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MAY 2012

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BOOKS ON DEFENSE
25 Ways to Be a Better Defender
by Barbara Seagram & David Bird

Defense is the hardest part of playing bridge, but that doesn't mean that it's impossible to learn. In the final book of the bestselling '25' series, the authors explain how to make a plan as a defender: how to work out from the auction and play what declarer probably has, and which of the strategies available to defenders is likely to be successful. Opening leads, signaling and discarding are all covered in this basic guide to a vitally important topic.
Item #1110

Price
$ 18.95

Advanced Bridge Defense
by Eddie Kantar

American Bridge Teachers Association Book of the Year Award Winner. Eddie Kantar's various beginner books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in ten different languages, not least because of his unique style and the humor that he introduces into the learning process. Advanced Bridge Defense is intended to cover some of the more complex concepts of bridge defense for the modern advancing player, and will undoubtedly be a standard teaching tool and reference work for the next quarter-century. The topics covered here (planning the defense, inferences, various ways of counting the hand, developing extra trump tricks, falsecarding, and lead-directing doubles) are handled so thoroughly that even more advanced players will benefit from studying this book. Designed to be used by bridge teachers, or by students learning on their own, this book 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. It is intended to be read after the companion volume, Eddie Kantar Teaches Modern Bridge Defense.
Item #1114

Price
$ 23.95

Bergen For The Defense
by Marty Bergen

Opening leads, signals, holdup plays, uppercuts, and a whole lot more.
Item #1430

Price
$ 18.95

Better Signalling Now
by Mark Horton

Good defensive carding agreements can improve the scores of any partnership in any session they play. This text takes readers through the modern options in terms of defensive signalling, and allows them to construct a system that suits their own style. Based on a previous book by the same author, this revised edition incorporates numerous suggestions and improvements from experts Tim Bourke and Sandra Landy.
Item #1120

Price
$ 14.95

Bridge Quiz Defence
by Raymond & Sally Brock

Bridge defence is probably the hardest part of the game mainly because it's difficult to spot the danger signs. Many of the deals in Bridge Quiz: Defence address this problem asking you to plan your defence before the critical point has been reached. It will increase your powers of visualization and as a result expand your ability as defender.
Item #1500

Price
$ 15.95

Bridge: Defending Together
by Freddie North

It's important that partners cooperate--interpreting the bidding correctly and being on the same wavelength--and here's how they can do just that. There are answers to such questions as "What can I infer from my partner's lead?" and "Is my partner's suggested line of defense worth pursuing?" as well as discussions of maintaining communication, avoiding a bath coup, blocking and unblocking, creating an entry, helping a partner avoid mistakes, and much more, Example hands and revision quizzes accompany the explanations, reinforcing the invaluable tactical lessons.
Item #1441

Price
$ 16.95

Bridge: Defense at Trick One
by David J. Weiss

Teaches counting and defending intelligently based on the information available. Collection off 60 deals is presented as problems for the third hand player at trick one.
Item #1100

Price
$ 15.95

Complete Book Of Opening Leads
by Easley Blackwood

The most comprehensive book ever written on opening leads. Almost every situation imaginable is presented with a wealth of examples from world championship play. Chapters include when to lead long suits, dangerous opening leads, leads against slam contracts, doubling for a lead, when to lead partner's suit, and many others.
Item #1029

Price
$ 17.95

Deceptive Defense
The Art Of Bamboozling At Bridge (Vol. 2)
by Barry Rigal

Would you like to beat some unbeatable contracts? Would you like to make some unmakable contracts? Would you like to become a bridge magician? This book will show you the way to improve your game, amaze your partner, and befuddle your opponents. Deception in the hands of a defender is a two edged sword. While trying to slice up the declarer, you may wound your partner. Listen to Barry Rigal, the bridge doctor who can prescribe the right treatment.
Item #1666

Price
$ 22.00

Defend These Hands with Me
by Julian Pottage

Julian Pottage worked on a number of books with the late Terence Reese, and this one pays homage to a man who was certainly the best bridge writer of his time. One of Reese's classics, Play these hands with me, pioneered the 'over-the-shoulder' style of bridge writing. What that book did for declarer play, the present one will do for defense: the reader can follow the thinking of an expert player, stopping at critical points in the play to make his own decision about how to continue.
Item #1146

Price
$ 17.95

Defend With Your Life
by Terence Reese & Eddie Kantar

This joint venture between Bridge experts Eddie Kantar and Terence Reese offers a random selection of problems. Complex enough to keep you awake at night, but practical enough to offer solutions that can be applied to similiar situations at the bridge table. If you work at the problems in the right way, assembling all the information available, you will find your notions of defensive play will be transformed.
Item #1095

