Jeffrey John (Jeff) Meckstroth (born May 15, 1956) is an American professional

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions o ...

player. He is a multiple world champion, winning the

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 ...

on USA teams five times. He is one of only ten players who have won the so-called

triple crown of bridge The triple crown of bridge is a career achievement in duplicate bridge, namely winning the three marquee Open world championships conducted by the World Bridge Federation. The Bermuda Bowl is now contested by national teams in odd-number years. Th ...

: the Bermuda Bowl, the World Open Pairs and the

World Team Olympiad The World Team Olympiad was a contract bridge meet organized by the World Bridge Federation every four years from 1960 to 2004. Its main events were world championships for national teams, always including one open and one restricted to women ("O ...

. As of May 16, 2016, he was the fifth-ranking World Grand Master.World Bridge Federation, Open World Grand Masters
/ref> For decades Meckstroth has been in a regular partnership with

Eric Rodwell Eric Victor Rodwell (born May 1, 1957) is an American professional bridge player. He has won the Bermuda Bowl representing the United States five times and is one of ten players who have won the triple crown of bridge: the Bermuda Bowl, the Wor ...

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 Precision Club is a bidding system in the game of contract bridge. It is a strong club system developed in 1969 for C. C. Wei by Alan Truscott, and used by Taiwan teams in 1969. Their success in placing second at the 1969 Bermuda Bowl (and Wei's ...

. One of Meckstroth's iconic achievements was winning three of the four available major events contested at the ACBL's 2008 fall championships, the Open Board-A-Match Teams, Blue Ribbon Pairs, and Reisinger Teams. He became ACBL's all-time leading masterpoint holder when he went past Paul Soloway's long held record during the

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Winter Regional in March 2010. Meckstroth was born in

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County, Ohio, Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approxim ...

. He is a full-time bridge professional and lives in

Clearwater Beach Clearwater Beach includes a resort area and a residential area on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico in Pinellas County on the west-central coast of Florida. Located just west over the Intracoastal Waterway by way of the Clearwater Memorial Ca ...

, Florida with his wife, Sally Chapleau-Meckstroth.

Bridge accomplishments

Awards

* ACBL Player of the Decade (3)1990s, 2000s, 2010s * ACBL Player of the Year (3) 1992, 2004, 2009 * Barry Crane Top 500 1993, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008 *

Mott-Smith Trophy The Mott-Smith Trophy, named for writer and cryptographer Geoffrey Mott-Smith, is awarded to the player with the best overall individual performance in the Spring Nationals, the spring event of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North Amer ...

1979, 1980, 1985, 2000, 2009, 2017 *

Fishbein Trophy The Fishbein Trophy is awarded to the player who wins the greatest number of masterpoints at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). History The Fishbein Trophy was donated by the ACBL in memo ...

1996, 2004, 2007 * Herman Trophy 1980, 1982, 1995, 2004 * ACBL King of Bridge 1974 * Le Bridgeur Award (Best Played Hand of the Year) 1998 * IBPA Award (Best Played Hand of the Year) 1999 *

Goren Trophy The Goren Trophy (formerly the Herman Trophy) is awarded to the player who wins the greatest number of masterpoints at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). History The Herman Trophy was do ...

(1) 2009

Wins

(5) 1981, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2009 World Team Championship Winners
/ref> * World Open Team Olympiad (1) 1988 * World Open Pairs (1) 1986 * World Mixed Pairs (1) 2002 *

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 ...

(61) **

Senior Knockout Teams The Baze Senior Knockout Teams national bridge championship was held at the fall 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. ...

(2) 2013, 2014, 2016 **

Grand National Teams The Grand National Teams (GNT) North American bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Grand National Teams is a team knockout event. The event is broken into ...

(14) 1990, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018 **

Jacoby Open Swiss Teams The Jacoby Open Swiss Teams national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Jacoby Open Swiss Teams is a four session Swiss Teams event with two qualifying a ...

(6) 1989, 1994, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009 **

Blue Ribbon Pairs The Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs (or simply the Blue Ribbon Pairs) is a national bridge championship held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The event is restricted to those that have wo ...

(3) 1982, 2008, 2016 **

Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams The Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championships, North American Bridge Championship (NABC). It is an open four session board-a-match event ...

