Zia Mahmood

Zia was born in Karachi, British India, now Pakistan. Zia was educated in England from the age of six to twenty-one. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant of the Institute of England and Wales and spent three years running a family business in Pakistan. He also spent eighteen months in Abu Dhabi developing business interests. Mahmood is married to Lady Emma. They have two sons: Zain and Rafi. ==Bridge==

Mahmood achieved international bridge fame, almost overnight, during one fortnight in 1981 when he led Pakistan to a second-place finish in the Bermuda Bowl tournament. Nickell has replaced Hamman and Zia with Bobby Levin–Steve Weinstein. Zia has represented the United States in world competition, and thus he won his first major world championship, the 2009 Bermuda Bowl. Although he won the quadrennial Mixed Teams in 2004 with Sabine Auken and a French pair. He still considers himself Pakistani, however: "I am proud and happy to be representing America, but my Pakistani identity is in no way submerged. I feel like a Pakistani who is living in America and playing for America." To prove his point, Zia and his American teammates once played their opening match in Pakistani dress. Mahmood spends much of his time in Great Britain and the United States and is very much part of the London bridge scene. He wrote a weekly column for The Guardian newspaper until January 2012, when the paper stopped covering bridge. The ACBL Hall of Fame inducted Zia in 2007. In early 2019, Puczyński had by chance the opportunity to partner Zia in a tournament in Poland. Someone told Zia about Puczyński's gesture, and he warmly complimented him for it. On 15 May 2019, Puczyński received a package through the post as a present. It contained the Gold Medal which Zia had won at the 2009 Bermuda Bowl. ==Honors==

• ACBL Hall of Fame, 2007 • ACBL Honorary Member of the Year 2006 ==Awards==

• ACBL Player of the Year 1991, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2012 • Mott-Smith Trophy 1991, 1996 • Herman Trophy 2005, 2012 • IBPA Award (Personality of the Year) 2007 • Le Bridgeur Award (Best Played Hand of the Year) 1984 • Romex Award (Best Bid Hand of the Year) 1983, 1987 • Precision Award (Best Defended Hand of the Year) 1995 ==Wins== • Bermuda Bowl (1) 2009 • World Transnational Mixed Teams (1) 2004 • Gold Cup (1) 2010 • North American Bridge Championships (26) • von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs (3) 2000, 2004, 2007, 2023 • Blue Ribbon Pairs (1) 1998 • Nail Life Master Open Pairs (5) 1990, 1991, 2005, 2007, 2012 • Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (1) 2009 • Vanderbilt (4) 1994, 1996, 2015, 2023 • Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams (4) 1991, 1996, 2006, 2008 • Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match (1) 1999 • Reisinger (5) 1987, 1989, 1996, 2008, 2009 • Spingold (2) 1991, 2003 • United States Bridge Championships (3) • Open Team Trials (3) 1997, 1999, 2006 • Asia & the Middle East Championships (5) • Open Teams (5) 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1991 • Other notable wins: • Buffett Cup (1) 2006 • Richard Lederer Memorial Trophy (7) 1978, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006 • Cavendish Invitational Teams (1) 1986 • Staten Bank World Top Invitational Pairs (1) 1988 • Cap Gemini Pandata World Top Invitational Pairs (1) 1992 • Cap Volmac World Top Invitational Pairs (1) 1995 • Cap Gemini World Top Invitational Pairs (2) 1998, 2000 • Cap Gemini Ernst & Young World Top Invitational Pairs (1) 2001 • Politiken World Pairs (1) 1995 • Omar Sharif Individual (1) 1990 • Portland Club Individual (1) 1990 ==Runners-up==

• Bermuda Bowl (2) 1981, 2007 • Rosenblum Cup (2) 1986, 2010 • World Open Pairs Championship (1) 2002 • Buffett Cup (1) 2008 • Cavendish Invitational Pairs (1) 1998 • Gold Cup (1) 1982 • Nail Life Master Open Pairs (2) 2000, 2001 • Reisinger (3) 2002, 2003, 2005 • Roth Open Swiss Teams (1) 2013 • Silodor Open Pairs (4) 1991, 1994, 2006, 2007 • Spingold (3) 1993, 1995, 2011 • Vanderbilt (4) 1988, 1990, 1991, 2000 • Wernher Open Pairs (1) 1987 • von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs (5) 1992, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014 • United States Bridge Championships (5) • Open Team Trials (5) 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005 • Other notable 2nd places: • Forbo-Krommenie International Teams (1) 1997 • Cavendish Invitational Teams (2) 1995, 2006 ==See also==