Search results for ""master point press""

Master Point Press has been appointed the official distributor worldwide for the World Bridge Federation’s annual Bridge World Championship books. The official book of the 2022 World Bridge Series in Wroclaw, Poland, is published to coincide with the EBL’s Transnational Championships in Strasbourg in the summer of 2023. The principal contributors are David Bird, Barry Rigal, Mark Horton and Ron Tacchi. The book is in full colour thoughout its 392 pages, featuring many photographs from the 16th World Bridge Series championships, sample hands and games, a full list of results and extensive coverage of the major championship events.

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Using the same format as The Pocket Guide to Bridge, this book provides a handy pocket summary of about two dozen basic concepts in defensive cardplay. In a concise but readable manner, it summarizes most of the material presented in 25 Ways to Be a Better Defender by the same author team (Master Point Press; 2004; ISBN 978 1897106 11 2).

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Forty years ago, in 1980, Robert Berthe and Norbert Lébely put the finishing touches to two books that would revolutionize the teaching of bridge cardplay: the first two books in the Step by Step series (Pas à Pas in the original French). Particular care has been taken with this revision of the second volume, which is devoted to play in suit contracts. In the years since the original publication, the authors changed their minds on how best to teach declarer play when a trump suit is involved. They abandoned the traditional method of counting losers, which is difficult and not very intuitive, to focus on counting winners, much like the technique used at notrump. Again, the first part of the book teaches the techniques, by the leading the reader 'step by step' through a series of examples. The second part consists of problem deals where what has been learned can be applied and reinforced.

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Bridge with a Perfect Partner, by P. F. Saunders, was published in 1976 (Hyperion Books, 978 07063508 2 1). Many read and delighted in Saunders’ articles in London-based Bridge Magazine, and Saunders’ character “Wilson”, according to the flyleaf of the book, is “… an austere character, whose scholarly discourses are enlivened by frequent flashes of mordant wit.” The anonymous narrator comments, “He is very kind in explaining, when I go down in a contract, just how I could have made it and, when he goes down, just how my bidding misled him.” We’ve all played with partners like that, though few of them have had Wilson’s devastating, articulate wit. In this sequel, one of the world's top bridge journalists takes the reader through a brilliant series of deals, collected from tournaments all over the world. The style is highly reminiscent of Sanders' original and will give its readers just as much pleasure.

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20 years ago, bridge writer Mike Lawrence published a series of short pamphlets for intermediate players with advice on various aspects of bidding and card play. Long unavailable, this material has now been revised, updated, and republished in three anthology volumes, each comprising about 10 of the original booklets. Mike Lawrence is acknowledged as one of the two or three best writers in the world for intermediate players, and there will be a ready audience for this series in its new format. The second volume in a three-volume series, 'Mike Lawrence Bridge Tips', based on bridge tips for intermediate players first published twenty years ago. All the material has been completely revised and updated.

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A common form of pairs scoring in the game of bridge is by “matchpoints”. On each board, a partnership scores two matchpoints for each other partnership that scored fewer points with the same cards, and one point for each other partnership that scored the same number of points. Most players would agree that matchpoints is harder than IMPs (“international match point scoring”) – it is certainly different. Yet many players approach the two forms of scoring in the same way. In this book, the author explains the differences in approach, the whys and wherefores of the right way to bid, play and defend at matchpoint scoring for optimum results.

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Perhaps the best way to improve your bridge is to watch an expert play, and to try to understand the reasoning behind their bids and plays. Here, readers follow the bidding and play (or defence) of fifty-two hands – one a week for a whole year – and listen to the author’s thinking as each hand develops. Understanding why the experts do what they do is the first step towards being able to do it yourself – at least some of the time!

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Planning the Play of a Bridge Hand, by the same author team, (978 1897106 51 8), was named the 2010 Book of the Year by the American Bridge Teachers' Association. Building on the success of that title, this book gives the near-beginner a chance to practice the principles on which sound defensive play is based, from the opening lead onwards. This is not just a series of problem hands, however. Each section contains a brief introduction of its topic, and the ideas are reinforced with carefully explained solutions and helpful tips throughout.

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This is the most important technical bridge book published since Larry Cohen's To Bid or Not to Bid (60,000 copies in English alone), and may well reach an even bigger audience. There are two aspects to this book, both unique. First, Rodwell describes and explains a host of innovative ideas in cardplay, strategems that can be used as declarer or defender. Second, under the heading 'Common Mistakes', Rodwell talks about the mental side of the game: areas that mark the key differences between an average player and a successful one. The first draft of this book has been in existence for more than fifteen years, but it is only now that Rodwell is prepared to allow his 'secrets' to become public knowledge.

