Book Reviews

[benlessard]

Ax

KJ9xx

x

Axxxx

 

 

JTx

Txx

AQxx

KQJx

 

Ive played this last week and I owe 99% of the imps to Kelsey.

 

4H you get a tiny club for lead.

[lordorange]

Killing Defence at Bridge by H.Kelsey.

 

A good book for intermediate level players who'll learn about counting, signals and planning their play to improve their game. My copy is dated 1997 and has a foreword by Ron Klinger stating that he reads and re-read it several times each year. This makes me wonder whether he found the same mistakes that I found or that he just didn't bother to correct them. I found about 10 of them, which is not that much considering the total hands in the book, but still someone needs to address them.

 

Let's look at page 47 where there is the following hand:

 

[hv=n=s94haq10852dkj7c86&w=sj1072hk7d83cq10542&e=sq5hj964d1092cak93&s=sak863h3daq654cj7]399|300|[/hv]

 

You are East and your partner leads ♣4 to your king and South plays the seven. How should you continue? Kelsey's analyse that South must hold 5/5 in spades and diamonds and two clubs. He suggests a forcing play and continues with ♣ ace and a small club. This is all correct, but then he remarks " With West holding the eight of trumps there is no way for South to make eleven tricks after a third round of clubs"

 

I'm sorry but I beg to differ..... can you see how South makes? (By means of clear plan with a high percentage of success)

 

Henry

[lordorange]

Killing Defence at Bridge

 

On page 150 there is another hand that needs correction.

 

[hv=n=skj5hqdj10763caj62&w=s10974h5dq952ckq94&e=s832hj863dk84c873&s=saq6hak109742dac105]399|300|[/hv]

 

South is in 6♥ and receives the lead of ♣K. The 2 is played from the dummy, your partner plays the three and declarer the five. How do you continue? Kelsey correctly concludes that declarer can make his contract by trump reduction and let you lead your trump 5 to beat the contract.

 

But why did declarer throw away the contract at trick 1 and there is no mention of it?

 

Declarer can see that the contract is solid but a club trick and a possible 4/1 in trumps. He should therefore play on trump reduction and use the club as exit card in an endplay. So, in your mind, take trick 1 with the ace and play ♦ace. cross to ♥Q and play a diamond for a ruff. Cash ♥ace and cross to ♠J. play a diamond for another ruff, play ♥ A and back to ♠K. Play another diamond and ruff again. Now you have K and 10 of hearts left with a small club. Just exit with the club and wait for the play into your hand. Simple to exercise in your mind and you can play in accordance.

 

Henry

[lordorange]

Killing Defence at Bridge by H.Kelsey

 

On page 130 this problem appears:

 

[hv=n=skj106hk3d843cak72&w=s73hj10975da5c9654&e=s9852hq84dkj7cqj3&s=saq4ha62dq10962c108]399|300|[/hv]

 

South opened a weak NT (12-14) and after 2♣ by North and 2♦ by South, North settles for 3NT. You are in the East seat and partner leads ♥J that takes the trick. West continues with ♥9 and you drop your Q under dummy's K. Declarer now plays ♦3 from dummy. how do you defend?

I like this problem and Kelsey's analyses. He let you play ♦K , play your last ♥ and West is left with the remaining hearts and an entry in ♦A. A clear example of killing defence

 

But put yourself in declarer's seat and your level is advanced or expert would you play the hand like that? In my opinion, after the first two tricks your trail of thoughts should be along the lines of: since East didn't play ♥Q on the lead, he must have 3 hearts and West has 5. There are 8 tricks for grabs, let's look at the diamonds. If I play a diamond and East takes, my heart stop will disappear and when west has the other top in diamonds and thus an entry, I can't make more.

 

What are my other chances? A 3-3 in clubs maybe, that can only be achieved when I run the spades and someone has to discard. Let's find out some more about the hand.

 

So, simply run your four card spade and watch the signs. On the lay of the cards, west will probably throw two clubs and you can exit from North with a small club underleading A and K. When you get in again with the ♥ace (or diamond) you simply take your three club tricks for contract.

 

Henry

[Trumpace]

Killing Defence at Bridge by H.Kelsey.

