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The best teammates for me and perhaps for anybody. We won the Grand National Teams in 2004, along with Michael Seamon and Gary Cohler, and were runner up in 2005.
Their first Bermuda Bowl win was in 1981 and last was in 2009. So they have played for 28 years as one of the World’s leading partnerships . Their huge success in both national tournaments in USA and Word Events is unmatched. Certainly the best pair in the modern era they are probably the best pair in bridge history. They play their best during a tight match towards the end ,hence their number of small wins far exceeds their small losses.
I found them to be good and encouraging teammates. One of the best compliments I ever got was after they had not such a great set when we had scored up and had gained a few imps Meckstroth came over to me and said "well done you kept us in the match there"
As opponents I lost 2 finals and a semi final in the USA to Nickell teams they played in. The only occasion I was on the winning side was in Taiwan in 1989.
Their teammates were Soloway Anderson and Mahaffey mine were Forrester and Sheehan.
Another of the World's best partnerships I played with them in China in the Yeh Bros Invitational . While we won the Swiss qualifying we unfortunately got knocked out at an early stage of the Kos.
I played on a four handed team with them and Mahaffey in Naples when we won our first 11 matches in the regional Kos.
They do not participate in the Polish National Team. Rather playing for financial incentive with the Russians they hoped to represent Russia at some future time.
They would make the list of most informed players as in the top few pairs in the world.
Currently along with their Russian friends Andrew Gromov and Aleksander Dubinin they are on the Carolyn Lynch bridge team.
I first saw Bertheau-Nystrom when they were Juniors playing In USA nationals. They did well and impressed. Subsequently I played on teams with them in China and in the European Open Championships In Antalya Turkey. In Turkey our third pair was Peter Fredin-Bjorn Fallenius Our team led the Swiss but lost in the round of 16.
The four Swedish players make a formidable team. Unfortunately for Sweden Fallenius is no longer eligible to play for his home country as he is living in USA and plays in the team trials there.
Bertheau-Nystrom are particularly effective in bidding and with their relay system can find out about their partner’s distribution points and controls.
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Both born in Poland. My best result was reaching the quarter-final of the World Championship Rosenblum in Verona in 2006 with Lev-Gawrys and Cohler–Lair. Lev Gawrys carried a large workload in this event playing many boards and had to contend with fatigue at the end.
With Lev and Pepsi we lost in the in the round of 8 also in the usa team trials.
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In 1998 just after I had moved To USA I found a good team to play on in the Rosenblum World Championship in Lille. I partnered a young Brad Moss. I enjoyed playing with him and at that time he was just starting his bridge career and partnership with Fred Gitelman which has proved to be most successful. We were lucky to find Hugh Ross and Mike Lawrence to make up our team. Both World Champion players it was a pleasure to compete in a team with them. We qualified for the Ko matches and won one match but then lost to a powerful Dutch team.
I have partnered Hugh Ross on a couple of occasions in pair games and found him an easy partner to play with. I saw Mike Lawrence win his first World Championship in Sweden in 1970. He is a very accomplished bridge writer and I recommend his books as an excellent way of improving your game.
One of Britain's best partnerships I played with them on British teams in 1977 with Michael Rosenberg. We took Bronze in the Common Market but did not do well in the European championships of the same year.
Jeremy Flint receives his medal. On his left Irving Rose looks on. On his right is Brian Short and Barnet Shenkin and Michael Rosenberg behind him with Sandy Duncan.
Both excellent players at the top of the British game. We won in Taiwan in 1989 at an invitational teams event. This was the one occasion that my team was fortunate to beat a team with Meckwell in it. Forrester Sheehan played them throughout while Rose and I took on lesser mortals.
This was the time tournament Rose did not feel well and played faster and faster so he could lie down. We finished 8 boards ahead of the other room and were nowhere to be found when our teammates eventually came out to score. They were not amused.
I played two European Championships with John and Graham. In 1979 it was their first British representation and I played with Victor Goldberg. We finished in 6th place after being in contention most of the event.
In 1993 I played with Les Steel. Here originally our team was to have The top British pair of Forrester and Robson. They did not play however and although the team played many good matches it did not place nearly as high as it would have done had they played.
John and Graham were excellent teammates always in good spirits and enjoying themselves. They had a reputation for preempting with anything.
Although I was on 3 Gold Cup winning teams I was on the losing team in the final on four occasions. They were playing in three of these matches.
Unfortunately John Armstrong died suddenly in 2008. He was a very genuine and nice man in the Bridge World as well as being a very fine player.
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One of Britain' s best pairs in the seventies. In 1976 Michael Rosenberg and I teamed up to win a British Gold Cup with them along with Goldberg-Jourdain. We also played with them that year in Philadelphia in a match publicised as Redcoats V Patriots to celebrate the Bicentennial.
In 1977 we played with them in the European Championships in Elsinore.
Tony Priday has been a leading player, administrator,and journalist in British bridge since the sixties. I remember playing against him in a Camrose match and between sessions he had a gin and tonic. "One is good for my game" he said. It seemed to work for him but when I tried it had not the same success!
Tony Priday was first married to Jane who was herself a great player and World Champion. She had a bubbly nature and they were kind enough to invite Michael and myself back to their home in London for lots of drinks after our "Sunday Times" win.
Victor Silverstone and Willie Coyle were probably the first Scottish pair to ever put proper work into their bidding system. They switched to the system played by Jeremy Flint and Peter Pender successfully when they played in USA. The system was well known as Flint- Pender. Weak NT, Five card majors with 1N forcing and many gadgets. Silverstone-Coyle later added the Multi-2 Diamonds which was invented by Jeremy Flint and Terence Reese. In teams with them I won my first couple of Scottish Cups and the Gold Cup in 1972.
They were the first Scottish pair in a team to win the Gold Cup and play for Great Britain in the European Championships in 1969 along with Goldberg-Leckie. They would certainly be on most selections were you to choose a Scottish team consisting of the best pairs who had ever played for Scotland.
When Rosenberg and I formed our partnership we based our system on the one they played.
George and Gerald were very successful teammates of mine. Between 1979 and 1983 we won 3 of the four Scottish Cups the main national KO event in Scotland.
Gold Cup Winners 1982 (Left to right) George Cuthbertson, Barnet Shenkin, Gerald Haase, Victor Goldberg, Willie Coyle
1982 was our best result winning the Gold Cup after coming back in the semi – final 52 imps down with 8 to play a quite amazing story.
Gerald a doctor was often know as the "mad doc" due to his eccentricities at the table.
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