Jeff Meckstroth
Jeffrey John (Jeff) Meckstroth (born May 15, 1956)[1] is an American professional contract bridge player. He is a multiple world champion, winning the Bermuda Bowl on USA teams five times. He is one of only ten players who have won the so-called triple crown of bridge: the Bermuda Bowl, the World Open Pairs and the World Team Olympiad. As of December 2011 he was the 6th-ranking World Grand Master.[2]
For decades Meckstroth has been in a regular partnership with Eric Rodwell 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.
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 Winter Regional in March 2010.[3]
Meckstroth was born in Springfield, Ohio. He is a full-time bridge professional and currently lives in Clearwater Beach, Florida with his wife, Sally Chapleau-Meckstroth.
Contents
Bridge accomplishments
Awards
- ACBL Player of the Decade 1990s, 2000s
- ACBL Player of the Year 1992, 2004
- Barry Crane Top 500 1993, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008
- Mott-Smith Trophy 1979, 1980, 1985, 2000, 2009
- Fishbein Trophy 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
Wins
- Bermuda Bowl (5) 1981, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2009
- World Open Team Olympiad (1) 1988
- World Open Pairs (1) 1986
- World Mixed Pairs (1) 2002
- North American Bridge Championships (51)
- Vanderbilt (5) 1980, 1982, 1985, 2000, 2003
- Spingold (12) 1984, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2007
- Reisinger (9) 1979, 1985, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009
- Grand National Teams (10) 1990, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012
- Open Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2008
- Men's Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1984
- Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (5) 1994, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009
- North American Men's Swiss Teams (1) 1989
- Blue Ribbon Pairs (2) 1982, 2008
- Life Master Men's Pairs (1) 1979
- Open Pairs (1) 1979
- Open Pairs II (2) 1992, 1999
- Mixed Pairs (1) 1980
- United States Bridge Championships (11)
- Open Team Trials (11) 1980, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2012
- European Open Bridge Championships (1)
- Open Pairs (1) 2003
- Other notable wins:
- Buffett Cup (1) 2010
- Cavendish Invitational Teams (2) 2000, 2003
- Macallan Invitational Pairs (2) 1995, 1996
Runners-up
- Bermuda Bowl (2) 1997, 2005
- World Open Team Olympiad (1) 1992
- Rosenblum Cup (1) 2010
- North American Bridge Championships (20)
- Vanderbilt (4) 1979, 1991, 1996, 2002
- Spingold (4) 1985, 1990, 2011, 2012
- Reisinger (1) 1980
- Grand National Teams (3) 1994, 2003, 2005
- Open Board-a-Match Teams (2) 1998, 1999
- Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (1) 2005
- Master Mixed Teams (2) 1983, 1992
- Life Master Pairs (1) 1983
- Life Master Open Pairs (1) 1992
- Life Master Men's Pairs (1) 1985
- 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 OCLC 30325706 – pamphlet
- Win the Bermuda Bowl With Me, Meckstroth and Marc Smith (Toronto: Master Point Press, 2001), ISBN 1-894154-33-9, 188 pp.
References
- ↑ The 1st World Mind Sports Games. info.2008wmsg.chinaqiyuan.com
- ↑ "Open World Grand Masters" (table). World Bridge Federation. Retrieved 2011-12. Archived April 13, 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Meckstroth passes Soloway to become masterpoint king". Reno NABC staff. Daily Bulletin 53:1 (March 12, 2010), pp. 1, 7. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
External links
- Jeff Meckstroth international record at the World Bridge Federation.
- Nickell Team at the United States Bridge Federation (2009?) – with player profiles
- Audio-video interview uploaded October 27, 2009, by ACBLvideo at YouTube
