Book Review: The Language of Bridge by Kit Woolsey

The Language of Bridge by Kit Woolsey is not a typical bridge book. There is far more text per hand or deal than in the typical book and it's not about teaching a particular bidding style or convention. Indeed, Woolsey covers the bidding system used in the book in a few pages at the beginning. Instead, Woolsey teaches how to think and reason about bidding - and, in one chapter, about defense.

I am an intermediate level player and this book is aimed at a slightly higher level.  The first six chapters were fine for me, but after that, Woolsey gets to a level that I (and my partners) are not at yet. It was still a good read.

In those first six chapters, Woolsey talks about things that I haven't seen discussed in other books.  For instance, he notes that there are only two types of bids: Instructional and informative. Does your bid tell your partner about your hand or does it ask about partner's hand? Another new concept to me was captaincy.  I had vaguely heard this mentioned, but Woolsey devotes a whole chapter to it: At any point in the bidding, it is important to know which partner is the captain.  Usually, the captain is the one who knows less about partner's hand.

The later chapters cover more conventional topics (constructive bidding, slam bidding, competitive biding, preemptive bidding) but, again, at much greater depth to each hand than in most books.

Strongly recommended for players at a high enough level.  The Language of Bridge is available from Bridge Winners. 

Kit Woolsey is a world-class level bridge and backgammon player.