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.