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Bridge Books - Defense



[Cover Photo] Winning Notrump Leads
Taf Anthias and David Bird
A re-evaluation of opening leads against notrump contracts with the help of computer simulations. Everyone is told "tend to lead a major against 1NT-3NT," but this book will tell you exactly when a 4-card major is a better lead than a 5-card minor, for instance.
$16.95
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[Cover Photo] Winning Suit Contract Leads
Taf Anthias and David Bird
Sequel to Bird and Anthias's book on notrump leads. Results of computer simulations, confirming some classic advice on what to lead, but busting a few myths too.
$18.95
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[Cover Photo] Counting at Bridge
Dianne Aves
A beginner's introduction to the importance of counting the high-card points and the distribution of the unseen hands in order to delcare and defend well.
Much easier than the more advanced counting books like Lawrence's How To Read Your Opponents' Cards.
$17.95
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[Cover Photo] Almost the Only Bridge Book You'll Ever Need (volume 1)
Randy Baron
A collection of short 2- or 3-page tips from a dozen different experts. Review everything from the Rule of 15 for 4th-seat opening to advice on ethics and the care and feeding of partners.
$19.95
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[Cover Photo] Almost the Only Bridge Book You'll Ever Need (volume 2)
Randy Baron
A second collection of essays on all aspects of the game. These are a little bit more in-depth than the first book, 5 to 10 pages on how to choose the right bidding conventions and lead agreements for a partnership and how to play the play and defense.
$19.95
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[Cover Photo] Defensive Signaling
David Bird and Marc Smith
Bridge Technique Series.
$9.95
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[Cover Photo] Planning in Defense
David Bird and Marc Smith
Bridge Technique Series.
$9.95
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[Cover Photo] Safety Plays
David Bird and Marc Smith
Bridge technique series.
$7.95
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[Cover Photo] Demon Defense and Demon Doubling
Augie Boehm
Watch over the shoulder as the Professor's timid student Sally Fourth learns to become an agressive defender who can't be pushed around by her opponents. In the same conversational style as Augie's monthly columns in the Bridge Bulletin.
$13.95
By special order only


[Cover Photo] IMPs vs Matchpoints: Different Games, Different Strategies
Augie Boehm
The Professor and Sally tackle the differences between pairs and teams.
$13.95
By special order only


[Cover Photo] Leading Questions in Bridge
Sally Brock
An opening-leads book with a twist. It has a chapter for each of the common nuggets of opening-lead advice: fourth from your longest and strongest against notrump, singleton against a trump contract, and so on - and then examines each of these in detail, showing several examples where the "nursery rhyme" is right and where it is wrong, explaining how to tell the difference.
$17.95
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[Cover Photo] A Switch in Time
Matthew and Pamela Granovetter
One of the best books on defensive signals ever written, finally back in print after being impossible to find for almost 20 years. The definitive book on the "Obvious Shift Principle," which clears up confusion about when to encourage or discourage at trick one with marginal holdings in the suit partner led. It is no exaggeration to call Obvious Shift the experts's secret weapon on defense.
$19.95
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[Cover Photo] Misdefend These Hands With Me
Mark Horton
A sequel to Mark's Misplay These Hands With Me, this featuring hands misdefended by the experts. Look over their shoulders, see where they went wrong, and see if you can spot the clues to avoid falling into the same trap.
$18.95
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[Cover Photo] Card by Card: Adventures at the Bridge Table
Roy Hughes
Watch over Canadian expert Roy Hughes's shoulder as he explains his thought processes on some tricky hands, and you too can learn to think like an expert!
$18.95
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[Cover Photo] Deadly Defence
Wladyslaw Izdebski and Ron Klinger
An advanced guide to using signals to best advantage and visualizing your partner's hand when you are defendning.
One of the very few books to teach and use upside-down signals throghout.
$22.95
By special order only


