Paul Soloway 1941-2007 by Barnet Shenkin prev/next

Paul Soloway

Before we moved to USA I used think that Paul was the best player in USA. I could only read the reports of the matches and he never seemed to make a mistake. When I got to USA I found out he never made a mistake against me.

One year at a national in Alberquerque after Maggie and I had met Paul and become friendly with him we saw him at the end of a session of the Spingold. “How are you doing” Maggie asked “stuck 62 was the reply” Now Maggie comes from Dundee in Scotland and there stuck is a verb denoting that something sticky has been fixed down. So without any idea of what he meant she said “that’s good”. A few people were in the elevator at the time and gave her a strange look!

One day we were having a drink and he told me he had been playing in the recent Cavendish Pairs with Seymon Deutsch who had failed to follow suit as Declarer. “No hearts” said Paul “no” said Seymon. Now Paul knew he had a heart and asked him a second and third time. Seymon gruffly said “I have no hearts you already asked”. When it came to trick 12 everyone had 1 card left except Seymon whose last card was on the floor – a heart!! Paul was a wonderful professional, “It was my fault, I should have said pick up your heart off the floor Seymon”!!