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David Berkowitz (contract bridge)

American bridge player

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 1, 2026
Entity authorityQ5231352 ↗
Source-derived summary

David L. Berkowitz (born November 23, 1949) is an American professional contract bridge player. He is from Old Tappan, New Jersey.

In 1998, he came as close as it is possible to come to a world championship without winning it. In the World Open Pairs, he and Larry Cohen led throughout the five-session final, only to be overtaken on the last two boards. He also earned a bronze medal at the 2000 World Team Olympiad in Maastricht, Netherlands. He was inducted into the ACBL Hall of Fame in 2010.

Berkowitz, whose wife Lisa is a former women's world champion, often comments, "I am not even the best player in my own house." They reside in Boca Raton, Florida. Their daughter Dana and son Michael play bridge as well.

Bridge accomplishments

Honors

ACBL Hall of Fame, 2010

Awards

Mott-Smith Trophy (Spring NABC) 1982

Fishbein Trophy (Summer NABC) 2011, 2018

Herman Trophy (Fall NABC) 1991

Digital Fountain Award (Best Played Hand of the Year) 2001

Romex Award (Best Bid Hand of the Year) 1995, 2000

Precision Award (Best Defended Hand of the Year) 1996

Wins

North American Bridge Championships (33)

von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs (2) 1987, 1996

Rockwell Mixed Pairs (2) 1986, 1987

Silodor Open Pairs (3) 2004, 2006, 2009

Wernher Open Pairs (2) 1982, 1996

Blue Ribbon Pairs (2) 1978, 1995

North American Pairs (1) 1995

Grand National Teams (9) 1994, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2023

Roth Open Swiss Teams (1) 2011

Vanderbilt (1) 2005

Keohane North American Swiss Teams (1) 1999

Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams (3) 1982, 1991, 2007

Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match (4) 1986, 1993, 1995, 1998

Reisinger (1) 1991

Nail Life Master Open Pairs (1) 2024

United States Bridge Championships (1)

Open Team Trials (1) 2000

Other notable wins:

Buffett Cup (1) 2006

Cavendish Invitational Teams (3) 1983, 1985, 1994

Pan American Open Teams (1) 1992

Reisinger Knockout Teams (2) 1990, 2001

Cap Gemini World Top Invitational Pairs (1) 1999

Cavendish Invitational Individual (1) 1981

Runners-up

World Open Pairs (1) 1998

North American Bridge Championships (27)

Vanderbilt (8) 1979, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1998, 2004, 2025

Spingold (4) 1976, 2009, 2010, 2018

Reisinger (4) 1987, 2002, 2004, 2007

Open Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2008

Men's Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1989

North American Swiss Teams (2) 2006, 2022

Mixed Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2011

Blue Ribbon Pairs (2) 1976, 1996

Life Master Open Pairs (1) 1991

Open Pairs (2) 1983, 1985

Open Pairs I (1) 2002

United States Bridge Championships (5)

Open Team Trials (5) 1987, 1989, 1998, 2002, 2008

Other notable 2nd places:

Buffett Cup (1) 2008

Cavendish Invitational Teams (1) 2000

Reisinger Knockout Teams (2) 1973, 1981

Cavendish Invitational Pairs (1) 1983

Cavendish Invitational Individual (1) 1980

References

External links

David Berkowitz at the ACBL Hall of Fame (archived) – with video interview

"International record for David Berkowitz". World Bridge Federation.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “David Berkowitz (contract bridge)” is american bridge player. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through David, Berkowitz and contract, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1949, 1998, 2000, 2010—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1949-11-23. For this dossier, David, Berkowitz and contract is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “american bridge player” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5231352. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1949, 1998, 2000 and 2010.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “David Berkowitz (contract bridge)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow David Berkowitz (contract bridge) primary sources, David Berkowitz (contract bridge) archive and David research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “David Berkowitz (contract bridge)”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “David Berkowitz (contract bridge)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.