| Robert D. HAMMAN | |
Bob Hamman nato a Pasadena in California nel 1938, ex insegnante di matematica, imprenditore, uno dei più forti giocatori professionisti di bridge di tutti i tempi e, certamente, è il più titolato tra quelli USA.
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World Grand Masters, ha occupato per quasi vent'anni il primo posto nella classifica dei giocatori più in auge e ancora oggi occupa quello per Placing Point (i punti federali che premiano l'intera carriera).
Nel suo straordinario palmares lo troviamo 10 volte vincitore della Bermuda Bowl, Campione Olimpico nel 1988 e Campione del Mondo a Coppie nel 1974.
Bob ha vinto una cinquantina di NABC's tra i quali ricordiamo: 12 Reisinger, 6 Vanderbilt, 15 Spingold, 2 Mitchell, 3 Jacoby ed un gran numero di altri Tornei internazionali tra i quali le Buffett Cup del 2006 e del 2010.
Per un quarto di secolo, fin quando il loro sodalizio non si è sciolto nel 1997, ha colto tutti i suoi maggiori successi in coppia con Bobby Wolff, un'altro super big del bridge mondiale.
Durante la sua permanenza nella squadra degli Aces, che fu la causa del suo trasferimento a Dallas, dove aveva vissuto per molti anni mettendosi in luce come uno dei big dell'East Cost, collaborò alla stesura del sistema dichiarativo "Aces Scientific".
È stato l'unico giocatore americano ad avere l'onore di essere insignito per tre volte del titolo di "giocatore dell'anno" dall'A.C.B.L.
Ha sposato Petra, anch'essa campionessa di bridge e rappresentante del team femminile USA con il quale ha conseguito prestigiosi risultati, e con la quale gioca spesso in coppia e in squadra. Bob è stato il capitano non giocatore del team che ha vinto le Olimpiadi femminili di Maastricht del 2000 e che ha laureato Petra campionessa olimpica.
Bob ha scritto la sua autobiografia in un divertente libro intitolato "At the table - My life and Times", è anche uno dei pochissimi giocatori al mondo che si sono potuti fregiare della prestigiosa "Triple Crown".
Dirige assieme a Petra un'affermata scuola di bridge a Dallas e nel 1986 ha fondato la "SCA Promotion" un'impresa di successo di cui è tuttora Presidente.
La ACBL nel 1999 gli ha concesso l'onore di far parte della Hall of Fame.
Robert D. Hamman was born in Pasadena in 1938. In
a career that spans more than 40 years, Bob Hamman collected nearly every
accolade available. He has been the No. 1 player in World Bridge Federation
rankings since 1985, has won nine world championships, dozens of North American
titles, and he was the first person to earn ACBL Player of the Year honors twice.
The only gap in his resume was that he had not been elected to the ACBL Bridge Hall of Fame. The reason: he wasn't old enough.
When the Hall of Fame was resurrected by the ACBL Board of Directors in 1994, the ground rules for election were that living members had to be at least 60. Hamman reached that milestone in 1998 and was an automatic choice for the Hall in his first year of eligibility.
One of the qualities that secured Hamman’s place among the legends of the game is a relentless drive to be the best. Former partner Bobby Wolff still regards Hamman as possibly the best analyst in the history of the game.
Even top experts marvel at Hamman’s mental toughness, manifested most prominently in his unparalleled ability to leave hands already played completely in the past. Even Hamman, generally loath to toot his own horn, is proud of that quality.
In his book, Michael Rosenberg talks about playing with Hamman in the Open Pairs at the World Bridge Championship in Albuquerque in 1994. Rosenberg recounts how he misplayed a 5 contract and went down, costing the pair first place. Rosenberg marvels at how, after the game, Hamman eschewed recriminations, focusing instead on a deep analytical point in the play involving the spade spots.
Hamman did the same thing in an article he wrote for the now-defunct BOLS Bridge Tips competition. In the piece, Hamman rakes himself over the coals for something that never happened. The occasion was the 1991 team trials. Hamman and Wolff opposed Richard Pavlicek and Bill Root late in the final.
Against a 4*H* contract, Hamman led the *D*10 from a doubleton. He got in at trick two and led his other diamond. Wolff came in at trick four but did not immediately return a diamond for Hamman to ruff. After the deal was over (Hamman did get his ruff), Hamman discussed his state of mind while waiting for Wolff to play. He criticized himself for not thinking about another way to defeat the contract --- there was one --- had Wolff not returned the diamond. Hamman looked at the deal as a great lesson hand in keeping one’s eye on the ball.
Today, Hamman is the very busy owner of a prize promotion business in Dallas.
It has been a long time since a young Bob Hamman made the rounds of the rubber-bridge clubs of the Los Angeles area, knocking heads with the best players of his day.
Along the way to the pinnacle, Hamman has been a member of the fabled Aces, the first full-time professional bridge team in the world; has won more than 50 North American championships and ten world titles; has been second many more times than he cares to think about; has been named ACBL Honorary Member of the Year (1991) and has become a WBF Grand Master and an ACBL Grand Master.
Hamman was inducted into the ACBL Hall of Fame in July 1999 in San Antonio TX.
