Lotan Fisher is an Israeli bridge player ranked as a World Life Master by the World Bridge Federation.[1] He first appeared in international competition at the 18th European Youth Team Championships in Torquay in 2002 where his schools division team placed first.[1] He competed primarily in pairs and individual junior events until 2008.
In 2008, Fisher began a partnership with Ron Schwartz[2] which brought them progressive prominence in junior teams and junior pairs world competitions through to 2011, including several first-place finishes. In 2011, Fisher and Schwartz won the World Transnational Open Team Championship. Subsequently, they entered European based open team competitions with continued success as members of the Israeli team, including six top ten finishes. Fisher won several World and European medals together with different partners at the youth events from 2009 to 2013.
In May 2016, the European Bridge League imposed bans on both players for cheating.[3] In July 2016, the American Contract Bridge League expelled both players for cheating and stripped their previously-won titles.[4] In August 2016, the Israel Bridge Federation banned both players for cheating.[5]
Bridge accomplishments
Wins
European Youth Team Championships - Schools Teams (1) 2002[1]
World Series Championships - Junior Teams (1) 2010[1]
European Youth Team Championships - Junior Teams (1) 2011[1]
Jeffrey John (Jeff) Meckstroth is an American professional contract bridge player. He is a multiple world champion, winning the Bermuda Bowl on USA teams five times. He is one of only ten players who have won the so-called triple crown of bridge: the Bermuda Bowl, the World Open Pairs and the World Team Olympiad. As of May 16, 2016, he was the fifth-ranking World Grand Master. For decades Meckstroth has been in a regular partnership with Eric Rodwell and together, nicknamed "Meckwell", they are one of the most successful bridge partnerships of all time. They are well known for playing an aggressive and very detailed system that derived from Precision Club.
Mir Zia Mahmood is a Pakistani-American professional bridge player. He is a World Bridge Federation and American Contract Bridge League Grand Life Master. As of April 2011 he was the 10th-ranked World Grand Master.
Geir Helgemo is a professional bridge player who was born in Norway but is now a citizen of Monaco. Through 2012 he had won three world championships in teams-of-four competition. As of August 2018 he ranked first among Open World Grand Masters and his regular partner Tor Helness ranked second.
Fulvio Fantoni is an Italian international bridge player. He is a six-time world champion, a World Grand Master of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), and was the WBF first-ranked player for much of his period of success. He is one of 10 players who have won the Triple Crown of Bridge.
Claudio Nunes is an Italian professional bridge player.
The World Junior Teams Championship is a bridge competition for zonal teams of players up to about 25 years old.
Alan M. Sontag is an American professional bridge player. He won six world championships, including two Bermuda Bowl wins. Sontag is also known for his book The Bridge Bum, a book "on everybody's list of the top ten bridge books ever written."
Tor Helness is a Norwegian professional bridge player. He was a stalwart on Norway junior and open teams for thirty years before moving to Monaco. Through 2012 he has won four world championships in teams-of-four competition. As of October 2016 he ranks second among Open World Grand Masters and his regular partner Geir Helgemo ranks first.
Joel Powhatan Wooldridge is an American multi-national champion and world junior champion in contract bridge, as well as an expert foosball player. In 1990, Wooldridge surpassed Sam Hirschman's previous record for the youngest individual to achieve Life Master status with the American Contract Bridge League. He achieved this milestone at the age of 11 years, 4 months, and 13 days, breaking the previous record of 11 years, 9 months, and 5 days. Four years later, Joel's record was surpassed by Sam's brother, Dan. Wooldridge currently resides in New York City.
Michael Passell is a professional American bridge player from Dallas, Texas.
Cheating in bridge refers to a deliberate violation of the rules of the game of bridge or other unethical behaviour that is intended to give an unfair advantage to a player or team. Cheating can occur in many forms and can take place before, during, or after a board or game.
Boye Brogeland is a Norwegian professional bridge player. After a successful junior career, he won three Bermuda Bowl medals with the Norwegian team, including the gold in Shanghai 2007, and several North American Bridge Championships. He came into public focus in 2015 when he led a campaign against cheating in bridge, exposing wrongdoing of several top pairs, for which he received public recognition.
Ron Schwartz is an Israeli bridge player ranked as a World Life Master by the World Bridge Federation. First appearing in international competition at the 1st World Junior Individual Championships in New York in 2004 where he placed 61st, Schwartz' bridge career progressed at the 20th European Youth Team Championships held in Riccione, Italy in 2005 where, as a member of the Israeli junior team in the Schools division, he placed second.
In August 2015, Boye Brogeland's bridge team lost in the quarter-finals of the Spingold knock-out team event to Jimmy Cayne's team by 1 IMP following an appeal that lost his team 2 IMPs. The appeal involved Lotan Fisher and Ron Schwartz, Brogeland's teammates from the previous year when they won the Spingold. Brogeland spent the following day reviewing the Vugraph records from the quarter-final and concluded that Fisher and Schwartz were cheating and later that month created a web site and publicly accused them of cheating.
Sam Lev is an Israeli bridge player.
Franck Multon is a French bridge player.
Krzysztof Martens is a Polish bridge player and author of multiple bridge books.
Richard Schwartz was an American bridge player.
Thomas Bessis is a French bridge player.
Migry Zur Campanile is a World champion bridge player, an American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) Grand Life Master, and winner of multiple ACBL national titles. Born in Romania, Migry now lives in America.
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