The Rodwell Files: Secrets of a Bridge Champion

My favorite types of Bridge books are those on card play technique. Not weird stuff that never happens, but common stuff that experct will make.This book is not about exotic squeezes and really weird once in a million distributions. It's about well know techniques, but with interesting variations.Look at this example (declared by Geir Helgemo)AK62 opposite 973How do you play for 3 tricks?Helgemo lead the 2 to the 7 finessing against LHOs 8.RHO held QJT5 and took the 7.Later Helgemo ran the 9, covered by the Q and Ace, pinning/squashing LHOs 9.This leftK6 over J5Later he finessed the 6, making 3 tricks in that suit.While this is an unlikley layout, the book at lest opens your eyes about what to look for. It doesn't involve a great deal of thought like a weird squeeze, just look at the cards you are misisng, and see if there is a layout that will work.A4 opposite KT8753 your only chance is to find QJ doubleton, right?Well, try running the 10, catering to a stiff 9 with RHO or a stiff 9/J/Q with LHO. This gives a 79% chance of 5 tricks.Some of the plays are hard to follow, and were beyond me. Even so its a worthwhile book.This is an advanced book, so beginners should first read many books on card p;lay technique first. Once you are intermediate/advanced, give this a read. You will at least be exposed to some interesting techniques, that do come up from time to time. Many of these hands are from actual play.

Warning! This is not a book for the casual player. After zipping through standard bridge cliches, such as "third hand high," Rodwell dives into the many situations where the standard rules don't apply. Some of these will be familiar to tournament players, but all but fellow world champions will find something new to ponder in this book. It rewards careful study; be prepared to take it a little bit at a time.Highly recommended.

First a disclaimer, this is not for the casual player. If you play tournament bridge and you intend on getting better this is one of about ten books that you need to read and understand if you intend to improve your game. The basic book on play is Watson's Play of the Hand at Bridge, it covers everything that a bridge player should know about playing a bridge hand properly. This book presumes that you know those principles. What Rodwell is teaching is what to do when those principles are not enough, how to recognize those situations and what to do to give yourself chances when the straightforward line is not going to work.This book is an insight into the expert mind. Bridge experts (or experts in any field for that matter) think more efficiently than non-experts. They can narrow the field of possible actions by eliminating irrelevant cases and recognizing opportunities within the parameters of the situation they currently have before them. Much of this book is devoted toward how Rodwell himself manages that in play problems and at least some of it can be learned. To take advantage of what is here one should have read (and reread) the previously mentioned Watson book and Clyde Love's Bridge Squeezes Complete (cited in the book) as well as Reece's Master Bridge. All of which should be in any good player's bridge library (along with a dozen or so other worthy titles); this book deserves its place there as a modern classic in the same vein.

I consider myself a better than average bridge player. I own a fair number of bridge books and this is by far the most difficult to read and follow. First, it is written from an unusual first person POV that often assumes the reader "gets" how Rodwell is thinking. It would have been far better for the hands to have been explained as "here's what I was thinking when I lead the 4 of clubs -- bidding was ABC so dummy has X, pard has Y and declarer probably has Z." Instead it's more terse. (Mike Lawrence's "How to Read Your Opponent's Cards" is a brilliant example of how to write these kinds of examples.)Next, Rodwell uses a number of terms that are unique to him and not in common use in bridge writing anywhere. I think he means them to be descriptive of how he approaches and plays a hand but they're a bit obtuse.Finally, the book is somewhat rambling and not as organized as one might like. This is probably due to it being Mark Horton's interpretation from interviewing Rodwell and reading his notes.Obviously, bridge books are a labor of love these days since there's not a lot of money in writing them. Is it a worthwhile book to have in your collection? Absolutely if you are an advanced player. Just be prepared for the "slog".

Look this is a bridge book written by a multiple world champion to put names to techniques rarely seen at the club level. It is ultimately for seasoned tournament players, however, the author clearly states that it has something for everyone. If you are like myself and relatively new to tournament play than it may take a few reads over several years to learn everything. But that's okay, and not worth docking a book down to 1 star because it is too hard. Seriously.If you are a self starter and can learn effectively on your own, and you have the work ethic to go out and put the the work into practice, than there isn't a finer book out there on card play.Also to the person who docked it for having an long, 100 pageish, intro, it's there for completeness. The book isn't written just for you.