Price
$ 16.95

Defending Notrump Contracts
Test Your Bridge Technique Series
by David Bird & Tim Bourke

Short and full of practical examples, each book takes the reader through the most important aspects of card-play technique at bridge. Where appropriate, play is examined from the point of view both of declarer and defenders. Full of quizzes and chapter reviews, these award-winning books will also reinforce the bridge concepts you learn.
Item #1147

Price
$ 9.95

Defending Suit Contracts
Test Your Bridge Technique Series
by David Bird & Tim Bourke

Short and full of practical examples, each book takes the reader through the most important aspects of card-play technique at bridge. Where appropriate, play is examined from the point of view both of declarer and defenders. Full of quizzes and chapter reviews, these award-winning books will also reinforce the bridge concepts you learn.
Item #1148

Price
$ 9.95

Defense
ACBL Series
by Audrey Grant

Item #1049

Price
$ 14.95

Dynamic Defense
by Mike Lawrence

An over-the-shoulder look at the most difficult part of bridge. Attempt to find the winning plays. 65 problems explained and analyzed.
Item #1065

Price
$ 11.95

Easy Guide To Defensive Signals
by Julian Pottage

East knows that West has a void in hearts. West knows that East has a stopper in clubs. But how? To the novice player, it seems as if experienced bridge partners can read each other's minds. But the real secrets of defensive signaling are much less mysterious--and much more interesting. Learning how to signal, both through cue-bidding and in the play of the hand, will do more to help beginners drastically improve their game than anything else. This book is the ideal way to learn--a clearly written, logically organized course in this essential subject.
Item #1442

Price
$ 16.95

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Trump Leads
And Were Not Afraid To Ask
by George Rosenkranz

Item #1504

Price
$ 7.95

Famous Leads And Defences
by David Bird

This is a collection of famous opening leads and key decisions in defence. On each deal, David Bird sets the scene and leaves the choice of which card to play to the reader, who can compare his efforts with those of the champion who originally held the cards.
Item #1302

Price
$ 18.00

Improve Your Opening Leads
by Ron Klinger

More games are lost by making the incorrect opening lead than by any other play--this essential guide to better bridge will help any player improve their game and their results. The opening lead is one of the toughest areas of bridge. By following the guidelines in this book not only will you find the winning lead more often, but you will also be able to avoid the futile or dangerous leads which make declarer's task easier. By giving less away with the opening lead, your scores are bound to improve. This book is about the logic and methods for finding the best lead time and time again. The first section deals with the approach you should adopt before you even consider plucking a card from your hand. It provides a series of steps to enable you to come up with the best start. This is followed by a section of practical problems that arose in major competitions where the very best players did not always find the right answer. Most importantly, the solutions to each problem include the logic behind the right choice and the clues that should point you in the right direction. After completing this book, perhaps you will not find the killing lead every time, but you will find it more often.
Item #1670

Price
$ 19.95

Killing Defence At Bridge
by Hugh Kelsey

Killing Defence at Bridge is one of the all-time classics of the game. When it was first published, it revolutionized defense play, and today it continues to be as incisive and relevant as ever.
Item #1362

Price
$ 19.99

Leading Questions in Bridge
by Sally Brock

Perhaps more points are won and lost on the opening lead than at any other time in a bridge hand. With only the bidding and his own thirteen cards as guidance, the opening leader must make a decision that has the potential, at one stroke, to determine the outcome of the play for better or worse. In this book, a top player and writer takes the reader through the questions that need to be asked before selecting an opening lead: whether to be active or passive, whether to lead partner's suit or your own, whether to lead trumps or not, whether to try a deceptive lead, and so on. These and many other issues are covered in an approachable book aimed at the player who wants to improve a key aspect of his game.
Item #1178

Price
$ 17.95

Masterpieces of Defence
by Julian Pottage

Defense: the mere word can cause bridge players to step back. Yet the fact remains that you will defend roughly twice as many hands as you declare. A solid grasp of what it takes to break a contract is thus a key element of winning on a regular basis. Julian Pottage shows how players of all levels can optimize their talents.
Item #1320

Price
$ 15.99

Matchpoint Defense
by Jim Priebe

If defense is the hardest part of playing bridge (and it is!) then defending at matchpoint scoring is the toughest challenge a player can face. Every trick matters, irrespective of the contract, and every decision is potentially critical. In Thinking on Defense Jim Priebe introduced the idea of visualization, picturing likely hands for declarer and basing defensive strategy on those. In this book he show how to apply the same methods when playing in matchpoint events, which means essentially every pairs competition.
Item #1181

