"So you think you're a good declarer? Most books on play take you up to the critical moment in a hand and then ask you to find the winning continuation. But at the table, there is nobody to give you that all-important nudge when an unexpected or difficult play is required, and that's the way the hands are presented in this book. The collection of problems here will test those who are confident they are good declarers and will enable more modest readers to improve their game."--Back cover
2014 IBPA Master Point Press Book of the Year! From Master Point Press: "This year we had a plethora of terrific books to choose among for our Book of the Year. In another year, three of our other candidates might have won the award. However, this year, one book stood out from the rest. The Art of Declarer Play belongs in the ranks of Watson, Reese and Kelsey as one of the best books on declarer play ever written. If you buy only one bridge book this year, this should be the one." 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...
Perhaps the world's most prestigious bridge magazine, 'The Bridge World' each month features a column entitled 'Test Your Play', which consists of two difficult problems in declarer play for readers to solve. In this book, Jeff Rubens has collected some of his favourite hands from this column, and presents them as a compendium for those who like a serious intellectual challenge. There is a steady market for problem books of this kind and this collection is guaranteed to be of high quality.
Kantar's two-book series on Bridge Defense (Modern Bridge Defense and Advanced Bridge Defense) won an ABTA Book of the Year Award in 1999. This newer book addresses a more popular topic, using a similar approach. While not a comprehensive treatment of declarer play at bridge, this book deals with specific topics exhaustively, and will be invaluable to the improving player: finesses (when and how to take them, and equally importantly, when to avoid taking them), endplays, eliminations, issues with entries, suit establishment, and counting. Designed to be used by bridge teachers, or by students learning on their own, this book like its predecessors contains a host of features that help the student to grasp the material: clearly laid-out concepts, margin notes, practice hands, chapter-end quizzes, key-point summaries at regular intervals, and an index. Kantar's various beginner books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies, not least because of his unique writing style and the humor that he introduces into the learning process. Eddie Kantar Eddie Kantar (Santa Monica, CA) is one of the most popular and prolific bridge writers in the world. A winner of two World Championships, and a member of the Bridge Hall of Fame, his many books include Modern Bridge Defense, Advanced Bridge Defense, the hilarious Kantar on Kontract, and of course, Roman Keycard Blackwood. His work appears regularly in many bridge magazines around the world.
This is an unusual problem book in the style of Diosy's There Must Be a Way, in that the reader is shown all four hands and asked whether declarer or defense should prevail with best play. A fascinating challenge for the advancing player.
Written for complete beginners, this book is based on material that Barbara Seagram uses in her own classes to introduce hundreds of new players to the game every year. The book will take readers to the point where they can enjoy a social game with friends or begin to explore their local bridge club.
LEARN DECLARER PLAY FROM AN EXPERT This classic book, a bestseller for more than forty years, has been updated for this edition by Gail Greenberg, a frequent partner of Dorothy Truscott, and like her a World Champion. Dorothy had a unique ability to make complex bridge concepts simple to understand, and everything here, from the basics to the most complicated squeeze or endplay, is described in an interesting and easy-to-follow way. In addition to the technical material, the reader will also learn when and how to use deceptive tactics to give the opponents a chance to make mistakes. Each chapter has many sample hands to test and challenge the reader. Dorothy Hayden Truscott (1925-2006) was the top-ranked woman bridge player for many years. She won four World titles and twenty-eight National titles including the Life Master Pairs and the Blue Ribbon Pairs. She also came in second in the Bermuda Bowl and placed third in the World Open Pairs, the highest finish ever by a woman. Dorothy was a World Bridge Federation Grand Master, and was elected to the Bridge Hall of Fame in 1998. She is the author of the classic bridge book Bid Better, Play Better, and she co-authored several books with her husband Alan Truscott. Among her contributions to bridge theory are splinter bids and DOPI.
Another title in the best-selling '25' series, from award-winning author and master teacher Barbara Seagram, and using the same popular format as earlier books. Other titles in the series have revolved around bidding; this one deals with the play of the cards as declarer, a major topic in beginner and intermediate bridge lessons. As usual in this series, basic ideas on the strategies and tactics available to declarer are covered comprehensively in the early part of the book, while in later chapters, more advanced players will find ideas and topics that challenge their own understanding of the game.
