The "Financial Times'" weekly bridge columnist offers a completely revised and updated guide to sharpening bridge techniques, with more than 20 new tips and fresh material For the social bridge players who knows the rules and can play a reasonable hand, but want to refine their skills and improve their understanding of the game, this is the perfect guide. Packed with those gems of knowledge it usually takes years to accumulate, this invaluable book offers solid advice on how best to deal with a variety of situations. The tips range from simple to more advanced and all are clearly explained and are illustrated by an example hand and a reader's test. There is no simpler or more enjoyable way to improve bridge skills.

CROSSWORDS WITH A BRIDGE FLAVOR Now bridge players who enjoy crosswords can combine their favorite pastimes! For this book, New York Times and Los Angeles Times crossword constructor Jeff Chen has designed 52 brand-new crosswords with bridge-themed clues and solutions, providing hours of challenge and fun. The puzzles in this book range from Easy (N.Y. Times Monday level) to Challenging (N.Y. Times Thursday level). JEFF CHEN is a children's book writer and a crossword puzzle constructor with 50+ puzzles published in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. He's been playing bridge for ten years but still couldn't identify a squeeze or a Deschapelles Coup opportunity even if it came up and bit him on the bottom.

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.

The world's oldest, and leading, bridge magazine, The Bridge World, said of this book: 'Guide to Better Card Play is an elementary-through-intermediate textbook on declarer play and defence. Appropriately, the two phases of the book receive equal attention. The book can be used either as a self-teacher or as the basis of a series of lessons. In addition to the tutorial material, which is comprehensive, careful and instructive, the work is choc-a-bloc with summaries, reviews, quizzes and example deals. There is even an appendix that allows your foursome to set up the practice deals yourself. We like almost everything about this book, we especially liked the attention to partnership methods, the topic selection, and the carefully constructed lesson deals. There are other good texts at this level, but Klinger's book has twice as much material as similar works. This is a very good buy.'

This book was first published in 1959 and quickly became one of the classic textbooks for the playing of bridge. The original version has been out of print for some time and the book is now being republished in its first revision in 50 years. In its new modernised form, bridge players will find the ideas much more accessible, while handy end-of-chapter quizzes reinforce the concepts.

Larry Cohen is one of the most successful American bridge players of the last 20 years. In My Favorite 52, Cohen presents a collection of his favorite personal bridge moments, using an intimate 'over-the-shoulder' presentation, taking the reader through more than 60 deals (no, not just 52!). Each deal is important to him in some way, or technically interesting, or just plain fun.

The book's interactive style allows the reader to follow bidding and play, and even to make their own decisions at key points. Read this book for fun, or study it in depth and learn from it - whichever you choose to do, you will find it hard to put down.

Winner of the American Bridge Teachers' Association Book of the Year award in its original self-published edition, this book takes an entirely new approach to teaching bridge. It is intended to be a short first course on bridge for newcomers to the game. No prior experience with any card game is necessary, and the ideas are developed in short, easy steps. Gary Brown is a Canadian who now lives in Melbourne, where he runs the Brown School of Bridge. A successful tournament player, he is also an experienced high school teacher, and ideal background for his current profession. A regular columnist for two bridge magazines, he is already working on his next book.

Ron Klinger has assembled 50 great puzzles on declarer play, which will give the bridge player an opportunity to test their card-handling skills. Whatever the situation, whether high or low cards are held, the reader cannot fail but improve their game by tackling this splendid selection of declarer play puzzles - and learn from the detailed explanation that Ron Klinger gives on the following page.

There is such an abundance of hints, tips and advice available to bridge players that when faced with a particularly difficult problem, we find ourselves scrambling to remember that crucial solution. In this book, Paul Mendelson explains that when you stop trying to remember what to do, but simply think instead, the answers to expert problems become more apparent, accessible and easier to apply at the table. Packed with tips, examples, hands to study and practise at the table, system improvements, guidance for maximising your score at duplicate pairs, and innovations just for you, for your partnership and group of bridge friends, this book will improve every reader's game markedly. Following on from Control the Bidding and Winning Ways to Play Your Cards, Thinking About Bridge will reinforce some of the key elements of the game, whilst adding a new expert dimension on understanding to each discipline, making the game more enjoyable and your performance more successful.

In the November 2001 Venice Cup final, Germany trailed France by 47 IMPs starting the last set. In this book, world champion Sabine Auken tells the thrilling inside story of their comeback world title win, every bid and every card. She also uses each of the sixteen deals from that final session as a starting point for discussion, and distills from each of them general principles and advice that will help anyone looking to improve their own game. Among the topics covered here are the rationale for her own system agreements (the pros and cons of mini-notrump openings, multi-purpose two-bids, the merits of forcing club systems, etc.) and carding methods, as well as team chemistry, table presence and even dressing for success!

This book discusses the theory of bridge bidding for advanced players, with emphasis on the principles behind an effective bidding system. These include the concepts of Useful Space, Relays, Transfers and Dialogue Bidding, as well as creative ideas about Slam Bidding and Deception. The book addresses the conflicting requirements for a system that is at the same time robust and antagonistic, but also accurate. ROY HUGHES is a Canadian bridge expert who has played in a number of World Championships. His background in mathematics and linguistics has led him to think a great deal about the theory and structure of effective bidding systems. Roy is also an accomplished musician, a talent he shares with his wife, Erika.

No trump openings, and the constructive auctions that follow them, are two of the most neglected areas in bridge literature. Following on from his popular articles in the ACBL Bulletin, Kleinman discusses the principles behind no trump bids and re-bids in a variety of situations, emphasising the ideas and concepts rather than attempting to teach a series of rigid rules. A must for any duplicate player.

