Lotan Fisher

Lotan Fisher is an Israeli bridge player ranked as a World Life Master by the World Bridge Federation.[1] He first appeared in international competition at the 18th European Youth Team Championships in Torquay in 2002 where his schools division team placed first.[1] He competed primarily in pairs and individual junior events until 2008.

In 2008, Fisher began a partnership with Ron Schwartz [2] which brought them progressive prominence in junior teams and junior pairs world competitions through to 2011, including several first-place finishes. In 2011, Fisher and Schwartz won the World Transnational Open Team Championship. Subsequently, they entered European based open team competitions with continued success as members of the Israeli team, including six top ten finishes. In May 2016, the European Bridge League imposed bans on both players for cheating.

Bridge accomplishments

Wins

Runners-up

Cheating scandal

In August 2015, Boye Brogeland's team (Richard Schwartz,[5] Allan Graves, Boye Brogeland, Espen Lindqvist, Huub Bertens, Daniel Korbel) lost in the quarter-finals of the Spingold to Jimmy Cayne's team (James Cayne, Michael Seamon, Lotan Fisher, Ron Schwartz, Alfredo Versace, Lorenzo Lauria) by 1 IMP following an appeal that lost his team 2 IMPs.[6] The appeal involved Lotan Fisher and Ron Schwartz, Brogeland's teammates from the previous year when they won the Spingold.[7] Brogeland spent the following day reviewing the Vugraph records from the quarter-final and concluded that Fisher and Schwartz were cheating and later that month created a web site and publicly accused them of cheating.[8][9][10][11]

In September 2015, Per-Ola Cullin, a Swedish international bridge player, postulated a code that Fisher and Schwartz placed the board after removing it from the bidding tray in particular locations to indicate strength in a suit.[12] The analysis was based on video from the European Bridge Team Championship in Croatia in 2014.

Both the European Bridge League and the Israel Bridge Federation conducted an investigation into the allegations. The Israel Bridge Federation hearings also includes an allegation related to coughing. On September 5, 2015, Israel withdrew its team for the upcoming Bermuda Bowl in Bali.[13] They were replaced by Sweden.

In May 2016 three Israeli experts announced what they believe is a refinement to the Cullin code. The experts include Dr. Netzer Zeidenberg, a computer scientist and Amir Levin, Israel's 2003 bridge champion. Fisher and Schwartz responded, "We are innocent of any crime and we will fight for our innocence. We already successfully passed a polygraph that proved that we are innocent."[14]

Fisher and Schwartz were subsequently banned from all European Bridge League events in May 2016 by its Disciplinary Commission for a period of five years, and banned from playing as a partnership for life.[15] The Committee's full report was released on May 18, 2016 as the Decision of the European Bridge League Disciplinary Committee.[16]

As of July 2016, the Israel Bridge Federation hearings are on-going.

On July 28, 2016, the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) announced that its Ethical Oversight Committee (chair: Jon Brissman; other members: Cheri Bjerkan, Dennis Clerkin, Lesley Davis, Bruce Ferguson, Bob Glasson, Hendrik Sharples and Eddie Wold) had unanimously found Fisher and Schwartz guilty both of collusive cheating and of giving false information to the ACBL about previous disciplinary convictions. In consequence, Fisher and Schwartz were expelled from the ACBL, and all their masterpoints, titles, ranks and privileges declared forfeit. Further, their partners and teammates were subject to mandatory forfeiture of all masterpoints, titles and ranks earned during the four years preceding the final of the 2015 Spingold Trophy.[17] On July 29, 2016, the ACBL clarified and corrected that announcement: forfeiture by partners and teammates applied only to events in which they had played with Fisher or Schwartz, and only to the four years preceding the date of the decision; namely, July 27, 2016.[18]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "International record for Lotan Fisher". World Bridge Federation.
  2. ↑ At the World Junior Teams Championship held in Philadelphia in 2008, Fisher and Schwartz placed 2nd.
  3. ↑ World Transational Open Teams Winners
  4. ↑ "Spingold Previous Winners" (PDF). American Contract Bridge League. 2014-07-21. p. 12. Retrieved 2014-11-03.
  5. ↑ Richard Schwartz is unrelated to Ron Schwartz.
  6. ↑ NABC Daily Bulletin, Volume 87, Number 9, 15 August 2015.
  7. ↑ NABC Daily Bulletin, Volume 86, Number 11, 28 July 2014
  8. ↑ Cheating allegations by Brogeland at the bridgecheaters.com website.
  9. ↑ "International bridge champions accuse teammates of cheating". The Daily Telegraph. 25 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "Is the Competitive Bridge World Rife with Cheaters?". Vanity Fair. 29 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "Top Bridge Players Withdraw From Bermuda Bowl Amid Cheating Scandal". NPR.org. 28 September 2015.
  12. ↑ Board and tray signal analysis by Cullin at the bridgecheaters.com website.
  13. ↑ "Letter from IBL" (PDF). IBL. 5 September 2015.
  14. ↑ Have Alleged Israeli Bridge Cheats Finally Been Trumped? Haaretz, June 1, 2016
  15. ↑ EBL Disciplinary Committee ruling on Fisher/Schwartz
  16. ↑ Decision of the European Bridge League Disciplinary Committee
  17. ↑ "Report of the ACBL Ethical Oversight Committee" (PDF). Daily Bulletin. ACBL. 88 (7): 1, 2, 5. July 28, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Report of the ACBL Ethical Oversight Committee" (PDF). Daily Bulletin. ACBL. 88 (8): 1. July 29, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2016.

External links

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