Dorothy Hayden Truscott
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Hayden Truscott was the top-ranked woman in bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...

 for many years and authored or co-authored books on the game.

Career

Mrs. Truscott was born Dorothy Johnson in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. She graduated from Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...

 and briefly taught mathematics in Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...

, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. Her first two marriages ended in divorce. In 1972 she married Alan Truscott
Alan Truscott
Alan Fraser Truscott was a bridge player, author and columnist. He wrote the daily bridge column for The New York Times for 41 years, from 1964 to 2005 and served as Executive Editor for all six editions of The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, 1964 to 2002.- Britain :Truscott was born in Brixton,...

, who wrote a column on bridge for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

.

Her parents, Dorothy and Reginald Johnson, were keen bridge players and taught their daughter the game when she was 7 years old. Mrs. Truscott would normally watch her mother play the game, but her father would allow her to bid and play his hand when he poured drinks. One evening a player was late, and she was allowed to fill in. That introduction made her a "bridge addict" for the remainder of her life.

She won the first of her national titles in 1959. Mrs. Truscott won four world titles as a player: the Venice Cup
Venice Cup
The World Teams Championship in contract bridge for women players only is also known as the Venice Cup, because the first edition was held in Venice, Italy in 1974.It is held every two years, in parallel to the Open World Teams Championship, the Bermuda Bowl....

 in 1974, 1976 and 1978, and the World Women Team Olympiad
World Team Olympiad
The World Team Olympiad was a contract bridge meet organized by the World Bridge Federation every four years from 1960 to 2004. Its main events were world championships for national teams, always including one open and one restricted to women...

 in 1980. She was the nonplaying captain of the winning American Venice Cup team in 1989.

In 1965 Mrs. Truscott became the second woman to play for the United States in the Bermuda Bowl
Bermuda Bowl
The Bermuda Bowl is a trophy awarded to the winners of the Open series in the World Team Championship in contract bridge and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament held in 1950...

 world championship. She was one of the main accusers in a major bridge scandal that involved allegations of cheating brought against the British pair of Terence Reese
Terence Reese
John Terence Reese was a British bridge player and writer, regarded as one of the finest of all time in both fields...

 and Boris Schapiro
Boris Schapiro
Boris Schapiro was a British international bridge player. He was a Grandmaster of the World Bridge Federation, and the only player to have won both the Bermuda Bowl and the World Senior Pairs championship...

.

Mrs. Truscott is the only female player to have won a medal in the World Open Pairs Championship
World Open Pairs Championship
The World Open Pairs Championship is one of the competitions held as part of the World Bridge Series Championships. This Pairs competition was initiated in 1962 and is held every four years. It is open to pairs from all over the world, without any quota restrictions being applied. In its present...

, where she won a bronze medal in 1966. She won a silver medal at the Bermuda Bowl in 1965 and bronze medals at Women's Team Olympiads in 1968, 1972 and 1976 and the World Women Pairs Championship
World Women Pairs Championship
The World Women Pairs Championship is a bridge championship held every four years as part of the World Bridge Championships. It is restricted to women pairs only.-Results:World meets commonly run for 15 days on a schedule whose details vary....

 in 1962 and 1974.

She wrote two books on bridge that became best-sellers: Bid Better, Play Better and Winning Declarer Play first published in 1966 and 1969 respectively; each was reprinted several times. She was a contributing editor to several editions of the Official Encyclopedia of Bridge and co-authored two books with her husband Alan Truscott: Teach Yourself Basic Bidding in 1976 and The New York Times Bridge Book in 2002. She also published a historical novel in 2002, Hell Gate, about early Dutch settlers in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...

.

Among new ideas attributed to Truscott are an unusual jump to show a singleton or void along with support in partner's suit (a splinter bid
Splinter bid
In contract bridge, a splinter bid is a convention whereby a jump bid in a side-suit indicates a trump fit and a singleton or void in the suit bid. For example, a 4 clubs response to a 1 heart opening establishes hearts as trump suit and indicates a singleton or void in clubs. Most experts agree...

) and responses to Blackwood
Blackwood convention
In the partnership card game contract bridge, the Blackwood convention is a popular bidding convention that was developed by Easley Blackwood. It is used to explore the partnership's possession of aces, kings and in some variants, the queen of trumps, to judge more precisely whether slam is likely...

 after interference (DOPI). Both of the systems are now commonly found in bridge partnerships worldwide.

Mrs. Truscott died in New Russia
Russia, New York
Russia is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 2,487 at the 2000 census.The Town of Russia is located in the northwest part of the county...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, of complications from Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...

.

Wins

  • WBF World Bridge Championships
    World Bridge Championships
    The World Bridge Championships consists of several sets of championships organized under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation.-World Bridge Series Championships:...

