All News

The Writing on the Wall. You are playing Pairs and overtricks do matter: the more the better if you are declarer. So, what do you think about the contract below? Maybe there are 10 tricks available in your major suit game…or maybe not.... read more here

Not for the faint-hearted. If you are newish to the game of bridge or indeed if you are a purist whose bids vaguely resemble what they were supposed to be when you first learnt to play, then today’s article is not for you. Bidding can be a... read more here

PROVING THE POINT... all 25 of them! Sometimes you reach a game contract, with the required 25 hcp and realise after the opening lead that your chances of success range from slim to non-existent! Naturally, the opponents have got off to the best... read more here

at Pairs. Some days it just happens and there are too many days it does not! Overbidding, under-bidding, wrong leads, failing finesses…you name them! Did they all happen in the same session? That’s bad! One or two ways that you can... read more here

               Bad Break..but where? The “bad break” is either in your suit or partner’s suit…or both! Not just bad but terminal! Or is it? How do you... read more here

Ten and a half Seconds Needed! They have removed the “Stop Card” and you still are not sure what to bid! Know the feeling? “A very difficult problem” one of our Panel comments about the hand for today. I and indeed some... read more here

Safeguarding Your Game. It was not too hard to bid to game, a combined 26 hcp with a useful singleton in dummy. A slight upgrade with North’s second bid though we are allowed to count three extra points for a useful singleton. So, all... read more here

Abnormal or Normal. One day, there will be a story written about a bridge deal where the right action is to take a finesse, just like we teach to our beginners. Half the time you are successful and the other half, you hope the opponents will... read more here

11, 12 or 13 tricks? You are in 6H. So, 12 tricks are sufficient, the 13th a bonus especially useful if you are playing Pairs. How though would you go about playing after West leads D10?   North DealsN-S Vul ♠... read more here

  New Zealand has had Regional Bridge Mates for some time, at least in some regions. Until quite recently, there was an RBM in Waikato Bays but in the last few months, there have been RBM’s only in Wellington (Katherine Gough), Top of... read more here

Patrick Carter, now Emerald. Grand-Master is a significant achievement for bridge players. A select few play more, win more master-points and achieve the ranks of Silver and Gold Grand-Master. A very very few go even higher and become Emerald and... read more here

Choose your partner!   Debs on form on BBO.   For many on-line Kiwi bridge players, on-line now means playing on RealBridge. However, there is still on-line bridge on BBO (Bridge Base Online).   The World Bridge Federation,... read more here

Nice hand… but where to go? Just for once your partner seems to have a decent overcall…and your hand is not without merit. Yet, the two hands do not seem to gel very well. What to do next? North DealsE-W Vul  ... read more here

  Taking Full Advantage. ..of an opponent’s   How do you feel when the opponents double you for penalties? A little nervous perhaps. Bad trump break? Certainly no “walk in the park”. Then they lead and suddenly the... read more here

National Rubber down to the last board. The 2021 National Rubber competition was finally completed on Real Bridge on Saturday afternoon in a very tight match between Wellington’s Anthony Ker and Russell Dive and Christchurch’s Fiona... read more here

Hopefully not the result of your gamble! Who is Gambling now? The “Gambling 3NT” opening bid is certain to create a problem for someone at the table…and it is not the opening bidder! They are showing a long solid minor and no... read more here

Thinking of… Well, you are hoping to beat a contract. That’s you and your partner, co-operating together, without saying a word. It’s all done by the cards you play. So, here you are: East DealsN-S Vul  ... read more here

Maybe five aces in the pack? 40+ points. Have you ever had one of those auctions where everyone has lost the “pass” card?! It seems there are far more high card points than there should be. Take the following auction which occurred... read more here

Just in case…. Sometimes it’s not what they lead but what they don’t which can help you to find the right path. See what you think about your chances on this board. South DealsNone Vul ♠ 7... read more here

A handy card. Safety Does it. A nice controlled bidding sequence to 6. It’s your chance to ensure nothing goes wrong in the play. So, take a look below and plan the play after 10 lead from South.   South DealsBoth Vul... read more here

Then say “nothing”! So Obvious? You have a hand of no merit at all. You have been given the opportunity to pass. So, that seems the obvious thing to do. Well, is it? Below is the kind of hand you hold frequently. So, you should be... read more here

The grass may seem greener on the other side…or in another contract!   There’s better and worse contracts..but   The first sight of dummy is no time to wish you were in a different contract. (Well, a one second wish is... read more here

Defence or Attack …. but not in between! So, you are on the defence fighting a 3NT contract pretty much on your own. Your partner indicated with their bid that they have very few if any honour cards to help the cause. What then should your... read more here

   Careful! It’s a great one-word piece of advice whether you are in the most mundane looking part-score or rather higher. When the contract seems so easy, take extra special care. So, here you are in 6 and all you have to do is... read more here

no bridge at the club but plenty on-line for Timaru. Taking a Trip "to" Timaru.  It would surely be a nice trip to visit Timaru whether or not one spent all one’s time in the local bridge club. Currently, we can play in bridge... read more here

                Rule Breakers? Are you? Well, you cannot answer that question until you know what the rules are! Some people will say that the rules keep changing. Take... read more here

The Price You Pay. Or maybe it might just not be your day! You can choose which of the two phrases above is more applicable. Firstly, though, have a thought about how you would play these East-West cards in 3NT. West DealsNone Vul... read more here

Down to Earth….almost! Maybe you have been following the New Zealand Open team in action: maybe not. Perhaps some of the deals have been a bit too complex, especially the bidding. So, let’s come back to something a little simpler,... read more here

  A Sad Ending. It seems longer than one week since when The Bridge Blacks led the world after their first match and then hovered around the last 8. The joy of maximum wins over England and Netherlands has since passed. We had hoped that... read more here