 

[hv=n=s94haq10852dkj7c86&w=sj1072hk7d83cq10542&e=sq5hj964d1092cak93&s=sak863h3daq654cj7]399|300|[/hv]

 

You are East and your partner leads ♣4 to your king and South plays the seven. How should you continue? Kelsey's analyse that South must hold 5/5 in spades and diamonds and two clubs. He suggests a forcing play and continues with ♣ ace and a small club. This is all correct, but then he remarks " With West holding the eight of trumps there is no way for South to make eleven tricks after a third round of clubs"

 

I'm sorry but I beg to differ..... can you see how South makes? (By means of clear plan with a high percentage of success)

Assuming contract is 5♦, I don't see a way for declarer to make more than 10 tricks. What did you have in mind?

[lordorange]

Sorry that I forgot to mention that the contract is 5♦, however it is deductable from the comments ( 8 of trumps with west and 11 tricks).

Have another good look and spend some time on it :D

 

Henry

[655321]

[Vilgan]

I don't see any route to 11 tricks after the club continuation.

 

Describe your plan?

[Vilgan]

I was looking at a list of recent bridge books, and a few interested me. If you have read any of the following books, a review would be much appreciated! :)

 

1) Gary Brown's Learn to Play Bridge. Thinking about giving this to a friend w/ spades experience but 0 bridge experience.

 

2) Stewart's World of Bridge

 

3) The Lone Wolff by Bobby Wolff

 

4) Duplicate Bridge at Home by Gitelman/Horton

 

Thanks for any comments/insights! :)

[ArcLight]

>) The Lone Wolff by Bobby Wolff

 

 

Pass

 

I did not care for it, and if one is unfamiliar with the people it will be even less interesting.

[vuroth]

How to Read the Opponent's Cards, Mike Lawrence.

 

As a developing intermediate, I heartily endorse this book. The presentation is straightforward and easy to understand, even when the hands become more challenging.

 

Even though I've only just finished reading it, I feel like reading this book is a turning point in my development.

[neilkaz]

How to Read the Opponent's Cards, Mike Lawrence.

 

As a developing intermediate, I heartily endorse this book. The presentation is straightforward and easy to understand, even when the hands become more challenging.

 

Even though I've only just finished reading it, I feel like reading this book is a turning point in my development.

This book is absolutely superb and a must have. If you learn it well, your declarer play will be as good as the average adv+ in MBC.

[sireenb]

How to Read the Opponent's Cards, Mike Lawrence.

 

As a developing intermediate, I heartily endorse this book.  The presentation is straightforward and easy to understand, even when the hands become more challenging.

 

Even though I've only just finished reading it, I feel like reading this book is a turning point in my development.

This book is absolutely superb and a must have. If you learn it well, your declarer play will be as good as the average adv+ in MBC.

Whenever anybody asks me to recommend a book to help their play, this is always the first one that pops to my mind!

[ArcLight]

Don't forget the sequel to How to Read your Opponents Cards!

 

Its titles

How to play Card Combinations by Mike Lawrence

 

 

It covers a number of situations like which card to play from KJx in dummy, based on reading the cards.

[mike777]

2008 World Bridge Games Beijing. 384pp.

Grade=A+

Level=General Interest.

 

Another great book in the series. Buy this book! Players at all levels will enjoy weeks of bridge reading entertainment.

[Rossoneri]

Bridge: Adding Precision and Pre-emption to 2/1 and Acol by Matt Smith

Level: Intermediate-Advanced

 

Picked up this book from a local library. Wasn't expecting much from it at first, but a quick browse first revealed that it was rather new, being published in 2008.

 

It makes for a rather interesting read. The main idea being "sold" is of course Precision, but this book is not about precision alone. The first 2 chapters give a good introduction and brief analysis of bidding trends historically and worldwide. Of course, this is not the main point of the book hence it does not go into great detail. There are also good chapters on hand evaluation and pre-emptive bidding in general. Hence, even if one is not interested in playing a big club system, there are still many useful points. This is stated by the author in the Introduction as well.

