All News

Double and plus! When we make a penalty double, we always aim to record a plus score. Sometimes, the plus may not be huge but any plus is so much better than a minus score. With that in mind, what action would you take as North here?... read more here

Not today’s dummy! “You will have something, partner. Won’t you!” That cry may have been made by some South players who held the hand below. They pick up as good a hand as they have held all night, all week, maybe much... read more here

          The tale of two singleton black 7’s! At two of the four tables in the recent Mixed Trial, East- West made their contract of 5D, once doubled and once with an overtrick. Should this be so? Let’s see... read more here

Michael Ware, Jan Cormack, Pamela Livingston and Leon Meier. Sad ending to Mixed Trial. The New Zealand Mixed Trial ended two sessions early yesterday in unfortunate circumstances when ill health prevented Jan Cormack from continuing. At that... read more here

Fuxia Wen and Ian Berrington, Mixed Teams finalists.  The Mixed Pairs Trial. Monday sees the final day of the National Mixed Trial to determine which of 8 teams will represent New Zealand at the World Mixed Teams in Denmark in August and... read more here

Safety Day! For Junior, Intermediate and Junior players..and all those who failed to make at least 10 tricks in today’s deal! It’s Fri day. Do not feel too bad if you get today’s deal wrong since when it was played, around... read more here

Know when “to fold up” . That’s so often the decision we have to make when our opponents go further than we wish they would. By bidding to the 5 level, and with vulnerability in their favour, they are probably telling us that... read more here

                                                            but for which side? A Deal for... read more here

Gamble…with a king! There was a bit of gambling taking place with this deal today when it occurred during the recent Gold Coast Teams. There were many declarers and dummies who held their breath before the opening lead was made but perhaps... read more here

Intermediate Teams winners, Rochelle van Heuven, Emma Russell, Bigi Cameron and Tim Rigter.  “Top 10 Kiwis” at the Gold Coast. We covered last week those Kiwi players who performed well early in the week at the Gold Coast Bridge... read more here

  The Warning Signs. Sometimes the clues to finding the successful defence are subtle. On other occasions, they ring out very loudly. No matter which suit the defence led on this deal, they should be aware very soon as to what they have to... read more here

Bread and Butter. Yes, a day early for our easier Friday deal. Well, it’s Waitangi Day: so, why not! Today’s deal should not have caused the declaring side many problems though is quite educational. Our game is not all about freaky... read more here

Spoilers. You pick up a nice looking hand and start dreaming about slam possibilities. We all love bidding them and as long as they make, they usually seem to be the main talking point in the post mortem.   Q 3... read more here

high-level meddling. “Meddling” at the 6 level. I was not quite sure what “meddling” meant but it seems to involve interfering where really one should not be. The two deals featured today involve a spot of high-level... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players..and others. It’s Fri day. Attack or Go Passive. It might seem obvious to say that when making the opening lead that one aims to get as many tricks for one’s side as possible. Sometimes,... read more here

three choices. Double, Pass or Bid. Such choices at the high levels of bidding are often difficult and today’s falls into that category. There do seem reasons for all three actions and we must choose the best of them.  ... read more here

“Kerful” Play. That’s what we have today. The game is Pairs and overtricks do count for quite a lot…of matchpoints! South DealsE-W Vul A 5 J 10 6 A 7 4 3... read more here

Liz and Blair Fisher. Last Qualifier comes First in Tauranga. There were familiar names at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the Teams event of the Tauranga Mini-Congress Teams. The team of Liz and Blair Fisher and Jo and Sam Simpson made... read more here

For Junior and Intermediate players….and others. It’s Fri   day. No guess needed. This real deal occurred in a recent tournament. It demonstrates quite simply an approach which takes away the guess of where key missing... read more here

which side is..running scared?! Catching them..or bailing out? Doubling a 1NT opening, especially when the opener is in the 12-14 hcp range is relatively common. Such a double would have at least 15 hcp and would not require the partner to move... read more here

A Dangerous Double. Among the many uses of the word “double” is the “lead directing" type. Such a double can be very successful in suggesting an opening lead or in finding safe discards during the play. The disadvantage is that... read more here

The 2NT bidder, Ashley Bach.  Minors galore! Today’s deal features a fun hand to hold at any level of bridge. When you hold it near the end of the final of the National Open Teams in Canberra, you want to have more than fun. You want... read more here

Jeremy and Jack. Stepping – Stone to Canberra. Jack James and Jeremy Fraser-Hoskin are two of our keenest “go anywhere” bridge players, anywhere for bridge, that is! Naturally, therefore, they spent last week and a few days... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others. It’s Fri day. Two chances are better than one. Sometimes , your best chance of making your contract is to take a finesse. If it fails, well, you had a plan and that plan did... read more here

What? Never?                     Forcing….Pass! Perhaps it stems from my English heritage but I am a fan of the Multi 2, not just the... read more here

A switch but to which suit? An important switch. The bidding was very fast and furious! We have ended up defending. As usual, we have a decision to make, not regarding the opening lead as that was a fairly easy lead for our partner but what to... read more here

Well, the contract, that is! Recovery Day. What do you do when you count up the number of tricks you think you can make and that number equates to the number you need? The answer is you play the board with renewed confidence.  Great, until... read more here

Bill Leach and Kerri McCrae. Sunshine and Slams at Thames. There were plenty of both this past weekend for the many players who attended all or part of the 19th Thames Summer Bridge Festival hosted by the local club. 54 pairs took part in the... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate, perhaps not Novice players… but for others too! It’s Fri Day. Extracting the Maximum. Today’s deal  is more about defending though there is a lesson in the bidding too. So, what about this... read more here

Tony Hinkley (right). The player on the left just happened to slip into the picture! No Sad Ending…. From 20 years ago. Today, we have a story from 20 years ago, which bears repeating.  It’s one of your usual hands, today.... read more here

but for which side? "Crime" sometimes pays…even at Christmas! In pre-Covid days, certainly 20+ years ago, the Christmas period was a total break from bridge. That is not so now with some clubs starting very early in January after... read more here

  Kiwis in On-Line WBF Women’s Tournament. The concept of a world-wide on-line tournament seems challenging when one has to overcome vastly different time-zones. However, an international event was run on-line this past weekend, an... read more here

John Whyte...then.  Youth Bridge then and now. Then.. In April 2005, New Zealand held a Youth Trial to determine which three pairs would represent this country at the World Youth Championships later that year in Sydney. A cross imps method... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others who do not come up with the right leads very often! The recommended lead is…? 20 years ago, Andy Braithwaite wrote an article for NZ Bridge Magazine on “What Went... read more here

A Grand Each Way. We finish the year in a relatively light-hearted style. Back in early 2005, this deal was reported with the above heading. Firstly, you might muse as to what you would bid as West after your partner made a Weak Jump Overcall:... read more here