Bridge Lessons for Aspiring players

The instructive material in this book is presented in a novel way, as if the author is delivering a series of bridge lessons to a small group of enthusiasts. Occasionally, members of the audience ask questions, or make comments.

Twelve important topics have been chosen, describing defensive techniques that you might apply several times during every session you play. Each lesson contains at least eight illustrative full deals, which are fully explained in David Bird's clear and lucid style. There is then a set of recap questions to test you on the chosen topic, along with the answers. Finally, there are four defense problems, which can be solved with the techniques just described.

Early lessons cover the basics of defense, signaling to partner, defensive communications, continue or switch, also a novel lesson on opening leads, based on results from computer analysis. You may be surprised how much there is to learn about these apparently straightforward elements of defense. Later, you can enjoy lessons on making declarer's life difficult, scoring ruffs and promotions, keeping the right cards, unblocking techniques, the forcing defense, breaking declarer's communications, and counting in defense. You can sharpen your defense by revisiting these lessons time and again.

A Unique Way to Study Defense

In their previous book together, On the Other Hand, David Bird and
Larry Cohen presented cardplay instruction in a novel way. 100 pairs of
deals were shown -- one described by David and the other by Larry. The
deals looked similar (in some cases very similar) but an entirely different
line of play was necessary to make each of the contracts. The book was
well received and won the American Bridge Teachers' Association 'Book
of the Year' award.

This follow-up volume uses exactly the same approach, but addresses
defense rather than declarer play. Only by clearly understanding the
defensive techniques involved will you be able to defeat such contracts
when you encounter them at the table.

Bridge Lessons for Aspiring players

The instructive material in this book is presented in a novel way, as if the author is delivering a series of bridge lessons to a small group of enthusiasts. Occasionally, members of the audience ask questions or make comments.

Twelve important topics on declarer play have been chosen, describing techniques that you might apply several times during every session you play. Each lesson contains at least eight illustrative deals, fully explained in David Bird's clear and lucid style. There is then a set of Recap Questions to test you on the chosen topic, along with the answers. Finally, there are four play problems for you to solve, using the techniques just described.

Early lessons cover when to draw trumps, making tricks with trumps, and when to hold up. You may be surprised at how much there is to learn about these apparently straightforward parts of the game. Next, enjoy lessons on avoiding the danger hand, establishing a suit, surviving a blockage, and managing your entries. The final lessons cover counting tricks and points, deceiving the defenders, elimination play, combining two chances, and counting shape. You can revisit these lessons time and again.

Winning Notrump Leads was a ground-breaking and very well-received book that used the power of computers to determine which opening leads work best against a variety of auctions at notrump. Using enhanced software, the authors now turn their attention to suit contracts. They generate millions of random deals, retaining those that match the chosen auction, for example 1S-2S-4S. By playing these deals automatically against each of the 13 possible opening leads from a given hand, they are able to discover which lead is most likely to beat the contract (also the best lead at matchpoint pairs). The authors provide insightful commentary to each result, answering timeless questions such as: When should I lead a trump? When is a doubleton a good opening lead? Should I lead differently against a partscore? Should I make an aggressive or a passive lead? Should I lead an ace against a small slam? Which leads work best against a grand slam? By using the number-crunching computer power available nowadays, there is no longer any need to rely on general opening-lead guidelines passed down by our ancestors. We think you will be surprised by many of the discoveries made during this investigation DAVID BIRD (top) and TAF ANTHIAS were contemporaries at Cambridge University, both reading mathematics. They carried out research and development on software systems for over 30 years at IBM's UK Laboratories. In the 1970s they formed a successful bridge partnership, winning a number of national events. David is now one of the world's top bridge writers with 116 books to his name. Taf moved on to the USA, where he became a vice president of Cisco Systems. They have joined forces on this ground-breaking book.

The author begins this thorough discussion of a neglected but vital topic by examining the real purpose of defensive signalling, and the basic kinds of signals that are available. He goes on to recommend a comprehensive set of signalling agreements, and analyzes more complex situations in the light of these agreements. Most of the chapters are followed by a quiz, and the answer to each signalling problem includes a full 52-card diagram to demonstrate the effectiveness of the recommended signal. The book finishes with a chapter that looks at the signalling methods of eight world-class pairs, with examples of their methods in action. A book any player who is looking to improve will want to read.

In this unusual book, David Bird and Larry Cohen combine to present cardplay instruction in a new way. 100 pairs of deals are shown ‒ one described by David and the other by Larry. The deals look similar (in some cases very similar) but an entirely different line of play is necessary to make each of the contracts. Only by clearly understanding the techniques involved will you be able to tackle such deals when you encounter them at the table.

