Bridge books reviewed - 24

"Forgive Me, Partner: The Guide to a Successful Partnership" by Pamela and Matthew Granovetter is a valuable book for all players who want to improve in critical situations at the bridge table. It includes agreements and rules, convention checklist, delayed raises, doubles and four-notrump bids, forcing-pass guidelines, how to be a popular teammate, opening-lead styles, partnership principles, questions on overcalls, redoubles for rescue and redoubles to play, scenes from a married partnership, 70 treatments to discuss, stress, troubleshooting, ways to help partner, and much, much more. Awarded Book of the year by ABTA.

Not available at Amazon.co.uk

"Winning Bridge Intangibles" by Mike Lawrence is one of the most important little books that any bridge student can buy. There are twenty-five tips that anyone can understand and benefit from. Tips like holding your hand up - yes, I'm afraid some people do peek! Don't be discouraged after a bad result, or be inclined to do something silly to 'catch up'. Everyone has bad boards so just accept it and get on with the job.

Good communication between bridge partners is essential if the opponents' contracts are to be defeated, and in "Signals and Discards for You" Andrew Kambites shows that the secret lies in keeping the systems as simple as possible. Andrew explains the function of signalling and when not to signal, and also describes the basic points that need to be mastered. There is a series of testing questions in quiz form, together with detailed answers to ensure that readers understand the points raised.

In "Awareness: The Way to Improve Your Bridge" Danny Roth has compiled 58 hands where the reader is confronted with a problem that he has to solve. The author tries to make the reader Aware of all the clues at the table, the inferences from the bidding and the play. It is necessary to pay attention to defensive signals and to be really focused. Reading this book might not make you an expert overnight but it will certainly help the average player to be more aware and hopefully think in straight lines. If you just read the first problem and learn to listen to the auction you will know what to do the next time you encounter a similar situation.

Norway's Geir Helgemo is the most outstanding young bridge player in the world at the moment. Generally speaking, bridge players will mature in the forties, but Helgemo has managed to reach the very top of his game before reaching 30. In this book "Helgemo's World of Bridge: A Maestro Reveals His Secrets " Geir Helgemo, together with Geo Tislevoll, a bridge correspondent in Norway, have illustrated how Helgemo has become one of the best players in the world. We learn how his mind operates. We see him performing outstanding plays and we learn from his fellow players how easy he is to play with.

Norwegian international Geir Helgemo is currently rated as the best player in the world. As a junior he won the European Junior Teams, the World Junior Pairs, and was runner-up in the World Junior Championship. At the age of only 23 he finished runner-up in the Bermuda Bowl, the senior world championship. In "Bridge With Imagination" Geir teams up with with Britain's David Bird to share the secrets of his amazing success. The hands feature Geir at the table, competing in international bridge tournaments around the world.

"The Golden Age of Contract Bridge" by David Daniels gives us a fascinating insight into the colourful history of the wonderful game which graces our tables. It includes the Life of Hoyle in the 18th Century to the changeover from Auction Bridge to contract Bridge when Vanderbilt change the rules on the famous cruise. The evening of September 29 1929 when Myrtle Bennett took out a gun and shot her husband over an arguement about the play of a hand, probably the most famous bridge hand in history.

"100 Tips For Better Bridge" by Paul Mendelson is not a book for beginners, nor is it a book for experts or top club players (though they may learn something from it). It is a book for all the rest of us :the four million 'social' bridge players (in the UK alone) who know the rules and can play a reasonable hand, but want to refine their skills and improve their understanding of the game. The tips range from simple to more advanced, but all are clearly explained with the use of examples, illustrated with a story featuring a bridge celebrity, and followed by an example hand and a reader's test. There is no simpler or more enjoyable way to improve your bridge.

Tony Forrester has been the Bridge correspondent of The Daily Telegraph since 1994 and this excellent book "Vintage Forrester: Selected Writings from the Daily Telegraph" covers some of his favorite articles. The book covers articles both instructive and entertaining. He discusses topics such as the weak and Strong No Trump and gives us his opinion of the greatest players of all time identifying them by their attributes. As a learning tool the chapter entitled 'Sharpen Up your Declarer Play' is a must for all aspiring players.

In "Bergen's Best Bridge Tips - Read Today, Win Tomorrow" Marty Bergen teaches you how to communicate with partner; how to avoid trouble after opening light in third seat; when declarer should not count losers in a suit contract; what you need to know about balancing; how to survive a misfit; when it is OK to bid no-trump without a stopper; how to overcome an enemy preempt; how a takeout doubler should proceed with a big hand; and much more.

"Bridge Today 1001 workbook" by Frank Stewart contains 1001 bridge problems concerning both bidding and play. The bidding broblems are not simple stuff like what do you respond with 6-9, etc. Instead it shows bidding sequences and asks you to figure out partner's hand shape. There are some good play problems requiring visualization and deduction, (rather than advanced squeezes). The book will expose gaps in your knowledge of fundamental bidding and help to improve your play.

"Duplicate Bridge Direction - A Complete Handbook" by Alex Groner is a straightforward guide to all phases of directing a duplicate bridge session. The book provides information and charts on Howell, Mitchell, Swiss Teams, Board-a-Match and Individual movements and is the answer to a director's prayer. This book covers all the thorny problems that beset anyone wishing to run a duplicate bridge game. It is so well written that it is also attractive to duplicate buffs who never direct a game, just to see how it's done. Anyone who has occasion to direct duplicate games at any level will find this book indispensable.

"Duplicate Decisions: A Club Director's Guide for Ruling At the Table" by Julie Greenburg is the ACBL's club director's guide for ruling at the table. Gives you information you need to run a successful duplicate game.

Unavailable at Amazon.co.uk.