The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge

Encyclopedia

The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge (OEB) presents comprehensive information on the card game contract bridge with limited information on related games and on playing cards. It is "official" in reference to the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) which authorized its production and whose staff prepared and/or supervised its various editions. The first edition of the Encyclopedia was published in 1964 with Richard Frey as Editor in Chief; it was the only one with an edition revised for an overseas market (The Bridge Players' Encyclopedia, 1967). The seventh and latest edition was published in 2011 following intermediate editions in 1971, 1976, 1984, 1994 and 2001. The Executive Editor for the first six was Alan Truscott, bridge editor of The New York Times. For the fourth through sixth editions, Henry Francis succeeded Frey as Editor in Chief. Frey and Francis were also successive editors of the ACBL monthly membership magazine. Numerous contributing editors to the Encyclopedia were listed in each edition as were members of Editorial Advisory Boards. The redesigned seventh edition, in preparation since 2006, was released in November 2011. Editor was Brent Manley, with primary assistance from Mark Horton, Barry Rigal, and Tracey Yarbro. This is the first edition to depart from the traditional alphabetical listing of individual entries and present a compilation of entries grouped into chapters, such as Bidding, Conventions and Card Play. Numerous photographs are included, together with two CDs; one containing the full printed version of the Encyclopedia and the other with biographies and tournament results.

Richard L. Frey, Editor in Chief
Alan F. Truscott, Executive Editor

In 1967 an edition revised for the needs of a British and European audience was published by Paul Hamlyn (London) under the title The Bridge Players' Encyclopedia. It was described as an International Edition based on The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge of 1964. The edition modified American spellings, 'translated' bidding structures to the more widely used Acol system, omitted biographical notes on some lesser known Americans and added biographical notes on British and European players resulting in coverage of over 50 countries and over 500 players. The editors were Ben Cohen and Rhoda Barrow.

Richard L. Frey, Editor in Chief
Alan F. Truscott, Executive Editor
Thomas S. Smith, Managing Editor

Richard L. Frey, Editor in Chief
Alan F. Truscott, Executive Editor
Amalya L. Kearse, Editor, Third Edition

The fourth edition contains 922 pages — the most of any edition. Again, the pace of change in bridge is great as Richard Frey, now Editor Emeritus having been succeeded as Editor in Chief by Henry Francis, notes in the Foreword, a quantum leap in the technical material  many new and intriguing methods and ideas have made their appearance in the past seven years, and some have been widely adopted. The organization of the fourth edition follows that of the third and second.

In the Foreword, Alan Truscott notes,The changes in the technical section have been far greater than in any of the earlier editions, reflecting the many theoretical advances in the past decade. The four part organization of the book follows the format of its immediate predecessors. More than 2,800 bridge personalities are listed in the biographies, largely updated by Dorthy Fancis;</blockquote>

The four part organization of the book follows the format of its immediate predecessors. More than 3,000 bridge personalities are listed in the biographies; the 60 page bibliography doubled that of the previous edition.

The 7th edition had its beginning about 2006, when decisions were made about the format, the contents and the people who would be involved in putting it together. It departs from previous editions in several ways. Foremost is the medium: two CD ROM volumes with one book whose contents match the first CD. All previous editions were one volume books. This edition introduces photographs and has many of them. It comes with an index instead of a cross reference table. In the print volume, both pages and font are bigger. The four part organization introduced in 1971, with a very large alphabetical part one, has been replaced by about 40 chapters and appendices. The printed book and the first CD both comprise chapters 1 to 26. The second volume, CD only, comprises eight chapters of biographical entries and three appendices on Masterpoints, achievements, and tournament results.