Famous Bridge Records
by David Bird and Nikos Sarantakos

Master Bridge Series, £8.99, ISBN No. 0 304 36140 2

Every year more and more bridge books seem to be published, and while there is nothing wrong with this per se, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to come up with something that hasn't been said a hundred times before.

That accusation certainly could not be levelled against this new offering by David Bird and Nikos Sarantakos who in harness have searched championship books, tournament bulletins and bridge magazines from around the world in an effort to come up with this compendium of bridge records of all kinds. Every conceivable statistical oddity will be found here, from games made on extremely low point-counts, to auctions involving a profusion of doubles and redoubles, and contracts played in the same denomination by both pairs from the same team.

I can certainly vouch for the authenticity of one of the hands because it happened against me! I suppose it could fall into several categories but 'the quickest grand slam bid and made on the lowest values' would cover it nicely:

Dealer: North. E/W Vul.

2NT showed 5-9 points with 5-5 in the minors and 3 showed a strong hand. I was West, of course, but I suspect my partner would have doubled if I hadn't. The play didn't take long and miraculously it was a flat board. After the same start from North, a well-known writer of humourous bridge fiction in the South seat took rather longer (and with help from the opposition) to arrive at the same contract. This is an amusing book, with lots of tongue-in-cheek moments, and it is accessible to all levels of ability. Although I could not pretend that diligent reading of it would make most of us better bridge players, it is instructional in a different way altogether, and that is because so many of the hands contain cataclysmic disasters from players of the highest ability. If they can get things so wrong, then it is an inspiration to all of us to carry on, no matter what!

This is a new and welcome addition to the Master Bridge Series and will hardly break the bank at £8.99.

Dave Huggett