Terence Reese

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Terence Reese (28 August 1913 – 1996) was a British bridge player, regarded as one of the finest players of all time, and also as one of the most influential and acerbic of bridge writers, with a large output, including several books which remain in print as classics of bridge play. He was one of the designers of the Acol bidding system (named after the Acol Bridge Club in north London), which has become the prevailing bidding system in Britain and many parts of the world.

He was born in Epsom, and played twice for Great Britain in the Bermuda Bowl. His team won in 1955, but his 1965 appearance, in Buenos Aires, was marred by accusations that he and his partner Boris Schapiro were communicating illegally, which is to say cheating. In a hearing held at the tournament site in Buenos Aires, the World Bridge Federation (WBF) adjudicated Reese and Schapiro guilty of transmitting finger signals to each other indicating how many hearts each held. The WBF banned them from the remainder of the Bermuda Bowl and ordered the forfeit of all matches in which they had participated up to that point. Further punishment was left uncertain at that time. The British Bridge League subsequently convened their own enquiry into the matter and acquitted both players. Reese wrote a book about the affair entitled The Story of an Accusation. Alan Truscott, one of his adversaries in the enquiry at Buenos Aires, wrote The Great Bridge Scandal describing the same events from the opposite perspective.

Reese last played international bridge in the 1970 European Championship, but his career as a bridge writer continued unabated. In his later years, Reese played little competitive bridge, playing Backgammon as an alternative.