The ROY WELLAND team finished second in the 2005 USBC. This year, ROY and partner BJORN FALLENIUS will be playing with CHIP MARTEL-LEW STANSBY, with whom they finished fourth in the 2006 Rosenblum Teams and DREW CASEN-JIM KREKORIAN.
SYSTEM INFORMATION
WELLAND-FALLENIUS System Summary and 2004 WBF convention card
MARTEL-STANSBY System Summary . 1D-2H , ACBL convention card and WBF convention card
CASEN-KREKORIAN System Summary and WBF convention card
ABOUT THE PLAYERS
Roy Welland
Roy Welland lives in New York City with his wife Christal and two sons, William and Christopher. He is a securities trader and owner of the restaurant Cru, where the wine cellar is based largely on Roy’s personal collection. Since being named Rookie of the Year by the ACBL in 1986, Roy has compiled an impressive record. Recent achievements include winning the 2001 Reisinger and the 2003 Spingold, as well as second place for the last three years in the U.S. Bridge Championships (the “Trials”)—a record he and his teammates hope to better this year. When asked about his most enjoyable bridge achievement, Roy said it happened earlier this summer in Verona, when he was just one match away from playing Christal for the world title. He stood her up, but Christal made bridge history by reaching the finals, where she met another team that included a woman. Roy and Christal went on to win the most recent National Swiss Team championship together in Chicago. You will often find Roy after the session at tournaments holding a large crystal wine glass. Rumor has it that if he offers you a sip, you’d be a fool to turn him down.
Bjorn Fallenius
Originally from Malmo, Sweden, Bjorn Fallenius, a bridge professional and “former comptroller,” now lives in New York City, where he runs a bridge club with his wife. He represented Sweden in world competition in the late 80s and 90s, winning the European Teams in 1987 and finishing second in 1999. He also won the Cavendish in 1988. Since coming to live in the United States, he has continued to compile a strong record, winning the Reisinger in 1991 and 2001, the Open BAM teams in 1991, and the Spingold in 2003. A WBF World Grand Master, Bjorn captured the Fishbein trophy for most masterpoints won at the recent North American Bridge Championship in Chicago.
Drew Casen
Drew Casen, of Boca Raton, Florida, is a bridge professional, former accountant, 9-handicap golfer, and expert holdem (poker) player. He renewed his partnership with Jim Krekorian (from the late 80s and early 90s) in 2004. Since then, he and Jim have placed second in the Vanderbilt, third-fourth in the Spingold, and third in the Blue Ribbon Pairs. Drew also won the Men’s Swiss Teams in 1986, the Cavendish Invitational Pairs in 1987, the National Open Swiss Teams in 1990 and 1992, and the Vanderbilt in 1987 and 2000. He is a WBF World Master, having placed second in the Rosenblum Teams in 1990. He is as an avid sports gambler and is known for his raucous humor in the postgame discussions.
Jim Krekorian
Jim Krekorian, also of New York City, graduated from Duke engineering school in 1974 and served as a U.S Air Force pilot from 1974 to 1981, achieving the rank of Captain, c-130 aircraft commander. Jim traded options on the American Stock Exchange from 1986 to 2003, was a floor official for 5 years, and formed Blue Hercules LLC in 1999. At Duke he was 3-year letterman in track and is still an avid runner and racer. Jim is now a fulltime bridge professional and consultant. He won the Life Master Men’s Pairs in 1986, the Grand National Open Pairs in 1992, the Blue Ribbon Pairs in 1996, and the Open BAM Teams 1997.
Chip Martel
Chip Martel is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Davis. A World Grand Master, ranked tenth in World lifetime ranking (thirteenth in current performance ranking), Chip has won five world championships and placed second three times. He has also won over 25 North American championships and U.S. Bridge Championships (“Trials”), most of them in partnership with Lew Stansby. In January 2007, Chip and Lew will mark the thirtieth anniversary of their partnership, one of the longest running in bridge history. Chip also has an outstanding record with other partners, including wife Jan, USBF president. Chip and Jan recently teamed with Lew and JoAnna Stansby and Kit and Sally Woolsey to finish second in the North American Open Teams in Chicago. Chip is currently chair of the ACBL Laws Commission. A favorite hobby is revising his bidding system (“Chip abhors a bid without a meaning,” friends say) and devising defenses to methods played most commonly outside the United States. 
Lew Stansby
Lew Stansby, former commodities trader and current professional bridge player, lives in Castro Valley, California, with wife and fellow national champion JoAnna. Since winning the Reisinger in 1965, Lew has won more than thirty national championships and five world championships, and has finished second three times. Most of these championships over the past thirty years have been won in partnership with Chip Martel, but Lew also has an outstanding record with other partners, including wife JoAnna. Their most recent accomplishment was second-place finish in the North American Open Teams in Chicago, playing with Chip and Jan Martel and Kit and Sally Woolsey. Lew is a World Grand Master, ranked ninth in lifetime ranking (15th in current performance ranking). Tall and softspoken, Lew is known for his love of games of almost all kinds and his incredible memory for bridge hands, even those from long-ago events he neglected to win.