Wikipedia

Larry Kahn (tiddlywinks)

Lawrence Kahn (born 1953 or 1954[1]) is an American tiddlywinks player. He has held numerous records in tiddlywinks over his playing career, and is the current player with the most championship wins.

Biography

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Larry Kahn grew up in North Miami Beach, Florida. He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in ocean engineering in 1975. He would later receive a master's degree in the same field in 1976.[1]

In 1984, he was an ocean engineer with Washington Analytical Services in Rockville, Maryland.[2] As of 2016, he worked with the National Institutes of Health, advising them on IT acquisitions.[1]

Tiddlywinks

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Kahn first heard about the game tiddlywinks in 1971 from an MIT handbook sent to incoming students.[1] By 1989, he was the vice president of the North American Tiddlywinks Association and additionally operated a tiddlywinks parlor in Maryland.[3] In the game, he has gone by the nickname "Horsemeat"[1] and "King".[4]

As of 2016, Kahn had won over 100 tiddlywinks championships[1] and held the Guinness World Record for most victories at the English National Championships (eight).[5] As of 2013, he also held the Guinness World Records for "Most Tiddlywinks World Championships" with 21, and "Most Tiddlywinks World Championships (pairs)" with 16.[6] Since that date, he has won another three singles and another four pairs titles.[7][8] Additionally, he was the only player to have held all six of the game's major titles simultaneously (in April 1995).[1] He has won six international titles competing as a duo with Dave Lockwood,[9] and eight with Matt Fayers.[8]

Lockwood and Kahn frequently compete against each other, with Sports Illustrated once comparing their rivalry to that of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.[1][10] Since the mid-1990s, Kahn has had a World Championship rivalry with English-player Patrick Barrie, with the pair contesting 16 matches up to the end of 2019.[11]

Performance timelines

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Key
W 2nd SF 3rd-4th QF 5th-8th 2R 1R TP U IN A
(W) winner; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 2, 1; (TP) 'took part', i.e. non-placing in single stage tournament; (U) 'unknown', i.e. took part but ranking not recorded; (IN) took part but ineligible for ranking; (A) absent; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–D-L) win–draw-loss record

Major open tournaments

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Tournament19721973197419751976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619871988SRWin %
ETwA National Singles A A A A A A A A A A A A W[12] W[13] 2nd[14] W[15] 2nd[16] — —
ETwA National Pairs A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A — —
NATwA Singles A A IN A IN 1R 3rd 4th 2nd W W 3rd 2nd W — W W — —
NATwA Pairs IN 5th 4th 3rd W W W 3rd W W 3rd W W W — W 2nd — —
Tournament19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005SRWin %
ETwA National Singles W[17] 2nd[18] 2nd[19] 2nd 3rd W 2nd 2R 4th W W 3rd 4th 3rd 2nd 5th 4th — —
ETwA National Pairs W[20] 3rd[21] A A A W W 2nd A A A A A W W 2nd W — —
NATwA Singles W[22] 2nd W[23] 2nd[24] 4th W 2nd W W W W W 2nd W W W W — —
NATwA Pairs 2nd[25] W 2nd[26] W[27] W W 2nd W — 2nd A W 3rd 2nd A W 2nd — —
Tournament20062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022SRWin %
ETwA National Singles 2nd 2nd 6th A W 8th 2nd 2nd — 3rd W 2nd A 4th — — 3rd 9 / 34 80%
ETwA National Pairs W 3rd A A A 2nd W 3rd A/A 2nd A A A W — — A 9 / 16 80%
NATwA Singles W W W W W W W W W W W W W W — — — 31 / 44 79%
NATwA Pairs W A W W 3rd W W W W 3rd 2nd W W W — — A 26 / 43 77%

World champion

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Singles:

  • 1983-1985 (5 challenges)
  • 1985-1986 (1 challenge)
  • 1988-1990 (4 challenges)
  • 1990-1992 (2 challenges)
  • 1995 (2 challenges)
  • 1997-1998 (2 challenges)
  • 1999-2001 (2 challenges)
  • 2003-2004 (1 challenge)
  • 2010-2013 (3 challenges)
  • 2015-2017 (2 challenges)

Pairs:

  • 1978-1983 (2 challenges)
  • 1984-1985 (2 challenges)
  • 1989 (1 challenge)
  • 1995-1998 (5 challenges)
  • 2007-2013 (8 challenges)
  • 2019 (1 challenge)
  • 2022 (1 challenge)


Note: Tiddlywinks world titles are played for on a challenge basis, with the title holder(s) being challenged by a qualifying player or pair of players. The number of challenges displayed is the number of successful matches in which the title was won or defended.


