Tor Helness

Tor Helness (born 25 July 1957)

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 semifinal. For 25 years the open team regularly reached European semifinals, and it won world silver medals in 1993 and 2001. At the inaugural, 2008 World Mind Sports Games in Beijing, Tor Helness won the Open Individual gold medal and Geir Helgemo won the silver. Norway's open team won the bronze.

Helness and Helgemo were jailed following conviction on charges of tax evasion in 2017. In 2021, they returned to the Norwegian Open team.

Bridge career

Major wins

World Championships (5) Bermuda Bowl (1) 2007 Rosenblum Cup (2) 2006, 2018 World Transnational Open Teams Championship (2) 2009, 2015 North American Bridge Championships (8) Reisinger (2) 2012, 2013 Vanderbilt (1) 2010 Spingold (3) 2011, 2012, 2018 Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (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