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Reviews from Bridge Plus

World Class
by Marc Smith
Master Points Press, Paperback, available from Bridge Plus or (tel:0118-935 1052) @ £13.99 including p&p

This book gives us in-depth interviews with twenty-six of the world's best bridge players. It has 287 large pages and is divided into five sections: All-time Greats, Today's Stars, Women Stars, Rising Stars and Star Writers. It is acknowledged that some of the placements are arbitrary: for example, both Mike Lawrence and Eddie Kantar could easily have been included in a 'player' category rather than being featured as 'writers'. Some will no doubt say that the list should be different. There are some notable absentees. One reason for this is that to avoid duplication of experiences and views, the author has elected to feature only one member of a regular partnership.

Hence you will not find Michael Rosenberg, Bobby Wolff, Tony Forrester or Eric Rodwell. For each featured player, the author starts with an introduction and summary. Then the stars tell us about how they got started, their partners, their best and worst memories, their favourite hands, the players they most admire, the opponents they most fear, and their hopes for the future of the game (see excerpt on pages 9-12 - Ed.). Also, the players tell us how and why they played a particular hand the way they played it at the table and they include amusing comments and experiences. For instance, John Collings has only one ambition left in the game, to win the Bermuda Bowl. When Chris Dixon asked him if he would ever play in Seniors events, he replied, 'Only when I'm dead, and even then I'd expect to be above average!'

Jeff Meckstroth mentions Eric Rodwell, Bob Hamman and Paul Soloway as players he most admires. When Marc Smith asked him which opponents he most feared, commenting that almost everyone else had replied Meckstroth-Rodwell to this particular question, it seemed rather fitting that Meckstroth couldn't think of any particular opponent or pair who stood out.

I found this book very interesting, enjoyable and a good read. It's gratifying to find that even the best players make silly mistakes and bad decisions, as well as expert plays that no-one else might find. Lots of hands are included to prove these points! World Class is well worth the price and highly recommended.

Chris Cooper