Alvin Roth

Alvin L. (Al) Roth (November 6, 1914 – April 18, 2007) was an American bridge player, considered one of the greatest of all time.^[1] He wrote several books on the game, and invented various bridge conventions that have become commonplace, including five-card majors, negative doubles, forcing notrump, and the unusual notrump.^[2] Roth was considered a fascinating theorist but as described by one partner, he was

very tough to sit opposite—unless you were so thick-skinned that no insult was severe enough to hurt, or you were willing to make extreme sacrifices to get on a winning side.

—Richard Freeman, The Bridge World, December 2009^[3]

Biography

Roth was born in The Bronx. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School and studied mathematics at City College of New York, where he discovered bridge.^[2] Roth then took a job as a government statistician in Washington, D.C.^[1] He served in the United States Army in World War II (where he met future bridge partner Tobias Stone), then returned to New York City.

He played for the United States in the three Bermuda Bowl world team championships, in 1955, 1958 and 1967, winning the silver medal each time.^[2] He also came second in the 1968 World Team Olympiad.^[1]

Roth was a Grand Life Master of the American Contract Bridge League, and a World Life Master of the World Bridge Federation.^[1]

After attending a bridge tournament in Miami Beach, Roth moved there and ran a bridge club for five years. He then founded the Charles Goren School of Bridge in Washington, D.C. and ran it for ten years. Roth then purchased the Mayfair Club in New York, which he managed until retiring to Florida in 1995.

Roth married twice. He was first married to Fay Edelstein in 1940. They had a son, but were divorced in 1963, and she died in 1995. He married his second wife, Jean Farrell, in 1980.

Roth died of natural causes in Boca Raton, Florida.^[1]

Bridge accomplishments

Honors

• ACBL Hall of Fame 1995

Awards

• Fishbein Trophy 1963, 1965, 1966
• Herman Trophy 1952

Wins

• North American Bridge Championships (30)
  • Vanderbilt (3) 1943, 1963, 1968
  • Spingold (6) 1940, 1956, 1957, 1963, 1966, 1967
  • Chicago (now Reisinger) (3) 1946, 1952, 1961
  • Reisinger (1) 1967
  • Men's Board-a-Match Teams (4) 1955, 1961, 1969, 1971
  • Master Mixed Teams (4) 1952, 1953, 1955, 1965
  • Life Master Pairs (3) 1956, 1971, 1972
  • Fall National Open Pairs (1) 1942
  • Open Pairs (1) 1960
  • Rockwell Mixed Pairs (2) 1946, 1952
  • Hilliard Mixed Pairs (1) 1959
  • Master Individual (1) 1943

Runner-ups

• Bermuda Bowl (3) 1955, 1958, 1967
• World Open Team Olympiad (1) 1968
• Olympiad Mixed Teams (1) 1972
• North American Bridge Championships (23)
  • Vanderbilt (2) 1953, 1975
  • Spingold (4) 1943, 1945, 1953, 1961
  • Chicago (now Reisinger) (2) 1937, 1954
  • Reisinger (1) 1966
  • Men's Board-a-Match Teams (4) 1952, 1957, 1973, 1977
  • Master Mixed Teams (5) 1945, 1963, 1966, 1973, 1975
  • Life Master Pairs (1) 1965
  • Fall National Open Pairs (1) 1958
  • Open Pairs (2) 1958, 1966
  • Master Individual (1) 1955
• United States Bridge Championships (1)
  • Open Pair Trials (1) 1967

Selected bibliography

• Al Roth on Bridge: The Roth-Stone System (1953)
• Picture Bidding: The Art of Painting a Bridge Hand (1991)
• Bridge Is a Partnership Game (1958) - co-author
• Modern Bridge Bidding Complete (1968) - co-author
• Bridge for Beginners (1970) - co-author

References

External links

• ACBL Hall of Fame
• Alvin Roth international record at the World Bridge Federation