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History
May 2000
WORLD
BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS
History of the Bermuda
Bowl
WBF By-laws require that
there shall be a Zonal Team Championship for the Bermuda Bowl, to be held
in odd-numbered years'. This contest, the oldest WBF Championship,
grew out of private initiatives principally by the late Norman Bach.
THE FIFTIES
1950
The first world championship for the Bermuda Bowl was held in 1950, eight
years before the World Bridge Federation itself was formed. It was contested
by USA, Europe and Britain. USA won comfortably, beating Europe
by 4,720 points and Britain by 3,660. The US team consisted of six great
players: John Crawford, Charles Goren, George Rapee, Howard Schenken,
Sidney Silodor and Sam Stayman; auspicious names to engrave upon the
new trophy, presented by the Government of Bermuda.
The Bermuda Bowl then developed
into a regular challenge match between the USA and the winners of the
European Championship, a more logical arrangement than the first three
cornered contest. The succeeding years seemed to confirm the American's
supremacy.
1951
In 1951, the USA (B. Jay Becker, John Crawford, George Rapee,
Howard Schenken, Sam Stayman, Julius Rosenblum (npc)) beat Italy in
Naples by 116 IMPs.
1952
In 1952, in order to bring the timing right in relation to the European
Championships, there was no contest.
1953
In 1953, the USA (B. Jay Becker, John Crawford, Theodore
Lightner, George Rapee, Howard Schenken, Sam Stayman, Joseph Cohan (npc))
beat Sweden in New York by 8,260 points.
1954
In 1954, the USA (Clifford Bishop, Milton Ellenby, Lew Mathe,
Don Oakie, William Rosen, Douglas Steen, Benjamin Johnson (npc)) beat
France in Monte Carlo by 49 IMPs.
1955
In 1955, however, Britain (Leslie Dodds, Kenneth Konstram, Adam
Meredith, Jordanis Pavides, Terence Reese, Boris Schapiro, Reg Corwen
(npc)) beat USA in New York by 5,420 points over 224 boards.
At the time, this was regarded
as just a temporary setback; but, in fact, the Bermuda Bowl was to remain
in Europe for the next fourteen years.
1956
France (Rene Bacherich, Pierre Ghestem, Pierre Jais, Roger Lattes,
Bertrand Romanet, Roger Trezel, Robert de Nexon (npc)) won the 1956
Bermuda Bowl, held in Paris. A long series of wins by Italy followed as
the contest widened to include teams representing other Zones of the WBF.
1957
In 1957, in New York, Italy (Massimo d'Alelio, Walter Avarelli,
Giorgio Belladonna, Eugenio Chiaradia, Pietro Forquet, Guglielmo Siniscalco,
Carl Alberto Perroux (npc)) beat the USA by 10,150 points.
1958
In 1958, in Como, Italy, with the same team as the previous year,
beat the USA by 211-174 IMPs and Argentina 239-167.
THE SIXTIES
1960
In 1960, there was no contest.
1961
In 1961, in Buenos Aires, Italy (Massimo d'Alelio, Walter Avarelli,
Giorgio Belladonna, Eugenio Chiaradia, Pietro Forquet, Benito Garozzo,
Carl Alberto A. Perroux (npc)) beat Argentina 422-282, France 371-261
and North America 382-262.
1962
In 1962, in New York, Italy with the same team as the previous
year, beat Argentina 420-328, Great Britain 365-286 and North America
313-294.
1963
In 1963, in St. Vincent, Italy (Massimo d'Alelio, Walter Avarelli,
Giorgio Belladonna, Eugenio Chiaradia, Pietro Forquet, Benito Garozzo,
Camillo Pabis-Ticci, Carl Alberto A. Perroux (npc)) beat Argentina
372-282, France 421-236 and North America 313-305.
1964
In 1964, there was no contest.
1965
In 1965, in Buenos Aires, Italy (Massimo d'Alelio, Walter Avarelli,
Giorgio Belladonna, Eugenio Chiaradia, Pietro Forquet, Benito Garozzo,
Camillo Pabis-Ticci, Sergio Osella (npc)) beat Argentina 325-237,
Great Britain 354-233 and North America 304-230.
