Richard Pavlicek (born 1945) is an American bridge player, author and columnist.
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Pavlicek began to play bridge in 1964 at the age of 18 while stationed in Stuttgart, West Germany, with the U.S. Army.[1] Upon returning to Florida in 1966 he started to play in bridge tournaments in his spare time.[1] Since then he has won over 400 events and accumulated more than 16,000 masterpoints.[1] He is a Grand Life Master of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) and World International Master of the World Bridge Federation (WBF).
Pavlicek has won 11 North American Bridge Championships, including a record-setting three straight wins in the Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams, 1982–84.[1] In 1990, his team mounted a come-from-behind finish to win it again. He won the prestigious Vanderbilt Trophy in 1983, 1986 and most recently in 1995 playing with a team that was arranged the day before the event. He won the Grand National Team Championship in 1973 (its inaugural year) and again in 1997 — an interesting sidelight is that in 1973 one of Pavlicek's teammates was Billy Seamon, and in 1997 he played with Billy’s son, Michael.[1] His most recent national win was in 2004 when he and his son, Rich, became the first father-son combination to win the Life Master Open Pairs.[1]
Richard Pavlicek is the author of a variety of bridge textbooks and lesson material. He is co-author of Modern Bridge Conventions, published in 1981 and still a popular best-seller in the bridge marketplace, with William S. Root.[2]
Pavlicek is also a bridge columnist and composer of bridge puzzles, double-dummy problems and other novelties, which have appeared in a variety of publications. Since 1987, he has written the analysis booklet for the continent-wide “Instant Matchpoint” games of the American Contract Bridge League.[1]
Since 2000, Pavlicek has conducted monthly bidding polls and play contests through his website, with thousands of regular participants from over 90 countries.[3]
Richard and his wife of 40 years, Mabel, are not only a partnership in life but also in bridge teaching. Together, as the Pavlicek School of Bridge, they have taught thousands of students in South Florida, some of whom won national titles.[1] In 2006, Richard retired from teaching to be with his wife, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.[1]