The Magazine for Social and Duplicate Bridge Players | May-June 2023
in this issue
1 Editorial by Audrey Grant
2 Play of the Hand by David Lindop
4 Master Solvers ’ Club A Feature from The Bridge World
5 Look-Alikes
6 Point of View
8 Defenders ’ Corner by Audrey Grant
10 Come to the Party by Rhoda Walsh
12 The Real Deal by Larry Cohen
14 Bridge Maxims : Truth or Fantasy ? by David Lindop
16 Modern Bidding
18 The Play ' s the Thing
19 Quizzical Pursuits
& Bidding Quiz
20 Quizzical Pursuits
& Bidding Quiz Answers
EDITOR Audrey Grant | TECHNICAL EDITOR David Lindop CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Larry Cohen , Shawn Quinn , Andrew Robson , Robert Todd , and Rhoda Walsh . AUDREY GRANT ’ S BETTER BRIDGE IS PUBLISHED SIX TIMES A YEAR BY BARON BARCLAY BRIDGE SUPPLY , 3600 CHAMBERLAIN LANE SUITE 206 , LOUISVILLE , KY 40241 USA . NO PART OF THIS MAGAZINE MAY BE COPIED OR REPRINTED WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT OF BARON BARCLAY . TO SUBSCRIBE : CALL 1-800-274-2221 OR EMAIL : SUPPORT @ BARONBARCLAY . COM . SUBSCRIPTION IS $ 35 USD PER YEAR OR $ 60 FOR TWO YEARS . COPYRIGHT © 05 2023 . PRINTED IN THE USA . ISSUE 167 .
For years , I ’ ve developed a habit of deliberately choosing a book from the airports we visit . Recently , we were in England ' s Heathrow Airport , and I was attracted by this title : Lateral Thinking for Every Day by Paul Sloane , who credits Dr . Edward de Bono for coining the phrase " Lateral Thinking ." Sloane ' s book was published this year in America and England . The author lives in England and has a first class degree in engineering from Cambridge University … among many other achievements .
I turned first to the segment on games for developing logic , reasoning , and memory . Would bridge be listed ? What would he write ? Would he predict some expiration date on the game ?
Well , bridge is on Paul ’ s list . He wrote : " There are many great card games but , surely , the finest is bridge !" That is a terrific sentence . He acknowledges there are many great card games , but I love the words " surely " and " finest " he used to describe bridge . That ’ s such a happy , positive sentence about our game .
In this issue of the Better Bridge Magazine , there are articles that will inspire . The section on Point of View this month is especially relevant and practical . We give some of the questions you submit to us to the best minds in the bridge world . They are experts at describing what they ’ re thinking about a hand .
In the second installment of Rhoda ' s Advice , Rhoda Walsh highlights the importance of hand evaluation . Whether we should be aggressive or conservative in the auction comes down to knowing the true worth of our hand .
Most of us are familiar with the finesse . We use it to develop tricks when the opponents have one or more higher cards . The basic principle is we lead toward the card we hope will take a trick , trapping the opponent ' s high card . In Play of the Hand , David Lindop introduces another option called the ruffing finesse . It ' s an excellent technique when we want to establish tricks in a side suit that has a void opposite an honor sequence . Next time you encounter this card combination , you ' ll be glad you read this article !
In Maxims , David cautions against overusing the hold-up play with the ace . He shares examples of when the winning play is to take the ace right away !
The opening lead is an important decision . It can give the defenders a head start in defeating the contract . Defenders ’ Corner reminds us to use the clues from the auction when making our choice .
There ' s a reason Two-over-One Game Force is popular all over the world . Modern Bidding discusses the advantages it has for your partnership . It ' s worth your consideration .
Thank you for being part of Better Bridge . All the best , Audrey Grant and the Better Bridge Team ( 647 ) 542-6471
BetterBridge . com
1