This is the third column of four where I am continuing in my mission to get my readers to buy, borrow and read more bridge books.

As I wrote in the first column on this topic, I’m always puzzled as to why bridge players rarely read bridge books – granted, there are some that are a bit technical and dry, and appeal only to the cognoscenti, but the majority of them are full of stories, wit and humour, and at the same time contain fascinating and instructional bridge hands.

I promised to introduce you to four great new bridge books in the hope that you will order them on Amazon or elsewhere – all four books are among the nominees for the International Bridge Press Association’s Book of the Year and I think you will enjoy them all!

In the first t week I featured Peter Weichsel’s Bridge’s First Hippie and last week it was Bridge – A Love Story by Zia Mahmood – this week it is David Bird’s Twelve Important Lessons on Declarer Play, 2023 Master Point Press, paperback or e-book (217 pages).

The instructive material in this book is presented in a novel way, as if the author is delivering bridge lessons to a small group of enthusiasts. Occasionally, members of the audience ask questions or make comments.

Twelve important topics on declarer play have been chosen, describing techniques that you might apply several times during every session you play. Each lesson contains at least eight illustrative deals, fully explained in David’s clear and lucid style.

There is then a set of recap questions, along with the answers. Finally, there are four play problems for you to solve, using the techniques just described.

Early lessons cover when to draw trumps, making tricks with trumps, and when to hold up. You may be surprised at how much there is to learn about these apparently straightforward parts of the game.

Next, enjoy lessons on avoiding the danger hand, establishing a suit, surviving a blockage, and managing your entries.

The final lessons cover counting tricks and points, deceiving the defenders, elimination play, combining two chances, and counting shape.

My column of two weeks ago had declarer making an unusual and counter-intuitive play at trick one in order to keep the “danger hand” off lead, and this week we have another declarer doing something similar. See the hand in Figure 1.

South opened three spades, West doubled and North’s four-spade bid closed the auction. Declarer had to decide how to play the spade game after West led the King of clubs.

Since he placed the Ace of diamonds on his left from the bidding, declarer knew that there was a good chance he would go down if East could gain the lead and return a diamond honour.

This made East the “danger hand”. In order to keep him off lead, declarer looked ahead and called for a low club from dummy at trick one!

Since the defenders had no prospect of further tricks in clubs, East made the good play of following with the eight of clubs to suggest a heart switch (high card suggested a high ranking suit).

When West duly shifted to a low heart, declarer rose with the Ace of hearts and drew trumps with dummy’s Ace. Next, he discarded his remaining heart on the Ace of clubs and then ran the Jack of hearts to West’s Queen. West was end-played!

A diamond return would allow declarer to score the King of diamonds. A heart return would see declarer ruff East’s King and then throw a diamond on the good heart.

The only other possibility, a club, would concede a ruff-and-discard and reduce declarer’s possible diamond losers from three to two. After that, declarer would have enough entries to dummy in trumps to ruff out the heart King and return to dummy to cash the last heart and pitch a second diamond.

Great foresight by declarer at trick one and once he ducks the club, the defence is helpless – a really beautiful and elegant play!

• David Ezekiel can be contacted at davidezekiel999@gmail.com

BRIDGE CLUB RESULTS

Friday, July 12

1. William Pollett-Linda Pollett

2. Stephanie Kyme-Diana Diel

3. Aida Bostelmann-Heather Woolf

Monday, July 15

1. Charles Hall-Stephanie Kyme

2. Peter Donnellan-Lynanne Bolton

3. Gertrude Barker-Jane Smith

Tuesday July 16

North/South

1. Benjamin Stone-Andrew Tobin

2. Felicity Lund-Keri McKittrick

East/West

1. Tracey Pitt-Desiree Woods

2. Jean Schilling-Catherine Kennedy

Wednesday, July 17

1. Peter Donnellan-Linda Pollett

2. Charles Hall-Margaret Way

3= Tony Saunders-Stephanie Kyme

3= Greta Marshall-Heather Woolf