Wernher Open Pairs
Encyclopedia
The Wernher Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League
American Contract Bridge League
The American Contract Bridge League is the largest contract bridge organization in North America. It promotes the game of bridge in the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, and Canada, and is a member of the World Bridge Federation...

 (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship
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...

 (NABC).

The Wernher Open Pairs is a four session MP pairs event, two qualifying sessions and two final sessions.
The event typically starts on the second Thursday of the NABC.
The event is open.

History

The Wernher Open pairs is a four-session event with two qualifying sessions and two final sessions. It was contested at the Summer NABC until 1962. It moved to the Spring NABC in 1963 where it remained for 40 years.

In 2004 it returned to the Summer NABC lineup. From 1969 through 1971, it was contested as a three-session championship. In 1992 the event became Open Pairs II.

The winners have their names inscribed on the Wernher trophy, named after Sir Derrick J. Wernher, a leading personality in American bridge in the Thirties. Wernher -- a resident of both London and Deal NJ -- was president of the American Bridge League in 1933, chairman of its Master Plan committee and a member of the board of directors of the American Whist League.

Winners

Winners of Men's Pairs (1934–1989)
Year Winners Runners-up
 1934  David Burnstine
David Bruce (bridge)
David Bruce was a leading tournament contract bridge player of the 1930's who played under the name of David Burnstine. Born in New York City, he became Life Master #1 at the age of 36 regularly playing out of the Contract Bridge Club of New York. Burnstine was a member of the Four Horsemen team...

, Oswald Jacoby
Oswald Jacoby
Oswald Jacoby was an American contract bridge player and author, considered one of the greatest bridge players of all time. He also excelled at, and wrote about, other games including backgammon, gin rummy, and poker.Born in Brooklyn, he was taught to play whist at the age of six and played his...

Morrie Elis, George Kennedy
1935 Edward Cook, Fred French Charles Goren
Charles Goren
Charles Henry Goren was a world champion American bridge player and bestselling author who contributed significantly to the development and popularization of the game following upon the heels of Ely Culbertson in the 1940s and rising to prominence in the 1950s to the early 1960s.-Early years:Goren...

, Louis H. Watson
Louis H. Watson
Louis H. Watson of New York City was a highly ranked American contract bridge player and author who rose to prominence in the 1930s. A popular personality, he was considered by Ely Culbertson to be his most likely successor...

1936 Richard Ecker, Fred Kaplan Bertram Lebhar Jr., Samuel Katz
1937 Edward Cook, John Kunkle Philip Abramsohn, Morrie Elis
1938 B. Jay Becker, Charles Goren
Charles Goren
Charles Henry Goren was a world champion American bridge player and bestselling author who contributed significantly to the development and popularization of the game following upon the heels of Ely Culbertson in the 1940s and rising to prominence in the 1950s to the early 1960s.-Early years:Goren...

Morrie Elis, Waldemar von Zedtwitz
1939 John R. Crawford
John R. Crawford
John Randolph Crawford was an American bridge and backgammon player...

, Oswald Jacoby
Oswald Jacoby
Oswald Jacoby was an American contract bridge player and author, considered one of the greatest bridge players of all time. He also excelled at, and wrote about, other games including backgammon, gin rummy, and poker.Born in Brooklyn, he was taught to play whist at the age of six and played his...

Henry Chanin, Morrie Elis
1940 Merwyn Maier, Robert McPherran Morrie Elis, Harry Fishbein
1941 Joseph Low, Simon Rossant Joseph Davis, Sidney Silodor
1942 Robert von Engel, Aaron Goodman Murray Gross, William Lipton
1943 Charles Goren
Charles Goren
Charles Henry Goren was a world champion American bridge player and bestselling author who contributed significantly to the development and popularization of the game following upon the heels of Ely Culbertson in the 1940s and rising to prominence in the 1950s to the early 1960s.-Early years:Goren...

, Charles Solomon
Richard Ecker, Fred Kaplan
1944   Sigmund Dornbusch, Herman Goldberg   Ambrose Casner, Ralph Hirschberg
1945 Sylvester Gintell, Lee Hazen George Rapée, Samuel Stayman
Samuel Stayman
Samuel M. Stayman was an American bridge player, author and administrator. A graduate of the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College, he was also a successful textile executive and portfolio investment manager.He was the eponym of the Stayman convention...

