Handbook - International Bridge Press Association

(FRA): "Qi Zhou has described the humoristic way to
find out a tip, and his article is interesting for everyone."
The fourth place, Toine van Hoof, almost caused
an earth-quake. He received 27 first places, but many
members did not give him a single point. Svend
Novrup (DNK), who voted for Jean Besse, said: "an
anecdote should not win even if written up very well".
Rodrigo daCunha (Port) wrote: "a tip for gamblers, not
for bridge players." and world champion Jan Westerhof
(NLD) said: "This man must be hanged although
the idea is original"... and then put the Tip in second
place.
Hans-Olof Hallén (SWE) the well-known TD and
player said: "I hope that the bridge authorities will deal
very quickly with the problem van Hoof has described."
And Bob van der Velde (NLD): "I like this
story very much. It will be a classic one, applicable by
players of all categories.” Arne Hofstad (NOR): "Outstanding,
the van Hoof article, great sense of humour."
Dr. P. K. Paranjape (India): "For me the van Hoof
article is by far the best. Nobody can beat this excellent
tip”.
Eric Kokish (CAN) writes: "A good crop this year.
Patrick Jourdain gives very good advice, but it is not
really a tip. It says visualize the play, and so is an
extension of bridge logic. The same might be said of
Rimington's. Bird's is, in my view, really a random
viewpoint. The van Hoof tip, my choice, is something
special, unusual and quite disturbing. It is a tip to save
hundreds of points in a year, and so edges out
Besse's tip, that will surely win the Competition. Eric
Kokish really is a witch-doctor. He predicted Besse in
first place and Jourdain second.
Several journalists warned against van Hoofs tip
because it entered a very dangerous area: that between
ethical and unethical play.
Mark Horton received seven first place votes.
David Bird had only three, but amongst them was
Dorthy Francis (USA): "Because it sets up a guideline
for overcalls, this can eliminate a lot of headaches”.
And Gabriel Chagas writes: “The tip is very useful in
the modem trend of competitive bidding when silence
is no longer appreciated as it should." Derek Rimington
also had three first place votes.
General comment on this year's competition was
positive. Many members spoke of "a very high quality"
but there were also others. Franco Broccolli (ITA): "If
these were the eight best ones, I can easily imagine
that the others, not-accepted tips, talked about ginrummy.
At least the tips were written up in proper
English."
DON'T PLAY IDLE CARDS THOUGHTLESSLY
They are the Neutrinos of Bridge
By Jean Besse (CHE)
Idle cards are those that can neither make tricks nor
prevent the enemy from making tricks, nor act as
guards to important cards. They appear to have no
practical use at all.
And yet idle cards can exert an influence, even
though it may be hard to pin down. They are like the
neutrinos of nuclear physics, which are of minute
mass and seem not to affect other particles but which
have mysterious powers.
There is only one way you can penetrate the mystery.
Before playing an idle card, you should consider
what the effect of playing it may be.
We begin with an ordinary hand, where the bidding
was simple and direct.
You are West:
South North
2NT 7NT
♠ K Q J
A J 10 9 3 2
K Q 3
♣ 2
♠ 4 3 2
Q 6 5
10 9
♣ 10 7 6 5 3
You lead the 10 and dummy's king wins the trick,
East and South following low. Declarer cashes the
Q and leads a diamond to the Ace in his hand.
WHAT IS YOUR DISCARD?
Clearly, a heart would be suicidal, a club, too
might be dangerous. So it seems safe to throw a
spade, an idle card.
Safe? You have just killed the defence! This is the
full deal:
♠ K Q J
A J 10 9 3 2
K Q 3
♣ 2
♠ 4 3 2 ♠ 8 7 6 5
Q 6 5 4
10 9 J 7 6 5 4
♣ 10 7 6 5 3 ♣ 9 8 4
♠ A 10 9
K 8 7
A 8 2
♣ A K Q J
IBPA Handbook 2010 201