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Forty years ago, in 1980, Robert Berthe and Norbert Lébely put the finishing touches to two books that would revolutionize the teaching of bridge cardplay: the first two books in the Step by Step series (Pas à Pas in the original French). Based on an innovative yet clear and easily understandable teaching approach, involving the reader in a series of questions and answers, the series would allow hundreds of thousands of readers over the years to absorb easily techniques known to be arduous and complex. Now available in English for the first time, this edition reflects the updates made by Lébely in 2020. He did the revision alone, as Robert Berthe had passed away in 2016. The first part of the book teaches the techniques, by the leading the reader 'step by step' through a series of examples. The second part consists of problem deals where what has been learned can be applied and reinforced.

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A retired mathematics teacher, Dianne Aves has long felt that counting is the most useful skill she can instil in her bridge students, but that most books approach the subject at too high a level…. No longer! All bridge teachers emphasize to their students the importance of counting -- points, distribution, tricks, and so on. But it's hard to teach and even harder to learn, let alone assimilate to the point where counting becomes automatic as one is playing. This book introduces the concept of counting for newer players, and helps them to begin acquiring a skill that is critical to their becoming better players.

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Just about every bridge player over forty has read Victor Mollo's Bridge in the Menagerie, a book that is on any list of the all-time top ten on the game. Towards the end of his life, Mollo continued to write stories about the same well-loved characters (Hideous Hog, Rueful Rabbit, Oscar the Owl and the rest), but they appeared in various magazines around the world, and if you weren't a subscriber, you didn't get to read them. This is the fourth and final collection of these lost Menagerie gems, collected for the first time in book form. Previous titles in this series: Bridge in the Menagerie; The Hog Takes To The Precision; Diamonds are the Hog's Best Friend; Swings and Arrows.

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The classic first book on defensive cardplay at bridge, covering the topic with clarity, skill and humour. More than fifty years after its first publication, this book has been revised and updated to bring it into line with modern methods of play and bridge education.

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Ten years after their award-winning Planning the Play of a Bridge Hand (August 2009, ISBN 978 1897106 51 8), Seagram & Bird tackle the hardest part of the game: defence. Using the same step-by-step approach, they guide the reader through the minefield of signalling, making a defensive plan and, above all, counting – points, tricks and distribution.

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Since its publication in 1999, 25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know has sold more than 250,000 copies in six languages. It has become a much-valued text and reference for everyone from social players to those who regularly spend time at their local bridge club. But bridge has changed in the last 23 years. Bidding has changed. Some of the conventions in the original book have fallen into disuse, while others have gained in popularity and importance. Many basic conventions have changed in subtle ways as bidding methods have developed. Today's players need to be in tune with what is happening and stay current. This new edition has been thoroughly updated, while retaining the approach and features that made the original so popular. Every convention in the book has been carefully revised to reflect the way it is used in the modern game. Students are now universally taught to play transfers in response to a strong no-trump opening, and the new edition reflects that change in several ways. Three chapters (Landy, Grand Slam Force and Ogust responses to Weak Twos) have been dropped completely in favour of Bergen Raises and the DONT and Meckwell defenses to 1NT.

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52 more crosswords featuring the world's most popular card game. Jeff Chen's first book of bridge-themed crosswords was widely acclaimed, and his many fans will welcome a second collection. They know what to expect! Now bridge players who enjoy crosswords can combine their favourite pastimes! For this book, New York Times and Los Angeles Times crossword constructor Jeff Chen has designed 52 brand-new crosswords with bridge-themed clues and solutions, providing hours of challenge and fun. "Jeff Chen's crosswords are always ingenious. He's one of my favourite puzzlemakers." Will Shortz, Crossword Editor, The New York Times.

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Another title in the best-selling '25' series, using the same popular format. Over the last fifteen or so years, the 2/1 Game Forcing bidding method has gained substantial popularity, but for various reasons it is not taught in beginner classes. This book is therefore designed for players who are familiar with Standard bidding and are interested in switching to the 2/1 method. It covers basic concepts as well as the differences between 2/1 and Standard auctions, and includes a discussion of more advanced ideas and conventions that fit particularly well with 2/1 methods. Existing books on this topic (notably by Max Hardy and Mike Lawrence) are too advanced and/or too technical for this level of player.

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A follow-up book from the author team that produced the award-winning and best-selling 25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know. Aimed at the same novice/social player audience as their first book, this new title deals with competitive auctions in which the opponents have opened the bidding. This is the most complex area of bridge bidding, and has never up to now been dealt with comprehensively in a book that is understandable for non-experts.

