HARRIS TEAM: Harris-Johnson, Chazen-Coren, Dennis Clerkin-Jerry Clerkin

System Information

Harris-Johnson System Summary Form, ACBL Convention Card

Chazen-Coren System Summary Form , ACBL Convention Card

Clerkin-Clerkin System Summary Form, ACBL Convention Card

About the Players

Marty Harris

Age:   44
Lives in:   Chicago, IL
Grew up in:   Beachwood, Ohio (suburb of Cleveland)
Occupation:   Attorney. Thanks to a recent law firm merger, Marty is a partner in a large firm: Drinker Biddle & Reath. He handles employment-related lawsuits everywhere in the U.S. Mainly, he defends companies when they are sued for discrimination, sexual harassment, overtime pay, wrongful discharge, or the like. He also represents individual executives in employment matters: negotiating their contracts or severance packages, disputes over ownership in small companies or stock options, wrongful discharge claims, etc. And he handles cases involving non-compete agreements or corporate “raiding.”
       Marty wishes his record at the bridge table matched his record in the courtroom. He is undefeated on the legal battlefield (career record 60 - 0). During the past year alone, he won two class action cases, including one where the well-known Milberg, Weiss law firm was his opponent.

Bridge highlights:   In the past few years, Marty has triumphed three times at the national level in restricted, 0-5000 events:

   ● Won the 0 - 5000 Mini-Spingold (2006, Chicago)
   ● Won the 0 - 5000 Mini-Blue Ribbon Pairs (2005, Denver)
   ● Won the Red Ribbon Pairs (2004, Reno).

   He has not yet won an open, NABC+ event, but he has come close several times, including:

   ● 2nd place: Open Swiss Teams (2005, Atlanta)
   ● 4th place:   IMP Pairs (2005, Pittsburgh)
   ● Quarterfinals: USBF Trials (2007, Chicago)

Other hobbies:   Avid golfer. Also plays tennis, volleyball, and racquetball. Enjoys other card games, too, particularly hearts and spades.

Walter Johnson

Walter was born on November 8, 1953. He learned about bridge by playing a box game called "Bridge for Juniors" with his father, Ernest. In college, he became involved with tournament bridge at the Wittenberg University Bridge Club. Retired from a management position with the State of Ohio, Walter plays and teaches bridge fulltime. He currently resides in Columbus, Ohio with his wife of 14 years, Terri, and their three boys: Bryn, Hunter and Tyler.

Playing various big club systems for over 20 years, Walter has won the Blue Ribbon Pairs and the Grand National Teams. Other high team finishes include runner-up in both the Reisinger and GNT, a 3rd place finish in the Vanderbilt, and numerous top ten national pair finishes. He has also played bridge internationally with his best finish reaching the round of 32 in the 1994 Rosenblum Teams.

Bernie Chazen

In 1942, Melvin Bernard Chazen was born in Brooklyn, New York. His parents called him Bernie. It stuck, and this is how he is known to the world. As a high school senior, he worked as a deli waiter on weekends, holding this job until graduating from City College of New York in 1962. After graduation, he taught mathematics at Tilden High School in Brooklyn.
Luckily Bernie did not discover bridge until AFTER graduation. At his friends' fraternity house, Bernie was invited to play bridge. Bernie told them he didn't know how to play, but they insisted and taught him the rules. The briefing took only five minutes and years later, Bernie realized that they had taught him everything they knew about the game. Bernie continued teaching mathematics by day and playing bridge every night, honing his expertise. He eventually changed careers, becoming a computer programmer and systems analyst.
In the early 1980's, he made bridge his full-time career. He taught and played tournaments with his students. He began giving group lectures and quickly developed a following. Bernie's bridge students found out what his high school students knew years before: "Taught By Bernie" is an experience of a lifetime. More information on Bernie's website .