Eric Kokish | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 May 1947 |
| Died | 10 June 2023(2023-06-10) (aged 76) |
| Alma mater | McGill University |
Eric O. Kokish (May 19, 1947 – June 10, 2023) was a Canadian professionalbridge player, writer, and coach fromMontreal.[1]
Kokish was born inMontreal on May 19, 1947.[2] He graduated fromMcGill University.[1]
In 1978, Kokish finished second in the World Open Pairs.
Kokish was the coach ofNick Nickell's professional team for many years. He first worked as coach for the Brazil national team in 1985 and later coached theIndonesia team briefly, a stint interrupted by political unrest inJakarta. Around the Indonesia job he and his family relocated from Montreal toToronto.[3]
Kokish was inducted into theACBL Hall of Fame in 2011.[4]Kokish was inducted into theCanadian Bridge Federation's Hall of Fame.[5]
In majorteams-of-four competition, he was a five-time winner of the Canadian National Teams Championship (Flight A), all during the time from 1980 to 1999 when the winner routinely represented Canada in that year's or next year's world championship tournament, or in a preliminary Tri-Country Playoff with Mexico and Bermuda. Thus he played on Canada teams in the 1980 Olympiad, 1982 Rosenblum, 1986 Rosenblum, 1995 Bermuda Bowl, and 1996 Olympiad. Those teams won a bronze medal in the 1982Rosenblum Cup and a silver medal in theBermuda Bowl.George Mittelman was also a member of all five teams.[6]
Eric loved to work with younger people and trained the young pair (U16) of Darwin Li (Canada) andAnshul Bhatt (India) who went on to win multiple Gold medals at the World Youth Bridge Championships in Italy in 2022.Bhatt wrote this obituary for Eric.[7]
Kokish died on June 9, 2023, at the age of 76.[8][9]
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