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The Power of Shape
Master Bridge Series, £8.99, ISBN No. 0 304 35782 0 When you cut your first bridge teeth you are almost certainly told to focus on the points held for any bidding decision you might care to make. This is desirable because at the beginning there is just so much to take in, that any other method of hand evaluation would only lead to confusion. But later it becomes apparent (only consider what you might bid holding all thirteen of a suit) that shape is often just as important a factor as the number of high-card points. An easy concept, maybe, but to my knowledge no-one before that most prolific of writers, Ron Klinger, has ever bothered to write a complete book on the subject, dealing with how shape can influence not only how you bid but how you might play and defend as well. The book starts off fairly low key, describing standard methods of coping with balanced hands and the necessity to treat balanced hands as balanced as soon as possible, i.e. by bidding no-trumps. However, soon we are looking at how to decide whether a hand, shapely but low in points, is worth an opening bid. Klinger introduces us to the concept of the Bergen Count, formulated by Marty Bergen who recommends: "To your HCP total add the number of cards in your two longest suits. If the value is 20 or more, you have the values to open the bidding." If you have long suits in your hand you are likely to have a short suit as well and most people these days know of the advantages of using splinter bids, showing shortage, strength and a fit for partner all in one glorious go. In another chapter Klinger makes us realise just how bad 4-3-3-3 hands can really be, despite appearances to the contrary. Just look at the following two hands:
. . . and tell me you wouldn't reach 6NT, which is not within the odds required. The trouble of course is duplication. So often you might have something like A-Q-J opposite K-x-x. In the above example turn cJ into sJ, and the contract becomes a good one. Shape will often determine how you play and defend. For example if you have somehow found out that one opponent has a 5-4-4-0 distribution, it would be a mistake to play him for too many honours in the suit in which he is void! Obvious, sure, but it needs to be spelled out. This book can be read by players of different standards. A lot of the content is pretty basic, but just in case you are after stronger meat Klinger expounds at some length - in the form of appendices at the back - on the way bidding systems might be going. By that I mean shape-showing relay systems when one senior partner might be in control and initiate a series of asking bids about his partner's length and strength in suits. That can be pretty complicated, or if not that, at least a strain on the memory banks. The writing is fine, as always in books by this author, and the book is a welcome addition to the Master Bridge Series. Dave Huggett
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© Bridge Plus 1999-2006
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A 8 5
K 6 2
A 8 4 3
J 10 5
