SAD news indeed this week as I have to report the passing of the great Alan Truscott at the age of 80. Alan was best known for his Bridge Column in the New York Times<$>, easily the most widely read bridge column in the world and one which he had written since 1964, a truly remarkable feat.Truscott, who was born in England, was so well known for the New York Times column, that his playing exploits and contribution to bridge theory often went unnoticed. He won the European Championship in 1961 and represented Great Britain in the Bermuda Bowl in 1962 when they finished third.

He also represented the USA in world competition in 1970, ‘72, ‘74, ‘78, ‘82, ‘86 and ‘90. He also authored several conventions such as Two-Way Stayman, Two No Trump Response (over opponents take out double) and defences to Strong Artificial Openings. He also authored nine books and did the translation from French of the great Championship Bridge <$>(Bridge a la Une <$>by LeDentu).

One other bridge exploit of note — he was non-playing captain of the Bermuda team in the 1964 Olympiad! He was also Oxford University chess champion and showed his physical fitness by completing the New York Marathon at the age of 61 and was also a mean tennis player. Alan was married to the great Dorothy Hayden, who was ranked No. 1 bridge player in the world in 1980 and whose bridge accomplishments were truly awesome.

Alan, above all, was a wonderful, kind and supportive person to know and was always charming and self-effacing. He really will be hugely missed on a personal and professional level. Our thoughts are with Dorothy and the rest of Alan’s family and friends.

For those who followed bridge in the Sixties and Seventies, one of the greatest scandals to hit the bridge world was the ‘Buenos Aires Affair’, where Truscott and the then Dorothy Hayden were the lead accusers in a cheating allegation against perhaps the best pair in the world, Terence Reese and Boris Shapiro of England. Truscott’s book of the affair, The Great Bridge Scandal<$>, is an absolutely riveting read and I have it if anyone is interested.

The allegation centred around Reese and Shapiro holding their cards in such a way that the fingers showing behind the cards signalled to each other the number of hearts held by each of them. Truscott provides numerous examples of hands where the ‘technical evidence’ suggested this was happening and here is one of them which occurred against the Canadians in the 1960 team Olympiad.North

[spade]A 9

[heart]J 10 7 5

[diamond]Q 8 6 5 4

[club]J 6

West East (D)

[spade]8 7 4 2 [spade]K Q J 6 5 3

[heart]3 [heart]A 6

[diamond]A 7 2 [diamond]K 9 3

[club]A K 10 9 2 [club]7 4

South

[spade]10

[heart]K Q 9 8 4 2

[diamond]J 10

[club]Q 8 5 3Both sides were vulnerable. The bidding was:East South West North

Sheardown Shapiro Elliott Reese<$>

1[spade] 1NT 4[spade] Dbl.

Pass 5[heart] Pass Pass

Dbl. Pass Pass PassThe lead was the club king. The result was down three, 800 to Canada. When the hand was replayed the British East-West pair bid the laydown spade slam and scored 1480, Britain gained 630, or 6 (old) international match points, sufficient to give them a small half-time lead in a tight match.

The no-trump overcall purported to be natural showing 16-18 points. In an honest partnership such an action might lead to all kinds of disasters, but it is completely safe if both players have knowledge of each other’s heart holding and approximate point-count. North can double, and confuse the issue further for the opponents, in the knowledge that his partner will bid five hearts.

Without illicit knowledge, South’s dummy in five hearts doubled might include a singleton heart and more in spades. the resulting penalty of 1100 or 1400, preventing East from making, or perhaps falling, in four spades, would surely prove a lack of liaison in hearts.

I must point out that, after a lengthy inquiry, Reese and Shapiro were found ‘not guilty’ by the British Bridge League.