Every year the International Bridge Press Association hands out a number of awards, among them the Master Point Press Book of the Year Award.This year’s winner in that category was “The Rodwell Files” by Eric Rodwell and Mark Horton. Eric Rodwell’s contributions to bidding theory are well-known, but in this ground-breaking book he reveals for the first time his unique approach to the play of the cards.First, he describes and explains the process for deciding on a line of play; then he moves on to a host of innovative ideas in card play, strategies and tactics that can be used by declarer or defenders, each one illustrated with real-life examples from top-level play. Many of these ideas will be new to anyone below the bridge stratosphere. Finally, under the heading “DOs and DON’Ts”, Rodwell talks about the mental side of the game: areas where players often go wrong in their approach to the problem at hand, areas that mark the key differences between an average player and a successful one.In our basic bridge instruction we are all taught “Second hand low”, “Cover an honour with an honour” and so on. However, there are many deals where these basic concepts are wrong. This is one example from the 2011 Bermuda Bowl, reported by Henry Bethe:Board 28. N/S Vul. Dealer West.S-K84H-K10986D-A103C-82S-Q95 S-J63H-532 H-AQJ7D-Q9854 D-KJ C-74 C-AKJ9 S-A1072 H-4 D-762 C-Q10653At most tables East ended up playing in two or three no trump and received a club lead to the nine. All declarers played the king of diamonds, and most Norths won the second diamond to return a club. East would win the club and lead a spade, hoping to force an entry to dummy’s diamonds.This is a complex position. South must work out that North has the king of spades to have won the diamond, otherwise he could see that the spade queen was an entry and would have ducked a second time.Thus, if East leads a low spade towards the queen, South must insert the ten! “Second hand high.” North-South are now in a position to deny declarer an entry. South can duck the spade jack or go up with the ace on another low spade. (It is in fact adequate to go up with the ace the first time, provided you intend to play the ten if declarer plays another low spade.)On the other hand, if East leads the spade jack, both South and North must duck - “Don’t cover an honour with an honour.”And finally, if declarer leads a low spade and South has an honour without the ten, he must go up with the honour in case declarer has J10x - “Second hand high.”Again.