ABOUT THE PLAYERS

Russ Ekeblad

Russ Ekeblad was born August 17, 1946 in Evanston, Illinois. In his youth, he was interested in and pursued the play of various sports, but never played bridge.

He attended Brown University, graduating 1968 and then went on to Graduate School at Columbia. Russ also went to Coast Guard Officer Candidate School and served 3 years of active duty, stationed at headquarters in DC. He started to get interested in bridge at that time – learning with the likes of Woolsey, Manfield and Capelletti Sr.

Russ met his wife Sheila through bridge, and the two were married in 1974. Russ started his own company, Kennilworth Creations in 1976, and it becamee very successful. Russ is now semi-retired, spending his winters in FL, summers in RI.

Besides bridge, Russ’ passions are boating and golf.

Russ has won two National Pair titles, two Spingolds, and two USBCs. He won bronze medals in the 1990 Rosenblum and 2005 Bermuda Bowl. He and Michael Seamon won the World IMP Pairs in Lille France in 2002.

Ron Rubin

Ron Rubin was born May 7, 1948. He learned Bridge from his parents and grandparents as a kid. Ron became involved with tournament bridge at 13, playing, caddying, then becoming a Regional Director of the ACBL. He started trading options on the floor of American  Stock Exchange in 1977. Over the next 10 years, he was responsible, with Mike Becker, for hiring over 100 games players on the option's exchanges.
Playing a relay system with Mike Becker for 20 years, they won 5 Vanderbilts, 4 Spingolds and one national open pairs. In 1983, the last Aces' team, including Rubin, won the Bermuda Bowl in Stockholm. That sam
Rubin's new partnership with Russ Ekeblad, playing a canapé, relay system, has enjoyed recent success as Rubin became a World Grand Master in Portugal last year by finishing 3rd in the Bermuda Bowl. Rubin currently resides in the U.S (most of the time) with his wife of 12 years, Patti.

Fred Gitelman

Though only in his early forties, Fred is the uncontested computer guru of the bridge world. Born in Toronto but now residing in Las Vegas with his wife, Sheri Winestock and dog Magic, he has revolutionized the hobby with a profusion of innovative concepts making the game available to people worldwide through cyberspace. A University of Toronto computer science student, he dropped out to play bridge and soon afterwards became a programmer for a bridge player operated software company. Together with Sheri, Fred founded Bridge Base, Inc. originally concentrating on educational bridge CD-ROMS but soon turning their attention to Bridge Base Online (BBO), the world's most successful online bridge service, as well as software for producing vugraph shows for live audiences and the Internet.

Brad Moss

Michael Brad Moss was born in 1971 in New York City. It should come as no surprise to find that he took to bridge like a duck to water - his parents are Mike Moss and Gail Greenberg.
Brad was named the ACBL King of Bridge at the age of 18. Two years later, he became the youngest player ever to win the New York Player of the Year title. Also in 1991, he was a member of the USA team that just missed out on a medal at the World Junior Teams in Ann Arbor, Michigan, finishing fourth, and won his first National title - the Master Mixed Teams. In 1993, he added to his tally by winning the Grand National Teams and the Life Masters Open Pairs. His current partnership with Fred Gitelmanhas shown great promise from its inception. In 1998, their team won the NABC Board-a-Match Teams and they finished third in the Cavendish Invitational Pairs. Since then, the pair has had much success, most recently winning the Bronze medal in the 2005 Bermuda Bowl.

Eric Greco

Eric Alan Greco was born July 21, 1975, in Englund, Florida. He graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Finance and Accounting and now lives in Philadelphia and works as an equity options trader on the Philadelphia Options Exchange.
In 1991, Eric won the North American Non-Life Master Pairs playing with his father, Philip Greco. Two years later, they won the Flight 'B' Grand National Teams.
Eric first represented the USA at the 1993 World Junior Teams in Denmark, aged just 18. He collected a Bronze medal there and, six years later, added a Silver medal from the same event. In January 2000, while still technically a Junior, he finished fifth in the World Transnational Teams in Bermuda. Last year, he added a bronze in the Bermuda Bowl to his medal collection.
Away from the table, Eric follows most sports.

Geoff Hampson

Geoffrey Hampson was born October 11, 1968 in Toronto, Ontario. He is the son of musicians. “Both parents have recorded and my mother has recorded several albums that have gone Gold,” Geoff told us. (His mother is 'Lois' in the famed  Sharon, Lois and Bram.)
Geoff learned to count points at the kitchen table on his father's knee at around six years old, but he left the game alone until high school. “A teacher taught the entire class how to play by issuing a printout of most basic rules,” explained Geoff. “The class quickly became addicted, and I never found the cure. Both of my parents used to play, my sister is SLOWLY learning to play, and I have one niece or nephew on the way that I will probably teach to play.”
Geoff attended undergraduate classes at the University of Western Ontario, and York University in Toronto. He is now a full time professional bridge player. “I had no true profession after university,” admitted Geoff. “I had several temporary jobs until Bridge became a viable career.” He now lives in Los Angeles, California. When asked whether he has any pets, Geoff said, “Not currently, but I am looking forward to meeting my next cat.”
Geoff has played in seven World Championships - four for Canada and three for the USA. His first success came partnering Fred Gitelman as a member of the Canadian team that reached the final of the 1991 World Junior Teams in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A year later, he finished second in the Pan-American Games Open Teams in partnership with John Gowdy.
Geoff won his first major domestic event while just 22 - the Canadian National Teams Championship, playing with Gowdy (and Ed Bidson, David Lindop, Boris Baran, Mark Molson). A year later, having moved south of the border, he claimed his first NABC title - the North American Swiss, playing with Molson. In 1994, he won his second North American National crown - the Mixed Pairs in partnership with teammate Brad Moss’ sister, Jill Levin. “During both of those events, there were long stretches where my partner and I actually weren't on speaking terms with one another (the result of my youthful loud mouth and our poor management of emotions etc.),” observed Geoff. “Oddly enough, those are the only two occasions on which I can recall this happening.”
Away from the table, Geoff is a serious movie buff and an avid golfer. He can usually be found either on the course or in a theatre. He also studies the stock market and runs (to help his girlfriend train for marathons).