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Charles  MARTEL

Charles U. "Chip" Martel è nato nel 1953 nei dintorni di Chicago, insegna Informatica all'Università di California ed è sposato con la campionessa americana Jan Martel.

Ha imparato il Bridge dai suoi genitori ann e Martin ed ha avuto come tutor il grande Kit Woolsey.

 Ha vinto la Bermuda Bowl 3 volte (1985, 1987 e 2001), una volta è arrivato secondo da giocatore (1989) ed una volta da coach (2007), infine, nel 2000 ha conquistato l'ultimo metallo che ancora gli mancava arrivando terzo da giocatore.

 In Nord America ha collezionato più di 20 titoli tra i quali ricordiamo: 4 Reisingers, 5 Vanderbilts 2 Spingolds, 4 Mitchell, più 6 Grand National Teams, competizione quest'ultima nella quale ha raggiunto 14 volte la finale (record assoluto).

Ha formato una formidabile partnership con Lew Stansby ed è stato il primo giocatore della storia a completare la "Triple Crown" (Bermuda Bowl, Mondiale  a coppie e Rosenblum Cup nello stesso anno).

 E' anche stato il più giovane giocatore della storia del bridge capace di conquistare un titolo mondiale: il Campionato a Coppie Libere nel 1982.

 Tra gli altri titoli internazionali ricordiamo l'argento nel Transnazionale a Squadre del 2005 ed il bronzo nell'Olimpiade a Squadre del 2000.

 Sempre nel 2005 è stato coach della Squadra americana che ha vinto il Senior Bowl con una Squadra capitanata dalla moglie.

Fa sensazione anche la seconda piazza nel Campionato Nord Americano a Squadre Open conquistata giocando in coppia con la moglie ed in squadra con altre due coppie di coniugi! Stansby e Woolsey.

E' stato insignito dalla WBF della qualifica di World Grand Master ed occupa stabilmente uno dei primi 20 posti nella classifica dei migliori giocatori in attività, è anche vicepresidente dell'A.C.B.L. Laws Committee della quale è stato eletto membro onorario nel 2000.

Chip, il cui hobby favorito è revisionare i Sistemi Dichiarativi, è anche un trainer di grande valore che promuove la formazione di giovani campioni, i suoi ragazzi hanno vinto nel 1991 i Campionati Mondiali Giovanili e sono arrivati terzi due anni più tardi.

Martel considers himself lucky in the way that his bridge career has evolved. His parents, Ann and Martin, taught him the basics of the game, and he started playing with some of his friends in high school.

He lived near the University of Illinois and came in contact with some of the young players who had been tutored by Kit Woolsey -- players like Cheri and Jim Bjerkan for example.

Then he moved on to MIT at the time when the likes of Mark Feldman, Steve Sion, Marc Jacobus, Charles Coon, Bart Bramley and J Merrill were active.

Then it was on to the University of California at Berkeley for his Ph. D., and whom should he find as a partner but Lew Stansby. That was in 1977, so that makes the Martel-Stansby partnership one of the longest-lasting -- perhaps only the Eric Rodwell-JeffMeckstroth pairing has lasted longer among active partnerships.

Martel’s record is one of the best -- he has won four world championships.The most famous was the Martel-Stansby World Open Pairs victory in Biarritz, France, in 1982. When the scores first were released, a Dutch pair was hailed as champions. But it soon became apparent that there was a major scoring error.

After lots of refiguring, Martel and Stansby were proclaimed the winners. Martel also won two Bermuda Bowls (1985 and 1987) and one Rosenblum Teams (1994). May be he should be credited with a fifth world championship -- he captained the United States to the World Junior Championship at Ann Arbor MI in 1991.

He also over 20 North American titles, including five Vanderbilts, four Reisingers and two Spingold.

In recent years he has played most of his bridge with either Stansby or his wife Jan. Strangely enough, both men have done better in pair events with their wives than with each other -- except for the world
championship, of course.

He also has had success playing with Rodwell, Zia, Michael Rosenberg and Robert Levin. Martel began his intensive work with Juniors in 1991 when Bobby Wolff prevailed on him to captain one of the American teams. He was a captain again in 1993, earning a bronze medal, and has been involved in Junior work ever since.

His other connections with bridge are far-reaching. They include co-chairman of the ACBL Laws Commission, vice chairman of the WBF Laws Commission, member of the WBF Systems Committee, member of the WBF Junior Committee, member of the ACBL Competitions and Conventions Committee, member of the ACBL Computer Advisory Committe, chairman of the Conditions of Contest Committee for the International Team Trials. He also has been commissioned by ACBL President Val Covalciuc to look at what’s happened in bridge and look ahead to what’s going to happen in the next century.

He believes computers will have much to do with the popularity of bridge, so he feels that his work with the Computer Advisory Committee perhaps is the most important of his actions.