Bridge books reviewed - 23

It does not matter what your basic system is, the ideas in this book are still applicable. In "Understanding Slam Bidding" the authors Ron Klinger and Andrew Kambites start of with some common sense principles of slam bidding and requirements for a slam, and then go on to discuss methods such as cue bidding, Ace/Keycard - asking Bids including Roman Keycard Blackwood, dealing with preemption, and high level competitive decisions. There is no greater satisfaction than in bidding and making a slam, and this book will help you achieve this more often.

"Winning Bridge - Trick By Trick" by Ron Klinger is a reissue of the quiz book originally published in 1980. At that time, The Bridge World review said that the book was 'the next best thing to holding cards at a table'. The author seeks to enable a new generation of bridge enthusiasts to practise in conditions as near as possible to actual playing conditions at the table. The problems are grouped according to level of difficulty, although the variation is not great. There is, however, great variety in the themes of the deals and the problems are all from actual play. Some of the solutions hinge on the assumption that the opponents have made a mistake, or will make one.

Many players are happy to spend their bridge lives repeating the same mistakes over and over again. "Clues to Winning Play: Detective Work in Bridge", by Danny Roth, is not a book for them but for those who have a desire for better results. Sixty entertaining and instructive problems give the reader the opportunity to test his skill on all the most vital aspects of play and defence, the emphasis being on self correction. The only way to improve is to keep asking yourself the 'right question'. Assuming you can ask the right questions you are half way there to finding the solution and this book will certainly help.

“Play Your Cards Right: The Essential Strategies for Declarer and in Defence” by Paul Mendelson is a pretty thorough treatise on just about every popular gambit known to declarer and how best for the defence to counter these measures. The book is divided into six main chapters examining the key strategies for suit contracts and no-trump contracts, and then focusing in more detail on the elements that make up those strategies. The author examines topics such as whether or not to draw trumps, how to establish dummy's long suit, keeping entries fluid, how to avoid the wrong hand gaining entry at an unfortunate moment, getting the timing right, making sure we have analysed the lead correctly etc.

Many bridge mistakes arise from a faulty memory, and those who learn to improve their memory will automatically improve their game. "Improve Your Bridge Memory" by Ron Klinger is a brilliant and original book. The three sections cover beginner, intermediate and advanced players. The best part of the book is the intermediate section where the author discusses how to remember vital principles in bidding and play.

"Understanding Duplicate Pairs" by Ron Klinger and Andrew Kambites is designed for rubber bridge players converting to duplicate, this book is pitched at the perfect level for inexperienced duplicate players. The special requirements of bidding, play and defence for matchpoint pairs scoring are covered without going into endless detail.

Terence Reese and David Bird are the experts who can really bring you good ideas in a cast iron nutshell. The book "That Elusive Extra Trick" contains eight chapters showing you everything from which suit to play first to advice on applying pressure. If you want to start making more contracts and more overtricks in match point play, then you should devour this book at your earliest possible moment.

"Bridge: Triumphs and Disasters" by Jose Le Dentu and Terence Reese has five segments - bidding, leads and defence, declarer play, great catastrophes, and problem deals. The key point of each deal is highlighted, in a chatty way which makes light reading.

"Hand Reading in Bridge: How to Improve Your Card Play" by Danny Roth covers many areas of declarer's play and defence. The author focuses mainly on "vision" at the bridge table and with the aid of 55 problem hands it tackles the task of looking through the back of the cards to determine the enemy holdings, as an essential step to devising counter-measures.

With “Handbook of Winning Bridge” by Edwin Silberstang, beginning players will learn the rules of play, fundamentals of opening bids and responses, and scoring; while intermediate players will learn the strategies that allow them to compete in clubs and tournaments, including the proper evaluation and playing out the hands.

In this book Mexican international George Rosenkranz teaches you "Everything you Always Wanted to Know About Trump Leads & Were not Afraid to Ask". Explains the Eywtka Trump Leads.

Unavailable at Amazon.co.uk

George Rosenkranz is Mexico's most successful player and has won all 4 major North American teams titles. In his book "Bidding On Target" he shows how accurate bidding has helped him along the way.

"All the Tricks" is Helen Sobel's first book. Helen was Charles Goren's favorite partner and in this book she shares many of their successes, usually where they both bid aggressively and defended imaginatively.

"Test Your Bridge Judgement" by Barry Rigal is primarily aimed at the bridge player who has at least a limited experience of tournament bridge, with this book introducing some of the more advanced elements of modern bidding.

In this "Hand Evaluation" book the reader will also learn to re-evaluate honor cards to get a more accurate point count. Aces are generally worth more than 4, jacks are generally worth less than 1. Honours in your own suits are worth more if you play the hand. Anyone who enjoys Marty Bergen's style will find this a useful addition to their bridge library.

"Bergen for the Defense - or How to Defeat More Contracts". This book will make you feel like you have just had a private lesson with Marty Bergen. The collection of helpful suggestions is sure to help you understand how top players think.