MindZine - Bridge

This is the fourth book in the 'Famous' mini-series. The first three were co-written with Terence Reese, but David Bird could not have chosen a more popular subject for his first solo effort about 'Famous' players, because we all like to see how the big guns in the bridge world sometimes miss their targets or misfire - horribly! The horror stories go back as far as the early 'thirties.

Historical aspects occasionally emerge. For instance, as a prelude to one story, Bird asks: "Do you know when the Multi 2 made its debut?" Then he answers: "Terence Reese and Jeremy Flint unleashed the new weapon as long ago as the late Sixties. In the early days it caught many an expert unprepared." Flint's use of it created problems for a famous Italian pair on the following board in the 1972 Olympiad:

Dealer East. E/W Vul.

8 5

A K

A Q 9 6 3

K 10 5 2

10 9 4 2

	N
W		E
	S

K Q 6 3

J 6 2

Q 8 7 5 4 3

J 8

7 5

J 8 7 4

A J 7

10 9

K 10 4 2

A Q 9 3

West	North	East	South
Cansino	Forquet	Flint	Garozzo
		2 (a)	Dbl
2 (b)	3	Pass	3NT
Pass	4	All Pass

(a)	Weak Two in a major or various strong hands
(b)	To play if partner's suit is hearts

North intended his 3 bid to be artificially forcing, so, when South bid 3NT, North continued with a second forcing cue-bid in the opposition's suit, only to see South pass his 4 cue-bid thinking that it was natural. Oh, the ignominy of going four down in a 2-2 fit on the international stage, with slam being possible in either minor or even no-trumps!

As Bird explains, twenty years after the event an illustrious panel in The Bridge World voted by six to four that Garozzo was more to blame. If his partner had held a heart suit, he would have doubled 2 in the first place to smoke out East's suit. Nowadays, regular partnerships have more efficient defensive methods of combating the Multi.

Interesting snippets, such as the one above, enhance the whole book. Mentioned in another anecdote is Theodore Lightner and his brilliant invention of the Lightner Double, asking for an unusual lead against a freely bid slam.

Bird comments: "You may be surprised to hear that Terence Reese once expressed doubt that the Lightner Double had shown a net profit over its long lifetime."

One hundred and twenty pages crammed with fascinating details offer excellent value, and ensure that the only disasters facing the readers are the ones described in the stories.

Peter Littlewood