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Defensive Plays D & B Publishing, £11.20 (inc p&p from the Mr Bridge Mail Order Service), ISBN 1 904468 09 8 As the Introduction notes, "Defence is generally considered to be the hardest, yet ultimately the most rewarding, aspect of bridge.... Bearing this in mind, it is extraordinary how many beginners' books have many more chapters on declarer play than on defence." Since this imbalance extends to bridge publications in general, this book is a most welcome addition to the canon. Whilst not lengthy (144 pages), Defensive Plays encapsulates a vast amount of wisdom on the subject of defence in bridge. Each of the seventeen chapters follows a common format, with a few pages of introductory text followed by half a dozen problems (four in the case of the last chapter entitled "Clever Stuff"; your reviewer has to confess that one of them was too clever for him). The quiz hands are well chosen to illustrate the author's points and the analysis, as one would expect from Sally Brock's experience and ability, is of a high calibre, though never over-technical. Equally meritorious is the fact that the standard of proof-reading is exemplary. Although not explicitly stated, this book is clearly aimed at the player who knows how to play the game and is keen to improve. It would not be suitable for either a beginner or an expert, though the latter could hardly fail to derive some benefit from it. One of my favourite hands comes from a chapter of which the theme is misleading declarer. With this hint, consider the problem from West's point of view with North as dummy, though with all four hands shown for convenience.
After South opens 1
West leads his singleton heart and declarer wins and plays a trump towards dummy. If West plays low, declarer is bound to finesse the Queen and equally bound to make the contract. However, if West plays the King of Spades to trick two, it is possible that declarer will be lured to his doom. 'Knowing' that the trumps are 3-1, it is quite plausible that he will cash dummy's ace of clubs (discarding a heart) and lead a diamond from table: if East now wins the ace of diamonds and plays a low heart, declarer is virtually certain to ruff low and allow West to score his ten of trumps (had the spades originally been 3-1, declarer could not have afforded to ruff high). If this sort of play seems too difficult to find at the table, take heart because you are in good company. An American player (Eddie Kantar) once failed to play the king in a similar situation when defending a grand slam: this was the difference between his team winning the 1975 World Champion-ship final against Italy and losing it. In the opinion of this reviewer, it is difficult to imagine a book which, in the current market for bridge publications, represents better value for money. Richard Fleet | ||||||||||
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(five-card majors) and West makes a weak jump overcall of 3
, North-South arrive in an indifferent contract of 6
A, and the long diamond for the twelfth trick?
8
