All News

Leon Meier High drama in Open Trial. The New Zealand National Youth Weekend was held in Christchurch in August 2019. I was told there was a last minute entry from a young local player who had just learnt the game a couple of weeks before. We... read more here

Game gone begging. It’s lovely making a game with just 15 high card points between your two hands. It is a bit more frustrating when you could have made the game but did not. West DealsBoth Vul ♠ K Q... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others! It’s Fri  Day. Not real support! Well, it sounded like support to North. Their partner bid the suit they had opened and they had a decent hand, 15 high card points and a... read more here

right...and wrong! The Right Bids ..with a wiggle in the middle! North-South were not a regular partnership and the pre-play discussions covered several “normalish” bidding situations like Michael’s cue-bids and in particular... read more here

A Powerful Problem. So, you are fed up with picking up 1 and 2 counts? You dream of something a little stronger. Well, those sitting South in the afternoon session of  Consolation Pairs at the Tauranga Bridge Club’s Mini Congress had... read more here

The Key Card. We are not talking about a Blackwood response but the most important card for declarer in today’s deal. Indeed, North did not use any form of Blackwood in reaching slam. In laying down dummy, words like I hope you have the... read more here

Lots of clubs!  for Juniors, Intermediates and Novice players...and anyone who likes long suits! We think we are getting an unusual hand when we have a 7-card suit. Very occasionally, it is an 8-card suit. 9-card? Once a decade if you play... read more here

Counting to Ten…that’s the trick(s ). Some deals are quite straightforward to play. Others are much harder. Let’s see how you would classify the following:   South DealsN-S Vul ♠ 4... read more here

Insurance? There are two things certain about today’s problem. Firstly, your partner, West, has a very good hand and secondly problems like this do not go away. They are why we keep playing! (Believe that if you wish!) You are faced with... read more here

Lucky…or not! That is often the case when it comes to opening leads. Sometimes, you have a stand-out safe-looking lead which most in your seat would make…so, if it fails, it fails for others, too. Yet, then there are those occasions... read more here

Powerful and Visible. Ideally, when one hand is very strong and the other very weak, we like the stronger hand to be declarer, not only because its honours are usually protected at trick 1 but also because the opponents are less likely to find a... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others! It’s Fri  day! Early Planning A cheap trick early in the play may not be what a declarer wants. What say you?     South DealsBoth Vul... read more here

Priority of problems. There are times when the safest way to play a suit has to take a back-seat as there is a more pressing issue to consider. That would be the case with today’s deal. South DealsE-W Vul ♠... read more here

Do not forget me! The “Boss” Suit is? Michaels bids often cause problems for one side. Today it is for the side which opened the bidding. The problem is further complicated by the fact that we are playing Pairs where if you have a... read more here

The Only Chance. Despite your interference, the opponents drift into 3NT. You start off in normal fashion but perhaps there is a time to stop and take stock. North DealsN-S Vul ♠ K Q 6 4 ♥... read more here

Take the money? Transfer responses to a 1C opening bid are becoming quite popular. Although today’s deal does feature this method, the problem is as much about judgement and reading the opponents’ bidding as it is about this method.... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others. It’s Fri   day! Come in: the water is warm, very warm! Your partner opens a Weak 2 in spades (2S). You have 14 high card points but only 1 little spade. You are in... read more here

for all eventualities? A “hand for all seasons.” That seems one way to describe the hand we hold today. We have some heart support to help our partner make game were they to hold longish hearts. We have enough high cards, too. We... read more here

 In control. That’s how you might feel as a defender with 5 trumps to an honour and two outside aces and a little bit more. Your opponents have decided to play in 4S where you have a more than decent holding. Our first question is... read more here

Battle of the emeralds. I am sure you will enjoy listening in to a friendly disagreement between two of our Emerald Grand Masters, Grant Jarvis and Patrick Carter (pictured above). They are not regular partners but do play together quite often in... read more here

Drawing Trumps. Today we are going to concentrate on the play and defence of a rather freaky deal. We will return to an issue regarding the bidding of this board tomorrow. The bidding below is very straightforward. At adverse vulnerability,... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players …and others. It's Fri  day! Ugly and Uglier. Welcome to our first JIN Club hand of the year, not in the slam or even the game zones. Indeed, as the bidding developed, you would be fast... read more here

Scouts’ “Honour” or motto! We are not even going to give you what is a fairly ugly lead problem today. The opening lead problem is dedicated to those who do not like leading away from kings. Today is the day you have been... read more here

The Worth of a Minor Fit at Pairs. Happy New Year to all readers. We can all hope for greater success at the table but let’s aim for greater enjoyment and somehow the other may be the result. It’s fun trying! It’s great to find... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players..and others: it’s Fri   day. A Happy Christmas Story. All Roads lead to… It started as a problem but finished as a nice celebration, a lovely way to sign off before Christmas.... read more here

Avoidable?         How unlucky? Was what followed bad luck or could what did happen have been anticipated and been avoided? What then would you lead to 5H after the following auction?  ... read more here

will come.. Plenty of nothing. Today, we have one hand with an abundance of strength and another with just about nothing at all. So, you can guess which of these hands, which are partners, should be taking an active role in the bidding. I, for... read more here

Just believe? As you thank partner for their dummy, the most important thing (well the second most important matter is thank partner as though you mean it!) is that you give yourself the best possible chance of making your contract, no matter how... read more here

Crampt for space. You know the feeling. The bidding is already up to the 5-level before you can say a word…and you know that your word may well be the last word. You try and gauge what your partner holds by what the opposition have bid... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others. It’s Fri day. Reverse…but full steam ahead! You pick up a decent- looking 19 hcp hand with both majors (is there a 19 hcp hand that is not “decent”?) and... read more here

Loveblock New Zealand Wide Pairs – The Winners The event took place just over a month ago. In that time, those who won prizes have been presented them at their clubs. In this article, we will celebrate these winners. Each player received a... read more here

Matt Brown. Success at Atlanta for Matt Brown. Kiwi successes in American National competitions are a rarity. So, we can salute the recent achievement of Matthew Brown who was in the team which won the Mixed Swiss Teams on the last two days of... read more here

Opening Light. In “olden days”, it was a minimum of 12 high- card points to open the bidding. There were even some balanced 12 counts which were not opened. The minimum level has reduced in recent years and 11 hcp 1-level opening is... read more here