Lynn Davis Deas (June 16, 1952 – May 10, 2020) was a professional 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. At the time of her death, she was second in the World Bridge Federation (WBF) All time Women Ranking by Placement Points, which do not decay over time. Deas was a native of

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

, near Norfolk, where she was a student at

Eastern Virginia Medical School Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), part of the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, commonly known as Virginia Health Sciences, is a public medical school in Norfolk, Virginia operated by Old Dominion U ...

when she suffered a bad automobile accident in 1980. Already an avid bridge player, she played "all the time" when broken bones and blurry vision forced her to take one-year leave from school, and subsequently decided to drop out in favor of the card game as a career. Deas won 27

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 ...

(NABC) titles and nine world championships, including three in the

Venice Cup The Venice Cup is a biennial world championship contract bridge tournament for national of women. It is contested every odd-number year under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), alongside the Bermuda Bowl (open), Wuhan Cup (mixed), ...

. At one time Deas ranked first among Women World Grand Masters. At one time she was on the road as a professional player for 30 weeks a year. She was diagnosed with

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

in 1997 and reduced her travel. In January 2012, she was living in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

. At the inaugural

SportAccord World Mind Games The International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) inaugurated the SportAccord World Mind Games December 2011 in Beijing. For all sports, the meet was invitational and the events were not world championships. Beside satisfaction of the participating ...

in Beijing, December 2011, Deas and

Beth Palmer Mary "Beth" Palmer (August 14, 1952 – October 2, 2019) was an American bridge player from Chevy Chase, Maryland. She was an attorney. At the time of her death, she was 11th in the World Bridge Federation women's rankings by PPs (which do not age ...

won the "Pairs Women" gold medal. Not a world championship meet, the SportAccord WMG invited 24 women from Great Britain, France, China, and the U.S. to compete in three small tournaments as four national teams, twelve pairs, and 24 individuals. The six U.S. women also won the Teams gold medal. Beside the two gold medals Deas won $8,000 in cash prizes.

Bridge accomplishments

Awards

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 ...

, 2020 * Sidney H Lazard Jr. Sportsmanship Award, 2004 * IBPA Sportsman of the Year, 1997 *

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 ...

(1) 1994

Wins

* World Women's Team Championships (7) and World Women's Pairs (2) *

(24) **

Smith Life Master Women's Pairs The Smith Life Master Women's Pairs North American bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Smith Life Master Women's Pairs is a four session MP pairs event, two ...

(4) 1983, 1985, 1994, 2008 **

Machlin Women's Swiss Teams The Machlin Women's Swiss Teams North American bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Machlin Women's Swiss Teams is a four-session Swiss Swiss most commonl ...

(5) 1987, 1995, 1996, 2007, 2012 **

Wagar Women's Knockout Teams The Wagar Women's Knockout Teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championships, North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Wagar Women's Knockout Teams is a knock- ...

(7) 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2013 **

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 (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC) and is a four session board-a-match event, two qualifying sessions and two final ses ...

(5) 1992, 1995, 2005, 2006, 2008 **

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 ...

(3) 1982, 2004, 2006

Runners-up

von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs The Von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). Usually called simply the "Life Master Pairs" or "LM Pairs", this is a six-ses ...

(1) 2002 **

Rockwell Mixed Pairs The Rockwell Mixed Pairs is a national bridge championship held regularly at the Spring American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and ...

(1) 2005 **

(2) 1989, 2010 ** Freeman Mixed Board-a-Match (1) 2014 **

(2) 2008, 2013 **

(4) 1981, 1986, 1992, 1994 **

(2) 1991, 2001 **

(2) 1981, 1984

References

External links

* *
Women Stars
at 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 ...

– with biographies
Deas

DEAS Lynn
athlete information at the 2011

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deas, Lynn 1953 births 2020 deaths American contract bridge players People from Newport News, Virginia People from Schenectady, New York People with muscular dystrophy Venice Cup players