Chris Willenken (born October 30, 1975) is an American

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

player. Born in New York City, Willenken graduated from Collegiate School in 1993 and

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kille ...

in 1997. While at Williams, Willenken competed in the

American Parliamentary Debate Association The American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA) is the oldest intercollegiate parliamentary debating association in the United States. APDA sponsors over 50 tournaments a year, all in a parliamentary format, as well as a national champion ...

; he and Amanda Amert earned Team of The Year honors as the most successful partnership of the 1996-1997 season. Willenken is an

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 t ...

Grand Life Master and a

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 prestigiou ...

Life Master. In 2011, he won the gold medal at the inaugural Sport Accord World Mind Games Individual Championship. In World Bridge Federation competition, Willenken reached the finals of the 2018 and 2021 World Mixed Team Championships.

Bridge accomplishments

Wins

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

(6) ** Fast Open Pairs (2) 2000, 2005 **

Wernher Open Pairs The Wernher Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). Typically starting on the Tuesday of the NABC, the Wernher Open Pairs is a four session ma ...

(1) 2001 **

Jacoby Open Swiss Teams The Jacoby Open Swiss Teams national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Jacoby Open Swiss Teams is a four session Swiss Teams event with two qualifying ...

(1) 2004 **

Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match The Mixed Board-a-Match Teams is a bridge competition held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). From 2010 the event is officially the Freeman Mixed Board-a-Match Teams, as it is contested ...

(1) 2008 **

Vanderbilt Knockout Teams Vanderbilt may refer to: People *Vanderbilt (surname) *Vanderbilt family Places In the United States: *Vanderbilt, California, a former gold-mining town * Vanderbilt, Michigan, a village *Vanderbilt, Nevada, a ghost town * Vanderbilt Mansion Nat ...

(1) 2022 * SportAccord World Mind Games ** Open Individual Championship (1) 2011 * United States Bridge Championships ** Open Team Trials (1) 2013

Runners-up

(8) ** Fast Open Pairs (1) 2002 **

North American Pairs The North American Pairs (NAP) is a set of annual North American championships for contested over two days at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championships (NABC). The events are restricted to pairs that have ...

(2) 2004, 2007 **

Grand National Teams The Grand National Teams (GNT) North American bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Grand National Teams is a team knockout event. The event is broken into ...

(1) 2007 **

(1) 2014 **

Roth Open Swiss Teams The Roth Open Swiss Teams is a national bridge championship Swiss Teams event held at the summer American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexi ...

(2) 2011, 2013 **

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 ...

(1) 2018 * United States Bridge Championships ** Open Team Trials (1) 2016

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willenken, Chris 1975 births American contract bridge players Williams College alumni Living people