Charles Goren
Encyclopedia
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.
, to Russia
n Jewish immigrants. He earned a law degree at McGill University
in Montreal
. While he was attending McGill, a girlfriend laughed at his ineptness at the game of bridge, motivating him to immerse himself in a study of existing bridge materials.
When he graduated, he briefly attempted a law career in Philadelphia. The growing fame of Ely Culbertson
, however, prompted Goren to abandon his original career choice to pursue bridge competitions, where he attracted the attention of Milton Work
, who had developed the Work Point Count system. Goren began helping Work with his bridge articles and columns, and eventually began ghostwriting
some of his material.
Goren became world champion at the Bermuda Bowl
in 1950. Goren's books have sold millions of copies (especially Winning Bridge Made Easy and Contract Bridge Complete); by 1958 his daily bridge column was appearing in 194 American newspapers. He also had a monthly column in McCall's
and a weekly column in Sports Illustrated
.
His television program, Championship Bridge with Charles Goren, was broadcast from 1959 to 1964 on the ABC network, and, in addition to numerous appearances by top players, included segments with celebrity guests such as Chico Marx
, Alfred Drake
and Forest Evashevski
, among others.
Goren's longest partnership was with Helen Sobel
, but he also famously partnered actor Omar Sharif
. Sharif also wrote introductions to or co-authored several of Goren's bridge books, and was also co-author of Goren's newspaper column, eventually taking it over in collaboration with Tannah Hirsch.
point count, as an improvement over the existing system of counting "honor tricks." The high card point system represented a large step forward in bridge theory and quickly gained popularity due to its simplicity. Goren and others would later refine the system to account for hand distribution, as singletons and voids can greatly increase the strength of a hand.
bidding. Opening a four-card suit can improve the chances of the partnership identifying a four-four trump fit, and the four-card approach is still used by some experts today and notably by most Acol
players. The drawback of the four-card approach is that the Law of Total Tricks
is more difficult to apply in cases where it is used.
bidding method, which is one of many variants of so-called big club or strong club system
s (which use an opening bid of one club to indicate a strong hand).
, at the age of 90. While few players "play Goren" exactly today, the point count approach he popularized remains the foundation for most bidding systems.
Bermuda Bowl
The Bermuda Bowl is a trophy awarded to the winners of the Open series in the World Team Championship in contract bridge and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament held in 1950...
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
player and bestselling author who contributed significantly to the development and popularization of the game following upon the heels of Ely Culbertson
Ely Culbertson
Ely Culbertson was an entreprenurial American contract bridge personality dominant during the Thirties and Forties. He played a major role in the early popularization of the game, and was widely regarded as "the man who made contract bridge"...
in the 1940s and rising to prominence in the 1950s to the early 1960s.
Early years
Goren was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Jewish immigrants. He earned a law degree at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. While he was attending McGill, a girlfriend laughed at his ineptness at the game of bridge, motivating him to immerse himself in a study of existing bridge materials.
When he graduated, he briefly attempted a law career in Philadelphia. The growing fame of Ely Culbertson
Ely Culbertson
Ely Culbertson was an entreprenurial American contract bridge personality dominant during the Thirties and Forties. He played a major role in the early popularization of the game, and was widely regarded as "the man who made contract bridge"...
, however, prompted Goren to abandon his original career choice to pursue bridge competitions, where he attracted the attention of Milton Work
Milton Work
Milton Cooper Work was a noted American authority on whist, bridge whist, auction and contract bridge.- Work Point Count system :...
, who had developed the Work Point Count system. Goren began helping Work with his bridge articles and columns, and eventually began ghostwriting
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
some of his material.
Bridge contributions
By 1936 Goren had begun his own bridge career and published the first of his many books on playing bridge, Winning Bridge Made Easy. Drawing on his experience with Work's system, Goren quickly became popular as an instructor and lecturer. His subsequent lifetime of contributions to the game have made him one of the most important figures in the history of bridge.Goren became world champion at the Bermuda Bowl
Bermuda Bowl
The Bermuda Bowl is a trophy awarded to the winners of the Open series in the World Team Championship in contract bridge and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament held in 1950...
in 1950. Goren's books have sold millions of copies (especially Winning Bridge Made Easy and Contract Bridge Complete); by 1958 his daily bridge column was appearing in 194 American newspapers. He also had a monthly column in McCall's
McCall's
McCall's was a monthly American women's magazine that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-format magazine called The Queen in 1873...
and a weekly column in Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
.
