William S. Root
Encyclopedia
William S. Root (December 12, 1923, Miami
, Florida
– March 18, 2002, Boca Raton
, Florida
) was a professional American
bridge
player. He represented the United States twelve times in international competition, including the Bermuda Bowl
in 1967. He was also the author of several bridge books.
Win the opening lead of J with the ace, dropping the king of spades. Cash the queen of spades, and jettison the ace of hearts from hand. Now cash the top hearts in dummy and jettison the top three clubs from hand! You can now run the clubs to discard diamond losers. This line of play has the advantage of trying out the club suit before seeing if the diamonds run. Due to this particular hand layout, the diamonds don't run because of the 4-0 split, while the clubs run because of the singleton 10. If the clubs did not split favorably, declarer could still try to run the diamonds using dummy's 3 to get back into declarer's hand.
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
– March 18, 2002, Boca Raton
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, incorporated in May 1925. In the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,764; the 2006 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 86,396. However, the majority of the people under the postal address of Boca Raton, about...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
) was a professional American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
player. He represented the United States twelve times in international competition, including the Bermuda Bowl
Bermuda Bowl
The Bermuda Bowl is a trophy awarded to the winners of the Open series in the World Team Championship in contract bridge and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament held in 1950...
in 1967. He was also the author of several bridge books.
Jettison play
One of the most famous hands in his books is a seven notrump contract requiring a very advanced jettison play. High cards often get in the declarer's way, that is they block the effective play of the hand. A solution to these blocking problems is to throw away high cards. This unblocking coup is known as the jettison play.Win the opening lead of J with the ace, dropping the king of spades. Cash the queen of spades, and jettison the ace of hearts from hand. Now cash the top hearts in dummy and jettison the top three clubs from hand! You can now run the clubs to discard diamond losers. This line of play has the advantage of trying out the club suit before seeing if the diamonds run. Due to this particular hand layout, the diamonds don't run because of the 4-0 split, while the clubs run because of the singleton 10. If the clubs did not split favorably, declarer could still try to run the diamonds using dummy's 3 to get back into declarer's hand.
Wins
- North American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...
(14)- VanderbiltVanderbilt TrophyThe trophy is awarded for the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams national bridge championship held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(4) 1968, 1983, 1986, 1995 - SpingoldSpingoldThe Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(3) 1961, 1966, 1967 - ChicagoReisingerThe Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Reisinger is a board-a-match event.-History:...
(now Reisinger) (1) 1957 - ReisingerReisingerThe Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Reisinger is a board-a-match event.-History:...
(5) 1967, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1990 - Men's PairsWernher Open PairsThe Wernher Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Wernher Open Pairs is a four session MP pairs event, two qualifying sessions and two final sessions....
(1) 1953
- Vanderbilt
Runner-ups
- Bermuda BowlBermuda BowlThe Bermuda Bowl is a trophy awarded to the winners of the Open series in the World Team Championship in contract bridge and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament held in 1950...
(1) 1967 - World Open Team OlympiadWorld Team OlympiadThe World Team Olympiad was a contract bridge meet organized by the World Bridge Federation every four years from 1960 to 2004. Its main events were world championships for national teams, always including one open and one restricted to women...
(1) 1968 - North American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...
(9)- SpingoldSpingoldThe Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(3) 1963, 1974, 1978 - ReisingerReisingerThe Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Reisinger is a board-a-match event.-History:...
(1) 1966 - Grand National TeamsGrand National TeamsThe Grand National Teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1992 - Men's Board-a-Match TeamsMitchell Board-a-Match TeamsThe Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1963 - North American Men's Swiss TeamsJacoby Open Swiss TeamsThe Jacoby Open Swiss Teams national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1984 - Life Master PairsVon Zedtwitz Life Master PairsThe Von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1995 - Open PairsSilodor Open PairsThe Silodor Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1966
- Spingold
- United States Bridge Championships (4)
- Open Team Trials (3) 1984, 1987, 1992
- Open Pair Trials (1) 1967