All News

The Killer and the Argument at Tauranga. A nice friendly game is bridge. We are all friends even when the action at the table does not go our way. So, today, we look at the “Killer Lead” and the argument. Well, who would dare pick a... read more here

A Fine Line…. Both between success and failure and also taken by the declarer in the final contract…..which was? Let’s review the bidding to reach that final spot with the Panel today coming down with a vengeance against an... read more here

         The Simple Way? Bidding is simple. Well, it can be. Shall we take the simple line on today’s deal? Shall we simply tell our partner we have support for their suit? If the answer is... read more here

Damned if you do: Damned if you don’t. Covering Honours. For less experienced players and others Is that how you feel when you cover an honour with one of your honours? If you do, you seem to solve declarer’s problem for them and if... read more here

Meet Sonya Adams. You may not have heard of Sonya especially if you do not live in Central Otago. However, she is having a big impact on the Wanaka Club which has just started two Learners sessions at the club with 44 attending, more than double... read more here

Listening and Caring. A title which applies equally to life and to bridge. Clues of how to play a board can often come from the bidding. Take a look at the following and decide how you would play your game contract before reading on.... read more here

                Too Obvious? My comment to the Panel when giving them the problem that follows was that if anyone suggested that there would be a united panel in respect... read more here

Ruth Brucker Neat play and bidding for first A Point victory. Today’s hand featured in a tournament last Saturday at the Marlborough Bridge Club and forms part of an article submitted by one of the victors, Wellington’s John... read more here

Are you having us on? As if I would. On any day. Even maybe on this day. Recently, a rather unusual occurrence took place in an Open tournament. Your partner led the Q against a major game. Dummy held  52 doubleton and you held K3 doubleton.... read more here

Jan’s Day: Remembering John Today’s deal is in memory of NZ Bridge Life Member, John Evitt, who died recently. A potentially tough play hand for many but grand slam bid and made for John.   South DealsBoth Vul... read more here

 Sharleen's been on the move. See below. Congratulations to our newest Silver Grand Master, Brian Cleaver. His most recent tournament was the Paraparaumu Open, just a few days ago on the 28th March. He started off well, topping the EW pairs... read more here

Disappointed Opponents. It is kind of what you would like to see on every board though that of course does not happen. However, on the following deal both the opponents were to be disappointed about the lie of a red suit, once by the dastardly... read more here

Hard to Make: Hard to Defeat. When a game contract is made 14 times, even a few times with an overtrick, and fails just four times, you would think the right is on the declarer’s side, that the contract should be made. Indeed, that would be... read more here

                                 And Double is? Well, we know what our double meant... read more here

John Evitt - 1946-2021. A strong force at and away from the table. Recent converts to the New Zealand bridge world may not be too familiar with the name of John Evitt. John passed away last weekend in Auckland after a period of ill-health. He... read more here

Call the police! SUIT STOLEN …for less experienced players and others. What do you do when instead of opening your lovely long and strong suit at the 1-level, the opposition open it for you? You might think you could bid the suit... read more here

       It’s Jan’s Day.     Calling Sherlock. Well, actually, you do not need him as you can do all the detective work yourself. So, do you have your magnifying glass ready? Be prepared... read more here

Out of this World. It started as a “will I/won’t I” double a pre-emptive opening. It ended as a rather amazing auction. South DealsNone Vul     ♠ A 10 9 ♥ A K... read more here

  The importance of Signals. They can only be a guide but at times a really useful guide. Sometimes, though, to get the right answer, you have to ask the right question and, arguably, our West on the deal below did not do that, to their... read more here

Damned if you do..and damned if you don’t...  ....bid, that is! Making a bid on the hand below seems extremely risky but then so is passing! As you are in the “pass-out” seat, there is no-one left to save you if you needed... read more here

For the right event.                        A Wish comes true. It sounds like when it happens you should then have made your contract.... read more here

Jan’s Day: A “Freaky” Day. There’s nothing very balanced about the two deals featured today. Indeed, of the 8 hands, the closest to being balanced had two doubletons! The two deals include 4 void suits and 5 singletons.... read more here

 in memoriam: Naida and Howard Sadd. It has been a busy start to the year for the dealers with most tournaments being either Teams or Swiss Pairs.  We kicked off this year with the Marlborough 10A Teams at the end of January.  A... read more here

 National Swiss winners, Michael Ware and Grant Jarvis. Great Weekend: Freak Hands. National Swiss Pairs. The National Swiss Pairs, held last weekend at the Wellington Bridge Club, provided interest from start to finish. It started with a... read more here

Creating an Illusion? Psychology is one aspect of bridge. What does it mean when an opponent fires back at you the suit you have just played? When you are in a small slam and have lost one trick, you cannot afford to make too many wrong guesses!... read more here

  A Lighter Look.     “Memories”.  For many years, our National Congress featured an “Even Homer Nods” award where an award was made at the end of Congress for the top player who made a bit... read more here

  “I heard you, partner….but!” For Less Experienced Players..and Others When only 1 out of 8 pairs reached the right game on the following deal in a “not so new” player session, it seemed worth investigating... read more here

Read on to see the bridge connection...well, maybe! Greetings once more from the Winterless North. It seems like forever ago I did my last round up and, checking in, it was indeed way back in 2020. So, we have a fair bit of catching up to do.... read more here

At a time when so many are sad about the cancellation of the Taranaki Bridge Congress, let’s look for some better news with respect to our National Congress. Sponsorship from Apex Car Hire We mentioned last time that Apex will be a... read more here

“You get the coffees, partner!” Jan’s Day: Who Gets to Play? One decision we have to make during the bidding is the level we wish to play. Another is which partner should be declarer. When you have bid and agreed a suit, or... read more here

8 + 2 = Not Enough That’s enough tricks when you are in 4 of a major contract but the answer is one short of what you need when you are in a minor suit game. 10 tricks equate to down 1. Oh, from where do those numbers come? The number of... read more here