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   Minor Mayhem…and Machine Malfunction! Would you ever put down your 8 card suit as dummy? Would you ever do that if the suit contained two honour cards? The answer surely is “no”. If partner insisted on being... read more here

Pre-empts Work! We know that, often to our cost, when it is one of our opponents who open at the 2 or 3 level or even higher. Ruefully, we all admit they are just part of the game and gleefully look forward to the next time we can put pressure on... read more here

Potential…and Possibilities. Are you tired of those flat 3 counts? Then, today is your day. We have a different kind of problem…and we are going to be nice to you and say you are playing Pairs. What then is your next bid and what is... read more here

Our Aim is? There are two questions today involving playing the same deal. In the first case, our contract of 5S has not been doubled. In the second, it has! South DealsE-W Vul J 10 2 J 10... read more here

for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players...and others. It's Fri  day. The new “boss suit”! You heard perhaps that spades is the “boss suit”. That is so because whoever holds the spade suit should be able to... read more here

Discovery Play. Sometimes, you can have a Plan B when your main chance of success fails. On other occasions Plan B involves recording a minus score. Like here. South DealsBoth Vul J 6 4 A 5 2... read more here

"Take it slow, Joe." One deal and two pre-empts! The following recent bidding problem only occurred at one of four tables in play. Perhaps it should have occurred at all four? The problem below should really not have been the problem but... read more here

A Secret on the side: Part 2. Yesterday, we saw an advantage of disregarding a major second suit when it came to opening the bidding. It rather put the opposition off a relatively easy defence. What then here? East DealsNone Vul... read more here

A secret on the side. You be the judge here. Both defenders erred but who was the cause of their misdefence? The only person blameless was dummy!     South DealsE-W Vul     A 6... read more here

For Junior and Intermediate players…and others. It’s Fri   day. The Rules are there to be followed. Well, they are usually guidelines rather than hard and fast rules. Sometimes they backfire and you concede a big minus score... read more here

Which Way Next? Your partner opens the bidding with one of a suit and you can see 18 or 19 high card points in front of you. You have no particular fit for partner’s first bid suit but immediately you are focused on slam possibilities. Yet,... read more here

The Present and The Past: Useful Agreements. Have we improved over the years? I can answer this rhetorical question by saying “I hope so.” We can ignore those memory lapses which come with advancing years, of course! A very recent... read more here

A Passing Thought? No way, Jose! (or so say Jack and Richard!) You are sitting there minding your own business…well, listening to the opponents conducting theirs.. and a thought crosses your mind. Tell me. Do any cross yours?... read more here

Bob Fearn. A Visitor from Seattle. There was a special guest at the inter-club Pairs competition last Tuesday evening held at Thames Bridge Club between the Thames and the Te Aroha Bridge Clubs. That was Bob Fearn, the developer of the Compass... read more here

WBF Online Women’s Spring Festival is near: April 7th to 13th Information here promoting the WBF Online Women’s Spring Festival.  Dear Friends in Bridge, The WBF Online Women’s Spring Festival is taking place very soon... read more here

  For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players..and others! It’s Fri day. “Make it Easy on Your Self” The title of a Burt Bacharach/Hal David song from the 1960s (am I showing my age?!) can be applied to today’s... read more here

Hugh McGann and Candice Smith.  “Fall” in Tasmania. Some Kiwis spent last weekend at the Tasmanian Festival of Bridge and we can record some successes there. Ashley Bach, playing with his regular Australian partner, Arlene... read more here

Dai Redshaw before his "hairy" moments.  A “Hair-raising” Charity event in Dunedin. Today, we salute Dunedin bridge players who raised $4,000 for a local good cause, one particular player there who "lost plenty" in the cause... read more here

"if you do not succeed at first, try, try again!" Double Shot : Part 2. Yesterday’s article could have been called “second time lucky”. Could that phrase be used for today’s deal? North DealsE-W Vul... read more here

Top team: Hugh McGann, Michael Ware, GeO Tislevoll and Matthew McManus.  National Open Teams….a Double Shot! The Wellington Bridge Club hosted a wonderful event this past weekend, the National Open Teams, in conjuncture with the... read more here

No guess at all! For Junior and Intermediate players and others…even US pros! It’s Fri day. We all hate it. We have the king and the jack and our opponent leads a small card in the suit. Who has the queen and who has the ace? It... read more here

INTRODUCING DWAYNE CROMBIE I thought it would be good to introduce myself as the new Chair of the NZ Bridge Foundation. Jonathan Westoby and Denis McKinlay are the other trustees although we are in the process of adding some more. The NZ Bridge... read more here

  A message below from Samantha Punch, Prof. Samantha Punch | Bridge: A MindSport for All (BAMSA) Faculty of Social Sciences | University of Stirling Stirling, FK9 4LA, Scotland We’re delighted to announce PhD... read more here

That Extra Trick! You open light. You are propelled to slam. Partner kindly allows you one loser. Yet, you still seem to be a trick short. What’s to be done?   East DealsNone Vul A 10 4 A... read more here

Mind Reading. The same could be said of playing boards but when defending a deal, it pays at times to be able to be a mind-reader. Take these two defensive situations which have a certain similarity: North DealsBoth Vul... read more here

Blair and Liz Fisher. Big Teams Victory at New Plymouth. Six teams competed in the finals of the Teams competition at the Taranaki Bridge Congress but there was only ever going to be one winning team. Zachary Yan and Malcolm Mayer and Liz and... read more here

“Crime” should not pay. “Crime” refers to getting away with making a contract you really should not bid. This is particularly true in the slam zone. What would you lead to 6H after this sequence: West... read more here

The Power of Aces. For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others. It’s Fri Day. You may have heard it before. Aces are often worth more than 4hcp. They control suits. They usually will win a trick in that suit,... read more here

Being a nuisance!... read more here

The Best Chance. It is nice to bid a pushy slam, with one proviso. You do need to make it or else concede a bundle of imps! So, here’s your opportunity. South DealsBoth Vul Q 10 9 7 6 A 7 4... read more here

Changing Times? Back when I learnt the game, if you had 16 or more high card points and a 5-card or longer suit, you doubled the opponent’s 1 of a suit opening bid because you were strong enough to bid again however the bidding developed,... read more here