Terence Reese, "the world's best bridge player and best bridge writer" (The New York Times), turns his attention in this book to you, the bright beginner. He gives a complete guide to the game with sample bidding and sample game play and coverage of everything the beginner needs, from point count bidding to finesses, to make bridge the exciting, competitive game it is.Mr. Reese isn't content with presenting rules the beginner will later abandon. Instead he builds up the game in simple steps with chapters on opening bids of one, responses, defensive overcalls, opening bids of more than one, play and defense in no trump, play and defense in suit, scoring, and so on, until the game is taught as you can expect to play it against strong competition. In the course of the book you will learn the common terms used in bridge, the fundamentals of offensive and defensive bidding and play, the reasons why bridge strategies work, and how to use such popular conventions as the Blackwood and the Stayman. Altogether you will have had experience evaluating 130 normal bidding hands and playing through 18 sample games. An index and summary of bidding at the end also make the book useful as an instant reference for later use.Both the bright beginner and the player who has had some experience will want to use this book to learn the fundamentals of bridge and increase his ability to establish best possible bid and play. For a further competitive advantage and even more bridge fun, you will also want to read Reese's other bridge books, Bidding a Bridge Hand and Play Bridge with Reese. Read Less