Larry Cohen (bridge)
Larry Neil Cohen (born April 14, 1959) is an American bridge player, writer and teacher. He is best known as an advocate for the "Law of Total Tricks" as a guide in the bidding. He has won 25 North American Bridge Championships (NABC) events including the Vanderbilt, two Spingolds, two Reisingers, three Life Master Pairs, and four Blue Ribbon Pairs, and he is a two-time winner of the Cavendish Invitational Pairs cash prize tournament.
Cohen's most important work on "the Law" was To Bid or Not to Bid: The LAW of Total Tricks, published in 1992. It was the best-selling bridge book of the 1990s with more than 90,000 copies sold in six different languages and its sequel Following the Law was another bridge best seller.[1] He is known for long-term expert partnerships with Marty Bergen, Ron Gerard, and David Berkowitz, but announced his retirement from high-level competition in 2009 to devote more time to writing and teaching the game.[2] However, he has, on occasion, played in high-level competition thereafter.
Cohen was born in New York City. He learned to play bridge at age six with his grandparents and brother Paul, started playing duplicate at age 14, and began playing in tournaments at age 15. He became an American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) Life Master at age 17.
He now makes a living as a bridge teacher, often on cruise ships and as a guest speaker/teacher at country clubs and bridge clubs across the USA. He writes a monthly column, The Real Deal, in the ACBL Bridge Bulletin.[2] An extensive list of bridge articles and information can be found on his website and in his regular newsletters. He currently resides with his wife, Maria, in Delray Beach, Florida.
Bridge accomplishments
Honors
- Sidney H. Lazard Jr. Sportsmanship Award 2003
Awards
- ACBL Named in Top 52 Most Influential People of Bridge 2013
- ACBL Honorary Member of the Year 2011
- ACBL Sportsman of the Year 2003
- ITES Award (Best Defended Hand of the Year) 2003 (Winning Journalist)
- ACBL Player of the Year 2002
- Romex Award (Best Bid Hand of the Year) 1995, 2000
- Precision Award (Best Defended Hand of the Year) 1996
- ABTA Winner of six Book/Software of the Year Awards
Wins
- North American Bridge Championships (25)
- Vanderbilt (1) 2005 [3]
- Spingold (2) 1981, 1984 [4]
- Reisinger (2) 1985, 1991
- Grand National Teams (3) 1994, 2007, 2008
- Open Board-a-Match Teams (2) 1991, 2007
- Men's Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1984
- North American Swiss Teams (1) 1999
- Mixed Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2002
- Blue Ribbon Pairs (4) 1981, 1983, 1988, 1995
- Life Master Pairs (3) 1987, 1988, 1996
- Life Master Men's Pairs (1) 1983
- Open Pairs I (3) 2004, 2006, 2009
- Open Pairs II (1) 1996
- United States Bridge Championships (1)
- Open Team Trials (1) 2000
- Other notable wins:
- Buffett Cup (1) 2006
- Cavendish Invitational Teams (2) 1988, 1994
- Pan American Open Teams (1) 1992
- Cap Gemini World Top Invitational Pairs (1) 1999
- Cavendish Invitational Pairs (2) 1984, 1989
- Goldman Pairs (1) 1983
Runners-up
- World Open Pairs (1) 1998
- North American Bridge Championships (22)
- Vanderbilt (4) 1990, 1993, 1998, 2004
- Spingold (2) 1983, 2009
- Reisinger (3) 2002, 2004, 2007
- Grand National Teams (1) 1991
- Open Board-a-Match Teams (2) 1990, 2008
- North American Swiss Teams (1) 2006
- Master Mixed Teams (1) 1994
- Blue Ribbon Pairs (1) 1996
- Life Master Open Pairs (2) 1991, 2002
- Life Master Men's Pairs (1) 1986
- Grand National Pairs (2) 1980, 1984
- Open Pairs (1) 1979
- Open Pairs I (1) 2002
- United States Bridge Championships (4)
- Open Team Trials (4) 1985, 1998, 2002, 2008
- Other notable 2nd places:
- Cavendish Invitational Teams (2) 1986, 2000
- Goldman Pairs (1) 1991
Selected works
- Books
- Larry Teaches Opening Leads (Self-Published October 2014)
- Larry Teaches Doubles and Redoubles (Self-Published October 2013)
- Larry Teaches 2/1 Game Force (Self-Published April 2012)
- My Favorite 52 (Toronto: Master Point Press, 2009)
- Larry Cohen's Bidding Challenge (Toronto: Master Point Press, 2002) OCLC 48533856
- Introduction to the Law (Devyn Press, 1997)
- Bridge Below the Belt, Cohen and Liz Davis (Boca Raton, FL: Natco, 1997) OCLC 37682710
- Following the LAW: The Total Tricks Sequel (Little Falls, NJ: Natco Press, 1995; (c) 1994) OCLC 34135078
- To Bid or Not to Bid: The LAW of Total Tricks (Stamford, CT: Platinum Press, 1992) OCLC 28013533 ABTA Award Winner
- Interactive CD ROMs
- The Real Deal Advanced (2010) ABTA Award Winner
- The Real Deal Intermediate (2010) ABTA Award Winner
- Play Bridge with Larry Cohen (1999 Life Master Pairs) Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 ABTA Award Winner
- My Favorite 52 (2005) ABTA Award Winner
- CDs
- Talking Bridge (2012) ABTA Award Winner
References
- ↑ "About Larry". Bridge with Larry Cohen (larryco.com). Retrieved 2014-05-21.
- 1 2 "End of Career?". Bridge with Larry Cohen (larryco.com). March 2009. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
- ↑ "Vanderbilt Previous Winners" (PDF). American Contract Bridge League. 2014-03-24. p. 6. Retrieved 2014-10-18.
- ↑ "Spingold Previous Winners" (PDF). American Contract Bridge League. 2014-07-21. p. 12. Retrieved 2014-10-18.
External links
- Official website
- Larry Cohen international record at the World Bridge Federation.
- Audio-video presentation by Cohen of partner David Berkowitz for ACBL Hall of Fame induction (uploaded July 24, 2010, by Cohen)
- Larry Cohen at Library of Congress Authorities, with 2 catalog records – among several under 'Cohen, Larry' without '1959-', on the previous page of the browse report
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