His television program, Championship Bridge with Charles Goren, was broadcast from 1959 to 1964 on the ABC network, and, in addition to numerous appearances by top players, included segments with celebrity guests such as Chico Marx
Chico Marx
Leonard "Chico" Marx was an American comedian and film star as part of the Marx Brothers. His persona in the act was that of a dim-witted albeit crafty con artist, seemingly of rural Italian origin, who wore shabby clothes, and sported a curly-haired wig and Tyrolean hat.As the first-born of the...
, Alfred Drake
Alfred Drake
Alfred Drake was an American actor and singer.-Biography:Born as Alfred Capurro in New York City, the son of parents emigrated from Recco, Genoa, Drake began his Broadway career while still a student at Brooklyn College...
and Forest Evashevski
Forest Evashevski
Forest "Evy" Evashevski was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940 and with the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks in 1942...
, among others.
Goren's longest partnership was with Helen Sobel
Helen Sobel Smith
Helen Sobel Smith was an American bridge player. She is said to have been the "greatest woman bridge player of all time". She won 35 North American Bridge Championships, and was the first woman to play in the Bermuda Bowl...
, but he also famously partnered actor Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif is an Egyptian actor who has starred in Hollywood films including Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Funny Girl. He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won two Golden Globe Awards.-Early life:...
. Sharif also wrote introductions to or co-authored several of Goren's bridge books, and was also co-author of Goren's newspaper column, eventually taking it over in collaboration with Tannah Hirsch.
Point count system
As he continued writing, Goren began to develop his high card point count system, based on the Milton WorkMilton Work
Milton Cooper Work was a noted American authority on whist, bridge whist, auction and contract bridge.- Work Point Count system :...
point count, as an improvement over the existing system of counting "honor tricks." The high card point system represented a large step forward in bridge theory and quickly gained popularity due to its simplicity. Goren and others would later refine the system to account for hand distribution, as singletons and voids can greatly increase the strength of a hand.
Four-card suits
Goren also worked to popularize the opening of four-card suits, in contrast to the well-known five card majors approach that has become a major feature of Standard AmericanStandard American
Standard American is a common bidding system for the game of bridge in the United States, also widely used in the rest of the world. This system, or a slight variant, is learned first by most beginners in the U.S. and may be referred to as 'Goren'; a dominant version used in on-line computer...
bidding. Opening a four-card suit can improve the chances of the partnership identifying a four-four trump fit, and the four-card approach is still used by some experts today and notably by most Acol
Acol
Acol is the bridge bidding system that, according to The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, is "standard in British tournament play and widely used in other parts of the world". It is named after the Acol Bridge Club, previously located on Acol Road in London NW6, where the system started to evolve...
players. The drawback of the four-card approach is that the Law of Total Tricks
Law of total tricks
In contract bridge, the Law of total tricks is a guideline used to help determine how high to bid in a competitive auction. It is not really a law but a method of hand evaluation which describes a relationship that seems to exist somewhat regularly...
is more difficult to apply in cases where it is used.
Other contributions
In addition to his pioneering work in bringing simple and effective bridge to everyday players, Goren also worked to popularize the PrecisionPrecision club
Precision Club is a bidding system in the game of contract bridge. It is a type of strong club system that was invented by C. C. Wei and used to good effect by Taiwan teams in the early 1970s...
bidding method, which is one of many variants of so-called big club or strong club system
Strong club system
The Strong Club System is a set of bidding conventions in the game of contract bridge. It is classified as an artificial type of bidding system since the bids are highly codified.-Explanation:...
s (which use an opening bid of one club to indicate a strong hand).
Legacy
Goren died in 1991 in Encino, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, at the age of 90. While few players "play Goren" exactly today, the point count approach he popularized remains the foundation for most bidding systems.
Awards
- McKenney Trophy 1937, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951
- Precision Award (Best Article or Series on a System or Convention) 1974
Wins
- Bermuda BowlBermuda BowlThe Bermuda Bowl is a trophy awarded to the winners of the Open series in the World Team Championship in contract bridge and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament held in 1950...
(1) 1950 - North American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth 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...
(32)- VanderbiltVanderbilt TrophyThe trophy is awarded for the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams national bridge championship held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(2) 1944, 1945 - Asbury Park TrophySpingoldThe Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(now Spingold) (1) 1937 - SpingoldSpingoldThe Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(5) 1943, 1947, 1951, 1956, 1960 - ChicagoReisingerThe Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Reisinger is a board-a-match event.-History:...
(now Reisinger) (8) 1937, 1938, 1939, 1942, 1943, 1950, 1957, 1963 - Men's Board-a-Match TeamsMitchell Board-a-Match TeamsThe Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1952 - Master Mixed TeamsChicago Mixed Board-a-MatchThe Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The event is a board-a-match team event....
(6) 1938, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1948, 1954 - Life Master PairsVon Zedtwitz Life Master PairsThe Von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(2) 1942, 1958 - Fall National Open PairsFall National Open PairsThe National Open Pairs national bridge championship was held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship . The National Open Pairs was a four-session matchpoint pairs event.-History:...
