Bridge books reviewed - 8

             
 

In "Better Rebidding With Bergen" Marty Bergen focuses on opener's second bid after partner's one - level response. Topics covered include reverses, rebidding a five card suit, how to bid 6 - 4 hands, and rebids when responder is a passed hand. The book is aimed at the improving player, with many examples and very clear explanations.

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Marty Bergen's "To Open or Not To Open" covers the 'Rule of Twenty' and exceptions plus various other aspects of whether to open the bidding, which suit to open, and limiting your hand. The book also covers what to rebid after finding a fit and gives tips for responder. A great book for the improving player with large clear font and loads of examples

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In "Classic Kantar" Eddie Kantar pokes fun at top bridge experts, himself included, chronicling some of the bids and plays they hoped would never come to light.

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"Kantar on Kontract" is a treasury of short pieces from one of the bridge world's favorite writers. Great stories, great hands, tips and tricks to help your game - the best of the best.

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  Eddie Kantar's "Modern Bridge Defense" covers the basic concepts of bridge defense for the modern player. Designed to be used by bridge teachers or by students learning on their own, it contains a host of features that help the student to grasp the the material. The book design has clearly laid-out concepts, margin notes, practice hands, chapter-end quizzes, key-point summaries at regular intervals, and an index.

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Eddie Kantar's "Advanced Bridge Defence" covers the more complex concepts of bridge defense for the modern bridge player, it is designed to be read after the previous book. Topics covered include: Drawing inferences, Planning Your Strategy, Counting, Falsecards and Deceptive Play, Creating Defensive Trump Tricks, and Lead-directing Doubles.

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A New Approach to Play and Defense Volume 1 Edwin kantar
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Play and Defense 1
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Edwin B. Kantar
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A New Approach to Play and Defense volume 2 Edwin kanter
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Play and Defense 2
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Edwin B. Kantar
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"A New Approach to Play and Defense", volumes 1 and 2, by Eddie Kantar. Both books contains 50 instructional quiz hands in an interesting format - each is presented first as a declarer play problem, then as a defensive problem. So here you have, in Eddie Kantar's unique, humorous style, a truly new bridge experience: the chance to try your hand at playing and defending the same contracts! The emphasis on counting, reading signals, visualization, and thinking about how the play will unfold. Will partner be endplayed? Is forcing declarer a good idea (maybe he's trying a trump coup). These are excellent books for advanced players or ambitious intermediates. Vol 1 was voted 1986 Bridge Book of the Year.

Play and Defense 1
Play and Defense 2
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edwin kanter defence bridge
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Kantar for the Defense Vol 1
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Eddie Kantar
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edwin kanter defence 2 bridge
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Kantar for the Defense Vol 2
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Eddie Kantar
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"Kantar for the Defense" volumes I and II by Eddie Kantar both contain 100 challenging defensive problems, with excellent, easy-to-follow explanations of the logic behind the recommended plays. The books are suitable for intermediate players.

Vol 1
Vol 2
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"Take Your Tricks" by Eddie Kantar gives over 550 declarer play tips you can take to the bank.

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"A Treasury of Bridge Tips" by Eddie Kantar presents over 540 tips and rules of wisdom to help you and your partner to improve your game.

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"Introduction to Declarer's Play" is one of Eddie Kantar's only two books for beginners, with details of dummy play including finesses, cross-rufs and end plays.

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"Introduction to Defender's Play" is Edwin Kantar's other beginner's book. It covers leads, trumping, discarding, signalling and hold-up plays.

 

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  Eddie Kantar's "Topics in Declarer Play at Bridge", while not a comprehensive book on declarer play, deals with specific topics exhaustively: finesses (when and how to take them and when to avoid taking them), endplays, eliminations, suit establishment, entries and counting. Unavailable at Amazon.co.uk  

Eddie Kantar's "Bridge Conventions - A Guide to Understanding Techniques of Modern Bidding" is not a simple conventions book. It starts off fairly simply with hands that you should not bid Stayman with, but soon goes onto moe complex topics such as Lightner Doubles and responses to Blackwood with a void.
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best eddie kantar funny bridge
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Best of Eddie Kantar
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Eddie Kantar & Marshall Miles
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"The Best of Eddie Kantar: Funny Stories from the Bridge Table" by Eddie Kantar and Marshall Miles is an amusing collection of anecdotes about bridge and bridge players; mostly American, though Australians Tim Seres and Dick Cummings do feature. The book has plenty of bridge hands but nothing too complex, it's basically just a lot of fun.

Unavailable from Amazon.co.uk

 
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edwin kanter defence bridge
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Defensive Bridge
Play Complete
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Eddie Kantar
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"Defensive Bridge Play Complete" by Edwin Kantar is a thick classic from 1974 that was the Bible of defensive methods for an entire generation of bridge players. Known as 'Big Red', this book has timeless topics including how to choose a lead against suit and notrump contracts, how to tell what type of signal to give at trick one, and how to adopt a defensive style based on the dummy that appears after the opening lead has been made. 'Big Red' has been out of print for years - so get it while you still can.

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"All 52 Cards" by Marshall Miles is a clear discussion of counting, card-reading and other techniques that experts use to reconstruct concealed hands at the bridge table.