The "Deadly Defence" sequel goes deeper into the areas needed to become a deadly defender and a feared opponent, and provides a large number of practical problem hands set in quiz form Defense is the hardest part of bridge and even top-class players make mistakes much too frequently. The first part of this book gives insights into how to become a deceptive defender and how to recognize special defensive situations. The second part consists of a series of quizzes, with answers containing the logic and reasoning behind the correct play. After all the quizzes have been completed, readers will be amazed at how much more clearly they can see the winning defense at the table--and practice makes perfect if they tackle the problems again every three to six months. There is a lot of emphasis in the book on passing vital information so that a partner will be pointed into the right direction to find the winning play. Any bridge player will come away from this book with a greater insight into how to be an accomplished defender.

Join the millions of people worldwide who have discovered the secrets of Bridge. This is a brilliant and original book. Three sections cover beginner, intermediate and advanced players. The tastiest morsels are to be found in the intermediate section where the author discusses how to remember vital principles in bidding and play. 'Bridge is the most entertaining and intelligent card game the wit of man has so far devised' W. Somerset Maugham

Most of the contracts that you play are suit contracts. The presence of a trump suit provides more choices and also more dangers. This third book in the Card Play Made Easy series deals solely with trump contracts - and aims to impart skills that are not too difficult to recognise and to put into practice. The topics include how to create more winners and how to eliminate losers, how to spot the defenders' plans and how to thwart them and how to choose the best line when you have a number of options. Chapters 1-7 end with a collection of declarer problems on the relevant area and the recommended line of play for each. After the final chapter there is a lengthy quiz on all aspects of the book, plus the solutions. After studying the advice and deals in these pages, you are bound to become a more successful declarer.

You asked for it! 25 Conventions You Should Know has sold more than 250,000 copies since it was first published, and continues to top the bridge bestseller lists. Over the years, readers have suggested that it would be an even better book if it offered some way to practice what they had learned. Well, here it is: a brief summary of each of those 25 conventions, together with example hands which can be dealt out and used to apply your new knowledge. Bridge teachers and students will find this book invaluable.

Revised and updated. Winning advice on bidding and play for the intermediate, based on five card major openings.

The perfect book for when you're ready to move beyond 52-card pickup Feeling rummy? Ready to bridge the gap? In the mood to go fish? Card Games For Dummies is your source for rules, strategy, and fun. You'll learn everything you need to know to play and win at your family's favorite games, plus a bunch of others that are probably new to you. If you're the gambling kind, you can get started with poker, blackjack, and other casino favorites, right here. This handy guide takes card game enthusiasm to the next level and explains the tips and tricks that can turn game night into some serious competition. Learn the official rules for all your favorite card games Discover strategies for winning at bridge, poker, hearts, and many more Play easy games that are perfect for the whole family Get started in the world of online card gaming Card Games For Dummies will whet your appetite for play. Start shuffling!

For the past fifty years, Monday afternoons in New Haven have always been the same: Roz, Rhoda, Bea, Jackie and Bette - the Bridge Ladies. A card table with four folding chairs (and one dummy seat). A plate of homemade cookies or brownies on the kitchen counter somewhere, largely untouched. And once they begin the game, hours of silence, punctuated only by the sound of cards being plucked up or snapped down. As a child, Betsy Lerner thought the Bridge Ladies were fascinatingly chic, with their frosted hair-dos and shiny nylons. To the teenage Betsy, they seemed hopelessly square. As an adult, working in New York City, they were a relic of her past. But when her husband accepted a job in New Haven, she found herself right back where she started. Suddenly, the Bridge Ladies came hurtling back, their Monday lunch and Bridge Club still ongoing. They had accepted their lot in life and were, mostly, grateful. They didn't talk about their problems, much less those involving sex, relationships, or their children. On paper, they were unremarkable, even dull. But once Betsy started really looking at them, she realized that they were anything but. Wildly perceptive and, in turns, hilarious and fearlessly vulnerable, Lerner's memoir is required reading for anyone who has ever had a mother. And it teaches us an important lesson: Facebook may connect us across the world, but social media can't deliver a pot roast and it won't dry your tears.

ADVANCED / EXPERT Anybody can make straightforward contracts. THE ART OF DECLARER PLAY is about how to handle the rest. If you already have a good grasp of declarer-play technique, the blocking and unblocking plays, the eliminations and the squeezes, then this is the book for you. Bourke and Corfield begin where most of the other books finish, and reveal what goes on inside the mind of an expert, explaining how to anticipate the likely distribution, how to use logic and visualization, how to listen to the cards, and many other ways to make 'impossible' contracts. By understanding the thought processes that lead to a successful strategy in the most challenging of contracts, you will be able to replicate them for yourself, and bid with the confidence that comes from expert-level declarer play. If you want your cardplay to improve out of all recognition, If you want to learn the secrets of expert-level technique, If you are not afraid to challenge yourself, Then read on...

This is a practical and comprehensive guide to playing Chess and Bridge from complete novice to advanced player level. It describes the fascinating history of world bridge championships, the great chess games, and the famous players who have popularized and developed the games we know today. It features over 1600 illustrations and photographs that take you step by step through from key basic principles of bridge to the opening, middlegame and endgame in chess. This superb instructional book will tell you everything you need to know about chess and bridge, from the fascinating histories of the games to how to play and master strategies to win. The first section, How to Play Chess, begins with rules of the game, and how to move each piece. The different strategies are explained, along with advice on how to manage the game as it progresses from opening through the middle game to the endgame. The second section, How to Play Bridge, begins with an explanation of the basic principles of bridge. This is followed by a detailed and colourful history of the game. Basic skills are all covered, from how to play and improve your game to advanced level tactics in bidding and card play.