Alan Fraser Truscott (16 April 1925 – 4 September 2005) was a British-American

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

player, writer, and editor. He wrote the daily bridge column for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' for 41 years, from 1964 to 2005, and served as Executive Editor for the first six editions of ''

The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge ''The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge'' (OEB) presents comprehensive information on the card game contract bridge with limited information on related games and on playing cards. It is "official" in reference to the American Contract Bridge League ...

'' from 1964 to 2002. Alan and Dorothy Truscott

Britain

Truscott was born in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

, south London, and showed early prowess at

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

. He attended

Whitgift School ("He who perseveres, conquers") , established = , closed = , type = Independent school , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head Master , head = Christopher Ramsey , c ...

in Croydon and served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

for three years around the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. From 1947 he studied at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, which he represented at both chess and bridge. With Oxford partner Robert d'Unienville, he was on the British team (along with

Terence Reese John Terence Reese (28 August 1913 – 29 January 1996) was a British bridge player and writer, regarded as one of the finest of all time in both fields. He was born in Epsom, Surrey, England to middle-class parents, and was educated at Bradf ...

and

Boris Schapiro Boris Schapiro (22 August 1909 – 1 December 2002) was a British international bridge player. He was a Grandmaster of the World Bridge Federation, and the only player to have won both the Bermuda Bowl (the world championship for national teams) ...

) that won a bronze medal at the 1951

European Bridge League The European Bridge League is a confederation of National Bridge Federations (NBFs) that organize the card game of contract bridge in European nations. In turn the EBL organizes bridge competition at the European level. It is a member of the Europ ...

championships, age only 26. He represented Britain in the same event twice more, finishing second with partner

Maurice Harrison-Gray Maurice Harrison-Gray (13 November 1899 – 24 November 1968), known always as 'Gray', was an English professional contract bridge player. For about thirty years from the mid-thirties to the mid-sixties he was one of the top players. As a member o ...

in 1958 (again along with Reese–Schapiro) and first with partner Tony Priday in 1961. He was in charge of organising the 1961 rendition hosted by

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...

in Devonshire, England. As European champions that British team finished third in the 1962

Bermuda Bowl The Bermuda Bowl is a biennial contract bridge world championship for national . It is contested every odd-numbered year under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), alongside the Venice Cup (women), the d'Orsi Senior Bowl and the W ...

held in New York City. The 1961 European Teams was his only international championship outside the British Isles.

America

According to Maureen Hiron, bridge columnist for ''The Independent'' of London, in New York City "he fell in love with one of the scorers, in particular, and America in general, and decided to cross the Atlantic." Richard L. Frey, the

American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. It is the largest such organization in North America having the stated mission ''"to promote, grow and sustain th ...

publications director, recruited Truscott to help edit the ACBL's membership magazine and its ''

Official Encyclopedia of Bridge ''The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge'' (OEB) presents comprehensive information on the card game contract bridge with limited information on related games and on playing cards. It is "official" in reference to the American Contract Bridge League ...

'', whose first edition was underway. Truscott moved to New York City, then the ACBL headquarters, and succeeded

Albert Morehead Albert Hodges Morehead, Jr. (August 7, 1909 – October 5, 1966) was a writer for ''The New York Times'', a bridge player, a lexicographer, and an author and editor of reference works. Early years Morehead was born in Flintstone, Taylor County, ...

as bridge editor of ''The New York Times'' 1 January 1964. Truscott wrote a bridge column for ''The New York Times'' daily until March 1994, and then three times a week until April 2005, when he retired due to poor health, for a total of some 12,750 columns. Frey, Truscott, and the editorial board led by Morehead completed the first edition of ''

'' in 1964. Truscott would be the executive editor of the encyclopedia until his death. Alan Truscott had three children, Frances, Fraser and Philip, with his first wife, Gloria Gilling. That marriage was dissolved 1971 and in 1972 he married the American bridge expert and internationalist

Dorothy Hayden Dorothy Hayden Truscott (November 3, 1925 – July 4, 2006) was an American bridge player, winner of four world championships and the top-ranked woman for many years. In the late 1960s, she authored two books on the game and later co-authored two ...

