The Summer 2010 Kibitzer Volume 56, Number 2 A newsletter serving Ontario ACBL Units 166, 238, 246 & 249 First published in 1955 Clockwise from top left: Fred Gitelman, the genius behind BBO, interview on page 17 Enid Roitman, 2010 Audrey Grant Award winner, story on page 14 WhoHazel is Wolpert,this man 2010 and Kate Buckman Award winner,Paul bangssee page out 15 a column for the National AN INTERVIEW WITH Kib: Your first taste of international success came at FRED GITELMAN the World Junior Championship in 1991, where Canada came in Fred Gitelman, formerly of Toronto, now second to the USA. At that time, residing in Las Vegas, is one of the most did you intend to make a career famous bridge personalities in the world. of bridge? He is the inventor and developer of BBO (Bridge Base Online), the premier free FG: I actually have two different web site that broadcasts top bridge events bridge-related careers: writing bridge from around the world. software and playing bridge professionally. In 1991 I had just Fred has also had, at the relatively young started working full time on writing age of 45, a fabulous playing career, with bridge software, and I was already wins in the U.S. Team Trials, the IOC Grand certain that I wanted to make it into Prix, the Cavendish Invitational, the Forbo- a real career (provided that I could Krommenie Nations Cup, and silver actually make a living doing it, which medals in the Bermuda Bowl and World was far from certain at the time). Junior Team Championship, as well as numerous CNTC and NABC wins. Most Playing bridge professionally has never recently, he won the Jacoby Swiss Teams been anything more than a part time at the Spring Nationals in Reno. job for me. Almost all of the professional bridge I have played over As if this were not enough success, Fred the years has been in the context of has also been named the ACBL’s playing on sponsored teams in the big Honorary Member of the Year and the events at the NABCs. I didn’t start International Bridge Press Association’s doing that until 1997, and in 1991 I Personality of the Year. did not foresee myself ever becoming so ‘serious’ about competitive bridge, let alone getting paid to play on contending teams in the toughest events. I suspect that was because I am not a particularly competitive person by nature. Also, it did not occur to me that I was anywhere close to being good enough to be paid serious money to play. Kib: In a 2002 interview, you stated that creating BBO was a bit of an accident. Tell us about this ‘accident’. Fred at the 2009 US Trials The Kibitzer - Summer 2010 - Page 17 FG: From 1991, when I started writing bridge software, through 2001, when the accident now known as BBO took place, my company derived all of its income from selling educational CD- ROMs for bridge. It occurred to me that we might eventually end up selling just the data files for download over the Internet (instead of CDs). This would have several advantages for Fred & Sheri in Dublin, 2006 both our company and our customers, but I had to learn how to write a hope was to do nothing more than program that would send messages make enough money selling over the Internet to make it possible downloadable content to pay our bills. to do this properly. We have brought on new business The first thing I did was create what partners over the years. Uday Ivatury became the “Bridge Library” on BBO. came on board as a volunteer I started adding features - online programmer shortly after BBO was bridge, chat rooms, VuGraph theatre, launched. Sheri and I liked Uday so etc. That is how BBO was born. It took much and were so impressed by his only about two months to get all the work that we made him a partner. In basic functionality in place, and ever 2007 Bill Gates, Sharon Osberg, and since then my partners and I have David Smith became our business been improving it - a process that I partners by investing in our company. fully expect to continue ‘forever’. Now, The number of people using BBO has however, nine years later, the vast grown steadily (and continues to majority of the money we make is grow). I remember how excited we through the $1 entry fees that people were the first time 100 people were pay to play in tournaments on our site. logged in at once. Nowadays over Kib: In the years since then, what 100,000 people log in to BBO at least have been the major changes to once in a typical day, and there are BBO? over 16,000 people logged in simultaneously at each day’s peak. FG: Our company has changed a lot. BBO has members from just about In the beginning the only people every country in the world. We set a working for our company were my new record last fall when over 23,000 wife, Sheri Winestock, and myself. were logged in at once during our Now there are dozens of people from vugraph broadcast of the Finals of the all over the world who work for us. Bermuda Bowl. We are now a real and highly- successful business. I certainly did not Our software itself has changed a foresee this happening - my original great deal over the years. Some The Kibitzer - Summer 2010 - Page 18 highlights include the introduction of So my move to the USA was mostly tournaments (2003), heavy integration about bridge. Sheri and I chose Las of robot bridge-playing software Vegas for several reasons: sunny (2006), and the introduction of new weather, no state income taxes, we client software that runs in a web had some friends in that city, and good browser (2008). real estate values (this was just before prices started to inflate). I am happy to say that our core mission, to create a high-quality free In case some of your proud Canadian online bridge site where players from readers consider me a traitor for this all over the world are welcome to play, move, I would like them to know that watch, socialize, and learn, has not I was cheering (loudly) when Canada changed. Something else that has not won the hockey Gold Medal in the changed is that I still love the work I Vancouver Olympics! Sheri and I are do - I have the best possible job in very happy living in Las Vegas, but I the world for me. suspect we will always consider ourselves to be Canadians. Kib: What were your reasons for leaving Toronto for Las Vegas? Kib: Your Canadian team came second in the Bermuda Bowl in FG: By the time the late 1990s rolled Beijing in 1995. Bobby Wolff has around, I realized that I had the ability stated that Canada was the best to compete effectively at the highest team in the event that year, level in bridge and some of the major despite losing to his team in the American sponsors were interested final. Did you consider keeping in having me play on their teams. that team together and trying to Although our CD-ROM business was bring a World Championship to generating a good income for Sheri Canada with that team? and me, the absurd sums of money that I was being offered to play at the FG: We did try that. The same team NABCs had the potential to make a played in the 1996 Olympiad in big difference to our standard of living. Rhodes. I went into that event full of But in order to really make this hope for a Canadian Gold Medal, but happen, I was going to have to start for whatever reason none of our living in the USA (so that I would be three partnerships was able to play at eligible to play with my sponsored the same level we had achieved in team in the US Team Trials). The Beijing. No doubt it was our NPC John concept of doing this had further Gowdy’s fault (just kidding, John). appeal since, at the time, it was an Minor variations of our Beijing team important personal goal for me to try performed poorly in the next few to win a World Championship. I CNTCs. The magic was gone. thought that rated to be easier if I was By 2000, I had made up my mind that playing for the USA. I was going to try my luck playing The Kibitzer - Summer 2010 - Page 19 bridge in the USA. This was not an Kib: How did your relationship easy decision to make. Eric Kokish, with Bill Gates develop? George Mittelman, and Joey Silver FG: One day (in 1997) I received a were (and still are) among my closest phone call. “This is Bill Gates’ estate friends. They were responsible for manager calling.” My first thought was originally recognizing my talent and that George Mittelman was playing a giving me a chance to play in the big joke on me. Then it occurred to me leagues. They also served as my that perhaps Bill had died and I had mentors - much of what I think I know somehow become entitled to a share about bridge now came from these of his estate. That was my own joke three outstanding players. It was not on me. easy for me to abandon them. What this was really all about was that I did get a chance for one last hoorah Bill and Warren Buffett were about playing for Canada when Joey and I to take a vacation on a private train.