Bridge books reviewed - 13

The most prolific author of major bridge books in America brings us a two part account of falsecarding, dealing with a variety of maneuvers by the declarer and by defenders. Everybody loves a good swindle as much as or more than a good play or bid. In "False Cards" Mike Lawrence shows you just about all of the deceptions available to declarer or defender. This is the only book devoted soley to the topic of legal stealing.
This is a dangerous subject, but if you have the discipline to to use this stuff properly and promise not to confuse your partner when he is still important, falsecards can be a potent weapon for you.

"Case For the Defence" by Victor Mollo comprises three sections, each containing 50 quiz deals. The first section introduces common themes in defence. The last two sections can be read in any order; the author predicts that whatever the order, you will score most on the one you do last. By carefully going through each hand the standard of your defence can't help but improve.
The material covered in the quizzes starts with the opening lead and then goes through common defensive techniques. The key to success is identification of the problem. On some hands you must identify the cards required from partner to defeat the contract and play accordingly. On others you need to identify declarer's strategy and block it. This book will help you to acquire the experience to identify the clues available from the bidding and play; it is aimed at the imtermediate or more advanced player.

Very often after the game a number of bridge players will sit around ichatting about the hands and bridge in general. The conversation sometimes turns to everyone's favorite bridge books and you can pretty much guarantee that someone will mention - The Country Life Book of Bridge, the collection of Robert Gray's articles that appeared in Country Life. In "The Best of Gray" Raymond Brock has edited and updated those articles, omitting those that have dated and replacing them with other Gray articles that have appeared elsewhere.

Unavailable at Amazon.co.uk

Shortly after 1966, contracts which had hitherto been routinely sucessful were being regularly defeated. Players who were wont to drop a trick here and there had suddenly become niggardly. No doubt many declarers rued the appearance of Hugh Kelsey's "Killing Defence at Bridge" which was to blame for their reduced rate of success in dummy play. Although now 40 years old, this book is a timeless classic that has been republished.

How many times have you found yourself defending and wriggling with anguish at having to discard apparently certain winners? Hugh Kelsey's target in "More Killing Defence at Bridge" is to help you avoid such pain and other agonies that a competent declarer may inflict. Sound defence is the hallmark of the accomplished bridge player and consistent performance, as with any game, is only acheived through repeated practice. By helping you to develop nsights into the hidden possibilities in the lie and play of the cards, this book will make you a feared opponent.

"Modern Bridge Conventions" by William S Root and Richard Pavlicek has a description of how the 50 or so popular bidding conventions work but it also goes into great depth about how the second and third rounds of bidding might continue after each convention is used; how different conventions interact with each other; and how to cope with the loss of the natural bid you had to give up to adopt the convention. Every convention in the book is rated as a one, two or three star convention according to how complex it is, making it easier for less experienced players to decide which conventions are worth learning first. There is also an appendix showing how to mark each convention on the ACBL convention card.

Conventions are a vital element of bidding in bridge and, unless they are clearly and easily understood, they can be destructively dangerous. "Bridge Conventions, Defences and Countermeasures" explains dozens of conventions and covers in detail how they can be used and how they are often misused. Ron Klinger, one of the world's top bridge teachers and authors, is a brilliant exponent of the subject and has here produced a leading book of conventions - no keen player should be without it.

There are definite benefits in allowing a One No-Trump opening to include a 5-card major and more and more experts at international level have adopted such a style. If you are an ambitious player and are keen to improve the range of your no-trump bidding you will need a method to locate a 5-card major with opener and also to discover if there is a 4-4 major fit. "5-Card Major Stayman" by Ron Klinger provides an easy structure that allows you to do just that and still enables you to use transfers to either major. The drawback of the trearment is that responder must have invitational or better values to bid Stayman.