1966
In 1966, in St. Vincent, Italy with the same team as the previous
year (but with Perroux back as npc) beat North America 319-262,
Venezuela 362-203, the Netherlands 326-198 and Thailand 486-143.
1967
In 1967, in Miami Beach, Italy, again with the same team (but
this time with Guido Barbone as npc) beat North America
338-227 in the 128 board final. Other contestants were France, Thailand
and Venezuela.
The format was changed in
1967. Where previously the placings had been decided by a simple round
robin, with two points for a win and one for a tie, now there was to be
a round robin in which each team met each other in three separate matches,
with 20 victory points at stake in each match; followed by a two-team
final over 128 boards. The change proved successful and the old
format was never restored.
1968
In 1968, there was no contest.
1969
In 1969, in Rio de Janeiro, Italy once again with the same team
(but with R. Tracanella as npc), beat Taiwan 429-182 in the final.
Other contestants were North America, France and Brazil.
In the '60s the scope of
international bridge was much enlarged. In 1958 the World Bridge
Federation was formed and began to arrange its member countries in geographical
Zones, the basis for Bermuda Bowl eligibility. Now the contest began taking
on its present worldwide character. In 1958 the South American Confederation,
which for ten years had already been holding Championships of its own,
competed for the first time. In 1966 the Far East Bridge Federation,
represented by Thailand, joined in and five years later Australia
represented the South Pacific Zone for the first time. The Central
American & Caribbean Zone made its debut in 1979, followed two years
later by the Bridge Federation of Asia & the Middle East, still
the youngest of the WBF's Zonal organisations.
THE SEVENTIES
1970
In 1970 the late Ira Corn's 'Aces' won the right to represent North
America in the Bermuda Bowl in Stockholm. In the absence of Italy's
top team, the 'Aces' - consisting of Billy Eisenberg, Bobby Goldman,
Robert Hamman, Jim Jacoby, Mike Lawrence and Bobby Wolff - outclassed
the field.
1971
In 1971 the same formation won again. With Australia competing,
1971 was the first six-team Bermuda Bowl.
1972
There was no contest in 1972.
1973
In 1973, in Guaruja, Brazil, Italy (Giorgio Belladonna, Benito
Bianchi, Pietro Forquet, Giuseppe Garabello, Benito Garozzo, Vito Pittala,
S. Salvetti (npc)) won the Bermuda Bowl. They out-played the defending
'Aces', scoring 65 IMPs to 4 on the first 16 boards of the final and 59
to 2 on the next! The final margin was 333-205.
1974
In 1974 Giorgio Belladonna, Benito Bianchi, Dano de Falco, Pietro Forquet,
Arturo Franco, Benito Garozzo, Vito Pittala, S. Salvetti (npc) in
a much closer contest, beat a changed 'Aces' team by 195 to 166, having
been only 5 IMPs ahead not far from the end.
By this time, the tensions
increasingly common in top-level competition had begun to worry the administrators,
"Over the years," wrote Julius Rosenblum in 'World
Bridge News' in 1974, "I have attended WBF tournaments in many different
capacities. At almost every tournament, innuendoes about unethical conduct
have come to my attention. Sometimes there have been direct accusations.
Many officials have the feeling that it is better to sweep these matters
under the rug than to expose them to the light of the day, to the glare
of publicity. I do not agree. We can deal with innuendo's and accusations
openly without any damage to the game of bridge." With this stance
Rosenblum, as President of the WBF, was in effect backing Jaime Ortiz-Patino,
then a Vice-President, who, in a move strongly opposed by some members
of the Executive Council, had proposed the use of table screens in World
Championship play. In 'World Bridge News', Ortiz-Patino wrote, "…..we
are reaching an important stage in the development of our game. Drastic
and energetic steps must be taken to protect the players from unjustified
accusations of unethical play. These steps should also be such as to be
effective in case cheating were to exist, in order to make such cheating
as nearly impossible as one can …" In 1974, after a period of controversy,
the WBF Executive Council decided by six votes to three with two abstentions
to use screens and bidding boxes in the next Bermuda Bowl.
1975
This 1975 contest was to be staged where it all begun 25 years earlier,
on the island of Bermuda. The first use of screens was well thought out
in many ways, but it did not include under-table barriers to foot movement.
