Two sources in the Harvard bridge community say Cole admitted to playing in bridge tournaments under fake names in order to compete in lower-level competitions.

Unlike chess ratings, which group players relative to each other, bridge rankings represent a measure of absolute accomplishment.

Over the years, bridge players in the ACBL, accumulate master points by winning tournaments. Eventually, they reach various plateaus and become life masters, bronze life master, silver life masters, and so on.

Once a player reaches a certain level, he or she is unable to play in tournaments at a lower level. One Harvard Bridge Club member says Cole allegedly sought to circumvent what he considered a silly system.

So he registered fake names with the ACBL, members say. This enabled him to spread his master points over several accounts, maintain his eligibility for low-level tournaments and receive money for his participation in those compeititions.

Cole was aggressive about promoting his triumphs in the bridge world. Henry G. Francis, executive editor of the ACBL. Bulletin, says Cole has exaggerated the number of tournaments he won.

"We have a very low opinion of Mr. Cole in the office," Francis says. "He has claimed more victories than we've been able to find."

Cole was extraordinarily image conscious as well. In the ACBL. Bulletin's June 1992 edition, Brent Manley wrote a four-paragraph review of Fishheads. Manley concluded that while the book is "often silly," the tactics described in the text are "interesting and fun--a decent collection for those who appreciate such artistry."

That wasn't enough praise for Cole, Manley says. Later, the author wrote a letter to the editor demanding that a new review be printed.

The Harvard Years: Winning Praise

Cole's students and colleagues at Harvard knew little, if anything, of all of this. Students and faculty say he was the rarest of combinations--a scholar who can teach in a dynamic way.

"I remember one lecture [Cole gave] on the 33rd Canto of Dante's Inferno," Cameron E. Half '97 says. "He just went through a few times pointing out different elements of the story each time through. He did a wonderful job bringing forth meaning that had not been readily apparent."

Half says it's easy for a student to read that text and feel as if he got a lot from it. But Cole, Half says, was able to bring the class further.

"I was very excited about that particular lecture," Half says. "I went out still thinking about Dante's words, about what I originally read versus what Dr. Cole said."

While his personal relations with old classmates and bridge players were strained, those who knew him here found him caring, personable and engaging.