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Around the World in 80
Hands
by Zia Mahmood with David Burn,
Master
Point Press, Paperback, £12.99 from Bridge
Plus
Master Point Press in Toronto, Canada,
is fast becoming the bridge book publisher to look out for.
This is a great book, very good value
for money at 254 pages. As the title suggests Zia tells us amusing
stories, about hands he has played in countries almost everywhere
in the World. These hands are not just taken from World Championship
and top money tournaments with millionaire sponsors, but also from
big-money rubber bridge games.
Top names in duplicate bridge feature
together with favourite characters Harry the Horse, Moonbeam,
Godzilla and Hannibal the Cannibal. Written in a fast
and pacy style, the book is an easy read.
Sometimes it is so funny that you
just have to go back and read it again; it should come with a warning:
"Once you start reading this, you can't put it down."
The hand below is titled "Cool
Hand Zia". First comes some good advice from Zia himself:
"If you want to be a winner, learn to accept your bad results
with good humour. Especially if your partner is not a strong player,
disasters are inevitable, and the sooner you accept them, the easier
it is to prepare yourself mentally for the next hand."
Zia sits North and is playing with
a so-called 'expert' partner - so-called chiefly by himself. East
is a good player prone to flights of fancy, while West is Bob Hamman:
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A 4 3 2 |
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10 7 6 |
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A K J 4 3 |
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2 |
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K J 10 7 6 |
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Q 9 8 5 |
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2 |
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K Q |
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8 7 2 |
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6 5 |
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K Q 9 7 |
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J 8 6 4 3 |
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— |
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A J 9 8 5 4 3 |
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Q 10 9 |
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A 10 5 |
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| West |
North |
East |
South |
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1 |
Pass |
1 |
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2 |
3
(a) |
6 |
| 6 |
Dbl (b) |
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| (a) |
Pre-emptive in the modern style |
| (b) |
Though you have first-round
spade control, partner almost certainly has a void, so it would
be risky to venture a forcing pass with such weak trump support.
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You are wondering whether to lead
your K
or singleton club, when you realise to your horror that the bidding
is not over. Partner is thinking about bidding 7.
Surely he can't be - but he does! When this is passed round to Hamman,
he doubles implacably, and you watch in a daze as partner goes one
down.
Zia comments: "If my partner had
passed 6
doubled, we would still be taking tricks today. The penalty is 1400
on best defence." Bearing in mind his opening remarks, you might
care to guess Zia's reaction: "I sprang out of my chair with
every intention of strangling the idiot opposite, but Bob Hamman
managed to get in the way. Bob is over six feet tall and weighs
quite a bit, so when he gets in your way it's best to just forget
where you were going."
The last comment? "There are times
when being a winner is of secondary importance - vengeance is what
matters!" The book is great fun from a favourite player. Buy
it now!
Chris Cooper
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