Lawrence Kahn (born ) 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 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.

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

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

As of 2016, Kahn had won over 100 tiddlywinks championships and held the Guinness World Record for most victories at the English National Championships (eight). 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. Since that date, he has won another three singles and another four pairs titles.https://etwa.org/results.html#WShttps://etwa.org/results.html#WP Additionally, he was the only player to have held all six of the game's major titles simultaneously (in April 1995). He has won six international titles competing as a duo with Dave Lockwood, and eight with Matt Fayers.https://etwa.org/results.html#WP

Lockwood and Kahn frequently compete against each other, with Sports Illustrated once comparing their rivalry to that of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. 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.

Performance timelines

Major open tournaments Tournament19721973197419751976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619871988SRWin %ETwA National SinglesAAAAAAAAAAAAW W 2ndW2nd——ETwA National PairsAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA——NATwA SinglesAAINAIN1R3rd4th2ndWW3rd2ndW—WW——NATwA PairsIN5th4th3rdWWW3rdWW3rdWWW—W2nd——Tournament19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005SRWin %ETwA National SinglesW2nd2nd2nd3rdW2nd2R4thWW3rd4th3rd2nd5th4th——ETwA National PairsW3rdAAAWW2ndAAAAAWW2ndW——NATwA SinglesW2ndW2nd4thW2ndWWWWW2ndWWWW——NATwA Pairs2ndW2ndWWW2ndW—2ndAW3rd2ndAW2nd——Tournament20062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022SRWin %ETwA National Singles2nd2nd6thAW8th2nd2nd—3rdW2ndA4th——3rd9 / 3480%ETwA National PairsW3rdAAA2ndW3rdA/A2ndAAAW——A9 / 1680%NATwA SinglesWWWWWWWWWWWWWW———31 / 4479%NATwA PairsWAWW3rdWWWW3rd2ndWWW——A26 / 4377%

World champion 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