Whether you are just setting out to discover the wonderful game of bridge, or have played for some time, your success will be limited without a sound understanding of the basic techniques of cardplay.

In this series, two of the game's top writers explain clearly the various cardplay skills that you will need. Every booklet contains six chapters - each ending with a short Quiz.

The topics covered in this first book, on Finessing, are:

• Leading towards high cards
• Repeating a finesse
• Leading the right card for a finesse
• Double finesses
• Other types of finesse
• Deals with multiple finesses

To discover which opening lead is best from a given West hand against a particular auction, the authors use computer software to generate 5000 deals that match the North-South bidding. (The West hand remains the same and the other three hands are chosen randomly.) The software then plays these deals automatically, seeing which of the 13 possible opening leads works best at both IMPs (rubber bridge/Chicago) and match-point pairs. By analysing the results, the authors pass on to the reader the secrets of finding the best lead against notrump contracts on a wide range of different auctions.

Whether you are just setting out to discover the wonderful game of bridge, or have played for some time, your success will be limited without a sound understanding of the basic techniques of cardplay.

In this series, two of the game's top writers explain clearly the various cardplay skills that you will need. Every booklet contains six chapters - each ending with a short Quiz.

The topics covered in this second book, on Ruffing Losers, are:

Ruffing in the short-trump hand

Should I draw trumps before the ruff?

Preparing for the ruff

Should I ruff high or low?

When is it wrong to ruff?

Planning the necessary ruffs

52 COMMON BRIDGE MISTAKES Why are the world's top players so successful? They make very few basic mistakes Players at a less exalted level often make the same mistakes over and over again throughout their bridge careers. In this book you will see 52 of the most frequent mistakes - in bidding, play and defense. The chapter on each mistake will contain several deals where the original player went wrong. It will end with some tips, to help you avoid making such errors yourself. In the first section, Mistakes in the Bidding, the author has used deals from high-level tournament play, including world championships. The cardplay and the defense in such events are usually excellent but it's amazing how often experts surprise the kibitzers with a bid or call that seems to be a clear mistake. Experts make such errors less often than the rest of us but you will find it instructive to look at these wayward decisions. Try to analyze why the bid was wrong before reading the author's thoughts on the matter. When it comes to declarer play and defense, expert mistakes are rarer. These errors will be illustrated with constructed deals, or examples from a lower level of play. Every time you eradicate one of these 52 common mistakes from your game, your results will improve. Avoid all of them and... who knows what may happen? DAVID BIRD (Southampton, UK) is the world's most prolific bridge writer, with more than 125 books to his name. The present title is his 50th to be published by Master Point Press. David has regular columns in the London Evening Standard, the ACBL Bridge Bulletin, BRIDGE Magazine, English Bridge and other periodicals around the world. He is married with a daughter, a son and two grandchildren.

Whether you are just setting out to discover the wonderful game of bridge, or have played for some time, your success will be limited without a sound understanding of the basic techniques of cardplay.

In this series, two of the game's top writers explain clearly the various cardplay skills that you will need. Every booklet contains six chapters - each ending with a short Quiz.

The topics covered in this seventh book, on No-trump Contracts, are:

• Planning a no-trump contract
• Hold-up tactics
• Avoiding the danger hand
• Managing entries
• Combining two chances
• Special no-trump tactics

Whether you are just setting out to discover the wonderful game of bridge, or have played for some time, your success will be limited without a sound understanding of the basic techniques of cardplay.

In this series, two of the game's top writers explain clearly the various cardplay skills that you will need. Every booklet contains six chapters - each ending with a short Quiz.

The topics covered in this fifth book, on Establishing Long Suits, are:

• Establishing a suit at no-trumps
• Establishing a suit by ruffing
• Should I duck a round?
• Establishing a suit safely
• Which suit should I establish?
• Reaching the established winners

Duplicate bridge is a different game. It's true that you can get by if you play exactly the same way as you would in a home social game or a team match. Duplicate pairs is a highly competitive game, though, and few contestants are happy just to 'get by'. They want to win - not just once in a while but regularly To be successful at duplicate pairs, you must adjust your bidding. You must know when to compete vigorously, taking a risk in doing so. You must also know when it is right to bid conservatively. You have to understand which contract to choose in various situations. In the play and defense you meet similar dilemmas. Should you risk the contract for a lucrative overtrick? Should you risk giving away an extra trick in defense, hoping that you can beat the contract? This is a book that every novice bridge player needs to read before that first pairs game at their local club.

