New Year, New Books

Our Spring titles are complete and ready for your enjoyment!   Linda has been blogging about them for days (or in the case of Clyde Love, months!) and they are now ready for immediate ebook purchase on www.ebooksbridge.com, or in hard copy in a few weeks (most sites are taking pre-orders now).  Here are the details, feel free to post comments on our beautiful covers.  Also, keep reading for information on free materials from all three books!

Bridge Squeezes Complete by Clyde Love

In the original foreword to the 1959 edition of Bridge Squeezes Complete,  Woodson and Norwood wrote, “We confidently predict that this work will become an all-time classic.”  The book has lived up to this claim, unlocking the mysteries of squeeze play for players of all levels, and appearing on most published lists of “the top ten bridge books ever written.”  Love’s system of classifying squeezes has been used by most writers who have succeeded him.

However, a classic, like a Renaissance painting, may eventually need restoration.  The game of bridge has changed a great deal in the past fifty years, and bridge theorists have built on Professor Love’s foundation to advance our knowledge and understanding of squeeze play.  With respect and appreciation for Love’s original accomplishment, Linda Lee and Julian Pottage have revised the book, making it more accessible for today’s reader.  Little is now “left as an exercise for the reader.”  A substantial number of new examples have been added, bringing to light the areas of trump squeezes, entry squeezes and non-material squeezes.

In this new edition, Bridge Squeezes Complete will be as valuable to the modern player as the original was to its readers half a century ago.

Clyde E. Love (1882-1960) was a professor of mathematics at Ann Arbor, Michigan.  He was (obviously) an expert on squeeze play, and wrote books on both bridge and mathematics.

Linda Lee (Canada) is a WBF World Master who is equally at home teaching beginners and analyzing complex squeezes.  In addition to several books, Linda is the author of the popular bridge blog, http://linda.bridgeblogging.com.

Julian Pottage (Wales) is one of the world’s best constructors of bridge problems.  He is a two-time winner of the IBPA Book of the Year Award.  Julian’s most recent book for Master Point Press is Bridge Behind Bars with Nick Smith.

Bridge, Probability and Information by Bob MacKinnon

Bridge, unlike chess, is a game of incomplete information.  We bid with thirteen cards in view and play each deal seeing only twenty-six.  We must deduce the positions of the rest from the auction and from the cards played.  Some knowledge of the laws of probability is a critical weapon for any successful player.

Using a semi-fictional narrative approach, Bridge, Probability and Information develops the ideas of probability and information theory, applying them to bridge in a way no previous author has done.  Concepts discussed include Vacant Spaces, Restricted Choice and how the split in one suit affects the probabilities in the others.  Readers emerge with some very practical advice that will make them more successful players.

Robert F. MacKinnon lives in Victoria, Canada.  His bridge writings include a blog on mathematical issues in bridge, various magazine articles, and two books of bridge fiction, including the remarkable Samurai Bridge.

The Mysterious Multi by Mark Horton and Jan van Cleeff

The principle of the “Multi” – the idea that one bid can encompass a variety of different meanings – has a well-established history.  In the modern game, the Multi Two Diamonds is one of its most popular applications.  If you adopt the Multi, you have now opened up interesting alternative uses for as many as three other two-level openings.  This book is a first comprehensive look at Multi ideas as they are used today, also covering the Multi Landy (Woolsey) defense to 1NT and defenses against the Multi, making this a valuable book even for those who don’t wish to play the convention themselves.  The final chapter, entitled “The Multi in Action,” consists of a wealth of examples from top-level play.

Mark Horton (England) is an internationally-known player and writer, and is Editor of BRIDGE magazine in the U.K.  His most recent book was Misplay These Hands With Me.

Jan van Cleeff (Netherlands) publishes and edits IMP magazine.  He is a frequent contributor to the Daily Bulletins at World and European Championships.

Now on to more fun stuff, the free stuff!  Visit www.ebooksbridge.com and click on the “free downloads” link.  You will find supplementary materials for all three books.  For The Mysterious Multi we have posted the ACBL defenses to the Multi for your playing pleasure.  Bob MacKinnon has written three new stories, not included in Bridge, Probability and Information, upon his further consideration of all things probability.  And still to come (just ironing out the squeeze kinks) is a set of practice exercises for squeeze play.  Not for the weak-of-heart (only perhaps the weak-of-hand?), these exercises will hone your squeeze skills even further.  You do not need to have read the book to try them, but you may find that it helps!  Stay tuned for more Love!