1946 Mitchell Barnes, Waldemar von Zedtwitz Lewis Bernard, Frank Weisbach
1947 Sol Mogal, Tobias Stone Morrie Elis, Morris Portugal
1948 Fred Hirsch, Samuel Katz Lewis Bernard, Harold Feldstein
1949 Charles Goren
Charles Goren
Charles Henry Goren was a world champion American bridge player and bestselling author who contributed significantly to the development and popularization of the game following upon the heels of Ely Culbertson in the 1940s and rising to prominence in the 1950s to the early 1960s.-Early years:Goren...

, Oswald Jacoby
Oswald Jacoby
Oswald Jacoby was an American contract bridge player and author, considered one of the greatest bridge players of all time. He also excelled at, and wrote about, other games including backgammon, gin rummy, and poker.Born in Brooklyn, he was taught to play whist at the age of six and played his...

Bobby Nail, J. G. Ripstra
1950 Phillip Briggs, Richard Revell George Rapée, Sidney Silodor
1951 Milton Ellenby, Emmanuel Hochfeld Clifford Bishop, Alexander Nusinoff
1952 Arthur Grau, William Rosen
William Rosen
William Albert Rosen is an American bridge player, best known for winning the 1954 Bermuda Bowl world championship....

Harold Harkavy, Tobias Stone
1953 Harold Harkavy, Bill Root   John R. Crawford
John R. Crawford
John Randolph Crawford was an American bridge and backgammon player...

, Waldemar von Zedtwitz  
1954 Doug Drury, Eric Murray
Eric Murray (bridge)
Eric Murray is a Canadian contract bridge player and co-founder of the Canadian Bridge Federation . Along with his partner Sami Kehela, Murray is considered one of the top Canadians ever to have played the game. The Eric R...

Milton Ellenby, Douglas Steen
1955 Doug Drury, Eric Murray
Eric Murray (bridge)
Eric Murray is a Canadian contract bridge player and co-founder of the Canadian Bridge Federation . Along with his partner Sami Kehela, Murray is considered one of the top Canadians ever to have played the game. The Eric R...

Ira Rubin, Victor Mitchell
1956 Paul Allinger, Jim Jacoby Robert Jordan, Robert Sitnek
1957 David Carter, John Hubbell John Gerber, Paul Hodge
1958 William Grieve, Ira Rubin Norman Kay, Sidney Silodor
1959 Harry Fishbein, John Gerber Erik Paulsen, Mike Shuman
1960 Jack Blair, William Christian David Carter, Paul Hodge
1961 Philip Feldesman, Ira Rubin Paul Allinger, Lew Mathe
1962 Philip Feldesman, Ira Rubin Eddie Kantar, Marshall Miles
Marshall Miles
Marshall Lauren Miles is an American bridge player and author.-Bridge career:Miles' crowning achievement was winning the World Senior Teams Olympiad in Istanbul in 2004...

1963 Sami Kehela
Sami Kehela
Sami Kehela is a Canadian contract bridge player. A member of the Hall of Fame of both the American Contract Bridge League and of the Canadian Bridge Federation, he is considered, along with his partner Eric Murray, one of the top Canadians ever to have played the game.Between 1966 and 1974,...

, Wolf Lebovic
Sonny Moyse, Tommy Sanders
1964 Ed Weiner, G. Gard Hays Darryl Pedersen, Don Nemiro
1965 Lawrence Rosler, Jeff Rubens
Jeff Rubens
Jeff Rubens is a bridge player and writer; he is the editor of the magazine The Bridge World and the author of several bridge books, including Secrets of Winning Bridge....

Norman Kay, Eric Murray
Eric Murray (bridge)
Eric Murray is a Canadian contract bridge player and co-founder of the Canadian Bridge Federation . Along with his partner Sami Kehela, Murray is considered one of the top Canadians ever to have played the game. The Eric R...

1966 Barry Crane
Barry Crane
Barry Crane, born Barry Cohen, was a prolific television producer and director, and a champion bridge player....

, Peter Rank
Mark Blumenthal, Mike Moss
1967 Richard Lawrence, Art Price Eddie Kantar, Sidney Lazard
1968 Kyle Larsen, Edmond Lazarus Bill Passell, David Strasberg
1969 Michael Martino, Frank Vine Gerald Hallee, Paul Soloway
Paul Soloway
Paul Soloway was a world champion American bridge player. He won the Bermuda Bowl world team championship five times and won 30 national championships. Soloway was inducted into the American Contract Bridge League's Hall of Fame in 2002...

