The Magazine for Social and Duplicate Bridge Players | November-December 2021
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 The World of Bridge by John Carruthers
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 , Rhoda Walsh , and John Carruthers . 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 © 11 2021 . PRINTED IN THE USA . ISSUE 159 .
Simple Rules by Kathleen M . Eisenhardt and Donald Sull presents this idea : “ simple rules work because they provide a threshold level of structure while leaving ample scope to exercise discretion . Complex rules , in contrast , attempt to anticipate every contingency and dictate what to do in each scenario , thereby reducing people to automatons who do what they are told .”
But human discretion is not a defect to be eliminated , they write . “ It ’ s our greatest hope in the battle against complexity . The latitude to exercise discretion not only makes simple rules effective , it makes them attractive . People thrive when given the opportunity to apply their judgment and creativity to the situations they face .”
The book clarifies where simple rules work best . “ The best candidates are recurrent activities ( versus one-off decisions ), so the investment in developing rules can be recouped over many applicates of the rules . They work particularly well in situations where the number of alternatives exceeds available resources .”
Eisenhardt and Sull use the word “ discretion ,” such a practical , attractive word when applied to our bridge experiences . A dictionary definition is : the freedom to decide what should be done in a particular situation . We can experiment with new concepts , and when we ’ re ready , adjust our rules . I think this is a good read for bridge players .
One example of applying discretion to simple rules is best illustrated in this issue ’ s The World of Bridge . It ’ s a new feature written by John Carruthers . Inducted into the Canadian Bridge Federation Hall of Fame in 2015 , John has been the editor of the International Bridge Press Association for nineteen years . Despite generally accepted principles of pre-empting , John shares with us differing opinions among bridge experts about opening with a weak hand .
In Bridge Maxims , David Lindop shows us how to apply judgment , as defenders , to a popular guideline : “ Aces are meant to take kings .” It ’ s a sound idea , but David shows us when we may need to play an ace without capturing declarer ’ s high cards . In the Play of the Hand , David has advice for declarer when ruffing losers in dummy . Declarer needs to be careful about the order the cards are played to maintain control of the trump suit .
In Defenders ’ Corner , when partner has led fourth best from the longest and strongest suit against the opponents ' notrump contract , we should make a habit of applying the Rule of Eleven . It ' s an effective tool to help us determine the winning defense . Also in Modern Bidding , we examine a valuable defensive tool in competitive auctions : the lead-directing double .
Thank you for being part of Better Bridge .
All the best , Audrey Grant and the Better Bridge Team
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