Whether you are just setting out to discover the wonderful game of bridge, or have played for some time, your success will be limited without a sound understanding of the basic techniques of cardplay.

In this series, two of the game's top writers explain clearly the various cardplay skills that you will need. Every booklet contains six chapters - each ending with a short Quiz.

The topics covered in this third book, on Discarding Losers, are:

• Discarding to reduce the loser total
• Should I draw trumps immediately?
• Establishing discards
• Loser on loser play
• Combining different chances
• Planning the necessary discards

Endplays are an aspect of bridge declarer play that many intermediate players think are beyond them. Yet while they can be extremely complex, the basic principles are not. Several years ago, David Bird wrote Bridge Squeezes for Everyone, a book about an even more complex topic that has become a modern classic. Using the same straightforward, conversational style with recaps and quizzes that characterized the earlier book, this new title will make endplays understandable to many readers who have been afraid to attempt to learn them.

A collection of bridge problems which provide a fun way to practice an important play technique. This is part of a twelve book series that will add an extra dimension to the Bridge Technique series (Bird & Smith), which won the American Bridge Teachers' Association Book of the Year award in 2002.

Not in Heaven Yet

For forty-three years, David Bird's tales of the bridge-crazy monks of St Titus have appeared in magazines around the world. They have been translated into several languages. In this fourteenth collection of stories in book form, the pompous and self-important Abbot wonders for the first time if old age is starting to affect his play.

The Mother Superior of St Hilda's Convent forms a contentious partnership with the Abbot on her visit to the monastery. The St Titus monks play a Crockford's Cup match in East London, against a team captained by Angie Brooker, proprietor of the Shoreditch Escort Agency. Hoping to enjoy some excellent cuisine, the Abbot agrees to teach the game to the wealthy order of St Geofric's. A mixed pairs at St Hilda's has the monks partnering a nun or a novice. Brother Jasper rises from his deathbed to request one last game of bridge - with a surprising outcome.

Regular followers of David Bird's work will know what to expect in these tales - a first-rate mixture of amazing bridge, entertaining characters and sparkling dialog.

Whether you are just setting out to discover the wonderful game of bridge, or have played for some time, your success will be limited without a sound understanding of the basic techniques of cardplay.

In this series, two of the game's top writers explain clearly the various cardplay skills that you will need. Every booklet contains six chapters - each ending with a short Quiz.

The topics covered in this tenth book, on Playing Safely, are:

• Playing a single suit correctly
• Single-suit safety plays
• Surviving bad breaks
• Avoiding ruff s and promotions
• Seeking extra chances
• Safety plays at matchpoints

Understanding Wine Technology is an essential book that explains the making of wine in an approachable way. It is written by two Masters of Wine.

Understanding Wine Technology has become the most favoured book of many students and wine lovers and has sold more than 40,000 copies worldwide. This book is aimed at the person with no formal scientific training, yet who is interested in the science behind wine and wants to know the mechanism behind the complex transformations that take place. Scientific terminology has been kept to a minimum and an attempt has been made to use everyday words and phrases. Indeed, there are places where the scientist might raise the eyebrows, places where perhaps science has had to give way to an easy understanding of a complex principle.

In this fourth edition Nicolas Quillé, a well-qualified and widely-experienced French winemaker working on the west coast of the USA has brought the information up-to-date so that this book remains the mainstay for those who are studying for the WSET, the sommelier certifications, or for membership to the Institute of Masters of Wine.

The text has been expanded to include more information on the making of the major styles of the wines of the world, which should be of interest to those who are not engaged in study, but who have an enquiring mind and therefore want to know the mechanisms behind their production.

Understanding Wine Technology is organized in 24 chapters:

• The first three chapters introduce grape growing
• The next four explain what happens during fermentation
• The making of the different styles of wine is covered in four chapters
• Common winemaking operations such as stabilities and filtrations is discussed in six chapters
• Packaging choices, bottling and quality assurance are gathered in five chapter
• Legal matters and the practice of tasting wrap up the book in the last two chapters

Whether you are just setting out to discover the wonderful game of bridge, or have played for some time, your success will be limited without a sound understanding of the basic techniques of cardplay.

In this series, two of the game's top writers explain clearly the various cardplay skills that you will need. Every booklet contains six chapters - each ending with a short Quiz.

The topics covered in this fourth book, on Drawing Trumps, are:

• Drawing trumps immediately
• When you need to take ruffs
• When you need to take discards
• Establishing a suit before drawing trumps
• Techniques when drawing trumps
• Using entries in the trump suit