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  "The Best of Bridge Today Digest" by Matthew and Pamela Granovetter is a collection of short pieces from world-renowned writers, questions and comments from readers, and a wealth of deals, anecdotes and advice.
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"Famous Bidding Decisions" by Terence Reese and David Bird is a highly instructive and entertaining book which will appeal to players of all levels. It comprises a collection of 60 famous deals where the reader is invited to select the best bid from a number of possibilities.

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"Famous Play Decisions" is a sequel by the same authors. Again the reader is given an opportunity to pit his wits against those of the experts in championship play. The bidding and play to the first trick is given and then the reader is asked to suggest a line of play as good as the experts or even better. The experts line is then revealed.

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In "Famous Bridge Records" David Bird and Nikos Sarantakos present world-breaking deals from the history of bridge. What was the biggest penalty ever suffered, or the worst adverse swing? Or the longest auction ever, the most costly opening lead? The answers are all here.

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Everyone loves a good disaster, particularly when the mighty are involved. "Famous Bridge Disasters" by David Bird has lots of excellent bridge lessons as a result. It's an extremely entertaining book that enables readers to join in and make their own judgements.

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"Famous Leads and Defences" by David Bird is a collection of famous opening leads and key decisions in defence. On each deal David Bird sets the scene and leaves the choice of which card to play to the reader, who can compare his efforts with those of the champion who originally held the cards.

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famous hands bridge
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Famous Hands from Famous Matches
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Terence Reese
& David Bird
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In sixty odd years of tournament bridge there have been innumerable brilliant, disastrous, or mirth-provoking deals. In "Famous Hands from Famous Matches" the authors Terence Reese and David Bird describe some of the brightest and best, including at least one that led to a murder.

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These two books, "Positive Declarer Play" and "Positive Defence" by Terence Reese and Julian Pottage are a collection of bridge problems designed to teach you how to think along the right lines at the bridge table. Absorb even a fraction of the ideas presentes and you'll be making contracts that might have been defeated, and defeating contracts that might have been made!

Positive Declarer Play
Positive Defence
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Bobby Fischer, the reclusive chess champion, once said: 'You have found a good move - fine - now look for a better one.' The same advice holds true in bridge. If you settle for second best, you will not achieve your full potential. Through a series of problems that are both fresh and a genuine test of skill, "The Extra Edge in Play at Bridge " by Terence Reese and Julian Pottage, offers the reader the chance to become accustomed to looking for that extra edge. Whether or not you find the best answers first time round, you will surely develop new ways of thinking to strengthen your game. This book was originally published in 1994, and this new edition is substantially revised and expanded.

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Who needs rules on how to play as a declarer? The truth is that the instincts people that people have come to depend upon are often honed from a few basic guidelines. "The Golden Rules of Declarer Play", by Julian Pottage and Marc Smith, provides all those guidelinesas well as the reasoning behind them; and the book also says when you should not follow the rules. By assuming only a minimum of knowledge, the authors bring the subject within the reach of many players and introduce the beginner gradually by placing the trickier topics towards the end of the book.

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How often have you heard players say bridge is a bidder's game? It certainly applies to the top levels of the game today; where the standard of card play is normally so high that most matches are won and lost in the bidding. For lesser mortals learning how to avoid impossible contracts is surely better than searching for ways to make them.
Bidding depends to some extent upon the system, but underpinning those methods are standards that are common around the globe. In "The Golden Rules of Constructive Bidding" the authors combine experience from both sides of the Atlantic and whether you play Standard American, a strong club or Acol this book has plenty to offer.

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Rubber bridge is the world's most widely played social game with a huge following of people of all ages and interests. "The Golden Rules for Rubber Bridge Players" by Julian Pottage aims to show how bidding and play in rubber bridge differs from duplicate, in a series of clearly expressed rules and guidelines. The book summarises the essential differences in bidding and play between rubber and duplicate bridge.
Whether you want to win more often, to find playing even more enjoyable or simply to impress your friends, you can be sure that this book has something to offer you.

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The fate of many a contract hangs on the opening lead, often making it the most important play in the whole hand. Knowing how to select the right card will enable you to win more often and make you sought after as a partner. "The Golden Rules Of Opening Leads" by Julian Pottage is a must read if you want your side to get off to the best possible start.

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"The Golden Rules of Competitive Auctions" by Julian Pottage and Marc Smith. Competition brings benefits, and over two–thirds of all auctions see both sides entering into the fray. Having a basic knowledge of how to get into or stay in the bidding is key to your success at the bridge table. This book covers all the rules likely to help you, and there are plenty of examples both for and against each one.

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"Golden Rules of Defense" by Julian Pottage and Marc Smith is a book designed to help players remember which defensive techniques to use. Here, each of the 15 golden rules od defence is given its own chapter, and all are illustrated with sample hands. This excellent book not only shows how the rules work — it shows when they should be broken.

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In "World Class", by Marc Smith, twenty-six of the world's top players talk about bridge: how they got started, best and worst memories, favorite deals, favotite partners, players most admired, opponents most feared, hopes for the future etc.

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"Master Class", by Fred Gitelman, presents 47 well analysed hands from actual play, showing the expert's thinking at key points. There are interesting observations on Fred's partners who range from bridge professionals to famous amateurs like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

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