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Designed for those who have finished a beginner course and would like something easy to carry around for reference, this handy little book will fill a major gap in bridge literature. In a humorous, conversational style, it covers all the basics of Standard bidding as well as offering some ideas on play and defense. The book includes a scoring table and a useful glossary of technical bridge terms. Designed to fit in a purse or pocket, this book will be perfect for those times when you want to point to something and say "Look partner, it says here you should have done this!" and win your argument! This book is aimed at the same market as 'The Biggest Little Bridge Book in the World', which is published by a New York bridge club, and not readily available elsewhere. This guide is, however, much more comprehensive in its content.

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The author's Honors Bridge Club in New York is the largest in North America, perhaps in the world. This book is based on their beginners' course, a series of six lessons that have started thousands of people on the road to enjoying the world's most popular card game. And no, you won't be able to play bridge when you've read it - but if you were to take up tennis, or the piano, how far would six lessons get you? The hope is that the reader will be hooked, and having acquired a taste for bridge, will go on to more comprehensive courses. This one is just to whet the appetite. Ability level: beginner. A book for all newcomers to the game.

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An expert bridge coach’s guide for beginners who are looking to move their game up to the next level. This book is for readers who have finished their beginner lessons, and are trying to move their game up to the next level. The tips cover all aspects of bridge -- bidding, play and defence. Advice and examples are drawn from material Barbara Seagram has developed for her students over the last twenty years -- it's like having your own personal bridge coach sitting beside you!

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Using the same format as The Pocket Guide to Bridge, this book will provide a handy pocket summary of the popular SAYC (Standard American Yellow Card) bidding system. In a concise but readable manner, it goes over the basic ideas of SAYC, which is the most popular natural system for online bridge players around the world. The contents are based on Standard Bidding with SAYC, by the same authors.

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First published in 1988, this book has been out-of-print for several years. It is a mystery and a bridge textbook all in one, and accomplishes both exceptionally well. Based on the author's own experiences, and set in and around a Manhattan bridge club, the story includes many real-life bridge characters whose names will be familiar to readers.

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Seagram and Bird's previous book Planning the Play of a Bridge Hand (ISBN 978 1897106 51 8; August 2009) was named Book of the Year in 2010 by the American Bridge Teachers' Association. It introduced the basic concepts of how to go about making a plan as declarer for beginning and improving players, and is a popular text for bridge teachers. This sequel extends the plan to more complex situations, and covers ideas such as safety plays, avoidance play, trump control, dummy reversal, and endplays. It will appeal to players who have a good grasp of the basics of declarer play, and are looking to improve from there.

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First published in 1955, this comprehensive survey of declarer play and defence has been very hard to find for the last decade. It is perhaps the single most-requested out-of-print bridge book, and is widely regarded as the best intermediate-level book on card play ever written. Gardener's technical expertise and Mollo's witty writing style combine to provide a unique instructional experience. This new edition has been updated and modernized by Bridge Magazine editor Mark Horton and also includes a new foreword by Gardener's daughter, Nicola Smith, herself a multiple world champion.

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In 1974, Eddie Kantar wrote Defensive Bridge Play Complete (Wilshire Books), a book which has only recently gone out-of-print, and is a consensus nominee as one of the ten top bridge books ever written. But the technical theory of the game has come a long way in the last 25 years. This book covers the basic concepts of bridge defense for the modern novice player, and will undoubtedly be the standard teaching tool and reference work for the next quarter-century. Kantar's various beginner books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies, not least because of his unique style and the humour that he introduces into the learning process. Designed to be used by bridge teachers, or by students learning on their own, it 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.

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A complete refresher course for bridge players returning to the game in middle age, summarising the key changes to the game that have occurred over the last thirty years. Bridge is a game that people often decide to learn as empty-nesters. There are also those who learned the game when they were younger -- but while they would like to start playing again, they are nervous about how much the game may have changed. There are new ways of bidding, new conventions, and other things they will need to know before they are confident about playing even with friends. That's exactly the audience for this book -- those who are 'coming back to bridge'. It summarizes the key changes that someone who has not played for twenty to thirty years will encounter, and explains simply and clearly what they will need to know to be comfortable in the modern game. Skill level: Intermediate

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The emphasis here is on ‘useful’. This is not an academic tome, but a discussion of the aspects of probability that every bridge player needs to know and understand. Topics include suit splits, suit combinations, percentage plays, the Principle of Restricted Choice, and even the application of probability to bidding decisions.

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