If you are a middling player and are keen to advance, this book will show you the way forward. David Bird has taken ten key areas in bidding and play and has applied his considerable skills as a player and critic to prove how results can be gained. The topics covered range from bidding the opponents' suit and battling for the part-score to support doubles and redoubles, and splinter bids and fit jumps. The essential points to remember are summarised at the end of each chapter and there are problems to solve which will show how much you have taken on board. Why wait any longer? Your opportunity to become a better player is here!

Understanding Wine Technology has become the most favoured book of many students. 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 Quille, a well-qualified and widely-experienced French winemaker working in Oregon USA has brought the information up-to-date so that this book remains the mainstay for those who are studying for the Diploma of the WSET or for membership of the Institute of Masters of Wine. The text has also 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. Hugh Johnson writes in the Foreword: I'm not sure whether to call this book a primer, a memory-jogger or a lifesaver. Which it is depends on the reader. For WSET students it is essentially the first, then the second. For people like me it is the third- than rather belatedly the first. What we all need is a crisp exposition of how wine is made and why, easy to refer to when a funny smell appears, to cover the physics, natural history, legislation and finally the appreciation of wine. David's first edition has been my stand-by for years. I have my Peynaud, my Amerine & Joslyn, my Michael Schuster for going deeper in certain areas where necessary, but I wouldn't be without Bird in the hand. This fourth edition adds freshly-focused insight into the production of the principal styles of the wines of the world, making it equally interesting for those who are simply lovers of wine and for those who are serious students of the Master of Wine examination. New concepts such as Orange, organic, biodynamic and 'natural' wines have been added to the public's vocabulary - leaving many baffled and curious. Modern food legislation adds another obstacle course for the winemaker to negotiate. The detailed explanation of the mysteries of Hazard Analysis make this book particularly useful for wineries that are faced with the new problems of food safety legislation. Essentially, though, this is the classic Bird, much updated from the third edition and available once more to ease the pangs of students young and old.

This expertly presented book gives all the information needed to begin playing cards, with advice on the rules and strategies of each game. The bulk of the book is 200 card games, covers fun and classic games for families and friends. Special sections on poker and bridge guide you through all the basic information needed to begin playing. For every card game there is an explanation of the type of pack required, ideal age, playing and scoring, and plenty of diagrams of sample games. This beautifully presented guide is a great resource for all card game enthusiasts. Suitable for beginners and advanced players alike, this practical book will teach you everything you need to play a variety of exciting games* Learn how to play classics such as Baccarat, Cribbage, Go Fish, Gin Rummy and Kaluki * Similar card games are grouped, so it is simple to find fun and challenging family games as well as advanced games * A special focus on poker gives rules and winning strategies, skills and tactics, with useful tips for players at all levels as well as expert guidance for professional players * Clearly explained with more than 1200 easy-to-follow photographs and illustrations

Ten years after their award-winning Planning the Play of a Bridge Hand (August 2009, ISBN 978 1897106 51 8), Seagram & Bird tackle the hardest part of the game: defence. Using the same step-by-step approach, they guide the reader through the minefield of signalling, making a defensive plan and, above all, counting - points, tricks and distribution.

This expertly presented book is a fabulous guide for players of all levels. It is a clear and effective tutorial for beginners, an essential sourcebook of reference points, sample games, tips and professional strategies for intermediate and high-level players, and a fascinating history of bridge and the great champions for enthusiasts of every kind. In the introduction, the principles of bridge and its continued evolution are discussed, and the first chapter goes on to detail the colourful history of the game. The practical heart of the book then focuses on how to play bridge and improve your game, from basic through to intermediate and advanced-level, both in bidding and cardplay. This teaching course is designed to develop skills and competence - the importance of good bidding, card play and defence, rules of the game, and strategies for successful play. With more than 700 superb photographs and artworks, the book combines a reference manual, a stunning history and a comprehensive course in one beautifully presented and expertly written volume. It details the amazing history of the World Bridge Championships, and the players that have popularised and developed the game we know today; it covers bridge on TV and video, as well as bridge computer programs and playing bridge with opponents accross the world via the internet; and includes anecdotes and tips from world famous players such as Ely Cuthbertson, Charles Goren, Rixi Markus and Benito Garozzo. Players of all levels are able to learn and improve their game, achieve their desired levels of skill and knowledge and, above all, increase their enjoyment by playing bridge to the fullness of their potential.

