User:Newwhist/sandbox/Project WPCB/Cheating in bridge chronologies

MY collection of references for the named accused cheaters.

Bridge Eras

• Whist and Auction Bridge before 1926
• Vanderbilt Reinvents Scoring in 1926; Culbertson Reigns as Mass Marketer, 1930-1949
• The Early Bermuda Bowls 1950-1958; the Establishment of the World Bridge Federation in 1958
• The Dominance by the Italian Blue Team 1958-1975
• World Bridge Federation 1975-2015
• The Explosion of Scandals in 2015
• The Future of Technology in the Game

Bridge Winners

• 2015-08-01: BW Series on 2015 Cheating Scandal
• 2015-09-26: Long thread titled: Credential committee´s decision by Rui Marques Sept. 26, 2015, mostly regarding BZ

WBF

WBF Resources

• WBF Home Page
• WBF Discipline and Ethics
• WBF Disciplinary Code
• WBF Sentencing Guidelines
• WBF Code of Ethics
• Sport Integrity Declaration
• IOC Code of Prevention

Chronology

• 2015-09-26: WBF press release that Balicki- Zmudzinski are out of Chennai
• 2015-10-09: Statement of October 9, 2015 by David Harris chastising "the present method used to “out” alleged cheaters".

WBF Laws

LAW 73 - COMMUNICATION
B. Inappropriate Communication between Partners
1. Partners shall not communicate by means such as the manner in which calls or plays are made, extraneous remarks or gestures, questions asked or not asked of the opponents or alerts and explanations given or not given to them.
2. The gravest possible offence is for a partnership to exchange information through prearranged methods of communication other than those sanctioned by these Laws.

EBL

• 2001: Adoption of the EBL Code of Discipline in 2001
  • first case
  • 2016-01-28: EBL President’s Report about Cheating made during the EBL Officers’ Seminar in Rome (28.01.2016). Promises investigations.

The Naughty List

• 2015: Cezary Balicki and Adam Zmudzinski. Disinvited from 2015 Bermuda Bowl. Found guilty but not penalized due to expiry of time limits.
• Josef Piekarek and Alexander Smirnov (bridge)
• Andrea Buratti and Massimo Lanzarotti
• Michael Elinescu and Entscho Wladow
• Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes
• Lotan Fisher and Ron Schwartz

You Tube Videos

• 2015-10-06: Peter Holland YouTube video on Balicki and Zmudzinski being disinvited and summarizing various hypothesis about possible cheating methods

The Blue Team

• 2019-06-13: The Burgay Tapes - Avon Wilsmore

Elinescu and Wladow

• Elinescu and Wladow at Cheating in bridge
• 2013-09-17 to 2013-09-29: Senior World Championships in Bali, Indonesia. Video: The Elinescu and Wladow Cheating Scandal. "The Coughing Doctors".
  • USA II team: Roger Bates, Garey Hayden, Marc Jacobus, Carolyn Lynch, Mike Passel, Eddie Wold, Donna Compton (NPC).
  • German team: Michael Elinescu, Entscho Wladow
• 2013-10-06: Formal Letter of Request for Inquiry by Donna Compton USA2 NPC
• 2014-01-23: Elinescu and Wladow charged by WBF.
• 2014-02-04: Hearing date set for 2015-03-21 in Dallas, Texas.
• 2014-03-21: and 2014-03-22: Elinescu and Wladow hearing conducted
• 2014-03-23: Elinescu and Wladow found guilty by WBF Disciplinary Commission. Sanctions:
  • Elinescu and Wladow banned for life as a playing pair
  • Elinescu and Wladow banned for 10 years as individuals
  • Elinescu and Wladow to pay costa
• 2014-03-31: Bridge Winners site: Ruling on Wladow and Elinescu Case, by WBF Official, March 31, 2014
  • Headline: "Extract of the Ruling of the Hearing of the WBF Disciplinary Commission held on 21st and 22nd March in Dallas."
  • Pair found guilty of "reprehensible conduct...and...systematically communicated with each other by coughing to convey information of shortage in a suit and also by coughing to suggest a preferred lead".
  • against Law 73B
  • banned for life as a playing pair
  • banned for 10 years as individuals
  • "no wrong doing" by other team members or the German Bridge Federation
  • could appeal within 20 days
• 2014-07-16: WBF Appeal Tribunal confirms finding of WBF Disciplinary Committee
• 2014-10-13: WBF Executive Committee finds Michael Elinescu and Entscho Wladow guilty of illegal transmission of unauthorized information and imposes sanctions.
• 2015-08-25: Jourdain, Patrick; Alexander, Harriet (2015-08-25). "International bridge champions accuse teammates of cheating". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2020-10-12..
  • States the pair is suing WBF.

Boye Brogeland Accusations

• Boye Brogeland accusation on Bridge Winners
• Boye Brogeland accusation on Bridge Cheaters site
• The allegations began during the Summer ACBL Nationals of Chicago in August 2015.

Fisher and Schwartz

• F-S cheated at Opatjia, 2014
• 2015-08-25: Jourdain, Patrick; Alexander, Harriet (2015-08-25). "International bridge champions accuse teammates of cheating". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  • The saga began in July 2014, in Las Vegas, when Mr Brogeland's team triumphed in the Spingold tournament - one of the most famous of all matches.
  • The six men - two Israelis, two Americans and two Norwegians - then won again in November at the Reisinger, another major tournament, held in the city of Providence, in Rhode Island.
  • They went on to claim a third title, winning the Jacoby Swiss tournament in New Orleans in March this year.
• 2015-08-30: Israeli Bridge Federation (IBF) Appointment of Special Ethics Committee
• 2016-01-28: EBL President’s Report about Cheating made during the EBL Officers’ Seminar in Rome (28.01.2016). Promises investigations.

Fantoni and Nunes

• Peter Holland Video
• 2016-01-28: EBL President’s Report about Cheating made during the EBL Officers’ Seminar in Rome (28.01.2016). Promises investigations.

Piekarek and Smirnov

• 2016-01-28: EBL President’s Report about Cheating made during the EBL Officers’ Seminar in Rome (28.01.2016). Promises investigations.

Balicki and Zmudzinski

• 2015-09-26: WBF press release that Balicki- Zmudzinski are out of Chennai
  • Does WBF invite and disinvite teams or players or either
• 2015-09-26: Long thread titled: Credential committee´s decision by Rui Marques Sept. 26, 2015, mostly regarding BZ
• 2015-10-06: Peter Holland YouTube video on Balicki and Zmudzinski being disinvited and summarizing various hypothesis about possible cheating methods
• 2015-10-xx: Revised Polish team at Bermuda Bowl in Chennai, 2015: Piotr Gawrys, Krzysztof Jassem, Jacek Kalita, Michal Klukowski, Marcin Mazurkiewicz, Michal Nowosadzki, Piotr Walczak (non-playing captain), Stanislaw Golebiowski (coach)

Gabriel Chagas

Suspension

On 20 April 2021, the Federação Brasileira de Bridge (FBB) - the Brazilian Bridge Federation - sanctioned Chagas for cheating while playing bridge online. While few details were presented in the notice of suspension, it was noted that three incidents had been investigated and while Chagas deemed the conclusion unfair, he accepted the inevitable outcome of being found guilty and accepted the FBB's proposed sanctions.

Effective 15 April 2021, Chagas is

• suspended from participating in tournaments promoted by the Brazilian Bridge Federation and its associated clubs for a period of one year,
• is prevented from representing Brazil, nationally or internationally, for a period of one year and
• his titles and ranking points in online tournaments held from March 2020 onwards are revoked.