Handbook - International Bridge Press Association

Another great star of international journalism,
Henry Francis: "This article is so accurate, it occurs in
so many hands, it must be the winner." Larry Cohen's
tip is very suitable for articles, as Jerry Thorpe wrote.
And Brian Senior would have been "astonished" if
Larry had not won this competition. Senior, too, says
that the tip is valuable to all players "as is the tip of
Villy Dam". And David Bird considers the winning
article to be the strongest tip since the Bols competition
began. This is also the opinion of Alan Simmonds
(South Africa) who also said: "Maybe this is the best
tip in the last ten years. It is practical, easy to apply
and it can be a great guide for teachers."
Different people have different opinions but this
year we met extremely different views. Armando
Abreu Rocha (Portugal) found it very difficult to
choose the best article "because all tips are really
excellent. Finally I have voted for Larry Cohen because
I prefer articles with technical aspects." But
Colonel Sharma (India) said that the general level was
much below previous years and Emmanuel Jeannin-
Naltet (FRA) did not vote at all: "It is a pity, but this
year none of the articles is outstanding."
Zia's "The Panther Double", as expected, was
praised and ridiculed. Arild Thorpe (NOR): "I have
used the Panther Double for years and much pleasure
has come from it. I am highly familiar with figures like
550, 790, 850 etc. However, should you meet opponents
who have the audacity and impertinence to
redouble, my tip is to forget the "convention", A little
more than a year ago I had the "pleasure" to note plus
1800 to the opponents for 3NT redoubled with 12
tricks. "Nevertheless Arild voted in favour of Zia Mahmood's
tip just as 29 other members of the jury did.
Among them Sammy Kehela, Terence Reese, Dr.
George Rosenkranz, Anders Brunzell, Gabriel Chagas
and Eloene Griggs. Gabriel Chagas: "This tip is extremely
dangerous for average players but it is a very
useful weapon for experts". And Rodrigo da Cunha
(Portugal): "Zia strikes again, making people feel that
playing bridge might be an enjoyable adventure and
not just a boring game".
It is always interesting to know the opinion of one
of the greatest writers we ever had, Terence Reese.
About Larry Cohen's tip: "Larry Cohen has obtained
good publicity for an idea which I don't believe has
ever been much use to anyone. But perhaps one day.
Zia's article is clever and well written. Aavo Heinlo
deserves a good result because his idea may create
some interesting stories." Dr. George Rosenkranz said
that Larry Cohen and Zia Mahmood should share the
first prize. Ron Andersen (USA) commented: "My
choice is Zia Mahmood but all entries are excellent. I
particularly enjoyed the variety of new subjects."
In spite of the broad gap between the number 2
and 3, Villy Dam received a lot of appreciation. Seven
198 IBPA Handbook 2010
members of the jury gave him the gold medal. Among
them was the respected French journalist, Jose le
Dentu who wrote a very valuable comment: "The first
advice that Albarran gave me many years ago was
about the same tip as Villy Dam: Never forget that the
opponents can't see your hand and on this basis, try
to do their thinking.” It helped me to win many impossible
contracts. Eight never – nine ever is a very good
simplification of the law of total tricks. This rule was
first published by J. R. Vernes in his book "Bridge
moderne de la defense", 1966. Cohen's tip could help
even experts when they are in doubt." "Never play
your lowest card first" is a simple and useful tip though
it would have been better to say: Never play automatically…
The Panther double is certainly a very effective
weapon even against good opponents. But to use it
you must be a good player with good nerves." Sandra
Landy also loved Villy Dam's tip.
Israel Erdenbaum's fourth place is certainly an
honourable result. Seven members of the jury put him
in first place and the general opinion was that this tip
was extremely useful for the average player. Herman
De Wael (BEL) put Israel Erdenbaum on top of the
ranking because "after having read his tip, I used it at
the table and was very successful each time." Costas
Kyriakos (GRC) says that tips tend to get longer and
longer, anyhow too long for newspapers. My choice is
Israel Erdenbaum because this is useful for the category
of bridge-players the tips are meant for: the
average player.
Clement Wong's "Queening your defence" received
five first places. "Sound in all respects", and "A
way to alternative defence" and "Good, understandable
message", Wong's admirers wrote. Although
Clement Wong did not score as many first places as
the winner, many members of the jury put him among
the first four of the list and found his tip very valuable.
It is surprising that Derek Rimington, great author
of our time, had to be content with the sixth place.
Among the six journalists who preferred his article
"The first trump" to the other tips was the brand-new
Dutch world champion Jan Westerhof who appreciated
Derek's tip very much but who was disappointed
by the general level of the tips this year. Tony Sowter
(Gr. Britain) said: "I prefer Rimington's tip because it is
very instructive and it can be used by our bridge
teachers." Clear, useful, good journalistic work and
above all, a tip to be used by teachers, were the most
frequent words.
"Let the opponents tell the story" by Aavo Heinlo
(Estonia) got four first top rankings. Once again, many
members of the jury express their great appreciation
for the simple and clear advice. The article was well
written and can easily be used in columns.
Finally, although Ib Lundby's "Bridge is only a
game" finished last, several members expressed