 

I have not finished this book yet, but so far from what I have read, the discussion and points given would definitely be useful to an intermediate player. Advanced players might find this useful as well for catching up with the latest trends in bidding and hand evaluation e.g. Zar points.

 

Overall Grade: A

[bill1157]

"Bridge behind Bars" by Pottage and Smith is outstanding. In the genre of the Bridge in the menagerie series but much, much better.

 

Bill

[Rossoneri]

Masterclass: Lessons from the bridge table by Fred Gitelman

Masterpoint Press 2008

 

Found this in the online catalogue in the local library, but I was beaten to it twice! I finally managed to grab this a couple of weeks ago.

 

Fred's writing style should be pretty familiar with all of us by now. Reading his book reminds me of reading his forum posts here. Some pretty nice themes and hands. Textbook enthusiasts, sorry, this is more of a collection of interesting hands rather than a standard textbook on technique. However, it does give an insight into better thinking at the table. A couple of misplayed hands are even included, and analysis showing how declarer should have gotten it right at the table.

 

A deceptively easy book to read through, but I would suggest reading it a few times through. I'm halfway through my second read. To sum up, a book to skip if you are looking for a hardcore text, but a good general read for intermediate-advanced players.

[eyhung]

Expert Bridge Simplified by Jeff Rubens

Bridge World Books, 2009

Level : Adv+ to Expert

Topic: Cardplay and Odds

 

I learned about this book by a post Fred wrote about recent significant books. His recommendation sparked my curiosity, so I ordered it and have read approximately the first half of the book. I would call the book significant in that it treats a topic that has not been very well covered in the existing bridge literature : practical bridge math, as applied to (mostly) declarer play.

 

It not only gives odds for most fundamental situations, but explains how those odds are calculated, so that the player can estimate or compute those odds at the table when faced with a similar, but non-basic situation. One example is the odds of a 3-3 break. Most advanced bridge players know that it is approximately 36% in isolation, but did you know that the odds of a 3-3 break rise to 3/7 (~42%) when two rounds are cashed and both opponents follow? Or how much they decline if one side-suit is known to be 7-1 (~24%)? Rubens explains the basics of combinatorics and probability so that you can understand how and why odds change, and come up with reasonable approximations at the table. I particularly liked his shortcut for comparing fractions, which I remember learning long ago but had forgotten till now. Which is bigger, 4/13 or 5/16? Answer: Multiply each numerator by the other denominator: 4*16 = 64; 5 * 13 = 65; 65 > 64, so 5/16 is bigger.

 

Lest the previous paragraph give a misleading impression, the book is not merely about numbers. Most of the book is devoted to declarer play problems with multiple plausible lines, and the reader's job is to identify which line is more likely based on the principles taught. These range from suit combinations (Play your trump suit of AJTxxx opposite x for 4 tricks) to hands where you have to decide between a finesse or a break given the early hand information, to hands where you have to decide whether East is more likely to hold 2 spades rather than 4. The book focuses on technique, and not psychology -- those looking for practical examples of how to induce or capitalize on errors would be better off elsewhere.

 

The author is a math professor, and this shows in his academic (rigorously mathematical) writing style. However, the writing is not as dry as, say, Clyde Love's -- readers of the Bridge World will be familiar with the style (often seen in Swiss Match or Test Your Play) There are flashes of humor and some off-beat problems (What would you overcall after RHO's 1D on AKQJTxxx AQ A AQ? And how would you play it opposite a xx xxxx xxxx xxx?) to break the monotony of hand after hand of line comparison. The academic nature of the book may make it slow going, especially if you are not mathematically inclined, but it is certainly worth the effort if you are looking to master bridge math. It is not for casual bridge players, but it is certainly worth reading if you are serious about improving your technical declarer play from advanced to expert.

[Lobowolf]

Expert Bridge Simplified by Jeff Rubens

Bridge World Books, 2009

Level : Adv+ to Expert

Topic: Cardplay and Odds

 

I learned about this book by a post Fred wrote about recent significant books. His recommendation sparked my curiosity, so I ordered it and have read approximately the first half of the book. I would call the book significant in that it treats a topic that has not been very well covered in the existing bridge literature : practical bridge math, as applied to (mostly) declarer play.

