Boris Schapiro, 93; Bridge Player Linked to Cheating Scandal

Boris Schapiro, 93, a top British bridge player who was implicated in an international cheating scandal, died Dec. 1 at his home near London. The cause of death was not reported.

An engaging man with a sharp sense of humor, Schapiro was devastated when the World Bridge Federation found him guilty of cheating at the 1965 Bermuda Bowl World Championships in Buenos Aires.

The U.S. team captain had accused Schapiro and his partner, Terence Reese, of using finger signals to communicate with each other. The British players withdrew from the tournament. An investigation by the British Bridge League found them not guilty of cheating; the Americans viewed that as a whitewash.

Born in Riga, Latvia, Schapiro’s family moved to Britain at the time of the Russian Revolution. He served in British Intelligence during World War II.

In a career spanning six decades, Schapiro won the European Championship in 1948, 1949, 1954 and 1963, and the Bermuda Bowl in 1955 -- all playing with Reese.

Schapiro also served as bridge correspondent of London’s Sunday Times from 1968 until his death.

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Millard “Corky” Alexander, 73, the editor and publisher of the Tokyo Weekender, a free English-language newspaper for expatriates there, died Dec. 3 in Tokyo.

Jimmy Caras, 93, the winner of five world billiards championships between 1936 and 1967, died Dec. 3 in Jacksonville, Fla.

Yasuo Goto, 79, the former president of Japan’s now-defunct Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Co., who made headlines in 1987 by purchasing Vincent van Gogh’s “Vase With Fifteen Sunflowers” for $39.9 million, died Nov. 27 of malignant lymphoma.

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