Killing Defence At Bridge (MASTER BRIDGE)

My copy has just fallen apart - so have re-bought. The book is appropriate for experienced beginner to advanced student of the game.Chapters cover a range of different areas but the focus is counting and the contexts in which counting can be used at the bridge table. Kelsey discusses the importance of counting points, hand patterns and tricks (he also suggests rehearsing hand patterns above counting sheep - which may be taking it a little far - particular if you are going to mumble them to yourself at the same time). It is a book which should change your approach at the bridge table immediately and should have an impact on almost every hand that you defend.Hands are studied one at a time, usually one per page and the reader invited to come up with a solution prior to reading Kelseys' analyses. The format is not boring. My approach was to make a real effort to solve each problem and view it as a 'problem book'. Once studied you will find that you have a much clearer idea of what you are trying to achieve at the table and the hazards to your defence. You will certainly find yourself more aware of the need to switch suits and the warning signs in bidding and dummy.Personally I think it is a much better book than Kantar's more recent treatise on defence and easier to read.Warning - your partners defence is about to become a lot more irritating!

This book is a classic example of how good thinking does not necessarily make good teaching material. Obviously Hugh Kelsey knew his stuff and the logic is crystal.But ye Gods what an unbelievably boring format, which basically consists of ... hands. An incessant and steady bombardment of them. No periodic themed discussions to break up the repetition, no sparky wit to keep you from dozing, no light relief in the form of asides about the bidding or the wider game. The lack of such things does not make the book more focused: it simply renders it more difficult to learn from.Ok I realise that this book was written back in the 60s when writers/publishers perhaps weren't so aware of how to get the most out of a reader. But what one shouldn't allow is that a book should be boring because it deals in detail.Although the technique is spot-on, I'm afraid that reading this nowadays is a laborious and rather joyless exercise.

A useful book if you play bridge regularly.

Kelsey focusses mainly upon counting the hand out & drawing the correct inferences from that.Many of the auctions in this book appear very dated, as do some of the signalling methods. However, the material which is covered is of the highest quality.The weaknesses of this book are very clear. It contains a huge chapter on squeeze defence, all of it focussing on relatively obscure double squeeze positions. The author prefers to give a lot of complex examples rather than a few simpler ones. Advanced is one thing, obscure is quite another, and I feel that a number of the hands in this book wander into 'obscure'.If you have already read & enjoyed Eddie Kantar's books 'Modern Bridge Defence' and 'Advanced Bridge Defence', then this book will add to your knowledge and skill. If not, READ THEM INSTEAD. 'Killing Defence At Bridge' is certainly not an effort to give you a thorough grounding in the basics...For serious players only!

Hugh Kelsey was one of the best of all teachers of what is important in the play of the cards at bridge, and especially in defence. This book is a series of problems which, if approached in the right way, are usually solvable. If you fail to solve a problem, Kelsey will draw your attention to the defective reasoning you employed, or the inferences you missed. You learn by thought and practice - surely the best way. I love this book, and come back to it about once per year, hoping to do better than I did the last time around! For anyone who likes hard study under a hard taskmaster, this book will not fail to improve your game and you will most certainly enjoy the learing experience.