Welcome. My name is Michael Arnowitt. I hope you will enjoy the below articles about bridge. As I regard myself as a bright intermediate player, it shouldn't surprise you too much to learn that the writings on this site are of a style that will bring most pleasure to readers of like ability.
Pascal once said, "the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, it is queerer than we can suppose." He might well have been talking about our favorite game. Trying to understand the game of bridge, too, is a limitless endeavor, one where the more we progress the more we realize we have to learn; the horizon continually recedes. So perhaps "bright intermediate" is really our permanent station in life.
As with the rest of my web-site, I invite your comments and responses to any of the material presented here. An e-mail link is provided next to the big mailbox at the bottom of this page.
Outside of the "sanctuary" in real life I am a classical concert pianist. If you're in a surfing mood, please feel free to check out my home page, where you can find quite a bit of information as to my musical activities as well as a collection of essays on various music topics I've written over the years, which I hope will be the starting point for interactive discussion.
OK, enough of the prelude. Enjoy!
Why I play bridge
Kibitzing Zia
Quotes from Zia
My favorite bridge books (and why)An entry-shifting squeeze in real lifeA Russian bridge jokeOnce in a lifetimeDeclaring and defending a trump coupThe gambitNever give up (3 NT doubled and vulnerable?)The simple squeeze - practical shortcutsThe magic of a simple squeezeMy best pieces of bridge adviceColorful bridge slangPoetic justiceBeing a good partnerThe smallest finesseDavid v. GoliathCongratulatory letter from the ACBL, plus a translationInteresting bridge links (with descriptions)I have often found reading accounts of bridge hands on a computer to be visually difficult. By the time you read down a few lines, the original hand diagram is already off the screen, so you either have to commit it to memory or constantly scroll up and down, either of which detracts from the pleasure of reading.
To hopefully solve this problem I have formatted the hands in columns, with the bridge hand on the left and commentary on the right. To avoid your having to scroll back upwards, I have repeated the hand diagram in the left-hand column as the article progresses (naturally, with only whatever cards are left at that point in the unfolding play).
I think this presentation works extremely well, especially for folks like myself which have a relatively small monitor screen. However, I have noticed that when testing these pages on an early version of Internet Explorer, the tables necessary for this sort of columnar format do not always come out correctly (they do work perfectly on Netscape). Perhaps more current versions of Explorer are better able to read tables; alternatively, you may wish to download Netscape (which is free to many users).
Credits: the suit symbols used in the right column here and in the articles thanks to Rod Roark. The wallpaper of suits on the left courtesy of Ania Kreglewska of Poland. I'd also like to thank the many fine top players in Vermont (USA) who generously gave of their expertise in helping me progress. Hope you enjoy the "sanctuary," and once again, welcome.
e-mail: arnowitt@sover.net