1970 Richard Kaye, Richard Walsh Edgar Kaplan
Edgar Kaplan
Edgar Kaplan was an American bridge player and one of the principal contributors to the game. His career spanned six decades and covered every aspect of bridge. He was a teacher, author, editor, administrator, champion player, theorist, expert Vugraph commentator, coach/captain and authority on...

, Norman Kay
1971 Giorgio Belladonna
Giorgio Belladonna
Giorgio Belladonna was an Italian bridge player, one of the most famous in bridge history. He won 16 World championship titles with the Blue Team, playing with Walter Avarelli and Benito Garozzo...

, Benito Garozzo
Benito Garozzo
Benito Garozzo is one of the most famous bridge players in the history of the game. He has won 13 world championship titles with the Italian Blue Team, playing with Pietro Forquet and later Giorgio Belladonna...

Robert Kerr, Jay McKee
1972 Steve Robinson, Kit Woolsey
Kit Woolsey
Kit Woolsey is an American bridge and backgammon player. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1964. He earned a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1965....

Paul Heitner, Marshall Miles
Marshall Miles
Marshall Lauren Miles is an American bridge player and author.-Bridge career:Miles' crowning achievement was winning the World Senior Teams Olympiad in Istanbul in 2004...

1973 Jack Kennedy, David Hadden Steve Robinson, Kit Woolsey
Kit Woolsey
Kit Woolsey is an American bridge and backgammon player. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1964. He earned a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1965....

1974 George Slemmons, George Steiner Steve Robinson, Kit Woolsey
Kit Woolsey
Kit Woolsey is an American bridge and backgammon player. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1964. He earned a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1965....

1975 Harlow Lewis, Art Waldemann Larry Kozlove, John Sheridan
1976 Gerald Caravelli, Larry T. Cohen Jack Kennedy, Bobby Wolff
Bobby Wolff
Robert S. Wolff is an American bridge player and an original member of the Dallas Aces team, which was formed in 1968 to compete against the Italian Blue Team which was dominant at the time. The Aces were successful and won their first world championship in 1970...

1977 Joseph Fox, Garey Hayden David Lehman, Dick Melson
1978 Larry Kozlove, John Sheridan Roy Fox, Paul Swanson
1979 Roy Fox, Paul Swanson Perry Johnson, Michael Zerbini
1980 Neil Silverman, Peter Weichsel Warren Rosner, Stephen Sanborn
1981 Warren Rosner, Allan Stauber Billy Eisenberg
Billy Eisenberg
William Eisenberg is an American bridge and backgammon professional. In bridge, Eisenberg has won five Bermuda Bowl world team titles and in backgammon he won the world title in 1975...

, Neil Silverman
1982 David Berkowitz, Harold Lilie James Barlow, Chuck Carroll
1983 Marty Bergen
Marty Bergen
Marty A. Bergen is an American bridge player and writer. A 10-time national champion and American Contract Bridge League Grand Life Master he retired from active competition in 1993...

, Allan Stauber
Mike Passell, Ron Andersen
1984 Mike Lawrence, Peter Weichsel Joel Friedberg, Ethan Stein
1985 Ed Manfield, Kit Woolsey
Kit Woolsey
Kit Woolsey is an American bridge and backgammon player. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1964. He earned a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1965....

Bob Hamman
Bob Hamman
Robert David Hamman is an American professional bridge player, among the greatest players of all time....

, George Mittelman
1986 Bob Hamman
Bob Hamman
Robert David Hamman is an American professional bridge player, among the greatest players of all time....

, Paul Swanson
Bobby Levin
Bobby Levin
Robert J. Levin is an American professional bridge player. He is best known as the youngest winner of the world championship for national teams, namely the 1981 Bermuda Bowl, and as five-time winner of the Cavendish Invitational with his regular partner Steve Weinstein...

, Fred Hamilton
1987 Darryl Pedersen, George Steiner Zia Mahmood
Zia Mahmood
Zia Mahmood is a Pakistani professional bridge player. He is a World Bridge Federation and American Contract Bridge League Grand Life Master. He has a knack for bringing out the best in his partners and is regarded as one of the greatest players of the game...

, Chris Compton
1988 Arthur Hoffman, Stephen Shane Ken Kranyak, Harry Stratton
1989 Mike Moss, Charles Coon Robert Beiles, Sidney Lorvan

Winners of Open Pairs (1990–)
Year Winners Runners-up
 1990  Steve Sion, Steve Landen Neil Silverman, Mike Smolen
1991 Ken Cohen, Bob Thomas JoAnna Stansby, Lew Stansby
1992 Jeff Meckstroth
Jeff Meckstroth
Jeffrey John Meckstroth is a multiple world champion in contract bridge, winning the Bermuda Bowl representing the U.S. five times. He is one of only ten players who have won the so-called triple crown of bridge: the Bermuda Bowl, the World Open Pairs and the World Team Olympiad...

