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Bols Tip (4) Charles Goren |
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Sunday, 08 August 2010 07:00 |
Charles Goren (USA, 1901-1991), a lawyer by profession, began to play tournament bridge in 1931. Soon he attracted the attention of Milton Work, who had developed the Work Point Count system (ace=4, king=3 etc.). Goren began helping Work with his bridge articles and columns, and eventually began ghost-writing some of his material.
By 1936 he had begun his own bridge career and published the first of his many books on playing bridge, Winning Bridge Made Easy. Drawing on his experience with Work's system, Goren quickly became popular as an instructor and lecturer.
At the end of World War 2, and just after, in the days when competition was not as fierce as it is now, he accumulated a vast number of master points. He promptly seized the opportunity to occupy the vacuum that had been created by Ely Culbertson's loss of drive.
By 1958 his daily bridge column was appearing in 194 American newspapers. His television program, Championship Bridge with Charles Goren, was broadcast from 1959 to 1964.
Goren's books were always clear and well written, but oddly enough he contributed very little to theory. The early Goren was most indistinguishable in effect from Culbertson. His adoption of the distribution point count, however, was move of far-reaching importance, for it enabled quite untalented players to attain a degree of competence. Also, over the years Goren accepted with much better grace than Culbertson the good ideas of other players.Just as there was a pretence among the knowing ones that Josephine Culbertson was a better player than her husband Ely, so it was often said by rivals that Goren owed most of his tournament success to his partner, Helen Sobel. Helen was undoubtedly a great player, but Goren's play in British tournaments and in the 1956 championships in Paris were enough to establish that he was a top class performer by any standards. Goren, humorous, friendly and unassuming, was one of the world's foremost authorities on the game for most of the 20th century. His lifetime of contributions to the game have made him one of the most important figures in the history of bridge. His Bols Tip was introduced in the IBPA (International Bridge Press Association) Bulletin with a certain degree of awe: 'Charles Goren, one of a handful of IBPA Honour members, was invited to join the Bols competition honoris causa (as an honour) as a token of his fellow-members' esteem for his work in popularising bridge and in recognition of his pre-eminence in teaching bridge via the written word.' That tribute was well deserved. Goren called his bridge tip 'Try the Dusk': If a defender isn't sure how to continue after he were to win a trick, he should consider ducking it. |
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Bols Tip (3) Benito Garozzo |
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Wednesday, 21 July 2010 07:00 |
Italian superstar Benito Garozzo (b. 1927) won ten Team World Championships and three Team Olympiads, to name the most important of his countless wins (amongst which are also five European Team Championships and 18 Italian championships, with still many more unmentioned!).
He developed his game after the war in Egypt. In 1957 he played a tournament in London with D’Alelio. He played in his first world championship in 1961 and from then on was unbeaten in World Championships for Teams (contesting the Bermuda Bowl) and Team Olympiads until 1976.For a long time Garozzo and Forquet were an unbreakable rock in match play.
Later he partnered Giorgio Belladonna and whenever Belladonna — Garozzo participated in one of the big pairs (or teams) events the only question, in golf legend Walter Hagen’s phrase, was ‘Who’ll be second?’ Garozzo had a jewellery business in Rome, with contacts in America. After retiring he moved to the USA and in 1994 became a US citizen.
Dark, on the short side, he stands with his shoulders back, wavy hair curving away from an impressive forehead and spectacles. Away from the table he is the most polite and unassuming of men, but with thirteen cards in his hand he becomes a demon, his brain never resting from attempts to cause alarm and uncertainty with his opponents. His Bols Tip is characteristic for him: Games may be quietly defended but slams must be attacked. |
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Bols Tip (2) Dorothy Hayden Truscott |
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Monday, 31 May 2010 07:00 |
From 1974 - 1994 the world's experts submitted expert tips to Bols, the Dutch distillers. Each year a panel of IBPA (International Bridge Press Association) members voted on the best of these tips. Bridgevaria publishes the best Bols Tips.
The second one is from Dorothy Hayden Truscott (USA, 1925-2006), born Dorothy Johnson. This mathematician was the first woman to win a medal in the World Open Pairs Championship, one of the few women ever to play for the USA in the Open World Championship for Teams (contesting the Bermuda Bowl), three times (1974, 1976, 1978) winner of the Venice Cup (the Women's World Championship for Teams) and once (1980) winner of the World Women Teams Olympiad, just to name her achievements in World Championships.
Two of the new bidding ideas attributed to her are Splinter bids and DOPI (responding after an intervention over partner's Blackwood enquiry).
In 1972 she married Alan Truscott (1925-2005). He was a leading British player who had moved to the USA, becoming bridge columnist of the New York Times
Her tip is concerned with defensive signalling and is entitled ‘Show Attitude to the Opening Leader's Suit’: Against no-trumps, defender’s first spot card, unless it is essential to give the count, should indicate attitude to the opening leader's suit. |
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Tuesday, 18 May 2010 07:00 |
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(This is an adaptation of the article on http://www.haroldschogger.com/besse.htm). From 1974 - 1994 the world's experts submitted expert tips to Bols, the Dutch Distillers. Each year a panel of IBPA (International Bridge Press Association) members voted on the best of these tips. Bridgevaria publishes the best Bols Tips.
The first one is from Jean Besse (1914-1994). For decades this brilliant Swiss mathematician and forerunner in the computing world was a leading international bridge player, especially known for his inventiveness. His tip: Beware of your trump tricks. When you see a chance for an early overruff, don't be in too much of a hurry to take it. |
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To finesse or not to finesse Exercise 3 *** |
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Wednesday, 24 February 2010 07:00 |
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This exercise is a follow-up of the article: To finesse or not to finesse *** (published 03-02-2010 in Varia ***). | W/NS | ♠ | K 6 4
| | | | ♥ | K 5 4 | | ♦ | K J 5 4 3
| | ♣ | 7 6
| | | |  | | | | | | | | | | ♠ | A J 10 9 8 3
| | | ♥ | A Q J | | ♦ | 7 | | ♣ | J 4 3
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| West | North | East | South |
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| 1♣ | pass | pass | 2♠1 | | pass | 4♠ | pass | pass | | pass | | | |
1 Opening strength, six card suit West cashes the ♣A and the ♣K (East following suit with the ♣2 and the ♣5) and continues with the ♣Q. Declarer ruffs with dummy's ♠6, East playing the ♣8.
How should South play? |
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Solution
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To finesse or not to finesse Exercise 2 *** |
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Wednesday, 17 February 2010 07:00 |
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This exercise is a follow-up of the article: To finesse or not to finesse *** (published 03-02-2010 in Varia ***). | E/NS | ♠ | 7 6
| | | | ♥ | 7 5 3 2
| | ♦ | K 6 5
| | ♣ | A Q J 9
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | ♠ | A 8 4 3
| | | ♥ | A Q | | ♦ | A J 4
| | ♣ | K 10 8 7
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| West | North | East | South |
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| pass | 1♣ | | 1♠ | double1 | pass | 2NT | | pass | 3NT | pass | pass | | pass | | | |
1 negative West leads the ♠K, declarer ducking. West continues with the ♠10, East still following suit and again South ducks. West now plays the ♠J, North and East discarding hearts, South winning.
How should South play? |
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Solution
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