Active skeptic regarding the hypothesis of catastrophic anthropogenic climate change.
When not traveling, I spend winters on the ski slopes and summers in NYC, Paris, and Sarasota.
I’m a student of Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand. I believe the philosophy is an excellent one for Bridge players and helps produce positive bridge results.
My all-time bridge hero is Edgar Kaplan.
Playing
Won Blue Ribbon Pairs in 1992 and 1997.
3/4 in Vanderbilt KO in 2000 - lost to the Nickell team.
Won the Reisinger BAM in 2003.
Won the USBC (Open Team Trials) in 2003 and 2009.
5th-8th in the Spingold KO in 2003.
Bronze medal in the 2003 Bermuda Bowl - lost to the Nickell team.
Second in NABC Fast Open Pairs 2004, 2006.
(The accomplishment was not in being second, but in finishing the event at all.)
Won the Lebhar IMP Pairs and the Fast Open Pairs in 2008.
2nd Mitchell BAM Teams 2009 and 2011.
5th-8th in the 2010 Rosenblum teams - lost to the Nickell team.
4th in the Reisinger BAM in 2013.
4th in the WBF Transnational Teams in Chennai in 2015.
4th in the Platinum Pairs in 2017.
5th-8th in the WBF Transnational Teams in Lyon in 2017.
2nd in the Roth Swiss Teams in 2010.
2nd in the Nail Life Master Open Pairs in 2011.
Won the 2017 St. Moritz Open Teams.
3/4 in the 2018 Open USBC - lost to the Nickell team.
Won the 2020 St. Moritz Open Pairs.
Won the inaugural USBF JLall Memorial online tournament in 2020.
5th-8th in the Soloway KO in 2021.
6th in the Platinum Pairs in 2023.
Lost in the USA2 finals of the Mixed USBC in 2023.
Lost in the finals of the Senior USBC in 2025, then lost again in the USA2 final!
I lived in Zürich, Switzerland, from 2010 to 2013. In 2012 I represented Switzerland in the European Team Championships and the World Bridge Games.
Favorite partners include Doug Doub, Mathias Felmy, Michael Polowan, Migry Campanile, Peter Gill, Philippe Cronier, Ron Gerard, Sheldon Tan, and Thomas Gotard.
Administration
Member of the WBF Executive Council.
Chair of the WBF Technology Committee.
Member of the USBC Conditions of Contest committee.
Member of the ACBL Goodwill Committee.
Vice-Chair of the ACBL National Laws Commission.
Former member of the WBF Laws Committee.
Chairman of the NABC Appeals Committee until it was disbanded.
Long-time contributor to the ACBL NABC Appeals Casebooks.
Chairman of the Board of the Greater New York Bridge Association for 3 years in the 1990s.
Helped introduce "Zero Tolerance for unacceptable behavior" policy into GNYBA tournaments.
Reintroduced Board-A-Match events into the GNYBA with the annual 2-day BAM, run from 1996 to 2019.
Internet
Founder and administrator of the Kaplan-Sheinwold, NYC Bridge, and Bridge Software Developers mailing lists.
Author of the "Keller" convention described by my partner Steve Nellissen in the February 1991 Bridge World.
Proponent of and authority on the Kaplan-Sheinwold bidding system.
I’ve written for the NABC daily bulletins, the ACBL Bulletin, the Bridge World magazine, and Bridge Today magazine.
Panelist for the Bridge World Magazine’s Master Solver’s Club, as a duo with partner Doug Doub.
My frequent mentions of Ayn Rand in Alan Truscott’s NY Times bridge column led to a 2003 profile by John Hodgman in the NY Times Magazine, "Ayn Rand in Spades."