Ben Cohen (1907–1971) was an author, publisher, and distributor of

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions o ...

books and stationery supplies. He pioneered

duplicate bridge Duplicate bridge is a variation of contract bridge where the same set of bridge deals (i.e. the distribution of the 52 cards among the four hands) are played by different competitors, and scoring is based on relative performance. In this way, eve ...

in the UK in the early 1930s and helped develop the

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 a natural system using four-card majors and, most commonly, ...

bidding system in the mid-1930s. He and the young

Terence Reese John Terence Reese (28 August 1913 – 29 January 1996) was a British bridge player and writer, regarded as one of the finest of all time in both fields. He was born in Epsom, Surrey, England to middle-class parents, and was educated at Bradfiel ...

wrote the first, and for a long time the only, textbook of the Acol system, ''The Acol Two Club'' (1938). He also contributed to newspapers and journals in South Africa, India, and Japan as well as the UK. Cohen was from

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

. Cohen and

Rhoda Barrow ''Rhoda'' is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns starring Valerie Harper that originally aired on CBS for five seasons from September 9, 1974, to December 9, 1978. It was the first spin-off of ''The Mary T ...

edited the European ''Bridge Players' Encyclopedia'', published 1967 and based on the American ''

Official Encyclopedia of Bridge ''The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge'' (OEB) presents comprehensive information on the card game contract bridge with limited information on related games and on playing cards. It is "official" in reference to the American Contract Bridge League ...

'' (1964).

Publications

*Cohen, Ben and

. January, 1938. ''The Acol Two Club: with an introduction by S.J. Simon''. Leng, Sheffield. :• This was the first Acol textbook, its authors wisely disclaiming originality: "We do a job of reporting." It had a famous Preface, "Attitude of Mind" by Skid Simon. :• 2nd ed. revised and enlarged, February 1939. Second and subsequent editions titled ''The Acol System of Contract Bridge''. Joiner & Steele, London. :• 3rd ed. June, 1946; with 13 hands from the Waddington Par Contest. :• 4th ed. November, 1949; with a selection of hands from the 1949 International Series. This edition introduced three new chapters on competitive bidding, mistakes to avoid, and two clubs over one no-trump (the Marx convention). :• 5th ed 956? with a selection of hands from the 1955-56 international events and an Introduction by Guy Ramsey. *Cohen, Ben 1953. ''Change to Acol''. Allen & Unwin, London. *Cohen, Ben 1960. ''Bridge quiz''. Foyle, London. *Cohen, Ben 1960. ''World Olympic bridge.'' Arco. *Cohen, Ben. ''Solo Whist''. Stanley Paul, London. 1960. *Cohen, Ben 1962. ''Test your bridge: an anthology of posers and problems''. Arco. :• Reprints the whole of the four par contests designed by

and Skid Simon for Waddington in the late 1930s. *Cohen, Ben and Rhoda Barrow. 1964. ''The ABC of Contract Bridge''. Blond, London. *Cohen, Ben and Rhoda Barrow. 1965. ''Calling a spade a spade – or, Acol in action''. Blond, London. *Cohen, Ben and Rhoda Barrow. 1965. ''Building better bridge: Acol for Americans''. A.S. Barnes & Co. *Cohen, Ben and Rhoda Barrow. 1967. ''The Bridge Players' Encyclopedia'' Paul Hamlyn, London. *Cohen, Ben and Rhoda Barrow. 1969. ''All about Acol''. Allen & Unwin, London. *Cohen, Ben and Rhoda Barrow. 1969. ''Your Lead partner''. Allen & Unwin, London.

References

External links

* 1907 births 1971 deaths British and Irish contract bridge players Contract bridge writers Date of birth missing Place of birth missing Date of death missing Place of death missing People from Hove {{bridge-game-stub