Fred Gitelman

Frederick "Fred" Gitelman (born February 6, 1965) nine North American Bridge Championships, and a gold medal in the 2002 IOC Grand Prix. He was a runner-up in the 1995 Bermuda Bowl as a member of the Canada open . In 2005 he was named Personality of the Year by the International Bridge Press Association.

Gitelman was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was a member of the Canadian youth and later open international teams before he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. He resides there with his wife, Sheri Weinstock, also a well-known bridge player.

He competed for Team Canada at the 1993 Maccabiah Games and 1997 Maccabiah Games in Israel.

He is well known for the educational software he produced through his company Bridge Base Inc. His most recent project is Bridge Base Online (BBO), which he began in 2001, for online bridge play. BBO is one of the most popular bridge-playing sites. He officially retired from Bridge Base Online on July 12, 2019.

Creativity at the table

Gitelman is sometimes recognized for his creativity at the bridge table. In one tournament he discarded an Ace, as a signal to his partner to not lead that suit. His partner led the remaining logical suit which Gitelman, being void, ruffed.

Books

Master Class: lessons from the bridge table (Toronto: Master Point Press, 2005), 207 pp. Duplicate Bridge at Home: deals & scoring from Fred Gitelman's Bridge Base Online, Mark Horton and Gitelman (Master Point, 2008), 264 pp. – "commentary by Mark Horton"

Bridge accomplishments

Awards ACBL Honorary Member of the Year 2005 IBPA Personality of the Year Award 2005

Wins World Bridge Championships Rosenblum (1) 2010 North American Bridge Championships (6) Spingold (2) 2005, 2010 Reisinger (1) 2001 Open Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1998 Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (1) 2003 IMP Pairs (1) 2006 United States Bridge Championships (1) Open Team Trials (1) 2005 Canadian Championships (2) National Team Championships (2) 1994, 1995 Other notable wins: Buffett Cup (1) 2006 IOC Grand Prix (1) 2002 Forbo-Krommenie Nations Cup (1) 2001 Cavendish Invitational Teams (1) 2001 Cavendish Invitational Pairs (1) 2003

Runners-up Bermuda Bowl (1) 1995 World Transnational Open Teams (1) 2000 World Junior Teams (1) 1991 North American Bridge Championships (7) Vanderbilt (1) 2009 Spingold (1) 2000 Reisinger (1) 2006 Open Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2002 Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (1) 2002 Life Master Pairs (1) 1999 Life Master Open Pairs (1) 2003 United States Bridge Championships (2) Open Team Trials (2) 2006, 2007 Other notable 2nd places: Forbo-Krommenie Nations Cup (1) 2002