[Knurdler]

Defence is a weakness and I plan to order a few books from USA.
I have skimmed the entire 25 pages of book reviewS on this forum.

It seems E Kantar is well regarded but he has 2 pairs of books on defense.
Should I get Modern bridge defense and Advanced bridge defense or Kantar for the Defence volumes 1 and 2?

To give you an idea of where I am at: How to Defend a Bridge Hand by Root is excellent but I need more detial and is bit out of date. Killing Defense by Kelsey is too advanced for me.

Any other books that lifted your defense?
Thanks

[Stephen Tu]

Knurdler, on 2024-October-05, 11:50, said:

Defence is a weakness and I plan to order a few books from USA.
I have skimmed the entire 25 pages of book reviewS on this forum.

It seems E Kantar is well regarded but he has 2 pairs of books on defense.
Should I get Modern bridge defense and Advanced bridge defense or Kantar for the Defence volumes 1 and 2?

To give you an idea of where I am at: How to Defend a Bridge Hand by Root is excellent but I need more detial and is bit out of date. Killing Defense by Kelsey is too advanced for me.

Root's book isn't "out of date" IMO, card play principles don't really change unlike bidding. Kantar's Modern/advanced mostly just cover the same ground as Root, it doesn't hurt to see more examples, but just be aware there's not going to be much different things taught, I would consider those books optional if you already have Root. I would get the "Kantar for the defence" quiz books and work through the problems, that would probably do more for you.

Maybe after going through Root & Kantar a couple times tackle Kelsey again. Kelsey is really the next step for "leveling up". It's mainly count, count, count everything, which allows you to visualize what's going on and what you should be trying to do.

[DavidKok]

I read a few hundred bridge books so far, a few dozen of them on defending. The Kelsey book is by far my favourite, despite its difficulty. It is quite well structured, and showcases and emphasises the kind of logic and inferences that a defender needs to go through while playing a hand. Most other defensive books instead focus on a favourite signalling convention, or spectacular defensive actions that are fancy but infrequent.

One other author with great books on defending is Krzysztof Martens. Unfortunately his books are more difficult than Kelsey. The first time I picked up a Martens book on card play I was shocked by what he considered a 'basic analysis'. The Working Horse is probably the best one to pick up first if you are going for Martens books on defence. It is difficult but it does a great job of going step by step.

All this to say - sorry. I think there's a gap in the literature. The beginner level books on defence I've read are, without exception, not great.

[Knurdler]

Stephen Tu, on 2024-October-05, 12:00, said:

Root's book isn't "out of date" IMO, card play principles don't really change unlike bidding. Kantar's Modern/advanced mostly just cover the same ground as Root, it doesn't hurt to see more examples, but just be aware there's not going to be much different things taught, I would consider those books optional if you already have Root. I would get the "Kantar for the defence" quiz books and work through the problems, that would probably do more for you.

Maybe after going through Root & Kantar a couple times tackle Kelsey again. Kelsey is really the next step for "leveling up". It's mainly count, count, count everything, which allows you to visualize what's going on and what you should be trying to do.

Thank you for your reply - exactly what I was seeking.
I bought both killing defense books before I knew how little I know.

[thepossum]

Can I offer an opinion on whether books are too advanced

Maybe not

Too complicated maybe but not advanced

My first and one of only two books ever was a Kelsey, now very yellowing and falling apart

Just retrieved it off the shelf and shook out some wildlife (Winning Card play) - it has a lot of defense stuff in it

Not a first edition in case anyone gets too excited

My other book is Mistakes You Make by Reese and Trezel. Similar vintage edition. Not sure I advanced beyond making mistakes - I approach Bridge like every other subject. Fill your brain with everything and hope some of it sticks occasionally - and rarely impress someone - I am a big believer in the power of thesubconsious and the brain to organise stuff you don't even understand