Price
$ 18.95

Modern Bridge Defense
by Eddie Kantar

Eddie Kantar's various beginner books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in ten different languages, not least because of his unique style and the humor that he introduces into the learning process. Modern Bridge Defense is intended to cover the basic concepts of bridge defense, and will undoubtedly be a standard teaching tool and reference work for the next quarter-century. The topics covered here (leads, signaling, second- and third-hand play, and discarding) are handled so thoroughly that even more advanced players will benefit from studying this book. Designed to be used by bridge teachers, or by students learning on their own, this book 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. It is intended to be read before the companion volume, Eddie Kantar Teaches Advanced Bridge Defense.
Item #1183

Price
$ 23.95

Modern Defensive Signalling
by Kit Woolsey

Learn the latest innovations in leading, discarding and signaling. Upside-Down, Odd-Even, Lavinthal, Encrypted signals. How declarer can combat these methods.
Item #1088

Price
$ 5.95

More Killing Defence at Bridge
by Hugh Kelsey

This sequel to Hugh Kelsey's bestselling Killing Defence at Bridge focuses on the importance of what to discard and how to control options in defence. By helping you develop insights into the hidden possibilities in the lie and play of the cards, this book will make you a sought-after partner, and a respected opponent.
Item #1325

Price
$ 22.00

Opening Lead
by Krzysztof Martens

How to think about the opening lead from an expert perspective. Larger number of analyzed practice examples.
Item #1663

Price
$ 20.00

Opening Leads
by Mike Lawrence

Covers all standard lead considerations plus more.
Item #1611

Price
$ 19.95

Partnership Defense
by Kit Woolsey

The best book on defense ever written. How everyone can learn to defend like an expert. A detailed discussion of signals, leads, matchpoints, defensive conventions and protecting partner. Quizzes and a unique partnership test at the end.
Item #1089

Price
$ 12.95

Pathways to Better Bridge Defense
by Danny Roth

Become a better defender! So you tend to get dealt very bad hands. I know exactly how you feel! But, facing the facts of life and recognizing that it is not your fault, you are going to have to accommodate this failing and improve your defense. It's a hard part of the game; even in international competitions, the standard of defensive play is, to put it kindly, modest. Yes, you will get plenty of reports of brilliancies involving spectacular switches, deceptions, unblocks and discards of honors. But for every one of those, there are countless others in which the display would disgrace any beginners' class. I am going to assume that you are a regular club or tournament player who knows the basics of defense but who comes unstuck when it comes to situations where you have to work the hand out in detail. This book will help you to improve dramatically in this area.
Item #1194

Price
$ 14.95

Planning in Defense
The Bridge Technique Series
by David Bird & Marc Smith

Short and full of practical examples, each book takes the reader through the most important aspects of card-play technique at bridge. Where appropriate, play is examined from the point of view both of declarer and defenders. Full of quizzes and chapter reviews, these award-winning books will also reinforce the bridge concepts you learn. At this price, what bridge player could stand not to have all twelve?
Item #1195

Price
$ 7.95

Positive Defense in Bridge
by Terence Reese & Julian Pottage

This book was originally published in 1985, and in this new edition is substantially revised and expanded. It is a collection of bridge problems designed to teach players how to think along the right lines at the bridge table. Anyone who absorbs even a fraction of the ideas presented here will himself making contracts that might have been defeated, and defeating contracts that might have been made.
Item #1208

Price
$ 16.95

The Golden Rules of Opening Leads
by Julian Pottage

The fate of many a contract hangs on the opening lead, making it the most important play in the whole hand. The Golden Rules of Opening Leads is an excellent guide to this frequently neglected aspect of the game. Here you can find all of the rules, with examples relevant to bridge today. If you study this book carefully, you will find that the way to pick killing leads derives from what you hear in the auction and in relating that to what you see in your hand.
Item #1329

Price
$ 22.95

The Setting Trick
Practical Problems in Bridge Defense
by Ian McCance

Problems in defensive cardplay; all deals selected from real events.
Item #1599

Price
$ 18.95

Thinking on Defense
by Jim Priebe

Defense is the most difficult part of bridge, and for most players, the hardest part of defense is figuring out what to do. In this book, the reader is shown step-by-step how to visualize declarer's cards from the bidding and play, and then how to use this information to form a plan for the defense. This book is based on Jim Priebe's popular articles 'Visualization on Defense' which appeared in the ACBL Bulletin in early 2001.
Item #1233

Price
$ 15.95

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