, born Johnson, a former math teacher and actuary, who had four children from two previous marriages. Alan Truscott wrote thirteen bridge books, including two with his wife, Dorothy, and one with Phillip Alder. He died of cancer at their vacation home in New Russia, New York, near Lake Champlain. His widow died the following year.

Buenos Aires affair

As ''New York Times'' correspondent, Truscott covered the 1965 contract bridge world championship

in Buenos Aires and became a chief witness in a cheating scandal where

and

, representing Europe, were accused of using their fingers to pass information about their cards. The initial accusers were the American partnership of B. Jay Becker and

; the two confided their suspicions to Truscott, a close friend of Hayden's (and later her husband), and to John Gerber, then captain of the USA team. After an investigation, Reese and Schapiro were judged guilty by the World Bridge Federation authorities at the tournament in Buenos Aires. The

British Bridge League The British Bridge League (BBL) was founded in 1931 by A. E. Manning Foster. It formerly selected bridge teams to represent Great Britain in European and World competitions and organised the Camrose Trophy, the Gold Cup, the Portland Cup and the L ...

(BBL) convened its own inquiry, and next year judged them not guilty by the "reasonable doubt" standard. Both Truscott and Reese published books on the affair, ''The Great Bridge Scandal'' and ''The Story of an Accusation''.Reese, Terence (1966). ''The Story of an Accusation''. London: Heinemann. LCCN 67075048. 244 pages. (US edition, 1967). New York: Simon & Schuster. LCCN 67017872. 246 pages.

Bridge accomplishments

Honors

* ACBL Hall of Fame, Blackwood Award 2001"Induction by Year"
. ''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 22 December 2014.

Winner

North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven da ...

(3) ** Mixed Pairs (1) 1989 ** Master Mixed Teams (1) 1985 ** North American Swiss Teams (1) 1987 * European Championships (1) ** Open Teams (1) 1961 * British Championships (2) ** Masters Individual (2) 1953, 1958

Runners-up

(2) ** Master Mixed Teams (1) 1972 ** North American Swiss Teams (1) 1994 * European Championships (1) ** Open Teams (1) 1958

Publications

The New York Times articles by Alan Truscott
* 224 pp. * 272 pp. * 232 pp. * 32 pp. * 32 pp. * 32 pp. * 32 pp. * 32 pp. * 159 pp. * 99 to 133 pp. * 331 pp. * 26 pp. * 224 pp. * 252 to 260 pp. * 152 pp. * 133 pp. * 220 pp. * (New York: Arco Pub. Co., 1996, ) * (paper). * 236 pp. * 292 pp. * 399 pp.

References

External links

* * * * ;Obituaries * Alder, Phillip

''The New York Times'', 7 July 2006. * Hiron, Maureen

''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 10 September 2005. * Jourdain, P. D
"Alan Truscott (1925–2005)"

English Bridge Union The English Bridge Union or EBU is a player-funded organisation that promotes and organises the card game of duplicate bridge in England. It is based at offices in Aylesbury. The EBU is a member of the European Bridge League and thus affiliate ...

. * Pollak, Michael
"Alan Truscott, Times Bridge Editor Since 1964, Dies at 80"
''The New York Times'', 5 September 2005.

''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', 6 September 2005.
"Alan Truscott"
TimesOnline – ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 9 September 2005. ;Games columns about Truscott Bridge columns featuring Alan Truscott by his successor Phillip Alder: *Alder, Philli
"Bridge; A Life of Cards Began With a Missed Slam at 15"
— biography with Alder's illustration of restricted choice, one subject of Truscott's original writings. ''The New York Times'', 8 September 2005. *Alder, Philli
"BRIDGE; Playing in a European Fishbowl To Faintly Heard Applause"
— biographical leftovers with one deal played by Truscott. ''The New York Times'', 10 September 2005. Chess column by his fellow Robert Byrne: *Byrne, Rober

— friendly remarks by fellow columnist and recreational tennis player, with chess column that does not feature Truscott. ''The New York Times'', 18 September 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Truscott, Alan 1925 births 2005 deaths Contract bridge writers British non-fiction writers American contract bridge players Bridge players from London The New York Times columnists People from Brixton People educated at Whitgift School Writers from New York City British emigrants to the United States Royal Navy personnel of World War II American encyclopedists British male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers Male non-fiction writers