The pompous and self-important Abbot returns from his heroics in the Chennai Bermuda Bowl to discover that his fellow monks have taken little interest in this adventure. It is no easy matter for him to once again endure the aggravating ups and downs, familiar to us all, of life as a bridge player. The Abbot plays matches and duplicate sessions against a range of colourful opponents. How can it be that a battle-hardened veteran of the Bermuda Bowl cannot always sweep such moderate opposition aside? Claude Yorke-Smith, his overbearing brother from Devon pays the monastery a visit. The Abbot spends a week in the Convent of Hilda's and is shocked by the severe attitude of the Mother of Discipline. In the final part of the book, the Abbot is visited by his partner from Chennai, the Parrot. How will the bridge players of Hampshire react to such a feathered and outspoken opponent? Other Abbot titles by David Bird: Miracles of Card Play; Unholy Tricks; Doubled and Venerable; Cardinal Sins; The Abbot's Great Sacrifice; Heavenly Contracts; Celestial Cardplay; The Abbot and the Sensational Squeeze; Divine Intervention; The Abbot, the Witchdoctor and the Disastrous Double; The Abbot, the Parrot and the Bermuda Bowl.

The card-play exploits of the monks at St Titus have a special place in bridge literature and their fame has now spread round the world. This collection of highly entertaining and absorbing stories from the monastery includes a further hilarious interlude with the missionary monks and the celebrated bridge-playing parrot in the Bozwambi jungle.

David Bird is acknowledged as the world's best when it comes to humorous bridge fiction. As the bridge cruise traverses the Far East, the bridge organiser, Richard Knight, visits Pat Pong - the notorious red-light district of Bangkok - and is enticed by three attractive Thai girls into a bridge game. Other hilarious adventures take place in a drug den in Hong Kong, in backpacker land in Bali, in a Shinto monastery in Kyoto, and in the Double Bay Club in Sydney. A mixture of top-class bridge, exhilarating narrative and a host of true-to-life characters.

David Bird, the world's leading humorous bridge writer, joins forces again with Ron Klinger, one of the world's best-known bridge teachers and authors. The result is a scintillating new collection of stories about the bridge-playing Rabbi. Where else would you find an unnervingly plausible account of a Rabbi gambling his holiday money in a high-stake rubber game against three wealthy Arabs? And where might you chance upon a parable such as the Synagogue team facing a team of Catholic priests and nuns (hired professionals!) as part of the St Benedict Commemoration celebrations? As readers of KOSHER BRIDGE and THE RABBI AND THE WEAKER SEX (previously KOSHER BRIDGE 2) will expect, the humour is sparkling and the bridge brilliant. Sit back, hold tight, and enjoy this vastly entertaining book.

David Bird and Ron Klinger made a great hit with KOSHER BRIDGE, which was enthusiastically applauded world-wide by the leading bridge critics. In THE RABBI AND THE WEAKER SEX, the retitled KOSHER BRIDGE 2, the cast returns in splendid form and the Rabbi, kindly and considerate, maintains an essential balance between the hilariously warring factions and the excellence of the bridge ensures that readers will be properly instructed while being immoderately entertained. If you did not read the first book you can start with this one. We guarantee you will come back for more.

Bridge is played around the world - and often regarded as the best of all card games. 'Many games provide fun, but Bridge grips you. It exercises your mind. Your mind can rust, you know, but Bridge prevents the rust from forming' Omar Sharif In this book David Bird builds on TEN WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR BRIDGE and presents ten further ways to increase success at the bridge table. In the area of bidding, the Jacoby 2NT convention is described - the most popular way nowadays of showing a strong major-suit raise and investigating slam possibilities. When bidding slams, it is critical to identify the presence or otherwise of the six key cards (the four aces and the king-queen of trumps) Roman Key-card Blackwood allows you to do this. Two important variations (Kickback Blackwood and Exclusion Blackwood) are explained. The Lebensohl convention is covered also, both when partner's INT has been overcalled and when you are responding to a double of a weak-two bid. On defence, the important topic of disrupting declarer's communications is explained. The book will also show how you can become an 'awkward defender', the sort of player that no declarer likes to face. Finally, five important areas of declarer play are addressed: holding up in a suit contract, using the entries provided by the trump suit, how to block the defenders' suit at no-trumps, the various ways to avoid an adverse ruff or overruff and how to overcome a 4-1 trump break.

