have no plans to change that...’’ His business acumen has helped him with some of the psychological aspects of the game — working with a partner, reading one’s opponents, not letting emotions get in the way, says Gates. “My family played a lot of card games, including some bridge, when I was young. I had a grandmother who was very good at all card games. “When I was at Harvard, I played a few times, but mostly poker. After I started Microsoft, I didn’t play cards much, until my friend Warren Buffett drew me into it,” said the Microsoft baron.