 

It not only gives odds for most fundamental situations, but explains how those odds are calculated, so that the player can estimate or compute those odds at the table when faced with a similar, but non-basic situation. One example is the odds of a 3-3 break. Most advanced bridge players know that it is approximately 36% in isolation, but did you know that the odds of a 3-3 break rise to 3/7 (~42%) when two rounds are cashed and both opponents follow? Or how much they decline if one side-suit is known to be 7-1 (~24%)? Rubens explains the basics of combinatorics and probability so that you can understand how and why odds change, and come up with reasonable approximations at the table. I particularly liked his shortcut for comparing fractions, which I remember learning long ago but had forgotten till now. Which is bigger, 4/13 or 5/16? Answer: Multiply each numerator by the other denominator: 4*16 = 64; 5 * 13 = 65; 65 > 64, so 5/16 is bigger.

 

Lest the previous paragraph give a misleading impression, the book is not merely about numbers. Most of the book is devoted to declarer play problems with multiple plausible lines, and the reader's job is to identify which line is more likely based on the principles taught. These range from suit combinations (Play your trump suit of AJTxxx opposite x for 4 tricks) to hands where you have to decide between a finesse or a break given the early hand information, to hands where you have to decide whether East is more likely to hold 2 spades rather than 4. The book focuses on technique, and not psychology -- those looking for practical examples of how to induce or capitalize on errors would be better off elsewhere.

 

The author is a math professor, and this shows in his academic (rigorously mathematical) writing style. However, the writing is not as dry as, say, Clyde Love's -- readers of the Bridge World will be familiar with the style (often seen in Swiss Match or Test Your Play) There are flashes of humor and some off-beat problems (What would you overcall after RHO's 1D on AKQJTxxx AQ A AQ? And how would you play it opposite a xx xxxx xxxx xxx?) to break the monotony of hand after hand of line comparison. The academic nature of the book may make it slow going, especially if you are not mathematically inclined, but it is certainly worth the effort if you are looking to master bridge math. It is not for casual bridge players, but it is certainly worth reading if you are serious about improving your technical declarer play from advanced to expert.

Eugene --

 

Thanks for this review. I had forgotten about this book after reading a post (probably the one you mention) that had sparked my curiosity.

[mike777]

Take All Your Chances at Bridge. Eddie Kanter, 18.95$, 166pp. 2009.

Level=Intermediate

Grade=A+

 

 

 

Best bridge book of 2009. A wonderful book I recommend it for all Intermediate level players.

 

 

This book helps you select the best line of play in playing a bridge hand. In this book of intermediate problems, Eddie shows the reader how to combine options, so as to take advantage of more than one possibility. A humorous and entertaining book that will improve your declarer play.

[Rossoneri]

Bridge with Imagination by David Bird and Geir Helgemo.

 

Found this book in the 5 pound section in London's Chess and Bridge shop. A very interesting read for the creative ways to play a hand. Most of the hands are from Helgemo, but there is quite a collection of hands featuring other well-known players as well. The deals are divided into different chapters dealing with different topics, so this makes for easy reading and linking the various discussions in the book. I wouldn't say this book is a textbook, it definitely is not, but it will help to broaden your mind to the possibilities of playing a hand.

 

Recommended only for Advanced and above. Intermediate players might find some help but I would think that some of the plays and discussion would be of little use to Intermediate players as they are too advanced/obscure to be of the most benefit.

 

I rate this an A. Bird's writing style is always enjoyable to read!

[Bende]

Does anyone know how much has been updated in the 2nd edition of "The Complete Book on Overcalls in Contract Bridge" and whether it is worth getting the new edition?

 

Tobias

[babalu1997]

Does anyone know how much has been updated in the 2nd edition of "The Complete Book on Overcalls in Contract Bridge" and whether it is worth getting the new edition?

 

Tobias

i ask the same question, except, i have the book downstairs, waiting for the boss to take abreak so i can start reading

[eyhung]

Quite a bit has been updated, especially with regards to advancer's bids. Lawrence now advocates a more modern advancing structure, with preemptive jump raises, mixed raises, jump to 2NT as a 4-trump limit raise, and discussions of various cue-bids. I think it's worth reading.