Reviews
of the book
‘A
fabulous idea, brilliantly executed.’—Andrew Robson, The Times
‘Hocus-Pocus
is described as “a bridge book with a difference”. Indeed it is, and it
proves to be a most challenging and entertaining concept.’—Martin Hoffman
‘More than 30,000 books on bridge have been published, but in this plethora of bridge literature, the
Hocus-Pocus concept is unique.’—Freddie North
‘Hocus-Pocus
– An intriguing mixture of exotic bridge problems and mind-stimulating
logic puzzles. I enjoyed the book very much.’—David Bird (Evening Standard)
About
the book
(from
the Foreword by Zia Mahmood)
In
the plethora of books on bridge, Erwin Brecher’s Hocus-Pocus stands out like a breath of fresh air in a crowded pub just before closing time. The unique format combines interesting and far-from-easy bridge problems with challenging and equally difficult logic puzzles.
Hocus-Pocus is dispenses with bidding procedure and introduces the reader to the increasingly rare genre of the ‘par problem’, where only one line of play, often exotic but always elegant, will succeed. This singularity is frequently not recognised, and presents a formidable challenge, even to advanced players. What is more, many contracts are bound to fail because declarer, in the heat of the battle, does not identify the key play. This is likely to happen, although the underlying techniques are well known to the more accomplished devotees of the game.
This concept alone would make Hocus-Pocus a bridge book with a difference. What however makes this book a treasure is the pairing with a selection of puzzles, presenting a formidable intellectual challenge to those who find enjoyment in exercising the neurons of their grey matter.
Erwin Brecher has a winner! I liked Hocus-Pocus immensely. Just don’t ask me how many I got wrong.
Click
here to try out for yourself some sample puzzles from the book
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