Review 178, 2007 Daily Bridge Calendar, Dave Huggett

Reviews

2007 Daily Bridge Calendar

Ashlar House Inc, ISBN 0969612966, £15.50

As I detest the winter so much, I was gratified to receive something which held the promise of spring and which by its very nature leap-frogged Christmas! I am referring to the Daily Bridge Calendar for 2007, now in its fourteenth incarnation and just as wonderful as ever. Although it is largely written for an American audience, that matters not one bit - apart from a few concessions to the American system of bidding - and indeed not all of the authors are originally from the other side of the Atlantic. For the record these are Phillip Alder, Eddie Kantar, Ron Klinger, Eric Kokish, Beverley Kraft, Mike Lawrence, Frank Stewart and Bobby Wolff, luminaries all, and very proficient in their writing too.

So what is it all about? Well, it couldn't be simpler: for every day of the year there is a bridge problem posed, and it might be on play, defence or bidding. You work out your solution, turn over the page, and either swell with pride or hastily look ahead to the next day. I love problems which you think you have got right, look expectantly at the answer - and realise you have fallen headlong into the trap cunningly set by its creator. I got as far as January 3rd before I made an idiot of myself, so would you have done better? (Cover up the East-West hands to simulate real time, and no cheating!)

	J 7 5 K 7 3 A 2 8 7 5 4 2
A 8 3 2 Q 5 Q J 10 6 3 9 3		4 J 10 9 4 K 9 8 7 Q J 10 6
	K Q 10 9 6 A 8 6 2 5 4 A K

You have arrived in 4 with no opposition bidding and receive the lead of the Q.

I know what you are going to do. You are going to win the diamond and play three rounds of hearts with the intention of ruffing your fourth heart in dummy, thus making four spades, two hearts, one heart ruff, the A and the A-K. But if you do that West will throw one club on the third heart and his last club on the fourth heart which East will play. West will win the A at just the right time and put his partner in with a diamond for a club ruff. One down!

Or did you play the top clubs before playing on hearts?

Now that is a fairly difficult hand to get right and they are not all as hard as that, but they certainly all make you think - which is no bad thing. As well as the 365 problems, there is information on what tournaments are going on where in the USA at any given time (admittedly of limited appeal to people on this side of the water), but there is also a space allocated to each day where you can make notes or report triumphs. ('Made 3NT doubled on a triple criss-cross squeeze against Rodwell.') And finally at the end of the calendar there is an appendix giving all sorts of information on all sorts of conventions and stuff, though I have to say that if you can solve most of the problems you would probably know it all already. In short, this is a great stocking filler for the bridge enthusiast, with well thought-out and instructive problems.
Give one to your Significant Other - or simply treat yourself.

Dave Huggett