Few, perhaps, would have thought this likely to prove a serious omission!
Nevertheless, three days after the contest began the Appeals Committee,
through its Chairman, Julius Rosenblum, announced that it
had resolved severely to reprimand a pair for 'unnatural foot movements'.
Foot barriers were then introduced. The play itself was most exciting.
At half-way USA led by 73 IMPs. Italy then staged a dramatic recovery.
In the closing stages, helped by a hand where Belladonna reached
a grand slam with J98xxx of trumps opposite AQ and found K10 bare onside,
Italy (Giorgio Belladonna, Gianfranco Facchini, Arturo Franco,
Benito Garozzo, Vito Pittala, Sergio Zucchelli, S. Salvetti (npc))
came on to win by 214 IMPs to 189.
1976
The 1976 Bermuda Bowl was held in Monaco alongside the World Team Olympiad.
A cloud hung over both. A leading Italian player claimed to have
taped a telephone conversation with a member of Italy's 1973 and 1974
winning teams, allegedly including statements on the use of illegal signals.
In the event USA (Billy Eisenberg, Fred Hamilton, Eric Paulsen,
Hugh Ross, Ira Rubin, Paul Soloway) beat Italy, who played below their
best, by 232 IMPs to 198.
1977
The meetings in Monte Carlo saw Ortiz-Patino unanimously elected
WBF President. By the time the 1977 Bermuda Bowl was decided in Manila,
changes had been made in the Constitution & By-laws, establishing the
important principle that WBF competitions would thenceforth be by invitation
only. A Credentials Committee, with members from various zones, would
have power to issue or withhold invitations. Controversial at the time,
these changes are now widely seen to have been beneficial. Similar procedures
have since been adopted by other bodies. Under the format of some years
standing, the 1977 final was reached by two American teams, the
winners being Billy Eisenberg, Edwin Kantar, Robert Hamman, Paul Soloway,
John Swanson, Bobby Wolff. This was not satisfactory, and changes
were made to prevent a recurrence. The WBF also decided to hold the Bermuda
Bowl at two yearly intervals, bringing about the present cycle, with the
Bermuda Bowl held in 'odd' years, the Team Olympiad in leap
years, and the World Bridge Championships in other 'even' years.
1979
1979 saw the first six-Zone Bermuda Bowl, including the newly-formed Central
America and Caribbean Zone, held in Rio de Janeiro. Italy, with the team
re-formed after the traumatic events of the mid-70's, put in a strong
challenge and the match swayed back and forth, but in the end the USA
(Malcolm Brachman, Billy Eisenberg, Edwin Kantar, Bobby Goldman, Mike
Passell, Paul Soloway, Edgar Theus (npc)) won by 5 IMPs.
THE EIGHTIES
1981
Port Chester in 1981 brought the entry of another new Zone, represented
by Pakistan, who had just won the Inaugural Championships of the Bridge
Federation of Asia and the Middle East. This relatively inexperienced
team overcame Great Britain, Indonesia and Australia in the round robin
and Argentina in the semi-final. In the final - against USA - Zia
Mahmood, Nisar Abedi, Masoon Salim, Jan-e-Alam Fazli, Munir Ata-Ullah
and Nisar Ahmed continued well, gaining a lead which they held until half-way.
In the end they succumbed by 88 IMPs to the power of Eric Rodwell,
Bobby Levin, Jeff Meckstroth, Russ Arnold, John Solodar and Bud Reinhold.
1983
In 1983 in Stockholm, the USA registered a strong challenge from
Italy, the lead changing hands a record number of times. The winners by
a margin of 413 IMPs to 408 were Mike Becker, Robert Hamman. Ronald
Rubin, Alan Sontag, Peter Weichsel and Bobby Wolff, with Joe Musumeci
as npc.
This was the first Bermuda
Bowl played under a new format in which seeded teams from Europe and North
America went automatically to the semi-finals, while the number two teams
from the Zones competed a double round robin, along with one team from
each of the remaining geographical Zones, plus the host NCBO.
