Géza Ottlik

Who was Géza Ottlik?

Géza Ottlik was a Hungarian writer, translator, mathematician, and bridge theorist.

He attended the military school at Kőszeg and Budapest, and studied mathematics and physics at Budapest University 1931-1935. After a brief career on Hungarian radio, he was a secretary of Hungarian PEN Club from 1945 to 1957. As he was unable to publish his works for political reasons, he earned his living translating. He translated mainly from English; and German.

He was a passionate bridge player and advanced theoretician, and his 1979 book Adventures in Card Play written with Hugh Kelsey introduced and developed many new concepts. A survey of bridge experts in 2007, listed the book third on a list of their all-time favourites, nearly thirty years after its first publication.