The National Open Pairs national 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...

 championship was held at the fall American Contract Bridge League

American Contract Bridge League

The American Contract Bridge League is the largest contract bridge organization in North America. It promotes the game of bridge in the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, and Canada, and is a member of the World Bridge Federation...

 (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship

North American Bridge Championships

North 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...

 (NABC). The National Open Pairs was a four-session matchpoint (MP) pairs event.

History

This event was the first national championship for open pairs. It was contested for the Cavendish Trophy until 1962. Since 1963, the trophy has been awarded to winners of the Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs.

Winners

Winners of National Open Pairs

Year	Winners	Runners-up
1928	Theodore Lightner, Waldemar von Zedtwitz	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"... , Josephine Culbertson
1929	1/2. William McKenney, Ralph Richards 1/2. Hortense Evans, Mrs. Sidney Lovell
1930	Louise W. Bright, P. S. Germain	B. Foster, Ann W. Loftus
1931	Willard Karn, P. Hal Sims P. Hal Sims Philip Hal Sims was an American bridge player.In the early game, he was considered one of the best players in the United States. In 1931, he formed the Four Horsemen team composed of himself, Oswald Jacoby, Willard S...	Olga Hilliard, Louis H. Watson Louis H. Watson Louis H. Watson of New York City was a highly ranked American contract bridge player and author who rose to prominence in the 1930s. A popular personality, he was considered by Ely Culbertson to be his most likely successor...
1932	Willard Karn, P. Hal Sims P. Hal Sims Philip Hal Sims was an American bridge player.In the early game, he was considered one of the best players in the United States. In 1931, he formed the Four Horsemen team composed of himself, Oswald Jacoby, Willard S...	Oswald Jacoby Oswald Jacoby Oswald Jacoby was an American contract bridge player and author, considered one of the greatest bridge players of all time. He also excelled at, and wrote about, other games including backgammon, gin rummy, and poker.Born in Brooklyn, he was taught to play whist at the age of six and played his... , Louis H. Watson Louis H. Watson Louis H. Watson of New York City was a highly ranked American contract bridge player and author who rose to prominence in the 1930s. A popular personality, he was considered by Ely Culbertson to be his most likely successor...
1933	Charles A. Hall, Richard M. Wildberg	Sam Fry, Waldemar von Zedtwitz
1934	Charles Lochridge, Johnny Rau	Harry Fishbein, Herman Goldberg
1935	Edward Hymes Jr., Oswald Jacoby Oswald Jacoby Oswald Jacoby was an American contract bridge player and author, considered one of the greatest bridge players of all time. He also excelled at, and wrote about, other games including backgammon, gin rummy, and poker.Born in Brooklyn, he was taught to play whist at the age of six and played his...	Paul D. Parcells, Charles Rilling
1936	Walter Jacobs, Ralph Kempner	Allyne Paris, John R. Smith
1937	A. Mitchell Barnes, Waldemar von Zedtwitz	Phil Abramsohn, Harry Fishbein
1938	Frank E. Bubna, Mollie Funk	Sonny Moyse, 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...
1939	Walter Jacobs, Albert Weiss	Phil Abramsohn, Morrie Elis
1940	Charles Goren Charles Goren 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.-Early years:Goren... , 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...	Henry Chanin, Harry Fishbein
1941	Sidney Silodor, Sally Young	Phil Abramsohn, Harry Fishbein
1942	Alvin Roth Alvin Roth Alvin L. Roth was an American bridge player, considered one of the greatest of all time. He wrote several books on the game, and invented various bridge conventions that have become commonplace, including five-card majors, negative doubles, forcing notrump, and the unusual notrump.-Biography:Roth... , Tobias Stone	Harry Fishbein, Waldemar von Zedtwitz
1943	Ruth Goldberg, Edith Seligman	Ned Drucker, Milton Moss
1944	Ambrose Casner, Ralph Hirschberg	Aaron Frank, Arthur S. Goldsmith
1945	Jane Jaeger, Lewis M. Jaeger	Bill Levin, Leo Roet
1946	B. Jay Becker, Sidney Silodor	David C. Carter, Frances Carter
1947	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... , Margaret Wagar	Sam Fry, Ruth Sherman
1948	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... , Margaret Wagar	Peter Leventritt, Edson Wood
1949	Gardner E. Goldsmith, Charles Whitebrook	B. Jay Becker, Simon Becker
1950	Mark Kelliher, Jack Kushner	Leo Roet, Edson Wood
1951	Arthur Glatt, Albert Weiss	Richard Kahn, Peter Leventritt
1952	Israel Cohen, Vic D. Zeve	Paula Bacher, Leo Roet
1953	Byron Greenberg, Harold Rockaway	David C. Carter, Curtis Smith
1954	George Heath, Paul Hodge	F. Ayres Bombeck, David C. Carter
1955	Milton Q. Ellenby, Emmanuel Hochfeld	Barbara Brier, Waldemar von Zedtwitz
1956	Ben Fain, Paul Hodge	Norman Kay, Charles J. Solomon
1957	Lew Mathe, Edward O. Taylor	Paul Allinger, Sidney Lazard
1958	John Fisher, Emma Jean Hawes	Alvin Roth Alvin Roth Alvin L. Roth was an American bridge player, considered one of the greatest of all time. He wrote several books on the game, and invented various bridge conventions that have become commonplace, including five-card majors, negative doubles, forcing notrump, and the unusual notrump.-Biography:Roth... , Tobias Stone
1959	Morton Rubinow, Sam Stayman Samuel Stayman Samuel M. Stayman was an American bridge player, author and administrator. A graduate of the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College, he was also a successful textile executive and portfolio investment manager.He was the eponym of the Stayman convention...	William Grieve, Emmanuel Hochfeld
1960	Oswald Jacoby Oswald Jacoby Oswald Jacoby was an American contract bridge player and author, considered one of the greatest bridge players of all time. He also excelled at, and wrote about, other games including backgammon, gin rummy, and poker.Born in Brooklyn, he was taught to play whist at the age of six and played his... , Curtis Smith	Simon Becker, Eugene Davidson
1961	Phil Feldesman, Ira Rubin	Jack Blair, Robert Stucker
1962	B. Jay Becker, Dorothy Hayden Dorothy Hayden Truscott Dorothy Hayden Truscott was the top-ranked woman in bridge for many years and authored or co-authored books on the game.-Career:...	Eddie Kantar, Marshall Miles Marshall Miles Marshall Lauren Miles is an American bridge player and author.-Bridge career:Miles' crowning achievement was winning the World Senior Teams Olympiad in Istanbul in 2004...
>colspan=2 bgcolor=#FFFFFF| continued by the Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs