[Deanrover]

One of the world's great card playing scandals could be resolved after more than 40 years with the revelation that one of the players involved confessed to cheating.

Two leading bridge players from Britain, Terence Reese and Boris Schapiro, were caught signalling to each other in the 1965 World Championship, causing headlines around the world.

The scandal shook the image of the British as a nation which believed in fair play and led to a year-long inquiry by Sir John Foster, QC for the British Bridge League.

The investigation cleared both players but the verdict was never accepted by the game's international governing body.

Now a close friend of Terence Reese has claimed the player confessed to him but told him it was all part of an experiment to prove cheating was possible.

David Rex-Taylor, a publishing executive who partnered Reese at bridge, said: "He confided that in the 1960s he had been planning to write a highly researched, in-depth book on cheating at cards and other indoor games and activities, commenting that cheats should be pilloried and their methods exposed."

Both men were banned from the game for three years and Reese, who died in 1996, never returned to the world championship stage.

Schapiro died three years ago but yesterday his widow, Helen, said: "At no point did Boris admit to cheating in Buenos Aires. To the contrary he said there was never any impropriety."

[Gerben42]

So why do we believe David Rex-Taylor? With both Reese and Schapiro dead no one will ever know the truth. Too bad, really.

[Walddk]

And why would he step forward at this point I wonder. No, I am not implying anything. Newspapers in England always bring the truth.

Roland

[bearmum]

Deanrover, on May 11 2005, 12:15 AM, said:

One of the world's great card playing scandals could be resolved after more than 40 years with the revelation that one of the players involved confessed to cheating.

Two leading bridge players from Britain, Terence Reese and Boris Schapiro, were caught signalling to each other in the 1965 World Championship, causing headlines around the world.

The scandal shook the image of the British as a nation which believed in fair play and led to a year-long inquiry by Sir John Foster, QC for the British Bridge League.

The investigation cleared both players but the verdict was never accepted by the game's international governing body.

Now a close friend of Terence Reese has claimed the player confessed to him but told him it was all part of an experiment to prove cheating was possible.

David Rex-Taylor, a publishing executive who partnered Reese at bridge, said: "He confided that in the 1960s he had been planning to write a highly researched, in-depth book on cheating at cards and other indoor games and activities, commenting that cheats should be pilloried and their methods exposed."

Both men were banned from the game for three years and Reese, who died in 1996, never returned to the world championship stage.

Schapiro died three years ago but yesterday his widow, Helen, said: "At no point did Boris admit to cheating in Buenos Aires. To the contrary he said there was never any impropriety."

SO why in the world post this NOW???

It is really OLD ( like at least 20 years old since it was proven to be cheating )

The scandal is I think there are MUCH more sophisticated ways to cheat since 1960"s and even MORE since then LIKE 70's 80's 90's 00's( )

BUT by the same token I really believe that ALL Country ACCOCATIONS are trying to catch cheats and hopefully cheats of whatever country will SLOWLY be eliminated

[whereagles]

Here's one of the hands that triggered the whole issue. Reese had something like

Axx
xxx
Axxx
xxx

and it went

LHO Schap RHO Reese
pass..pass...3♣...pass
4♣....pass..pass...dbl

Result: 1 down. Schapiro had 2 aces and out.

[bearmum]

whereagles, on May 11 2005, 03:22 AM, said:

Here's one of the hands that triggered the whole issue. Reese had something like

Axx
xxx
Axxx
xxx

and it went

LHO Schap RHO Reese
pass..pass...3♣...pass
4♣....pass..pass...dbl

Result: 1 down. Schapiro had 2 aces and out.

STILL think it's OLD ( liKe 40 YEARS old news) and maybe not relevant here )

[helene_t]

I believe it. Reese invented the multi 2♦ opening so he has to be evil.

Oh no can't be .... he played Precision so after all he was a good guy.

[Deanrover]

helene_t, on May 10 2005, 02:26 PM, said:

I believe it. Reese invented the multi 2♦ opening so he has to be evil.

Oh no can't be .... he played Precision so after all he was a good guy.

IIRC Flint invented multi 2♦

[helene_t]

Just googled on the origin of the multi 2♦ opening. Apparently it was invented by John Grummit.

Not so surprising. Stayman didn't invent the Stayman convention either, not did Jacoby invent the Jacoby transfers.

[pigpenz]

The book was re released again I think last year and it is a great read.
Especially the pictures of how they gave count of the heart suit with their fingers.

[Walddk]

pigpenz, on May 10 2005, 10:33 AM, said:

The book was re released again I think last year and it is a great read.
Especially the pictures of how they gave count of the heart suit with their fingers.

"The book" ?? There were/are two. "The Great Bridge Scandal" by Alan Truscott and "Story of an Accusation" by Reese himself. The conclusion is not quite the same.

By the way, as Dean points out, they were acquitted in England, so it is perhaps inappropriate to write ".... how they gave count of the heart suit with their fingers".

Roland

[Trumpace]

bearmum, on May 10 2005, 08:45 AM, said:

SO why in the world post this NOW???

