Danny Kleinman

I received this book as a Christmas gift and have enjoyed it thoroughly. It chronicles the adventures of a bridge-playing robot named Chthonic, the two engineers who created and maintain the robot, and the director of the institute that developed it. The title is a play on the principle of restricted choice, a bridge theorem that helps declarer decide whether to play a defender for certain card combinations.

Each of the 21 chapters contains several bridge hands, often played by the foursome show more at tournaments. Many of the hands are quite clever, posing difficult problems in the play and the bidding. Primarily, though, they serve as oppotunities for Chthonic to verbally abuse the director, who is not nearly as good a player as he thinks he is. The creativity of Chthonic's insults is entertaining, and a very light tone is maintained throughout. Recommended for internediate-to-better players with a sense of humor. show less