1985
1985 saw a further innovation: the Venice Cup was conducted
at the same time, with the same format, eligibility and boards. Thus a
record total of twenty teams were eligible - ten in each series. In the
Bermuda Bowl, Zone 4 withdrew at the last minute, so only nine teams competed.
The USA (Robert Hamman, Chiop Martel, Peter Pender, Hugh Ross,
Lew Stansby, Bobby Wolff, Alfred Sheinwold (npc)) recorded their sixth
successive victory when they defeated Austria, the European Champions,
by 399 IMPs to 324, having survived a hair-raising semi-final against
Brazil which went to the last board.
1987
In 1987, in Ocho, Rios, Jamaica, the USA (Robert Hamman, Mike
Lawrence, Chip Martel, Hugh Ross, Lew Stansby, Bobby Wolff, Dan Morse
(npc)) resisted a strong challenge from Great Britain to win by 64
IMPs. Sweden took the bronze medal.
1989
In 1989, in Perth, Australia, the long American domination finally came
to an end when Brazil (Marcelo Branco, Pedro Branco, Carlos
Camacho, Gabriel Chagas, Ricardo Janz, Roberto Mello, Pedro Paulo Assumpcao
(npc)) defeated the holders by 442-388 IMPs over 176 boards. Brazil
had defeated Poland in the semi-finals, while the USA beat Australia.
Poland won the third place play-off.
THE NINETIES
1991
Over the years, there have been many changes in the format of the Bermuda
Bowl. The latest philosophy holds that each one of the seven geographical
Zones should participate as of right, and that plural representation should
be accorded to Zones 1 and 2, which have many more players than the others.
However, the seeding of a team from each of these Zones had not proved
to be universally popular, so the WBF Executive Council approved a new
format for use in Yokohama, Japan, in 1991. Under this format (which applies
equally to the Venice Cup) Zone 1 may enter four teams, Zone 2 three teams,
Zones 3-6 two teams and Zone 7 (which has only three NCBOs) one team.
The 16 teams were split into two groups of eight with the top four teams
from each group to qualify for the quarter-finals after a double round
robin.
In one of the most surprising
tournaments ever, Iceland (Jon Baldursson, Adalsteinn Jorgensen,
Orn Arnthorsson, Gudlaugur Johansson, Thorlakur Jonsson, Gudmundur Arnson,
Bjorn Eysteinsson (npc)) squeezed through their semi-final against
Sweden and then beat Poland fairly comfortably 415-376. Sweden beat Brazil
in the bronze medal play-off.
1993
The same format was used for the Nec Bermuda Bowl in 1993 which was played
in Santiago, Chile. Once again the winners came from Europe, and once
again they had only qualified by finishing fourth in the European Championships.
Both semi-finals were in doubt until the last board was played with the
Netherlands edging out USA II, while Norway scraped past Brazil. In the
final, the Netherlands beat Norway by 350-316. Congratulations
to the youngest ever team in the competition, Piet Jansen, Wubbo de
Boer, Enri Leufkens, Jan Westerhof, Bauke Muller and Berry Westra with
npcs Jaap Trouwborst and Henk Schippers. Brazil took the bronze medal.
1995
1995, Beijing - China for the first time in the history of the Bermuda
Bowl two American Teams met in the final. USA defeated Canada by
338-295 and bronze medal went to France. USA: Dick Freeman, Robert
Hamman, Jeff Meckstroth, Nick Nickell, Eric Rodwell, Robert S. Wolff,
Edgar Kaplan (npc). CANADA: Boris Baran, Fred Gitelman, Eric Kokish,
George Mittelman, Mark Molson, Joseph Silver, Litvak Irving (npc).
These championships were marked by tremendous press and TV coverage including
the live broadcasting of the semi-final and the final on CCTV.
1997
1997, Hammamet - Tunisia the venue was one of the most wonderful we never
got. The field was the strongest one in the history of the Bermuda Bowl
and Venice Cup. The final was very exciting. France: Paul Chemla,
Alain Levy, Christian Mari, Herve Mouiel, Franck Multon, Michel Perron,
Jean-Louis Stoppa. USA: Eric Rodwell, Jeff Meckstroth, Bob
Hamman, Bobby Wolff, Nick Nickell, Richard Freeman, Walt Walvick (npc).
The Bronze medal went to Norway.
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