User:Nicolas.hammond/sandbox

A tainted title is a bridge title or event rank won with one or more players who were subsequently convicted of cheating.

Bridge Organizations (BOs) have different rules on how they treat the title, rank, masterpoints, seeding points of the team and the subsequently convicted cheating player(s). BOs have different rules on moving teams up in rank. Some BOs have different rules based on how long ago the tainted title was won and who is affected.

American Contract Bridge League (ACBL)
After various public cheating allegations were made against top players in summer 2015, and before any hearings were held, the ACBL changed its rule in November 2015 so that the convicted player(s) would lose all their masterpoints, titles and ranks. For any event within 4 years of the conviction, the entire team would lose all masterpoints and rank. The current ACBL rules are:

"4.1.8 Forfeiture of Masterpoints/Titles for Unethical Behavior.

(a) Any participant(s) in an ACBL sanctioned event convicted of premeditated or collusive cheating or any participant(s) who admits to such action or actions shall forfeit all masterpoints, titles and ACBL status ranks or other ACBL related awards theretofore earned by said participants through participation in all ACBL events.

The partners and teammates of said participant(s) shall forfeit all masterpoints, titles and status ranks earned while playing with said participant(s) during the four years preceding the admission or finding of guilt."

If a title or place is vacated, ACBL do not move teams up. The ACBL CDR states

"4.1.8 (d) Titles forfeited in CDR 4.1.8 (a), (b) or (c) shall remain vacant and there shall be no change in rankings or awarding of masterpoints for other contestants."

This creates three different categories for titles or ranks with a cheating player:
 * 1) Titles within last 4 years.
 * 2) Titles > 4 years old by a cheating player
 * 3) Titles > 4 years old by a team with a cheating player

At a hearing in November, 2016, the ACBL decided that for all offenses prior to the rule change of November 2015, a cheating pair would lose all titles, but the teams would keep their titles unless there was proof of cheating at that event. There was only video proof of cheating at the 2015 Spingold by Fantoni/Nunes and Fisher/Schwartz.

Fantoni/Nunes tainted titles
Fantoni/Nunes were convicted by ACBL of collusive cheating on July 24, 2016.

Fantoni/Nunes wins in ACBL competitions are:
 * North American Bridge Championships (11)
 * Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (1) 2003
 * Blue Ribbon Pairs (1) 2006
 * Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2004
 * Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match (1) 2003
 * Roth Open Swiss Teams (1) 2005
 * Reisinger (3) 2007, 2012, 2013
 * Spingold (2) 2011, 2012
 * Wernher Open Pairs (1) 2004

Fantoni/Nunes second place finishes in ACBL competitions are:


 * North American Bridge Championships (6)
 * Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (1) 2004
 * Reisinger (1) 2011
 * Spingold (3) 2006, 2010, 2014
 * Vanderbilt (1) 2014

Some of these occurred within 4 years of the sentence, some are more than four years ago.

Fisher/Schwartz tainted titles
Fisher/Schwartz were convicted by ACBL of collusive cheating on July 27, 2016.

Fisher/Schwartz wins in ACBL competitions are:
 * North American Bridge Championships (2)
 * Spingold (2) 2014, 2015

All of these occurred within 4 years of the sentence, therefore the titles are vacated.

Piekarek/Smirnov tainted titles
Piekarek/Smirnov were suspended by ACBL on June 14, 2016.

Piekarek/Smirnov wins in ACBL events are:


 * North American Bridge Championships (2)
 * Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (1) 2014
 * Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2013

Piekarek/Smirnov second place finishes in ACBL events are:


 * North American Bridge Championships (3)
 * Jacoby Open Swiss Teams (1) 2013
 * Reisinger (2) 2009, 2010

Spingold
This section shows the impact of tainted titles on one of the main ACBL events.

This table shows the winners prior to the July 2016 convictions of collusive cheating of Fantoni/Nunes and Fisher/Schwartz.

This table shows the winners after the July 2016 convictions of collusive cheating of Fantoni/Nunes and Fisher/Schwartz. Players stripped of their places because there was a cheating player on the team are shown in strike-through.

European Bridge League (EBL)
The EBL convicted Fisher/Schwartz, Fantoni/Nunes, Piekarek/Smirnov of collusive cheating but did not remove any titles.

Israeli Bridge Federation (IBF)
The IBF convicted Fisher/Schwartz of collusive cheating and has renounced titles won with the pair,

"With this in mind, following the verdict returned and independently of the sentence to be given later, the IBF has decided to inform the European Bridge League that it is renouncing the European titles won by Israeli teams which included the pair Fisher-Schwartz. 1. European Junior Teams Championship, Bulgaria 2011 2. European Open Teams Championship, Croatia 2014"

The EBL has yet to respond if it is accepting the revocation of these titles.

World Bridge Federation (WBF)
In 2002, a member of the second place USA team refused to take a drug test after USA won the silver medal. The WBF kept the second place for USA, and gave a silver medal to other members of the USA team but stripped the player who refused to take a drug test.

In 2013, in the finals of the Senior Bowl in Bali, the USA team accused two players of the winning German team of coughing to signal information about the hand. The accusation was filed with the WBF during the final. The WBF awarded the gold medal to the German team and started an investigation. Over a year later, the WBF stripped the gold medal from Germany and awarded the gold medal to USA.

The Italian Bridge Federation (FIGB) investigation of Fantoni/Nunes included allegations that Fantoni/Nunes were cheating while representing Monaco and playing against Italy in the final of the Bermuda Bowl in 2013. Italy won the event and Monaco placed second. FIGB found Fantoni/Nunes guilty. Fantoni/Nunes have appealed this sentence. The WBF have yet to act on the FIGB findings.

Test of WP:1RR
How does WP:0RR and WP:1RR work