Alan M. Sontag (born May 2, 1946) is an American professional bridge player. He won six world championships, including two Bermuda Bowl wins. Sontag is also known for his book The Bridge Bum, which was described by the publisher as "on everybody's list of the top ten bridge books ever written."Master Point Press. The Bridge Bum by: Alan Sontag. .
Bridge career
Besides the two Bermuda Bowls, his other victories are the Rosenblum Cup, Transnational Open Teams, Senior Bowl, numerous North American Bridge Championships, and two wins in the London Sunday Times and Cavendish Invitational Pairs. In 1973, he and Steve Altman became the first American players to win the Sunday Times Pairs, at the time the premier invitational tournament in the world. Two years later, Sontag returned to London and won the tournament again, this time with Peter Weichsel, with whom he formed one of the strongest partnerships in the world from the 1970s until 2005. The two were partners in the 1983 Bermuda Bowl tournament in Stockholm, when the United States defeated Italy in one of its most exciting final matches. Sontag returned to the final in 2001, in Paris, where team captain Rose Meltzer became the first woman to win the Bermuda Bowl. Meltzer teams including Sontag won the odd-years Senior Bowl in 2005 and 2007 and the open Rosenblum Cup in 2006. (During this time Weichsel and Kyle Larsen have been Meltzer's partners in international competition.)
Sontag was inducted into the ACBL Hall of Fame in 2007."Bridge: 3 Champions Take Bows in Nashville". Phillip Alder. The New York Times. July 21, 2007.
Personal
Sontag was born in New York City. He and his wife, Robin, live in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with their son Robert.
Widely regarded as one of the fastest players in the world, he is known by his nickname Sonty.
Bridge accomplishments
Honors ACBL Hall of Fame, 2007"Induction by Year" . Hall of Fame. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-16.
Awards John E. Simon Award (Sportsman of the Year) 1974
Wins Bermuda Bowl (2) 1983, 2001 Rosenblum Cup (1) 2006 World Transnational Open Teams (1) 2000 Senior Bowl (2) 2005, 2007 North American Bridge Championships (16) Vanderbilt (3) 1972, 1988, 1999 Spingold (3) 1980, 1982, 2000 Reisinger (1) 1973 Grand National Teams (1) 1994 Open Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2001 Men's Board-a-Match Teams (2) 1971, 1979 North American Men's Swiss Teams (2) 1985, 1987 Master Mixed Teams (1) 1989 Life Master Pairs (1) 1977 Life Master Men's Pairs (1) 1971 United States Bridge Championships (3) Open Team Trials (2) 1982, 1991 Senior Team Trials (1) 2004 Other notable wins: Generali Two Worlds Trophy (1) 1994 Lancia Challenge Match (1) 1975 Lancia Swiss Teams (1) 1975 Reisinger Knockout Teams (2) 1977, 1988 Sunday Times Invitational Pairs (2) 1973, 1975 Cavendish Invitational Pairs (2) 1976, 1977
Runners-up North American Bridge Championships (18) Vanderbilt (5) 1975, 1981, 1983, 1989, 1997 Spingold (5) 1984, 1991, 1996, 1997, 2003 Reisinger (3) 1992, 1996, 1998 Men's Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1985 Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2017 Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (1) 2000 Life Master Pairs (2) 1972, 1984 United States Bridge Championships (5) Open Team Trials (4) 1972, 1974, 1980, 1999 Senior Team Trials (1) 2007 Other notable 2nd places: Buffett Cup (1) 2008 Reisinger Knockout Teams (1) 1978 Goldman Pairs (1) 1976
Books The Bridge Bum: My Life and Play, Morrow, 1977, , Power Precision: A Revolutionary Bridge System from a World Champion Player, Morrow, 1979 , Championship Bridge: One No Trump Forcing No. 20, Bibliagora, 1982, , Improve Your Bridge - Fast, Robert Hale Pub Co, 1982 (with Peter Steinberg), , The Viking Precision Club: A Relay System for the 21st Century, 2000 (with Glenn Grøtheim) The Bridge Bum: My Life and Play, 2nd Edition, Master Point Press, 2003, ,
References
External links – with video interview