Alvin Roth

Alvin Roth

Alvin L. (Al) Roth (November 6, 1914 – April 18, 2007) was an American bridge player, considered one of the greatest of all time. He wrote several books on the game, and invented various bridge conventions that have become commonplace, including five-card majors, negative doubles, forcing notrump, and the unusual notrump. Roth was considered a fascinating theorist but as described by one partner, he was

very tough to sit opposite—unless you were so thick-skinned that no insult was severe enough to hurt, or you were willing to make extreme sacrifices to get on a winning side. —Richard Freeman, The Bridge World, December 2009