Bridge books reviewed - 39

In "Marty Sez... vol 1" Marty Bergen gives 100 tips to improve your bridge game in his usual relaxed style. This bevy of Marty's bridge secrets is easy to read, and easy to learn, for any level of player up to intermediate. "Marty Sez... vol 2" and :Marty Sez... vol 3" are sequals in the same vein.

"Bridge Squeezes for Everyone", by David Bird, is aimed at the intermediate to advanced player who is ready to tackle this difficult subject. The book is nicely organised with each topic clearly dealt with. There are lots of different squeeze types from the simple squeeze to compound and guard squeezes.

"Maastricht Challenge Bridge Problems" by Tim Bourke lets you pit your wits against 60 challenging declarer play problems from the World Championships. There is a particular emphasis on themes such as trump, criss - cross and multi - loser squeezes. It is definitely for the advanced player.

"Inspired Card Play" by David Bird and Martin Hoffman uses example hands to illustrate the various topics, which include Combining Options, Entry Planning, Elimination Play, etc. Throughout the book 'Top Tips' are presented for each of the particular hand types.

A tip from the experts: If the contract is simple, assume the worst, and vice versa. "Over Your Shoulder: Learn From the Experts" by Tony Forrester and Brian Senior, is an excellent book for advanced players, focusing on the difficult judgments that an expert must make in bidding, play and defense.

"Canada's Bridge Warriors" by Roy Hughes is an in-depth story the top partnership of Sami Kehela and Eric Murray, who overcame the odds to dominate North American bridge but not the Italian Blue Team.

In "Playing with the Bridge Legends" by Barnet Shenkin describes his favorite hands and stories from his career as a player and bridge journalist. The book comes to a climax with the US team's record-breaking world title win in January 2000, an event which Barnet covered as a journalist.

In "Off-Road Declarer Play" David Bird covers less well-known stratagems for non-routine situations: creating entries, surviving bad trump breaks, eliminations, getting help from the defenders, and more...

"Leading Questions in Bridge", by Sally Brock, covers the questions that should be asked before making the opening lead: active or passive, partner's suit or one's own, trump or not, deception, and so on...

"Expert Defence" by Raymond Brock teaches you to master one of the hardest areas of the game of bridge. Aimed at the intermediate player, the book emphasises planning the defence and whether to be active or passive in defence. Partnership cooperation covers aspects of signalling, and making life easier for partner. Some advanced techniques such as ducking and coups are considered with example hands taken from top level play.

"Defend With Your Life" by Terence Reese and Eddie Kantar is complex enough to give you sleepless nights, but practical enough to offer solutions that can be applied to numerous situations at the bridge table.

"Bridge for the Connoisseur" by Hugh Kelsey is a book with a special appeal for those who appreciate the finer points of the game. The text comprises 58 deals remarkable not only for their artistic value but also because they allow the author to enhance them with instructive points on bidding, play and defence. Many of the hands come from international tournaments and reflect the brilliances and blunders of the stars.

"More Tales of Hoffman" chronicles more interesting hands played by the master. This book is the sequel to 'Hoffman on Pairs Play' which I found to be outstanding. It follows the same format - 60 hands with 2 summary points.

Martin Hoffman was born in Czechoslovakia but emigrated to England where he became one of the world's foremost bridge professionals, famous for his ability to achieve high placings even when partnered only by a client.
"Over Hoffman's Shoulder", co-authored by Marc Smith, describes some of the most interesting hands he has played in the typical over-the-shoulder style of Terence Reese.