Source: Bridgeguys.com
Mr. Ronald E. Andersen was born in 1941 and died in 1997. He lived in New York, Dallas and Chicago. Mr. Ronald E. Andersen was one of the most successful American bridge players and a professional bridge author.
He was a World Bridge Federation World master and an ACBL Grand Life Master with more than 31,000 Master Points, which put him as Number Three on the list of members with the greatest total points.
Mr. Ronald E. Andersen was involved in many bridge-related activities. He held bridge lectures, hosted even panel shows, and moderated bridge programs at NABCs, and was the chief vugraph commentator at the European Championships.
As an experienced bridge player, Mr. Ronald E. Andersen placed 6th in the World Open Pairs in 1978, placed 8th in 1982, tied for 5th place in the 1984 World Teams Olympiad. He finished third in the 1990 resumption of the London Times Invitational. He won the London Times Charity Pro-Am event in 1991, won the Proton Invitational Teams in Taipei in 1990.
In 1981 Mr. Ronald E. Andersen played in the first international bridge tournament ever held in mainland China (Shanghai). He delivered a lecture at the Chinese University in Shanghai with the aid of Catherine Wei as translator.
Among his accomplishments in the bridge world, he developed the DOOP, which is a device which permits one table duplicate games, so that hands previously played in tournaments can also be played in the home. He was also a contributor to the development of the Precision System. He hosted and coordinated vugraph presentations at NABCs and was chief commentator at many European Championships for several years.
Mr. Ronald E. Andersen was the Editor in Chief of the Devyn Press Championship Bridge Series, and the author of two pamphlets in the series titled Killing Their No Trump and Matchpoint Tactics. He edited four books on Precision, and was Associate Editor of the International Precision Newsletter.
Other articles by Mr. Ronald E. Andersen were articles written for the ACBL Bulletin and several other Bridge Periodicals throughout the world.
He is the author of:
Where and How High
Lebensohl Convention Complete, 1996
Counting, 1992 (Championship Bridge Series, No. 24, Vol 3/0234)
and is the co-author of
Matchpoint Precision, with C.C. Wei
Making the Most of Your Limited Opening Bids
Profits from Preempts, 1997 with C.C. Wei
Perfect your No Trump Bidding, with C.C. Wei
Action For The Defence
Preempts From A to Z, with Sabine Zenkel, 1993
Bridge From A to Z
Mr. Ronald E. Andersen was coach and acting captain of the US Venice Trophy team that reached the finals in Rye, New York in 1981, and was npc of the Venice Trophy team that reached the semi-finals in Yokohama in 1991. In 1974 he won the Mott-Smith Trophy with a record 250 Masterpoints. He was a four-time winner of the McKenney Top 500 (more than any other living player), and he was the first to win more than 2000 Masterpoints in one year (2009 MPs in 1977, 2725 MPs in 1980, and 2994 MPs in 1983).
1970 Life Master Men’s Pairs 1971 Master Mixed Teams 1974 Men’s Teams 1974 Winner of the Mott-Smith Trophy 1974 Open Pairs, Placed 2nd 1974 Vanderbilt, Placed 2nd Team:2. Ron Andersen, Mark Feldman, Stephen Goldstein, Merle Tom, Kathie Wei 1975 Blue Ribbon Pairs, Placed 2nd 1977 Vanderbilt, Placed 2nd Team:2. Ron Andersen, Gerald Caravelli, Hugh MacLean, Milt Rosenberg, Kathie Wei 1978 Blue Ribbon Pairs 1979 Vanderbilt, Placed 2nd Team:2. Ron Andersen, Dave Berkowitz, Jeff Meckstroth, Judi Radin, Kathie Wei 1980 Vanderbilt, Placed 2nd Team:2. Ron Andersen, Mark Feldman, Eric Kokish, Peter Nagy 1980 Reisinger Team: 1. Ron Andersen, Malcolm Brachman, Bobby Goldman, Eddie Kantar, Mike Lawrence, Paul Soloway 1982 Reisinger, Placed 2nd Team: 2. Bud Reinhold, Ron Andersen, Tommy Sanders, Paul Soloway, Bobby Goldman 1982 Life Master Pairs 1983 Spingold Team: 1. Malcolm Brachman, Bobby Wolff, Bob Goldman, Bob Hamman, Paul Soloway, Ron Andersen 1986 Reisinger, Placed 2nd Team:Bud Reinhold, Ron Andersen, Tommy Sanders, Paul Soloway, Bobby Goldman 1986 Spingold Team: 1. Malcolm Brachman, Bobby Goldman, Ron Andersen, Mike Passell, Mark Lair, Paul Soloway 1988 Spingold Team: 1. Jim Mahaffey, Ron Andersen, Paul Soloway, Bobby Goldman, Eric Rodwell, Jeff Meckstroth 1989 Men’s Swiss Teams 1990 Spingold, Placed 2nd Team: 2. Jim Mahaffey, Paul Soloway, Bobby Goldman, Ron Andersen, Jeff Meckstroth, Eric Rodwell 1992 Reisinger, Placed 2nd Team: 2. Jim Mahaffey, Alan Sontag, Eddie Kantar, Ron Andersen, Tony Forrester 1993 Mixed Pairs, Placed 2nd
Mr. Ronald Andersen won many regional events. He died at the European Championships while commentating on vugraph.
Source: New York Times
Ron Andersen, Bridge Titlist And Commentator, Dies at 56
By ALAN TRUSCOTT Published: July 13, 1997
Ron Andersen, a leading personality in the world of bridge, died on July 3 at North-West Hospital in Chicago. He was 56.
While officiating as chief commentator at the European Bridge Championships in Italy last month, he suffered two strokes associated with kidney failure, said his brother Kenneth Andersen of Dike, Iowa. He was flown home to Chicago, where he suffered a third stroke.
In 1977, Mr. Andersen became the first player to win more than 2,000 master points in a calendar year, giving him the Barry Crane Top 500 title, which designates the top player on the tournament circuit.
He won the title again in 1980 and 1983, setting new point records both times, and in 1986.
He was a three-time winner of the prestigious Spingold Knockout Team Championship, in 1983, 1986 and 1988, and his eight other national titles included two victories in the Reisinger Board-a-Match Team Championship, in 1980 and 1992.
He was a four-time runner-up in the Vanderbilt Knockout Team Championship, and he won hundreds of regional titles.
He represented the United States in several world championships, with his best result a tie for fifth in the 1984 World Team Olympiad.
Mr. Andersen was also a commentator for major championships, and he officiated at hundreds of regional, national and world championships. Often paired with Edgar Kaplan of Manhattan, he described the proceedings as shown on the Vugraph screen.
He was the first choice of the American Contract Bridge League and the World Bridge Federation to head panels of expert players to discuss the action.
He lectured widely and was also an author. Seven of his books concerned the Precision System, with C. C.Wei and Kathie Wei as co-authors. His most recent book was ”Preempts From A to Z,” with Sabine Zenkel (Magnus, Stamford, Conn., 1993).
Mr. Andersen was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and studied for three years at the University of Iowa before taking up bridge as a career. For the last six years, he owned a seat on the Chicago Options Exchange.
He was married three times, and two of his former wives are world bridge champions: Sue Picus of Manhattan and Sabine Zenkel Auken of Copenhagen.
In addition to his brother Kenneth, he is survived by another brother, Gary, of Dike, and a sister, Diane Burns of Portland, Ore.
