The Lebhar IMP Pairs national bridge championship is held at the spring 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 Lebhar IMP Pairs is a four-session IMP pairs event with two qualifying and two final sessions. The event typically starts on the second Thursday of the NABC. The event is open.

History

The Lebhar IMP Pairs is a four-session event --- two qualifying sessions followed by two final sessions. The winners have their names inscribed on the Lebhar Trophy. Scoring is by International Match Points (IMPs).

The trophy was donated by Bertram Lebhar Jr. in 1948 in memory of his wife, Evelyn. The trophy was previously given to winners of the Mixed Teams but re-designated for the IMP Pairs by the ACBL Board of Directors. Lebhar (1907–1972), under the name of Bert Lee, earned a national reputation as a sportscaster and later as a bridge player and administrator. In private life, he owned radio and television stations in Florida. Lebhar was one of the founders of the Greater New York Bridge Association and was elected its first president in 1948. Lebhar was also a player: he won the Spingold in 1940 and the Master Mixed Teams in 1946. His team was his wife Evelyn along with Samuel Katz and Alicia Kemper.

Winners

Winners of Lebhar IMP Pairs

Year	Winners	Runners-up
1987	Robb Gordon, Linda Danas	Peter Weichsel, Richard Katz
1988	Gene Freed, Mike Passell	Corinne Gellman, Jim Kirkham
1989	Richard Schwartz, Fred Hamilton	Bud Reinhold, Michael Seamon
1990	Ralph Cohen, Renee Mancuso	Richard Schwartz, Drew Casen Drew Casen Drew Ara Casen is an Armenian-American professional bridge player.He is a native of Forest Hills and was raised in the Lenox Hills neighborhood of Farmingdale which abuts Bethpage State Park golf course, site of the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Open...
1991	Harvey Brody, Ralph Buchalter	Ron Freldman, Marty Shallon
1992	Vera Gama, Marcelo Branco Marcelo Branco Marcelo Branco is famous Brazilian bridge player. Among other successes, he was the winner of World Team Olympiad in Monte Carlo 1976, Bermuda Bowl in Perth 1989, and World Open pairs Championship in New Orleans 1978 and Geneva 1990. He is one of 10 players who collected the Triple Crown of Bridge...	David Midkiff, Tom Oppenheimer
1993	Bob Klein, David Ruderman	Win Allegaert, Gary Gottlieb
1994	Tom Fox, Walter Schafer Jr.	Howard Chandross, Lee Rautenberg
1995	Steve Sion, Harold Lilie	Brad Moss, Elizabeth Reich
1996	Mike Albert, Marilyn Hemenway	Steve Beatty, Adam Wildavsky
1997	Tom Carmichael, Joel Wooldridge	Dick Bruno, Kenji Miyakuni
1998	Jim Robison, Gene Freed	Jeanne Rahmey, Gary Cohler
1999	George Jacobs, Ralph Katz Ralph Katz Ralph Katz is an American bridge player.Domestically, he has won 20 North American Bridge Championships and twice the Open Team Trials. Internationally, he has many top finishes, highlighted by a win in the 2009 Bermuda Bowl...	Rob Crawford, Spike Lay
2000	Aschley Bach, Stephen Burgess	Steve Beatty, George Steiner
2001	Peter Boyd, Steve Robinson	Neil Chambers, Norb Kremer
2002	Ai-Tai Lo, Alan Schwartz	William Ehlers, Rich DeMartino
2003	Steve Weinstein, Bobby Levin Bobby Levin Robert J. Levin is an American professional bridge player. He is best known as the youngest winner of the world championship for national teams, namely the 1981 Bermuda Bowl, and as five-time winner of the Cavendish Invitational with his regular partner Steve Weinstein...	Mitch Dunitz, Iftikhar Baqai
2004	Jiang Gu, Nikolay Demirev	Peter Boyd, Steve Robinson
2005	Blair Seidler, Kevin Wilson	Jón Baldursson, Þorlákur Jónsson
2006	Fred Gitelman Fred Gitelman Fred Gitelman is a leading American bridge player, as well as the founder and manager of , a bridge playing site.... , Geoff Hampson	Michael Rosenberg Michael Rosenberg Michael Rosenberg is one of the top bridge players in the United States. He moved to Scotland as a child and returned to New York in 1990 where he lives with his wife Debbie, also a top player.... , Ralph Katz Ralph Katz Ralph Katz is an American bridge player.Domestically, he has won 20 North American Bridge Championships and twice the Open Team Trials. Internationally, he has many top finishes, highlighted by a win in the 2009 Bermuda Bowl...
2007	Boye Brogeland, Ishmael Delmonte	Jonathan Weinstein, Robert Heitzman Jr.
2008	Doug Doub, Adam Wildavsky	Marc Nathan, Dan Gerstman
2009	Nikolay Demirev, Nicolas L'Ecuyer	Greg Hinze, Nagy Kamel
2010	Pablo Lambardi, Pablo Ravenna	Jón Baldursson, Þorlákur Jónsson
2011	Runar Lillevik, Oyvind Ludvigsen	Jón Baldursson, Þorlákur Jónsson

Sources

List of previous winners, Page 12
2009 winners, Page 1