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The Beginner's Bridge Hangout

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Bridge Books and Columns

There are so many bridge books on the market and in the library that a cautious beginner might not know where to begin. There are several good authors where you can't go wrong: David Bird, Mike Lawrence, Karen Walker, Frank Stewart, William Root, Eddie Kantar, and Barbara Seagram. In the following sections I've listed a subset of the best newspaper/online columns and books with which to start for beginner, intermediate, and advanced players. I have provided links to Amazon to buy the books, but I've also noted whether the book is available at the Montgomery County Library (Maryland).

Note: In addition to the items listed below, Karen Walker has a long list of her favorite bridge books on her website.

Beginner

  • Frank Stewart's bridge column includes topics that are advanced as well as beginner-level, but his prose is so inviting (and funny) that I recommend his columns for anyone. You can find the columns daily in the Washington Post, but BaronBarclay's bridge supply company has graciously compiled his columns from 2019 to the present in the above online link.
  • The ACBL has archived a number of Bob Jone's and Frank Stewart's bridge columns. Again, they often have more advanced topics, but they are generally accessible by all.
  • Eddie Kantar's Bridge for Dummies is the classic beginner's book - well written, easy to understand, and comprehensive. This book is available at the Montgomery County library (795.41 KAN in Non-fiction).
  • Jeff Bayonne, an instructor at the largest New York club, wrote A Taste of Bridge for his beginner's bridge class.
  • Barbara Seagram wrote Beginning Bridge using materials from her own beginner's classes.
  • Gary Brown's Learn to Play Bridge is a straightforward guide for new bridge players intending to play tournament (duplicate) bridge. The book emphasizes duplicate bridge scoring, bidding, and strategy. The book has useful information for the beginning social bridge player as well, but be aware that some of the information may apply only to duplicate bridge. The ebook version of this book is available at the Montgomery County Library (hoopla registration required).

Intermediate

  • The New York Times (bozos) canceled Phillip Alder's bridge column in 2015 but have maintained an archive copy of his columns. Ok, not total bozos. These are a little more advanced in nature than Frank Stewart's columns.
  • Charles Goren, the dean of American bridge, wrote Goren's New Bridge Complete as an exhaustive reference to Standard American bidding and play. It's a little dated but has a lot of great info. The book is a available at the Montgomery County Library (795.415 GOR in Non-fiction).
  • Karen Walker, a major bridge teacher and writer, provides Bridge for Beginners and Beyond at her own website. It has been used by many bridge teachers, especially in the Chicago area.
  • Barbara Seagram and Marc Smith assembled 25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know assembles a logical set of bidding conventions for the intermediate player. The emphasis is on the competitive duplicate player, but there are numerous conventions (Stayman, Takeout Doubles, Weak Two Bids) useful to the social bridge player as well.
  • William Root, a renowned bridge teacher and writer, wrote How to Play a Bridge Hand as a compendium of the major hand-playing strategies - high cards, ruffing, finesses, hold-up plays, elimination plays, etc. The book is a available at the Montgomery County Library (795.41 ROO in Non-fiction).
  • William Root and Alan Truscott also wrote Commonsense Bidding: The Most Complete Guide to Modern Standard Bidding, which provides a wealth of basic bidding elements. This an older book, so some of the bidding conventions are a little bit stricter than those employed today, but the bidding fundamentals are still relevant. The book is a available at the Montgomery County Library (795.41 R783C in Non-fiction).

Advanced

  • Barbara Seagram and David Bird wrote 25 More Bridge Conventions You Should Know to identify additional bidding conventions for the intermediate and advanced player. The emphasis is on the competitive duplicate player.
  • David Bird's Winning Duplicate Strategy provides an extensive review of strategies peculiar to duplicate bridge play, including both masterpoint and IMP considerations. The book is a available at the Montgomery County Library (795.415 BIR in Non-fiction).
  • Paul Thurston's Bridge: 25 Steps to Learning 2/1 offers an in-depth introduction to the Two Over One Game Force system played by many tournament players.
  • Audrey Grant and Eric Rodwell collaborated on 2 Over 1 Game Force, which offers another introduction to the Two Over One Game Force system played by many tournament players.
  • Dennis Dawson developed a simplified Santa Fe Precision Club bidding system. This is a good place to start if you are an experienced duplicate player who wants to learn Precision.