Category: 75thanniversary

Although no longer commercially produced, Autobridge is a device invented in the Thirties, and still with a following, used for self-teaching bidding and play. A starter Autobridge set included the game board and deal sheets for beginning to average players or intermediate to advanced players. Additional lesson sheets on assorted topics such as deceptive plays,
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Edith Rosenkranz of Mexico City, wife of Dr. George Rosenkranz, was kidnapped at about midnight on July 19, 1984, at the Hotel Sheraton in Washington DC during the Summer NABC. She spent nearly two days in captivity before she was released after the kidnappers picked up the $1 million ransom. She came through the ordeal
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Waldemar von Zedtwitz, linguist and lexicographer, was one of the great bridge players and personalities of all time. A champion in six consecutive decades, he was one of the first 10 players to be designated a Life Master (#4) when that category was created and one of the nine original members of The Bridge World
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For decades after it was last awarded in 1933, the Willard S. Karn Trophy has been missing. The 7th edition of the Official Encyclopedia of Bridge says this about the trophy: “Described as “a magnificent gold cup” by The Bridge World, the Karn trophy was donated by Willard S. Karn in 1931 for the National
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Fondly known as Meckwell, Jeff Meckstroth and Eric Rodwell claimed their first NABC title – the Open Pairs (now Silodor Open Pairs) at the 1979 Spring NABC in Norfolk VA. Here is the story as reported in the Bulletin: Just a few days after it appeared that two old-time stars, George Rapée and Sam Stayman,
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In 1975, the Bermuda Bowl was played in Bermuda in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Bermuda Bowl. During the early qualifying stages, Gianfranco Facchini, a member of the Italian team, was observed apparently giving foot signals to his partner, Sergio Zucchelli. The first person to notice unusual foot movements was Bruce Keidan, an
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World Par contests are international events using prepared deals. The idea of a series of par tournaments conducted throughout the world was conceived by Ely Culbertson, and in 1932 the first World Bridge Olympic, using the par hand format, was held. Culbertson founded the National Bridge Association, a non-profit corporation, in the same year, to
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The Sharif Bridge Circus was a touring professional team of world class players, organized and headed by movie star Omar Sharif, to play a series of exhibition matches against leading European and North American teams. The Circus made its debut late in 1967 when Sharif, Giorgio Belladonna, Claude Delmouly, Benito Garozzo, and Leon Yallouze, all
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The 1978 Toronto Summer North American Bridge Championships was host to new records and innovations. It boasted the largest attendance at 18,408 tables, featured the first coordinated children’s program, introduced instant hand records and saw a break-through victory in the Life Master Pairs (now von Zedtwitz LM Pairs). The previous record for table count was
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Many bridge players have heard Goldwater’s Rule – the suggestion by National TD Harry Goldwater that an opening lead out of turn should generally be accepted because any player who doesn’t know whose lead it is probably doesn’t know what to lead, but the story behind the rule isn’t as well-known. Here it is in
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This, one of the most famous of all double dummy problems, was composed by Sidney Lenz in 1928 in a contest promoted by Vaniva Shaving Cream. ♠ 5 ♥ 8 5 ♦ A K 7 ♣ A K 8 6 5 4 2 ♠ K 10 7 ♠ 8 6 4 3 2 ♥ 9
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Sidney Lenz, who wore the mantle of “the grand old man of bridge” from 1932 until he died at the age of 86 in 1960, was richly deserving of the title. His career spanned the eras of whist, auction and contract bridge, and he was an expert at many games and sports. Before he was
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The “Match of the Century” By Harold Franklin Reprinted from The Bulletin March 1972 After 69 deals the Blue Team led by 8 IMPs, but Board 70 gave the Aces an opportunity to take the lead under most unusual circumstances: Dlr: East ♠ J 7 5 4 Vul: Both ♥ K 6 ♦ 7 5
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The “Match of the Century” By Harold Franklin Reprinted from The Bulletin March 1972 In December 1971, a 140-board match billed as the “Match of the Century” was held at the Las Vegas Hilton. It brought together for the first time in direct confrontation the retired 12-time world champion Italian Blue Team and the current
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1970 was hardly a vintage year for the world championships. After threatening to do so in several previous years, the Blue Team retired as undefeated Bermuda Bowl champions. So the test between the champions of the Old World and the New was not to be. In theory this should have made for one of the
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In 1968, Dallas TX financier Ira Corn Jr., had a vision. It had been more than 14 years since the U.S. had won the Bermuda Bowl, and Corn wanted to return the world team championship to the United States. His plan was to organize and train a full-time professional bridge team to achieve this special
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