Fred Gitelman

Frederick "Fred" Gitelman (born February 6, 1965)[1] is a Canadian-American bridge player, developer of bridge software, and a founder of the online bridge platform Bridge Base Online.

Fred Gitelman (2011)

Biography

Gitelman has won one world championship,[2] nine North American Bridge Championships,[3] and a gold medal in the 2002 IOC Grand Prix. He was a runner-up in the 1995 Bermuda Bowl[4] as a member of the Canada open team. In 2005 he was named Personality of the Year by the International Bridge Press Association.[5]

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.[6][7]

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.

Bill Gates selected Gitelman as his personal bridge coach.[8]

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. OCLC 59876220
  • 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" OCLC 222163432

Bridge accomplishments

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

Wins

Runners-up

References
  1. "GITELMAN Frederick". Athlete Information. SportAccord World Mind Games. December 2011. Retrieved 2015-01-13.
  2. PLAYER MASTER POINT HISTORY: Mr Fred Gitelman of Canada, World Bridge Federation, retrieved February 4, 2022
  3. NABC Winners, American Contract Bridge League, retrieved February 4, 2022
  4. Francis, Henry G.; Truscott, Alan F.; Francis, Dorthy A., eds. (2001). The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge (6th ed.). Memphis, TN: American Contract Bridge League. p. 651. ISBN 0-943855-44-6. OCLC 49606900.
  5. IBPA Handbook (PDF), International Bridge Press Association, retrieved February 4, 2022
  6. https://www.maccabicanada.com/1993-maccabiah-delegation
  7. https://www.maccabicanada.com/1997-maccabiah-delegation
  8. SCENE AS TOP PLAYER, New York Post, 5 October 2000, retrieved February 4, 2022
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