References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Apple, Sam (February 23, 2016). "Unsquoppable". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  2. ↑ Oricchio, Michael (July 2, 1984). "A Game Not to Be Winked At". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  3. ↑ Williams, Lena (November 29, 1989). "MINDLESS FUN". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  4. ↑ Teresi, Dick (December 1, 2007). "You Don't Know Tiddly". Forbes. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  5. ↑ "English National Championships (tiddlywinks)". Guinness World Records. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  6. ↑ Glenday, Craig (2013). Guinness World Records 2013. Bantam Books. p. 193. ISBN 9780345547118.
  7. ↑ https://etwa.org/results.html#WS
  8. 1 2 https://etwa.org/results.html#WP
  9. ↑ Bowman, Emma; Simon, Scott (April 21, 2019). "Not Just Child's Play: World Tiddlywinks Champions Look To Reclaim Their Glory". NPR. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  10. ↑ "TO SQUOP, OR NOT TO SQUOP? WINKS WIZARDS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE POND FACE SUCH AGONIZING DILEMMAS EVERY DAY". Sports Illustrated. November 27, 1995. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  11. ↑ "They are the Nadal and Djokovic of their game, but that game is tiddlywinks". Los Angeles Times. December 26, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  12. ↑ Relle, Charles (May 1985). "The National Singles 1984" (PDF). Winking World. 45. English Tiddlywinks Association: 4–10. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2026. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  13. ↑ Inglis, Nick (February 1986). "The 1985 National Singles" (PDF). Winking World. 47. English Tiddlywinks Association: 17–23. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2026. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  14. ↑ Inglis, Nick (April 1987). "The 16th National Singles" (PDF). Winking World. 49. English Tiddlywinks Association: 27–34. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2026. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  15. ↑ Inglis, Nick; Moore, Richard; Myers, Geoff; Purvis, Andy (November 1988). "The 1987 National Singles". Winking World. 51. English Tiddlywinks Association: 6–10.
  16. ↑ Inglis, Nick; Moore, Richard; Myers, Geoff; Purvis, Andy; Mapley, Jon (Spring 1989). "The National Singles 1988". Winking World. 52. English Tiddlywinks Association: 2–9.
  17. ↑ Cartwright, Rob; Relle, Charles; Myers, Geoff; Purvis, Andy; Mapley, Jon (Autumn 1989). "The ETwA National Singles". Winking World. 54. English Tiddlywinks Association: 10–18.
  18. ↑ Purvis, Andy; Inglis, Nick (April 1991). "The ETwA National Singles". Winking World. 56. English Tiddlywinks Association: 11–17.
  19. ↑ Rose, Matthew; Myers, Geoff; Inglis, Nick; Moore, Richard; Barrie, Patrick (February 1992). "The 1991 National Singles". Winking World. 58. English Tiddlywinks Association: 11–18.
  20. ↑ Brennan, Tony (Autumn 1989). "The National Pairs, 1989". Winking World. 53. English Tiddlywinks Association: 5–6.
  21. ↑ Boyce, Alan (October 1990). "The ETwA National Pairs". Winking World. 55. English Tiddlywinks Association: 28–30.
  22. ↑ Kahn, Larry (Autumn 1989). "NATwA Singles 1989". Winking World. 53. English Tiddlywinks Association: 8–9.
  23. ↑ Kahn, Larry (October 1991). "The NATwA Singles". Winking World. 57. English Tiddlywinks Association: 9–11.
  24. ↑ Barrie, Patrick (October 1992). "The 1992 NATwA Singles". Winking World. 59. English Tiddlywinks Association: 18–19.
  25. ↑ Sage, Stew (Autumn 1989). "The North American Pairs". Winking World. 53. English Tiddlywinks Association: 12–13.
  26. ↑ "NATwA Pairs 1991". Winking World. 58. English Tiddlywinks Association: 4. February 1992.
  27. ↑ "NATwA Pairs 1992". Winking World. 59. English Tiddlywinks Association: 30. October 1992.
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