The American Contract Bridge League has named the NABC+ Fast Open Pairs at the summer national tournament in honor of Grand Life Master Richard "Richie" Oshlag, a two-time winner of the event and a 50-year employee of the League.

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Richie began working for the ACBL in its Greenwich CT headquarters in 1969 as the Bridge Bulletin's proofreader and advertising manager. When the League relocated to Memphis in 1972, much of the East Coast–based staff did not want to make the move. But Richard, tempted with a promotion to business manager of the Bulletin, relocated to the mid-south.  Richie stayed in the Memphis area until moving to White Plains, NY to be close to his family.

 

In the early 1980s, Richard became increasingly interested in computers, and he switched positions to become data programming manager at ACBL in 1984. He has been an integral part of the ACBL’s computer/information technology department since then.

 

Richard is a four-time NABC champion. He won the NABC+ Fast Open Pairs in 2017 and 2018 and was narrowly second in the contest in 2019.  He also won the Silodor Open Pairs in 2019 and the Truscott Senior Swiss in 2011 and has 3 other second place finishes in national events.

 

The Oshlag Fast Open Pairs will first be held under its new name at the 2024 Summer NABC in Toronto.

 

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