    • Venice Cup
      Venice Cup
      The World Teams Championship in contract bridge for women players only is also known as the Venice Cup, because the first edition was held in Venice, Italy in 1974.It is held every two years, in parallel to the Open World Teams Championship, the Bermuda Bowl....

       (3) 1974, 1976, 1978
    • World Women Team Olympiad
      World Team Olympiad
      The World Team Olympiad was a contract bridge meet organized by the World Bridge Federation every four years from 1960 to 2004. Its main events were world championships for national teams, always including one open and one restricted to women...

       (1) 1980
  • ACBL North American Bridge Championships
    North American Bridge Championships
    North American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...

     (26)
    • North American Swiss Teams
      Keohane North American Swiss Teams
      The Keohane North American Swiss Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (1) 1987
    • Master Mixed Teams
      Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match
      The Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The event is a board-a-match team event....

       (1) 1985
    • Women's Board-a-Match Teams
      Sternberg Women's Board-a-Match Teams
      The Sternberg Women's Board-a-Match Teams bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship and is a four session board-a-match event, two qualifying sessions and two final sessions...

       (7) 1967, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1986, 1994
    • Women's Knockout Teams
      Wagar Women's Knockout Teams
      The Wagar Women's Knockout Teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Wagar Women's Knockout Teams is a knock-out team event....

       (4) 1976, 1982, 1990, 1993
    • Women's Swiss Teams
      Machlin Women's Swiss Teams
      The Machlin Women's Swiss Teams national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (1) 1992
    • North American Women's Swiss Teams
      Machlin Women's Swiss Teams
      The Machlin Women's Swiss Teams national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (2) 1982, 1984
    • Blue Ribbon Pairs
      Blue Ribbon Pairs
      The Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (1) 1963
    • Life Master Pairs
      Von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs
      The Von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (1) 1964
    • Fall National Open Pairs
      Fall National Open Pairs
      The National Open Pairs national bridge championship was held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship . The National Open Pairs was a four-session matchpoint pairs event.-History:...

       (1) 1962
    • Mixed Pairs
      Rockwell Mixed Pairs
      The Rockwell Mixed Pairs national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (2) 1959, 1989
    • Life Master Women's Pairs
      Smith Life Master Women's Pairs
      The Smith Life Master Women's Pairs national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (3) 1961, 1966, 1978
    • Women's Pairs
      Whitehead Women's Pairs
      The Whitehead Women's Pairs bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (2) 1959, 1981

Runner-ups

  • WBF World Bridge Championships
    World Bridge Championships
    The World Bridge Championships consists of several sets of championships organized under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation.-World Bridge Series Championships:...

    • Bermuda Bowl
      Bermuda Bowl
      The Bermuda Bowl is a trophy awarded to the winners of the Open series in the World Team Championship in contract bridge and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament held in 1950...

       (1) 1965
  • ACBL North American Bridge Championships
    North American Bridge Championships
    North American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...

     (18)
    • Vanderbilt
      Vanderbilt Trophy
      The trophy is awarded for the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams national bridge championship held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (1) 1964
    • Spingold
      Spingold
      The Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (2) 1965, 1968
    • North American Swiss Teams
      Keohane North American Swiss Teams
      The Keohane North American Swiss Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (1) 1994
    • Master Mixed Teams
      Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match
      The Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The event is a board-a-match team event....

       (4) 1957, 1960, 1967, 1972
    • Women's Board-a-Match Teams
      Sternberg Women's Board-a-Match Teams
      The Sternberg Women's Board-a-Match Teams bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship and is a four session board-a-match event, two qualifying sessions and two final sessions...

       (3) 1963, 1964, 1988
    • Women's Knockout Teams
      Wagar Women's Knockout Teams
      The Wagar Women's Knockout Teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Wagar Women's Knockout Teams is a knock-out team event....

       (1) 1987
    • Women's Swiss Teams
      Machlin Women's Swiss Teams
      The Machlin Women's Swiss Teams national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (1) 1995
    • Life Master Women's Pairs
      Smith Life Master Women's Pairs
      The Smith Life Master Women's Pairs national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (1) 1972
    • Women's Pairs
      Whitehead Women's Pairs
      The Whitehead Women's Pairs bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (3) 1968, 1976, 1988
    • Women's Pairs, Spring NABC
      Whitehead Women's Pairs
      The Whitehead Women's Pairs bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....

       (1) 1961

External links

  • ACBL Hall of Fame
  • Dorothy Truscott player record at the World Bridge Federation
    World Bridge Federation
    The World Bridge Federation is the world governing body of contract bridge. The WBF is responsible for world championship competition, most of which is conducted at a few multi-event meets on a four-year cycle...

  • Women Stars at the World Bridge Federation
    World Bridge Federation
    The World Bridge Federation is the world governing body of contract bridge. The WBF is responsible for world championship competition, most of which is conducted at a few multi-event meets on a four-year cycle...

    —with biography
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