Judi Radin: Eleven World Titles and Counting

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Judi Radin won eleven world championships. Not eleven titles total, eleven world championships at the highest level of women’s bridge. She competed in seven World Women’s Team Olympiads and won four of them. She played in six World Women’s Teams and won three. Add multiple world pairs championships and you get one of the most decorated records in bridge history.

The California Player

Born Judith Solodar in the 1940s (exact date kept private, as she preferred), Judi came up through the strong California bridge scene of the 1960s. Southern California produced champions consistently, and Judi was part of that pipeline. She learned from tough competition, played in money games where mistakes cost real dollars, and developed the solid technical game that carried her through decades of championship bridge.

She married Richard Radin, a strong player himself. Unlike some bridge marriages, this one lasted. They partnered occasionally but Judi did most of her competitive play with women partners in women’s events. Richard understood that championship bridge required consistent partnerships, and he supported her career without needing to be part of it at the table.

The Winning Starts

Judi’s first world championship came in 1974, winning the World Women’s Pairs with Gail Moss. That established her as a player to watch. But one world title proves talent, not sustained excellence. She answered that question by winning again in 1976, then 1978, then 1984. That’s sustained excellence.

Her partnerships rotated through various top American women players. She played with Gail Moss, Carol Sanders, Kathie Wei, and others at different times. The common factor was Judi. Good players partnering with her won championships. That’s not coincidence, that’s being the engine that makes partnerships work.

The Team Dynasty

The 1980s and 1990s were golden decades for American women’s bridge, and Judi was central to that dominance. The U.S. won the Venice Cup (World Women’s Team Championship) in 1987, 1989, 1991, and 1997. Judi was on all four winning teams. That’s 10 years of international supremacy with her as a key player.

Team bridge is different from pairs. You need consistency across many boards, partnerships that don’t crack under pressure, and the ability to execute when the championship is on the line. Judi delivered all of that. She didn’t have spectacular deals that made highlight reels. She had board after board of solid play that accumulated into winning margins.

The Playing Style

Judi played percentage bridge. She took the line that worked most often, trusted the odds, and didn’t try for impossible results. This sounds simple but it’s hard to execute consistently. When you’re declaring a contract that has one line that works 52% and another that works 48%, you need to find the better line and take it. Do that for 30 years and you win championships.

Her bidding was sound without being conservative. She’d stretch to reach good games but wouldn’t push bad ones. She’d investigate slams when values suggested they were there but stop at game when they weren’t. That’s judgment built from seeing thousands of hands and remembering what worked.

Her defensive play was technically correct. She counted declarer’s hand, worked out the distribution from the bidding and early play, and defended accordingly. Not flashy defenses that win single boards spectacularly, but solid defense that wins matches gradually.

The Partnership Requirements

Playing with Judi required discipline. She played Standard American with standard agreements, expected partner to do the same, and didn’t tolerate wild bidding or creative interpretations. If the system said bid 2♥, you bid 2♥. If it said pass, you passed.

This made her easy to play with for partners who wanted reliable auctions and predictable actions. It made her difficult for creative players who liked to stretch agreements or make inspired bids. She won with the reliable partners, which suggests her approach was right for championship bridge.

Her table presence was calm and focused. No dramatics, no emotion shows, just concentrated bridge. When things went wrong, she stayed composed. When they went right, she didn’t celebrate. You played the next board with the same focus either way.

The Competition

Judi’s era included other dominant women players: Carol Sanders, Betty Ann Kennedy, Kathie Wei-Sender, Lynn Deas. The American women’s team had depth that other countries couldn’t match. Making that team was harder than winning some world championships.

Judi made the team repeatedly and stayed on it for two decades. That’s not just being good, that’s being consistently better than a deep field of excellent players. The selection process was brutal, the competition for spots was intense, and Judi kept getting selected.

The Winning Record

Eleven world championships across 25 years (roughly 1974-1999) is the kind of record that speaks for itself. She played in the biggest events, against the best competition, and won at a rate that no one else matched during that period.

Break it down by decade: two world titles in the 1970s, four in the 1980s, four in the 1990s. That’s not a hot streak, that’s sustained dominance across three decades. Players age, games evolve, competition gets tougher. Judi kept winning anyway.

The Low Profile

Unlike some champions, Judi didn’t write books, didn’t seek publicity, didn’t develop a public persona. She played bridge, won championships, and went home. No teaching career, no media appearances, no commercial endorsements. Just tournament bridge at the highest level.

This means her legacy is thinner than her achievements deserve. Most casual bridge players can’t name her, even though her record matches or exceeds players who are much more famous. She didn’t market herself, so the market doesn’t remember her as well as it should.

But ask anyone who played international women’s bridge from 1975 to 2000, and they know Judi Radin. You didn’t beat her often, and when you did, you remembered it as an accomplishment.

The Later Years

Judi gradually reduced her tournament schedule in the 2000s. She still played regionally and nationally but stopped competing for international teams. After two decades of championship bridge, she’d earned the rest.

She never fully retired, which is common for top players. Bridge doesn’t have forced retirement, and skill declines gradually rather than dropping off suddenly. Judi kept playing at levels where she could compete effectively, just not at the grueling international championship level.

What The Numbers Say

Eleven world championships puts Judi among the top five most successful women bridge players ever in terms of world titles. Some modern players have accumulated more total titles, but they play in an era with more events and more opportunities. Judi’s win rate in the championships she entered was extraordinary.

She also won multiple North American Championships, though the exact count is harder to verify since she played in an era before comprehensive online records. The ACBL Hall of Fame inducted her in 1999, recognition for a career that was still adding championships at that point.

The Team Player

One reason for Judi’s success was being an ideal team player. She wasn’t the superstar who needed everything built around her. She was the reliable second pair who did their job consistently, accumulated IMPs steadily, and didn’t create problems off the field.

Championship teams need stars, but they also need players who fit into team dynamics smoothly. Judi did that perfectly. She got along with teammates, adapted to different team strategies, and focused on winning rather than personal glory. Coaches loved selecting her because she made the team better without creating drama.

The Judgment Question

Was Judi the best women player of her era? Probably not. Helen Sobel and Dorothy Truscott might have been more skilled pure players. But Judi won more world championships than either of them, which suggests that “best” is complicated.

She maximized her abilities through discipline, consistency, and smart partnership choices. She didn’t try to be brilliant, she tried to be reliable. In championship bridge, reliable wins more often than brilliant. Judi proved that over 25 years of results.

The Unfinished Legacy

Judi’s legacy suffers from lack of documentation. She didn’t write her story, didn’t give extensive interviews, didn’t preserve her thoughts about the game. What remains is the record: eleven world championships and dozens of national titles. That’s enough to establish greatness, but not enough to understand how she achieved it.

Future historians trying to understand women’s bridge in the late 20th century will note that American teams dominated and Judi Radin was always on those teams. They’ll see the wins and the longevity. What they’ll miss is the day-to-day discipline, the partnership dynamics, the preparation, the execution under pressure.

What She Represents

Judi Radin represents the working professional bridge player. Not the flashy personality, not the theorist, not the teacher. Just someone who played at the highest level for decades and won constantly. That’s a valid path to greatness, even if it’s less celebrated than more public versions.

She showed that you could have a championship career through technical excellence and consistent execution. You didn’t need to be the most naturally talented or the most creative. You needed to be reliable, disciplined, and smart about partnerships. Do that well enough for long enough, and you win eleven world championships.

The game needs players like Judi. Not everyone can be the charismatic star or the theoretical innovator. But everyone can work on being technically sound, partnership-reliable, and mentally tough. Judi proved that path leads to the top if you follow it long enough.