[Cover Photo] Moments of Truth at the Bridge Table
R. Jayaram
A collection of deals from real play where expert declarers took seemingly anti-percentage lines and explained their thought processes afterward. Sometimes it's just "table sense," other times there is more going on behind the scenes with the odds than you think! Out of print and hard to find. Retails at $16.95. When my copies are gone they're gone.
$10.00
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[Cover Photo] Eddie Kantar Teaches Advanced Bridge Defense
Eddie Kantar
Continues on from where Eddie Kantar Teaches Modern Bridge Defense leaves off. Approachable and entertaining explanation of the fine points of the game. (Do you know what the difference is between playing K-then-Q and K-then-J, when you are leading from KQJxx?)
$25.95
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Defensive Tips for Bad Card Holders
Eddie Kantar
Over 500 one-line to one-paragraph morsels of advice on how to handle particular defensive situtations. Everything from how to interpret declarer's bidding to how to know what signal to give, to when to lead low from KQTxx instead of top of the sequence.
Reprinted after a long wait!
$23.95
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[Cover Photo] Kantar for the Defense, v.1
Eddie Kantar
A hundred practice problems to hone your defensive judgment. Great bridge advice and classic Kantar wit on every page of hints and answers.
$10.00
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Kantar for the Defense, v.2
Eddie Kantar
100 more practice hands to improve your defense.
Newly reprinted in a more readable format than the 1970s-era edition.
$19.95
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[Cover Photo] Eddie Kantar Teaches Modern Bridge Defense
Eddie Kantar
An updated and reorganized rewrite of Kantar's classic 1974 "Bible of defense." Perhaps the most readable and enjoyable intermediate defense book on the market today!
$25.95
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Defending Doubled Contracts
Ron Klinger
Master Bridge Series. A collection of defensive problems, all doubled contracts. Choosing the right line often requires thinking carefully not just about what declarer has shown in the bidding, but why partner doubled.
$15.99
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[Cover Photo] Dynamic Defense
Mike Lawrence
Look over Mike Lawrence's should as he defends several dozen bridge hands, and hear the thought process he uses to (usually!) find the winning defensive line.
A recurring theme is the need to visualize the unseen hands, not just blindly follow the standard rules like "second hand low" or "always return partner's lead."
$14.95
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[Cover Photo] Bridge Probability and Information
Robert MacKinnon
Learn the math behind the simple rules like "eight ever, nine never" and "finesse into the preemptor." The Principle of Vacant Spaces, the Principle of Restricted Choice, and much more. Great emphasis placed on how to think about the hand as a whole, rather than merely looking at suits in isolation to find the best chance.
$19.95
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Martens Bridge University series
Krzysztof Martens
Any or all of the 15 volumes of the Martens Bridge University series are available by special order. Inquire by email if interested.
$
By special order only


[Cover Photo] Setting Trick: Practical Problems in Bridge Defense
Ian McCance
[needed]
$18.95
Available now and ready to ship


[Cover Photo] Card Play Technique, or the Art of Being Lucky
Victor Mollo and Nico Gardener
An old classic that has long been out of print. A humorous and accessible guide to all of the standard techniques, from simple to advanced. Declarer play and defense advice in alternating chapters.
If someone recommended Watson's Play of the Hand to you and you found it too dry, try Mollo instead!
$22.95
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Defending Together
Freddie North
A simple and readable guide to common defensive situations, illustrating standard carding agreements with examples.
$15.00
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Demystifying Defense
Patrick O'Connor
[needed]
$16.95
Available now and ready to ship


Back Through the Pack
Julian Pottage
An homage to Robert Darvas's Right Through the Pack. Each of the 52 cards in the deck narrates two favorite deals in which the key play involves that card.

SHIPPING NOTE: Large format book, will not fit in a USPS flat-rate envelope.

$19.95
Available now and ready to ship


[Cover Photo] Matchpoint Defense
Jim Priebe
A collection of defensive problems, highlighting how matchpoint play differs from teams or social play. Your goal isn't always to set the contract.
$18.95
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[Cover Photo] Thinking on Defense: the Art of Visualization in Bridge
Jim Priebe
One of my favorite books on defense. Not a set of rules to follow; it is practice visualizing partner's and declarer's hands, and focusing on the key features of a deal to defend it well.
$18.95
Available now and ready to ship


[Cover Photo] Breaking the Bridge Rules: 1st Hand Play
Barry Rigal
[needed]
$19.95
By special order only


[Cover Photo] Deceptive Defense
Barry Rigal
[needed]
$22.00
By special order only


[Cover Photo] The Rodwell Files
Eric Rodwell and Mark Horton
A compliation of declarer play and defense techniques, with Eric Rodwell's advice on how to recognize each sitation and take advantage of it. The introduction is deceptively simple, the late portions extremely complex.
$27.95
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Don't Be Fooled! Countering Deception at Bridge
Danny Roth
A long overdue look at how to cope with your opponent's routine and not-so-routine attempts to throw sand in your eyes. An essential part of the expert's toolbox, but a topic rarely visited by the non-pros.
$19.95
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[Cover Photo] How Good is your Bridge?
Danny Roth
An outstanding collection of declarer play and defense problems. The book is divided into four equal quarters: instructional declarer practice hands, a declarer play quiz, instructional defense practice hands, and a defense quiz. Excellent material for both matchpoint and IMP/rubber bridge players: he takes time to discuss when a safety play is available and whether or not it should be taken.
$18.95
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[Cover Photo] 25 Ways to Be a Better Defender
Barbara Seagram and David Bird
The last book in the 25 Steps series. Tips on leads, signals, planning the defense, and more.
$19.95
Available now and ready to ship


[Cover Photo] Defensive Play at Bridge: a Quizbook
Barbara Seagram and David Bird
A great set of practice hands for the novice to intermediate player. Not impossibly hard problems, bread and butter hands to make sure you are focusing on planning the way well.
$15.95
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Who Has the Queen?: the Bridge Player's Handbook of Card Reading
Frank Stewart
[needed]
$23.95
Available now and ready to ship


Defending at Bridge: A First Course
Bill Treble
[needed]
$16.95
By special order only



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Inventory last updated: 09-18-2023 16:19:50