Alan M. Sontag (born May 2, 1946) is an American professional

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

player. He won six world championships, including two

Bermuda Bowl The Bermuda Bowl is a biennial contract bridge world championship for national . It is contested every odd-numbered year under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), alongside the Venice Cup (women), the d'Orsi Senior Bowl and the Wuh ...

wins. Sontag is also known for his book ''The Bridge Bum'', a book "on everybody's list of the top ten bridge books ever written."The Bridge Bum
. Master Point Press.

Bridge career

Besides the two Bermuda Bowls, his other victories are the

Rosenblum Cup Rosenblum Cup is an Open Teams event held every four years as part of the World Bridge Championships. The event was added to the world championships in New Orleans in 1978 to commemorate Julius Rosenblum, who served as president of the World Bridge ...

, Transnational Open Teams,

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

, numerous

North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven da ...

, and two wins in the London Sunday Times and Cavendish Invitational Pairs. In 1973, he and Steve Altman became the first American players to win the Sunday Times Pairs, at the time the premier invitational tournament in the world. Two years later, Sontag returned to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and won the tournament again, this time with

Peter Weichsel Peter M. Weichsel (born 1943) is an American professional bridge player from Encinitas, California. College and war years Early Weichsel started playing bridge at home with his family, but did not get hooked until 1963 when he was a student at ...

, with whom he formed one of the strongest partnerships in the world from the 1970s until 2005. The two were partners in the 1983

tournament in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, when the United States defeated Italy in one of its most exciting final matches. Sontag returned to the final in 2001, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where team captain Rose Meltzer became the first woman to win the Bermuda Bowl. Meltzer teams including Sontag won the odd-years

in 2005 and 2007 and the open

in 2006. (During this time Weichsel and Kyle Larsen have been Meltzer's partners in international competition.) Sontag was inducted into the

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 ...

in 2007."Bridge: 3 Champions Take Bows in Nashville"
Phillip Alder. ''The New York Times''. July 21, 2007.

Personal

Sontag was born in New York City. He and his wife, Robin, live in

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, ...

, with their son Robert. Widely regarded as one of the fastest players in the world, he is known by his nickname Sonty.

Bridge accomplishments

Honors

* ACBL Hall of Fame, 2007"Induction by Year"
. ''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-16.

Awards

* John E. Simon Award (Sportsman of the Year) 1974

Wins

(2) 1983, 2001 *

(1) 2006 * World Transnational Open Teams (1) 2000 *

(2) 2005, 2007 *

(16) ** Vanderbilt (3) 1972, 1988, 1999 **

Spingold The Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Spingold is a knock-out team event that attracts the top contract bridge players in the world. T ...

(3) 1980, 1982, 2000 **

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 ( ...

(1) 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 ...

(1) 1994 ** Open Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2001 ** Men's Board-a-Match Teams (2) 1971, 1979 ** North American Men's Swiss Teams (2) 1985, 1987 ** Master Mixed Teams (1) 1989 ** Life Master Pairs (1) 1977 ** Life Master Men's Pairs (1) 1971 * United States Bridge Championships (3) ** Open Team Trials (2) 1982, 1991 ** Senior Team Trials (1) 2004 * Other notable wins: ** Generali Two Worlds Trophy (1) 1994 ** Lancia Challenge Match (1) 1975 ** Lancia Swiss Teams (1) 1975 ** Reisinger Knockout Teams (2) 1977, 1988 ** Sunday Times Invitational Pairs (2) 1973, 1975 ** Cavendish Invitational Pairs (2) 1976, 1977

Runners-up

(18) ** Vanderbilt (5) 1975, 1981, 1983, 1989, 1997 **

(5) 1984, 1991, 1996, 1997, 2003 **

(3) 1992, 1996, 1998 ** Men's Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1985 **

Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams The Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championships, North American Bridge Championship (NABC). It is an open four session board-a-match event ...

(1) 2017 **

Jacoby Open Swiss Teams The Jacoby Open Swiss Teams national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Jacoby Open Swiss Teams is a four session Swiss Teams event with two qualifying ...

(1) 2000 ** Life Master Pairs (2) 1972, 1984 * United States Bridge Championships (5) ** Open Team Trials (4) 1972, 1974, 1980, 1999 ** Senior Team Trials (1) 2007 * Other notable 2nd places: **

Buffett Cup The Buffett Cup is a bridge trophy which is awarded biennially in an event between teams from Europe and the United States. The tournament is modeled on the Ryder Cup golf competition and is held in the week preceding the golf event at a nearby l ...

(1) 2008 ** Reisinger Knockout Teams (1) 1978 ** Goldman Pairs (1) 1976

Books

*''The Bridge Bum: My Life and Play'',

Morrow wikt:morrow, Morrow is a word meaning "the next day" in literary English. It also means "morning" in archaic English Morrow may also refer to: Places in the United States and Canada United States *Morrow, Arkansas *Morrow, Georgia *Morrow, Louis ...

, 1977, , *''Power Precision: A Revolutionary Bridge System from a World Champion Player'',

, 1979 , *''Championship Bridge: One No Trump Forcing No. 20'', Bibliagora, 1982, , *''Improve Your Bridge - Fast'', Robert Hale Pub Co, 1982 (with Peter Steinberg), , *''The Viking Precision Club: A Relay System for the 21st Century'', 2000 (with Glenn Grøtheim) *''The Bridge Bum: My Life and Play'', 2nd Edition,

Master Point Press Master Point Press is a Canadian book publishing company located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It grew out of Canadian Master Point magazine (1992–1997), which was published by Ray and Linda Lee. The company began publishing books in 1994. While ...

, 2003, ,

References

External links

* – with video interview * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sontag, Alan 1946 births American contract bridge players Bermuda Bowl players Contract bridge writers Writers from New York City People from Gaithersburg, Maryland Living people