(2) 1984, 2008 **

Nail Life Master Open Pairs The Nail Life Master Open Pairs is a North American bridge championship held at the fall American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and ...

(1) 1979 **

Reisinger The Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Reisinger is a board-a-match event. History The event is contested for the Reisinger Trophy ( ...

(9) 1979, 1985, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009 **

Rockwell Mixed Pairs The Rockwell Mixed Pairs is a national bridge championship held regularly at the Spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Rockwell Trophy, donated by Helen Rockwell in 1946, is presented to the w ...

(1) 1980 **

Silodor Open Pairs The Silodor Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Silodor Open Pairs is a four session matchpoint (MP) pairs event with two qualifying ...

(3) 1979, 1992, 2016 **

Spingold The Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Spingold is a knock-out team event that attracts the top contract bridge players in the world. T ...

(12) 1984, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2007 ** Vanderbilt (7) 1980, 1982, 1985, 2000, 2003, 2014, 2017 **

Wernher Open Pairs The Wernher Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). Typically starting on the Tuesday of the NABC, the Wernher Open Pairs is a four session ma ...

(1) 1999 * United States Bridge Championships (13) ** Open Team Trials (13) 1980, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2017 * European Open Bridge Championships (1) ** Open Pairs (1) 2003 * Other notable wins: **

Buffett Cup The Buffett Cup is a bridge trophy which is awarded biennially in an event between teams from Europe and the United States. The tournament is modeled on the Ryder Cup golf competition and is held in the week preceding the golf event at a nearby l ...

(1) 2010 ** Cavendish Invitational Teams (2) 2000, 2003 ** Cavendish Invitational Pairs (1) 2019 ** Macallan Invitational Pairs (2) 1995, 1996

Runners-up

(2) 1997, 2005 * World Open Team Olympiad (1) 1992 *

Rosenblum Cup Rosenblum Cup is an Open Teams event held every four years as part of the World Bridge Championships. The event was added to the world championships in New Orleans in 1978 to commemorate Julius Rosenblum, who served as president of the World Bridge ...

(1) 2010 *

(26) **

(1) 2012 **

(3) 1994, 2003, 2005 **

(2) 2005, 2010 **

(2) 1998, 1999 **

Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match The Mixed Board-a-Match Teams is a bridge competition held at the summer 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 ...

(2) 1983, 1992 **

(2) 1985, 1992 **

Norman Kay Platinum Pairs The Norman Kay Platinum Pairs national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Norman Kay Platinum Pairs is a six-session open-pairs event with two qualifying ...

(1) 2013 **

(1) 1980 **

(4) 1985, 1990, 2011, 2012 ** Vanderbilt (6) 1979, 1991, 1996, 2002, 2018, 2019 **

Keohane North American Swiss Teams The Keohane North American Swiss Teams bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Keohane North American Swiss Teams is a six session Swiss Teams A Swiss-system t ...

(1) 2022 **

von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs The Von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). Usually called simply the "Life Master Pairs" or "LM Pairs", this is a six-ses ...

(1) 1983 * United States Bridge Championships (4) ** Open Team Trials (4) 1982, 1984, 1985, 1997 * Other notable 2nd places: ** Cavendish Invitational Teams (1) 1997 ** Cap Volmac World Top Invitational Pairs (1) 1994 ** Sunday Times–Macallan Invitational Pairs (1) 1993 ** Cavendish Invitational Pairs (1) 1984

Publications

* "New Minor Forcing & Fourth Suit Forcing & Artificial" (Louisville: Devyn Press, 1985), Championship Bridge no. 28 – pamphlet * ''Win the Bermuda Bowl With Me'', Meckstroth and Marc Smith (Toronto:

Master Point Press Master Point Press is a Canadian book publishing company located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It grew out of Canadian Master Point magazine (1992–1997), which was published by Ray and Linda Lee. The company began publishing books in 1994. While ...

, 2001), , 188 pp.

References

External links

* *
Nickell Team
at the United States Bridge Federation (2009?) – with player profiles
Audio-video interview
uploaded October 27, 2009, by ACBLvideo at YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Meckstroth, Jeff 1956 births Living people American contract bridge players Bermuda Bowl players Contract bridge writers