(1) 1940 - Men's PairsWernher Open PairsThe Wernher Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Wernher Open Pairs is a four session MP pairs event, two qualifying sessions and two final sessions....
(3) 1938, 1943, 1949 - Rockwell Mixed PairsRockwell Mixed PairsThe Rockwell Mixed Pairs national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1947 - Hilliard Mixed PairsHilliard Mixed PairsThe Hilliard Mixed Pairs national bridge championship was last held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .-History:...
(1) 1943 - Master IndividualMaster IndividualThe Master Individual national bridge championship was held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .-History:...
(1) 1945
- Vanderbilt
Runner-ups
- Bermuda BowlBermuda BowlThe Bermuda Bowl is a trophy awarded to the winners of the Open series in the World Team Championship in contract bridge and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament held in 1950...
(2) 1956, 1957 - North American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth 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...
(21)- VanderbiltVanderbilt TrophyThe trophy is awarded for the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams national bridge championship held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(8) 1934, 1936, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1955, 1959, 1962 - SpingoldSpingoldThe Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(2) 1939, 1950 - ChicagoReisingerThe Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Reisinger is a board-a-match event.-History:...
(now Reisinger) (2) 1944, 1951 - Men's Board-a-Match TeamsMitchell Board-a-Match TeamsThe Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(2) 1946, 1955 - Master Mixed TeamsChicago Mixed Board-a-MatchThe Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The event is a board-a-match team event....
(4) 1946, 1949, 1950, 1951 - Life Master PairsVon Zedtwitz Life Master PairsThe Von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1953 - Men's PairsWernher Open PairsThe Wernher Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Wernher Open Pairs is a four session MP pairs event, two qualifying sessions and two final sessions....
(1) 1935 - Hilliard Mixed PairsHilliard Mixed PairsThe Hilliard Mixed Pairs national bridge championship was last held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .-History:...
(1) 1934
- Vanderbilt
Publications
First London edition published by Eyre & Spottiswoode in 1951. Title has been revised and reprinted numerous times to 1984.. First London edition published by Eyre & Spottiswoode in 1959. Title has been reprinted numerous times to 1972.- with Jack OlsenJack OlsenJack Olsen was an American journalist and author known for his thorough, scholarly approach to crime reporting. Olsen was Senior Editor and Chief for the Sun-Times in Chicago Illinois in 1954...
: . Paperback editions published by Cornerstone Library, NY in 1967 and 1970, pp. 190.- 100 Challenging Bridge Hands
- An Entirely New Bridge Summary
- The A.B.C.'s of Contract Bridge
- Championship Bridge with Charles Goren
- Charles H. Goren's Bridge Quiz Book
- Contract Bridge Complete
- Contract Bridge Made Easy: A Self-Teacher
- Easy Steps: Eight Steps to Winning Bridge
- The Elements of Bridge
- The Fundamental of contract Bridge
- Goren on Play and Defense: All of Play: The Technique, the Logic, and the Challenge of Master Bridge
- Goren Presents the Italian Bridge System
- Goren Settles the Bridge Arguments
- Goren's Bridge Complete
- Goren's Bridge Quizzes
- Goren's Hoyle Encyclopedia of Bridge
- Goren's New Contract Bridge Complete
- Goren's Point Count Bidding Made Easy
- Goren's Winning Partnership Bridge
- Introduction to Bridge
- Introduction to Competitive Bidding
- Modern Backgammon Complete
- New Contract Bridge in a Nutshell
- Official Charles Goren Quick Reference to Winning Bridge
- Play and Defence
- Play As You Learn Bridge
- Play Bridge With Goren
- Play Winning Bridge With Any Partner: Even a Stranger
- Point Count Bidding In Contract Bridge
- Precision Bridge for Everyone
- The Precision System of Bidding
- Precision System of Contract Bridge Bidding: Charles H. Goren Presents
- Sports Illustrated Book of Bridge
- The Standard Book of Bidding
- The Standard Book of Play
- Winning Bridge Made Easy
External links
- ACBL Hall of Fame
- King of the Aces Time magazine (1958)
- Obituary by Alan TruscottAlan TruscottAlan Fraser Truscott was a bridge player, author and columnist. He wrote the daily bridge column for The New York Times for 41 years, from 1964 to 2005 and served as Executive Editor for all six editions of The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, 1964 to 2002.- Britain :Truscott was born in Brixton,...
in the New York Times - Profile on bridgehands.com
- Turning Tricks: The Rise and Fall of Contract Bridge, by David Owen in The New Yorker
- Charles Goren, biography on bridgebum.com