Tor Helness (born 25 July 1957) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

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 was a stalwart on Norway junior and open teams for thirty years before moving to

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. Through 2012 he has won four world championships in competition. As of October 2016 he ranks second among Open World Grand Masters and his regular partner

Geir Helgemo Geir Helgemo (born 14 February 1970) is a professional bridge player who was born in Norway but is now a citizen of Monaco. Through 2012 he had won three world championships in competition. As of August 2018 he ranked first among Open World Gra ...

ranks first. From 1979 to 1981, Helness represented Norway on both its junior and open teams. In 1980 the juniors were European champions (there was yet no world championship) and the open team reached the

World Team Olympiad The World Team Olympiad was a contract bridge meet organized by the World Bridge Federation every four years from 1960 to 2004. Its main events were world championships for national teams, always including one open and one restricted to women ("Op ...

semifinal. For 25 years the open team regularly reached European semifinals, and it won world silver medals in 1993 and 2001. Norway finally won the world team championship in 2007, the biennial

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 ...

, with a team of six including Helness–Helgemo as anchor pair. The couple Tor and Gunn Helness won the Mixed Pairs (an event without a world championship) at the 2005 European Open Championships. At the inaugural,

2008 World Mind Sports Games The first World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) were held in Beijing, China from October 3 to 18, 2008, about two months after the Olympic Games.

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Tor Helness won the Open Individual gold medal and Geir Helgemo won the silver. Norway's open team won the bronze.

Emigration to Monaco

From 2011 Helness and his regular Norwegian partner

are full-time members of a team led and paid by the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

real estate tycoon Pierre Zimmermann, under contract expiring 2016. The team finished third in the 2010 world championship, not yet full-time, and it will compete in the

European Bridge League The European Bridge League is a confederation of National Bridge Federations (NBFs) that organize the card game of contract bridge in European nations. In turn the EBL organizes bridge competition at the European level. It is a member of the Europe ...

open championship this spring. From 2012 all six members will be subjects of the Prince of

and the team will be a prohibitive favorite to represent Monaco internationally in bridge events. Helness-Helgemo's last appearance representing Monaco was in 2018. After that they switched back to Norway, and where eligible to represent their home country again from 2021.

Bridge career

Major wins

*World Championships (5) **

(1) 2007 **

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 ...

(2) 2006, 2018 **

World Transnational Open Teams Championship The World Transnational Open Teams Championship is a major side event conducted by the World Bridge Federation during the semifinal and final stages of its world championships for national teams at contract bridge—the Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup, and ...

(2) 2009, 2015 *

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 ...

(8) **

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 ( ...

(2) 2012, 2013 ** Vanderbilt (1) 2010 **

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) 2011, 2012, 2018 **

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) 2005 ** Open Pairs I (1) 2009 *European Championships (5) **Open Teams (1) 2012 **Junior Teams (1) 1980 **Mixed Teams (1) 2005 **Mixed Pairs (1) 2005 **European Champions' Cup (1) 2016 *Nordic Championships (2) **Open Teams (2) 1980, 1982 *Norwegian Championships (34) **Open Pairs (7) 1980, 1982, 1986, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 **Club Teams (9) 1981, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 **Premier League (13) 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2014 **Swiss Teams (2) 2007, 2008 **Mixed Pairs (1) 1991 **Mixed Teams (2) 2004, 2012

Other notable wins

*Cap Volmac World Top Invitational Pairs (2) 1994, 1996 *Macallan Invitational Pairs (2) 1998, 1999 *Generali World Masters Individual (1) 2008 * Cavendish Invitational Teams (1) 2010 *European Winter Games (1) 2016

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Helness, Tor 1957 births Norwegian contract bridge players Monegasque contract bridge players Bermuda Bowl players Norwegian emigrants to Monaco Living people Place of birth missing (living people) People from Bodø