Richard Pavlicek
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Richard Pavlicek (born 1945) is 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, teacher, and writer from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, United States.


Career

Pavlicek began to play bridge in 1964 at the age of 18 while stationed in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
,
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
, with 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 ...
. Upon returning to
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
in 1966 he started to play in bridge tournaments in his spare time. Since then he has won over 400 events and accumulated more than 16,000
masterpoints Masterpoints or master points are points awarded by bridge organizations to individuals for success in competitive duplicate bridge, bridge tournaments run under their auspices. Generally, recipients must be members in good standing of the issuing ...
. He is 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 ...
(ACBL) and World International 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 ...
(WBF). Pavlicek has won 11
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 ...
, including a record-setting three straight wins in the Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams, 1982–84. In 1990, his team mounted a come-from-behind finish to win it again. He won the prestigious
Vanderbilt Trophy The trophy is awarded for the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams national bridge championship held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC), its oldest continuing event. The Vanderbilt is a team event, ...
in 1983, 1986, and most recently in 1995 playing with a team that was arranged the day before the event. He won the inaugural 1973
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 ...
tournament and won the 1997 rendition too; one of his 1973 teammates was Billy Seamon and he played in 1997 with Billy's son Michael. His latest North American win was in 2004 when he and his son Rich became the first father–son partnership to win the Life Master Open Pairs. Pavlicek has written numerous bridge textbooks and lesson materials. He and William S. Root wrote ''Modern Bridge Conventions'', published in 1981 and still a best-seller in the bridge marketplace. He is also a bridge columnist and composer of bridge puzzles, and other novelties, which have appeared in a variety of publications. Since 1987, he has written the analysis booklet for the continent-wide ACBL "Instant Matchpoint" games. Since 2000, Pavlicek has conducted monthly bidding polls and play contests through his website, with thousands of regular participants from over 90 countries.


Personal

Richard and his wife of 40 years, Mabel, were not only a partnership in life but also in bridge teaching. Together, as the Pavlicek School of Bridge, they taught thousands of students in South Florida, some of whom won national titles. In 2006 he retired from teaching to be with his wife, who suffered from
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
, until her death in September 2015.


Bridge accomplishments


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 ...
(11) ** Vanderbilt (3) 1983, 1986, 1995 **
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 ( ...
(4) 1982, 1983, 1984, 1990 **
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 ...
(2) 1973, 1997 ** Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (1) 1992 ** Life Master Open Pairs (1) 2004


Runners-up

*
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 ...
(8) ** Vanderbilt (1) 2003 ** Spingold (1) 1978 **
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) 1992 ** North American Men's Swiss Teams (1) 1984 ** Life Master Pairs (2) 1995, 1998 **
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 hav ...
(1) 1982 ** Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs (2) 2019, 2022 * United States Bridge Championships (3) ** Open Team Trials (3) 1984, 1987, 1992


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pavlicek, Richard 1945 births American contract bridge players American contract bridge writers United States Army soldiers Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Writers from Fort Lauderdale, Florida