How the Experts Win at Bridge by Burt Hall and Lynn Rose-Hall

This is an important book which seeks to represent "the best thinking of the experts on every aspect of the game." This is an ambitious goal, but the authors have done an excellent job of capturing the essence of the modern expert game. In bidding, they stress light opening bids, frequent preempts, aggressive part-score doubles, with all competitive decisions based on the Law of Total Tricks. A later chapter shows how these tactics are modified for team games with imp scoring. In declarer play, they show how declarer's plan of attack varies depending on whether he is in a normal contract, an exceptionally good contract, or a bad contract. The strongest area of the book and the longest chapter is on defensive play, where the presentation is based on the "five primary lines of defense" and how the defenders choose and implement the line best suited to each hand. You've never heard of the five primary lines of defense? Yes, you have, but you have probably never seen them categorized in this way before. They are:

* Forcing Declarer

* Being Active

* Being Passive

* Cutting Down Ruffing Power

* Creating Trump Tricks

Most defensive plans fit one of these lines, although it is sometimes necessary to switch plans in the middle of the hand as more information becomes available. One minor flaw in this chapter is the omission of an important sixth defensive plan: Attacking Declarer's Communication.

Later chapters cover such topics as how to choose a bidding system and how to build a successful partnership. This book is no substitute for more detailed treatises on individual aspects of the game, but this reviewer knows of no better single book for the advancing player with 100+ masterpoints who is seeking to improve his game.