July 2013 - 25

Book Reviews

king as equals when they most certainly are not.
"We can fix it," he says as he rolls out Variable Key Card
Blackwood (VKCB).
VKCB is actually three RKCBs in one with optional expansions. An expected range of holdings is determined for
the partner on the answering end of 4NT (when spades are
trumps) or 4/4/4 (playing Kickback when spades are
not trumps). The possible answers are limited based on
the answerer's anticipated strength.
There is some unexplained overlap in the ranges:
* Weak Key Card Blackwood (WKCB) -
maximum of two key cards with the queen;
* Strong Key Card Blackwood (SKCB) -
defined as a hand with at least two key cards
* Middle Key Card Blackwood (MKCB) -
from one key card up to three with the trump queen

I can't help but admire the mind and imagination of a
man who can devise these kinds of complex conventional
equations. And I guess there's something to be said, too,
for a pair who can adopt these methods, bid in tempo,
explain their bids clearly (and correctly) to the opponents
and land in the vicinity of a playable contract. What I find
particularly useful is the ability to distinguish between the
trump ace and the trump king. At the end of the day, however, I can't help but ask, is all this really necessary?
"Variable Key Card Blackwood" is a book for advanced
(not intermediate) convention geeks willing to invest an
enormous amount of mental energy to both master and
play the VKCB system.

Using WKCB with spades as the agreed-upon trump suit,
4NT queries and:
5 = One key card
5 = Zero key cards
5 = One ace and the trump king, no trump queen
5 = Two aces, no trump queen
5NT+ = Three key cards, plus the trump queen, special
meanings

Teaching Bridge on Cruise
Ships

If 5 is the answer (showing zero key cards), 5 asks
about the trump queen. If 5 is the answer (one key
card), 5 asks about the trump queen and more specifically about which key card. For example:
4NT
5

5
?

5 = No trump queen, but an ace as the key card
5 = No trump queen, but the trump king as the key
card
5NT+= One key card, plus the trump queen, special
meanings
The variety of VKCB in play depends on both partners
understanding the exact range of the Blackwood responder's hand. Rexford describes the fairly obvious conditions
that would dictate WKCB: responder is a passed hand or
preempted or made a fast-arrival bid or participated in a
cuebidding sequence that limited his key cards to fewer
than three. There's even a way for asker to ferret out the
trump jack.
Rexford then introduces Strong Key Card Blackwood
(SKCB), which he says "is not really that much different
than using WKCB opposite limited partners. In short form,
as the person answering, you subtract two from your key
card count and answer accordingly. As asker, you do the
reverse and add two back in." VKCB Gerber, too? Sure,
why not?

Published by and available from Master Point Press
(masterpointpress.com) and bridge supply houses.

By Rosemary Boden
$9.95 Softcover, 75 pages

Grade: C+

Reviewed by Sue Munday

Bridge on board

"Teaching Bridge on Cruise Ships" is
a tiny little book that targets an even
tinier audience: accredited bridge
teachers/club directors who want to direct on cruise ships.
It sounds glamorous enough until you get between the
book covers - at which point any notion you're on an allexpenses paid luxury vacation vanishes.
The book provides a helpful to-do list for the first-time
cruise director: getting an agent, what to expect, how to
prepare, who to take, what to pack and once onboard,
how to "fall behind" and be ingratiatingly polite to
everybody.
The Honors Book arm of Master Point Press enables
authors to self-publish. While Honors Books - which
generally appeal to a limited readership - carry the
Master Point Press brand, the writers are completely
responsible for the editing and layout. As is the case with
so many self-published books, "Teaching Bridge on Cruise
Ships" would have benefitted greatly from a professional
editor/proofreader.
Published by Master Point Press. Available from bridge
supply houses, Amazon, and from masterpointpress.com
both in electronic and print format.

July 2013 Bridge Bulletin

http://www.masterpointpress.com http://www.masterpointpress.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2013