Alvin Leon Roth (November 6, 1914 – April 18, 2007) was an American

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

player, considered one of the greatest of all time, and "the premier bidding theorist of his bridge generation". He wrote several books on the game, and invented various

bidding convention A bridge convention is an agreement about an artificial or a set of related artificial calls. Calls made during the auction phase of a contract bridge game convey information about the player's card holdings. Calls may be "Contract bridge glossary ...

s that have become commonplace, including

five-card majors Five-card majors is a contract bridge bidding Glossary of contract bridge terms#treatment, treatment common to many modern bidding systems. Its basic tenet is that an opening bid of one-of-a-major in first and second position guarantees at least fi ...

negative double The negative double is a form of takeout double in bridge. It is made by the responder after their right-hand opponent overcalls on the first round of bidding, and is used to show shortness in overcall's suit, support for the unbid suits with emp ...

forcing notrump The forcing notrump is a bidding convention in the card game of bridge. In Standard American bidding, the response of 1NT to an opening bid of 1 or 1 shows 6 to 9 high card points (HCP) and is ''non-forcing''. Opener, with a balanced minimum, ma ...

, and the

unusual notrump In the card game of bridge, the unusual notrump is a conventional showing a two-suited hand. It was originally devised by Al Roth in 1948 with Tobias Stone, to show the minor suits after the opponents opened in a major. The convention concept i ...

.(Obituary)
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''. May 26, 2007. Roth was considered a fascinating theorist but was described by one partner, Richard "Dick" Freeman, as "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." Rubens, Jeff, ed. (December 2009). "Dick Freeman: The Bridge World Interview". ''The Bridge World'' 81:2, p. 27. Interview of Richard Freeman.

Biography

Roth was born in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. He graduated from

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

and studied mathematics at

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

, where he discovered bridge. Roth then took a job as a government

statistician A statistician is a person who works with Theory, theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private sector, private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, a ...

in Washington, D.C. He served in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

in World War II, where he met future bridge partner Tobias Stone, then returned to New York City. He played for the United States or North America in the

Bermuda Bowl The Bermuda Bowl is a biennial contract bridge world championship for national . It is contested every odd-numbered year under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), alongside the Venice Cup (women), the d'Orsi Senior Bowl and the Wu ...

world team championships of 1955, 1958, and 1967, losing the final each time. He also won a silver medal with the US team in the 1968

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 Glossary of contract bridge terms#teams, teams, always including o ...

. Roth was a Grand Life Master of the

American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. It is the largest such organization in North America having the stated mission "to promote, grow and sustain the ...

, and a World Life Master of the

World Bridge Federation The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the international governing body of contract bridge. The WBF is responsible for world championship competitions, most of which are conducted at a few multi-event meets on a four-year cycle. The most prestigio ...

. After attending a bridge tournament in

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

, Roth moved there and ran a bridge club for five years. Then he founded the

Charles Goren Charles Henry Goren (March 4, 1901 – April 3, 1991) was an American bridge player and writer who significantly developed and popularized the game. He was the leading American bridge personality in the 1950s and 1960s and widely known as "Mr. Bri ...

School of Bridge in Washington and ran it for ten years. Roth then purchased the

Mayfair Club The Mayfair Club was a cardroom in New York City. Originally starting as a contract bridge, bridge and backgammon club, it eventually became "the most touted cardroom, card club in New York" until its abrupt closing by authorities in 2000.Wendeen ...

in New York, which he managed until retiring to Florida in 1995. Roth married twice, first 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 many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinc ...

Boca Raton Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

Bridge accomplishments

Honors

ACBL Hall of Fame This list is a compilation of contract bridge players, writers, administrators and personalities who have been recognized for their skills, achievements or contributions to the game as identified by various specific sources. People recognized by ...

, 1995"Induction by Year"
. ''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-16.

Awards

Fishbein Trophy The Fishbein Trophy is awarded to the player who wins the greatest number of masterpoints at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championships, North American Bridge Championship (NABC). History The Fishbein Tr ...

1963, 1965, 1966 * Herman Trophy 1952

Wins

North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual contract bridge, bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November fo ...

(30) ** Vanderbilt (3) 1943, 1963, 1968 **

Spingold The Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Spingold is a knock-out team event that attracts the top contract bridge players in the world. T ...

(6) 1940, 1956, 1957, 1963, 1966, 1967 **

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

(now Reisinger) (3) 1946, 1952, 1961 **

Reisinger The Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Reisinger is a board-a-match event. History The event is contested for the Reisinger Trophy ( ...

(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 The National Open Pairs was the first national bridge championship for open pairs and was held at the fall American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, C ...

(1) 1942 ** Open Pairs (1) 1960 ** Rockwell Mixed Pairs (2) 1946, 1952 ** Hilliard Mixed Pairs (1) 1959 **

Master Individual The Master Individual national bridge championship was held at the fall American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. It is t ...

(1) 1943

Runners-up

(3) 1955, 1958, 1967 * World Open Team Olympiad (1) 1968 * Olympiad Mixed Teams (1) 1972 *

(23) ** Vanderbilt (2) 1953, 1975 **

(4) 1943, 1945, 1953, 1961 **

(now Reisinger) (2) 1937, 1954 **

(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 **

(1) 1958 ** Open Pairs (2) 1958, 1966 **

(1) 1955 * United States Bridge Championships (1) ** Open Pair Trials (1) 1967

Publications

;Books * 176 pages. * 237 pages. * 512 pages. * 216 pages. * 237 pages. Preface revised by Alvin Roth. * 317 pages. ;Pamphlets * ''Negative Doubles'' (Louisville: Devyn Press, 1981), Championship Bridge no. 5 * ''The Unusual No Trump'' (Devyn, 1981), Championship Bridge no. 11

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roth, Alvin 1914 births 2007 deaths American contract bridge players Bermuda Bowl players American contract bridge writers Sportspeople from the Bronx Game players from New York City People from Boca Raton, Florida