Did you ever notice how the bridge experts always seem to know where every card is? How their finesses always seem to succeed? How their guesses are nearly always perfect? This book won't teach you to play quite that well, but it will introduce you to some very simple techniques that the experts use on play and defense.As declarer or defender, counting the hand is the one thing that will help you the most. But how do you keep track of all those cards? This book will show you how - explaining the tricks of the trade, and helping anyone who can count to thirteen to become a much better player. Full of practical examples of how to apply the information you get from counting, this book is sure to improve your game.

Collins Cambridge IGCSE (TM) Additional Maths Student's Book - Second Edition is written by an experienced author team to provide in-depth coverage of every aspect of the revised Cambridge IGCSE Additional Mathematics 0606 syllabus, for first examination from 2025. Exam Board: Cambridge Assessment International Education For examination from: 2025. This resource also covers the Cambridge O Level Additional Mathematics 4037 syllabus. Cover the entire curriculum with confidence with clear references to what students will learn at the start of every chapter and content fully updated for the revised syllabus and assessment. Build upon the IGCSE Mathematics course with exercises designed to test students' initial understanding and prepare them for Additional Mathematics content. Consolidate understanding with tried and tested questions in extensive practice exercises and detailed worked examples, with hints on how to tackle tricky content. Develop confidence working without a calculator with clearly labelled questions and exercises. Help students to prepare for examination with review questions at the end of every chapter, including Cambridge questions from past papers. Support students in developing problem-solving skills with flagged questions and a Problem-solving in Context feature that require students to apply their skills and understanding. Emphasise the relevance of maths in the real world with Why this chapter matters, showing maths in everyday life or its place in historical developments. Deliver a fully international course with international examples, contexts, names, currency and locations. Assist English as Second Language learners understand complex mathematical terminology with clear key term definitions, gathered in a glossary. Challenge students to stretch their skills and understanding with flagged extension questions in both the practice exercises and the chapter review questions. Support students in assessing their own understanding of the content through a progression checklist at the end of every chapter and answers to all questions at the back of the book. We are working with Cambridge Assessment International Education towards endorsement of this title.

The previous book by this same author team, Planning the Play of a Bridge Hand (978 1897106 51 8), was named the 2010 Book of the Year by the American Bridge Teachers' Association. Building on the success of that title, this book gives near-beginners a chance to practice the principles on which sound declarer play is based: count your winners, count your losers, make a plan. This is not just a series of problem hands, however. Each section contains a brief introduction of its topic, and the ideas are reinforced with carefully explained solutions and helpful tips throughout.

In this book, the pompous and self-important Abbot spots a chance to take part in that Holy Grail of Bridge - the Bermuda Bowl world championships. Casting all ethics aside, he pursues this dream. Partnered by the Parrot, with the Witchdoctor, Mbozi, Mrs Okoku and Miss Nabooba as team-mates, he travels to India's Chennai and faces many of the world's real-life players. Regular followers of David Bird's work will know what to expect - a first-rate mixture of amazing bridge, entertaining characters and sparkling dialogue.

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.

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.

The army of enthusiastic followers of the bridge-playing monks of St. Titus, and their sometimes less than admirable Abbot, will have a field-day with this wonderful collection of stories David Bird has surpassed even himself with this sixth collection. His inimitable combination of scintillating bridge and humor will swell the ranks of the cognoscenti with equally delighted new recruits. Any bridge players who are not already happily enrolled, should join now!

The third book in the series featuring the bridge-playing monks of St. Titus, whose humor enhances the bridge deals, which are always of considerable technical interest Terence Reese's and David Bird's sparkling stories about the exploits of the bridge-playing monks of St. Titus continue to delight readers the world over. Their huge success lies not only in their being extremely funny, but also in their being instructional, as they are crammed with gems of bridge bidding and play. Bridge enthusiasts who have not yet encountered the Abbot and his monastic team should make their acquaintance without delay.

UNHOLY TRICKS by Terence Reese and David Bird is a further collection of bridge tales involving the eccentric monks of St Titus. In addition to their usual rubber bridge games - and they play for surprisingly high stakes at the monastery - the monks become involved in duplicate matches against nuns, visiting Italians and even the local police.