All News

EXPOSING A RISKY RUSE On this board, a declarer played a dangerous game and came up smelling of roses, but should the defence have been able to work out what was happening? Let’s look at the board from the point of view of West.... read more here

Sweet Orange ….. or Sour Lemon? You start off with a hand of great potential which is either decimated by the sight of dummy (“You are on my side, partner…or have you forgotten?”) or by subsequent bidding or by a wrong... read more here

LOSE ONE TO WIN TWO. When you are playing in a no-trump contract, it is rarely correct to play all your aces and kings at the start unless you can see you have enough tricks to make your contract. Even then, sometimes, crafty declarers can make... read more here

HEART ATTACK …and HEART BREAK! The evening was littered with long heart suits. The heart suit normally has to play second fiddle to the black  spades but much of the action revolved around the red hearts. Spring Lin and Kevin Fan were... read more here

As I’m into the second week of calving and life is busy on the farm, I apologise in advance for this month’s regional round up … it is likely to be shorter than usual, riddled with errors with a few unsubstantiated stories... read more here

A “Partnership” Slam Much of the time when we have bid to slams (good slams, that is!), the play can be quite straightforward. One must be very careful in the play but barring very bad trump breaks, the line to success should be quite... read more here

  There’s Always a Way Don’t we love Deal Master Pro, that little box at the bottom of each hand on the hand record we clutch at the end of any session of Bridge? It can be so reassuring…27 high card points but somehow... read more here

SHOWING A STRONG HAND When the opposition open the bidding with a suit bid at the one level, we double to show an opening hand reasonably balanced between the other three suits apart from opener’s. There is, though, another type of hand for... read more here

ONCE MORE INTO BATTLE In English History, it could be “The Wars of The Roses” between Yorkshire and Lancashire. In cricket, it could be the battle for “The Ashes” between England and Australia. It could be Trans-Tasman... read more here

DIAGNOSIS OF A DISASTER The opposition reached a very poor 3NT contract, with insufficient high card points and no real long suit to run….at least not without a loser or two first. They got a little lucky with the break and position of... read more here

 A Bidders’ World. Would you?  Should you?  There’s not any money at stake but you are playing Rubber Bridge and you are winning the match. The opponents are vulnerable and stand to claw back your advantage if they make... read more here

The Finesse That Cannot Fail. Everyone is taught the art of finessing at a very early stage of their bridge career. Playing a small card towards AQ gives you a 50% chance of success, even if you feel that more than half of your finesses do fail!... read more here

Hope Springs Eternal The emotions one can through during the 7 or so minutes you play a hand of bridge can be quite contrasting. You can start off with dreams of gold, a nicely shapely hand with an almost solid suit…and just for once, your... read more here

They Do Not Come Very Often…. Especially when your partner opens a strong 1NT! So, enjoy the minute or two bidding such a hand and hopefully you can have a sensible auction to the right spot. One such hand occurred last weekend in the... read more here

July 2017: Heather and Chris Jared It is a great pleasure having joint nominations this month with the award going to husband and wife, Heather and Chris Jared. They have been long-time supporters of the Hutt Bridge Club in particular and of... read more here

THE IMPORTANCE OF…..or Replacing the Guess You can manage without it but without it, it becomes guesswork. You can try and guess what is happening with a deal, what the declarer wants you to do and therefore do the opposite. You can... read more here

Getting Rid of Your Losers The teacher said when you are in a trump contract, it is usually best to draw the opposition’s trumps. Normally, hopefully, your side has more than they do and you can stop their trumps being a threat. The... read more here

EXPERT CARD COUNTING Brilliancies come in different ways. We will show you an innovative way of finding winning bridge. You must have seen examples of brilliant card play and defence in past bridge articles, of how declarers worked out the... read more here

PREEMPTING A PRE-EMPT.....The Eighth Deadly Sin. Do you? Should you? What are the dangers? Can your partnership pull up short of disaster? These are some of the questions generated by Board 23 this week. Look at the West hand and decide if you... read more here

Guiding Partner Good defence can be thoughtful defence. You know what needs to be done but partner may not be on the same wave-length. If you can, guide them. Look at the very simple error which occurred in the defence to this part-score.... read more here

DOWN A BEER OR DOWN THE CONTRACT? Which is more important to a bridge player? Maybe if you are 25 or under..or a year or 20 over, then the answer is obvious. The chance of a free drink would certainly come at the expense of beating a part-score.... read more here

“Don’t Send a Boy on a Man’s Job” The “boy’s” name was Jack.  He was sacrificed, was sent out too early. His loss caused a break-down of the whole operation (contract) resulting in failure. Cause of... read more here

PARTNER’S ALWAYS RIGHT….EVEN WHEN THEY ARE…… That’s right! Partner knows best. You lay down the rules and partner agrees with you. All fine in theory. Let’s tune in to two sides of the bridge table,... read more here

HUGE SCORE BY MACLEANS PAIR IN SCHOOL PAIRS COMPETITION Sunday 18th June saw 22 students from Macleans College and Auckland Grammar School take part in a one session Pairs competition at the Auckland Bridge Club. The speed was, shall we say,... read more here

COUNT TO SUCCESS It’s not easy and there are some deals where you either have to make assumptions in order to try and count a defender’s hand…i.e. working out where missing honour cards are more likely to be. Sometimes, when... read more here

“What a Pass” Take a step forward, Stanley Abrahams. In case you do not know, he is a fine intuitive Auckland bridge player. Played for New Zealand, too. So, pardon the expression, “no mug”. Lover of the Multi 2 too,... read more here