Handbook - International Bridge Press Association

the jury put Eric Crowhurst on the first spot, paying
tribute to the high technical quality of his tip.
Although Bob Hamman's "When In Rome" had to
be satisfied with the silver medal, 18 members of the
jury found Hamman's article the best one of the series.
Rodrigo Da Cunha (Portugal) wrote: "Bob Hamman's
tip is a great piece of advice for all bridge players."
Glen Ashton (CAN) also found Hamman's tip the best
one but it was difficult to choose because the "whole
collection was great reading." Derek Rimington also
spoke of an outstanding article written by the American
grandmaster.
Henry Bethe was one of the 9 jury-members who
gave Marijke van der Pas the gold medal. He wrote:
"Kokish's hands are the best and with a different tip he
could have won. I loved Hamrnan's article but was
extremely happy with Marijke van der Pas's direct and
useful tip. Barry Rigal (GBR): "Marijke's tip deals with
an area where all tend to err. Her tip is of general
relevance."
David Birman (ISR) will be very pleased to know
that among the 11 jury-members who gave his article
the highest mark, we find world top stars like Gabriel
Chagas (BRA): "Birman's tip is very useful, especially
since it is something that players already do on doubled
slams in goulash hands." And Terence Reese:
"The best tips are those that are easily remembered
and attach to a particular form of play. Therefore, I
have given my points, in this order, to Birman, Crowhurst
and van der Pas. Their articles fit this description
and Birman's idea is new." But Guy Dupont (FRA)
says: "Birman's tip is not new but it has never been
published for a larger public. Nevertheless, I found
David Birman's article the most appealing." Danny
Roth (GBR): "I am sure that suit-preference signals
are grossly underestimated and underused and I have
lost count of the number of occasions in top-class
bridge that declarers have got away with daylight
robbery or worse because defenders have failed to
use them."
Eric Kokish got 7 first places. Among them Clement
Wong (Hong Kong): "Kokish's tip is easy to remember
and to apply and therefore found his tip to be
the best one." And Phillip Alder (USA): "I guess that
Eric Kokish will win this competition. His tip is OK
although it is nothing new. The same applies to Eric
Crowhurst."
Jon Baldursson (Iceland) got 9 votes for the gold
medal. His tip has been praised by almost everyone.
Jon Sveindal (NOR): "Jon Baldursson's tip is most
suited for a column, brief and strictly to the point. A
good winner." We also received a nice letter from
Gudmundur Hermannsson (Iceland): "I vote for my
countryman's tip because it tells the average player
what modern top-level bridge is all about and more
you can not expect."
The great master of bridge, Terence Reese, was
allotted the highest ranking 6 times. Among these six
admirers Giorgio Belladonna and the Danish matador
Ib Lundby. Michael Dewal (BEL) felt sad about the
actual scoring system, "otherwise I would have given
Reese 8 + 6 + 4 + 2 points." About half of the jury
members wrote explicitly (like Fritz Babsch from Austria)
that they share Reese's opinion about the foolishness
of a lot of modern conventions. On the other
hand, Terence Reese was also severely criticised
because of his "old-fashioned approach" and "still
riding his hobby-horses".
Only two IBPA members found Paul Marston's article
the best one but here quality compensates quantity.
Patrick Jourdain: "Paul Marston's suggestion that
you consider removing doubled contracts when partner
has no chance to do so, will be novel to most
players but it is certainly worth the thought. The situation
really arises when a takeout double is passed for
penalties because partner could not have known that
this would happen." The other Marston-fan was Eric
Kokish.
Six members voted for Matthew Granovetter. Anders
Brunzell (SWE): "By far the best one.” Bob van
de Velde (NLD) was of the same opinion: "An understandable
tip, useful by players of any level, easy to
apply and with great effect. The frequency is relatively
high."
Although David Poriss finished last, he still got 4
votes. Mohammed Aslam (PAK): "Tips on using psychology
are rare but most useful to the majority of
average players". Many jury-members liked the idea of
having also a tip for the beginners and they encouraged
the Bols-staff to continue this way.
In general, there was much disagreement and in
bridge ten people have ten different opinions. "Poriss,
Kokish and Hamman didn't deliver tips in the real
sense of the word. Attitude, mentality, fear will not be
changed by tips. Their tips mean nothing else but an
advice to play as well as possible, said the Dutch Bob
van de Velde who was not impressed by the quality of
this year's collection. He got support from Sally Horton
and several others. Nevertheless, the vast majority of
the jury spoke of "a high standard of tips this year"
and. "a lovely assortment of different aspects of the
game".
Anyhow, Eric Crowhurst became the undisputed
winner and his tip certainly is an enrichment of bridge
literature. We would like to express our sincere gratitude
to all jury-members for their kind co-operation.
And we hope that the readers of the bridge columns
all over the world will enjoy the articles of this year's
competition.
Andre Boekhorst
IBPA Handbook 2010 195