February 2025 - 12

O Talent Show
Y
oung Israeli stars Oren
Toledano and partner Ami
Zamir began playing together
in top-flight North American championships
in the post-COVID era, and
since that time, they have quickly
established themselves as one of the
most effective pairs in the world.
In 2024, the duo picked up more
than 300 platinum points at the
Spring NABC in Louisville, and then
topped the masterpoint list at the
Summer NABC in Toronto where
they earned some 350 more platinum,
awarded only for top-level
contests. The recently completed Fall
NABC in Las Vegas was less successful
for them, but Toledano and Zamir
picked up enough points to finish at
the top of the platinum list for the
year. An unusual occurrence (more
on that later) in the final NABC event
of 2024 - the Reisinger Board-aMatch
Teams - allowed Toledano
to finish with a handful of extra
platinum points over Zamir, making
Toledano the Player of the Year. His
total was 728.37.
ren Toledano is 2024 Player of the Year
By Paul Linxwiler
The 27-year-old Toledano was
born in Jerusalem, but now lives in
Tel Aviv. He learned bridge from his
grandparents.
" My grandparents are longtime
players who own a club in Jerusalem,
where they also teach the game.
When I turned 13, my grandmother
convinced me to start learning bridge
when she saw me playing video
games all the time. So I came to her
house for summer vacation. In the
two months I was there, I took all of
her classes, learned the game and fell
in love with it. "
Toledano's passion for the game
soon drove him to high-level
competition.
" I started to read a lot and play all
the time like crazy. After half a year,
I competed in the Under-21 championship
in Israel, which I won. Since
then, I have played in the U21 and
U26 categories for Israel in zonal and
world events, and I have been a member
of the Israeli Open team for three
years. "
Playing with different partners,
Toledano and Zamir competed as
part of Israel's U21 team for several
years. They later formed a partnership,
and their first appearance
together in North America was the
Fall 2021 NABC in Austin immediately
following the pandemic. In
Austin, they made their mark by
finishing second in the prestigious
Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs, behind
France's Cedric Lorenzini, himself
the Player of the Year in 2015, and
Thomas Bessis.
In 2022 and 2023, the duo had
mixed results at NABC events, but
their names began to appear on the
rosters of some high-level teams.
In 2024, however, things really
began to click. At the Spring NABC,
Toledano and Zamir finished second
in the tough, six-session Kay
Platinum Pairs. In the Vanderbilt KO
Teams, their squad (Leslie Amoils,
Tom Hanlon, Joe Grue and Brad
Moss) made it to the quarterfinal
round before losing to Nick Nickell
and company, the eventual winners.
And in the Jacoby Open Swiss Teams,
their squad narrowly finished third.
The Toronto NABC was a tour de
force for Toledano and Zamir, as the
duo won the Fishbein Trophy, awarded
to the player(s) who earns the most
masterpoints at the Summer NABC.
They did this by winning the von
Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs (another
premier, three-day pairs contest) and
the Roth Open Swiss Teams, playing
with Doug Simson, Venkatrao
Koneru, Eric Rodwell and Eddie
Wold.
Their best result at the Fall NABC
Ami Zamir and Oren Toledano celebrate their win in the von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs from
the Summer NABC in 2024.
12 | Bridge Bulletin | February 2025
was making it to the round of 16
in the Soloway KO Teams, but this
was just enough for them to take the
No. 1 and No. 2 spots on the 2024

February 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2025