, Perry Johnson
Tony Glynne, James Elliott
1993 Gaylor Kasle, Bobby Levin
Bobby Levin
Robert J. Levin is an American professional bridge player. He is best known as the youngest winner of the world championship for national teams, namely the 1981 Bermuda Bowl, and as five-time winner of the Cavendish Invitational with his regular partner Steve Weinstein...

Eddie Wold, Dennis Sorensen
1994 Thomas Peters, John Zilic Steve Beatty, Curtis Cheek
1995 Fred Stewart, Steve Weinstein Martin Caley, Peter Schwartz
1996 David Berkowitz, Larry N. Cohen Jackie Buroker, Dick Yarington
1997 Lloyd Arvedon, Allan Falk Bart Bramley, Sidney Lazard
1998 Björn Fallenius, Mike Moss Evan Bailey, Joseph Kivel
1999 Jeff Meckstroth
Jeff Meckstroth
Jeffrey John Meckstroth is a multiple world champion in contract bridge, winning the Bermuda Bowl representing the U.S. five times. He is one of only ten players who have won the so-called triple crown of bridge: the Bermuda Bowl, the World Open Pairs and the World Team Olympiad...

, Eric Rodwell
Eric Rodwell
Eric Victor Rodwell is an American professional bridge player. He has won the Bermuda Bowl representing the U.S. five times and is one of ten players who have won the so-called triple crown of bridge: the Bermuda Bowl, the World Open Pairs and the World Team Olympiad...

Bobby Levin
Bobby Levin
Robert J. Levin is an American professional bridge player. He is best known as the youngest winner of the world championship for national teams, namely the 1981 Bermuda Bowl, and as five-time winner of the Cavendish Invitational with his regular partner Steve Weinstein...

, Steve Weinstein
2000   Stephen Landen, Pratap Rajadhyaksha   Kenneth Kranyak, Harry Stratton
2001 Chris Willenken, Ron Smith Joseph Kivel, Chris Larsen
2002 Curtis Cheek, Eric Greco Geoff Hampson, Renee Mancuso
2003 Geoff Hampson, Eric Greco Ken Cohen, Dan Gerstman
2004 Fulvio Fantoni
Fulvio Fantoni
Fulvio Fantoni is an Italian international bridge player. He is a six-time world champion, a World Grand Master of the World Bridge Federation , and the WBF first-ranked player as of April 2011...

, Claudio Nunes
Claudio Nunes
Claudio Nunes is an Italian bridge international. He is a five-time world champion, a World Grand Master of the World Bridge Federation , and the WBF second-ranked player as of April 2011...

Kit Woolsey
Kit Woolsey
Kit Woolsey is an American bridge and backgammon player. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1964. He earned a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1965....

, Fred Stewart
2005 Nagy Kamel, Nader Hanna Samuel Marks, Emory Whitaker
2006 Jianrong Lin, Julie Zhu Cameron Doner, Bob Etter
Bob Etter
Robert Glenn Etter is a retired American football placekicker. He played with the Atlanta Falcons in 1968 and 1969. He also played for the Memphis Southmen of the World Football League in 1974 and 1975...

2007 Joan Jackson, Petra Hamman   Daniel Korbel, Jonathan Steinberg  
2008 K. R. Venkataraman, Sunit Chokshi Don Piafsky, Barry Piafsky
2009 Nikolay Demirev, Nicolas L'Ecuyer Alan Kleist, Tim Crank
2010 Richard Burton, Beatrice Kemp Tom Carmichael, Jeff Roman

Winners of Men's Pairs, Spring NABCs, 1958–1962
Year Winners Runners-up
 1958  Norman Kay, Sidney Silodor Jack Denny, Richard Harrison
1959 James Pestaner, John Swanson Don Oakie, Meyer Schleifer
1960 Frank Hoadley, Julius Rosenblum Harold Creed, Samuel Gould
1961 Morton Rubinow, Tobias Stone Erik Paulsen, Alex Tschekaloff
1962 Ivan Erdos, Philip Feldesman Norman Kay, Sidney Silodor

Sources

List of previous winners, Page 16
2009 winners, Page 1
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