It is really OLD ( like at least 20 years old since it was proven to be cheating )

Well, to some people who were born after this incident occured, it might be new And it would be an interesting thread to read...

[scoob]

someone should make this into a movie

[nikos59]

Note also that Sami Kehela, coach of the US team in
Buenos Aires, who was an eye-witness of the
alleged signs, testified in the British hearing that he did
not discern any pattern.

More significantly, the alleged cheaters failed to obtain
any advantage in the hands where they allegedly cheated.
Really remarkable, no?

[mike777]

nikos59, on May 10 2005, 03:41 PM, said:

Note also that Sami Kehela, coach of the US team in
Buenos Aires, who was an eye-witness of the
alleged signs, testified in the British hearing that he did
not discern any pattern.

More significantly, the alleged cheaters failed to obtain
any advantage in the hands where they allegedly cheated.
Really remarkable, no?

1) If he did not detect pattern, what signs was he an eye-witness too? This is illogical, perhaps he was an eye-witness to something else, perhaps he was an eye-witness to nothing, perhaps he was in the room at the time but if he was an eye-witness to signs then he must detect some pattern by definition.

2) This statement is even more illogical. If there was no claims of advantage at all, zero, there would have been no issue to write 2 books.


BTW I have read both of these books many times and if I remember correctly Kehela did not witness signs and there were claims of advantage, claims.

As for eye witness testimony, note the Italian foot tapping episode. With two people in room around tiny bridge table, on the lookout for foot stomping, one saw foot stomping on almost every hand, the other only a few rare times.

[arrows]

whereagles, on May 10 2005, 08:22 AM, said:

Here's one of the hands that triggered the whole issue. Reese had something like

Axx
xxx
Axxx
xxx

and it went

LHO Schap RHO Reese
pass..pass...3♣...pass
4♣....pass..pass...dbl

Result: 1 down. Schapiro had 2 aces and out.

This one is just for kids,

the opener passed, 3rd player preempted, and what the opener did next is...
inviting 5♣??

some play bridge, some count points, again, what the hell it is?

[nikos59]

One things or two:
1) Kehela was coach or something of the sort of the
US team. He was summoned to watch the signals
and he testified that he couldn't detect any pattern.

2) There are scores of hands from Buenos Aires
where even you and I
would fare better than R-S if we knew how many
hearts pard held.

2a) NV against V you hold
J8
K7543
KQ87
98

RHO opens 1C. Surely you will overcall, despite the ratty
suit, if you know that pard holds five, no? However,
holding this hand, Reese passed. Shapiro indeed held
five hearts. Reese's counterpart, Attaguile, overcalled
1H.

2b)
Game all, 3rd to speak
A74
J9
KJ10
K10763

You open 1C and pard replies 1H. And now, instead of the
normal 1NT rebid, you pass!
Preposterous -but perhaps you know pard has five or
six cards in the suit?
Actually, Reese held this hand in Buenos Aires, he passed
1H... and Shapiro held four hearts and duly went 2 down
in the 4-2 fit.

Some foreknowledge!

Nikos

[whereagles]

arrows, on May 12 2005, 01:01 AM, said:

whereagles, on May 10 2005, 08:22 AM, said:

Here's one of the hands that triggered the whole issue. Reese had something like

Axx
xxx
Axxx
xxx

and it went

LHO Schap RHO Reese
pass..pass...3♣...pass
4♣....pass..pass...dbl

Result: 1 down. Schapiro had 2 aces and out.

This one is just for kids,

the opener passed, 3rd player preempted, and what the opener did next is...
inviting 5♣??

some play bridge, some count points, again, what the hell it is?

I don't know what LHO was thinking of, but Truscott's point was there's no way Reese would have doubled this unless he knew pard had 2 aces.

[inquiry]

whereagles, on May 12 2005, 07:54 AM, said:

I don't know what LHO was thinking of, but Truscott's point was there's no way Reese would have doubled this unless he knew pard had 2 aces.

The alegation is that they were conveying the number of hearts, not the number of ACEs. The speculation aobut leaving the double in here with ACES is non-sense. The reason the doulbe was left in is that partner with only 3 hearts (what was suppose to be known), must be realatively balanced and thus have values. IT doensn't take only aces to defeat contracts.

Any allegation suggestion that he knew the number of ACES is counter to the theory of the case, and is people jumping on the bandwagon.

[bearmum]

Trumpace, on May 11 2005, 05:28 AM, said:

bearmum, on May 10 2005, 08:45 AM, said:

SO why in the world post this NOW???

It is really OLD ( like at least 20 years old since it was proven to be cheating )

Well, to some people who were born after this incident occured, it might be new And it would be an interesting thread to read...

OOOPS - sorry I do tend to forget that I AM 60 + years old -- and have been interested in bridge since my grandmother taught me the "Culbertson-- open a one bid with 2½ tricks support with 1½ and open a STRONG 2 bid with 4( where A was 1 and K was ½ trick) " system

I did not mean to upset anyone with my original comment