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  If it’s in the way, discard it! Would you believe that we are talking about an ace…and that we are playing a no-trump contract? Aces are normally handy cards to have… and so was this particular ace for a while.... read more here

  Whichever guess is wrong!   For the less experienced   The right finesse is no finesse!   This is a story of two declarers. One was rather more successful than the other in their quest for 10 tricks. Indeed, while one... read more here

  Partner’s Error is Your Mistake. So, you want to see brilliancies? Then, do not look at most stories about bridge hands. Occasionally, a good lead or play or defence, a thoughtful bid, perhaps. For the main, it is a story of... read more here

 Jan Cormack Jan’s Day: Attitude.   “If only they would learn to concentrate, then perhaps they could become a top player!” This seems to be a common complaint regarding most up and coming bridge players. In fact, it... read more here

  Christchurch was the place to be last weekend for 192 bridge players, along with the many involved with the event’s organisation. A turn-out of 48 teams was a wonderful number and hopefully, all enjoyed the weekend. There was a... read more here

  A Slim Chance? We left you on Friday with a play problem with South the declarer in 6D. You might have wondered how South got to be declarer and so the sequence is included below. Some who play transfer responses to 1C open 1C with all... read more here

  Saving Space – For Less Experienced Players. Jumping the bidding to tell your partner you have a strong hand is often a good idea but it can come at a price, the price being too high before the proper exploration for the best... read more here

Jan Cormack “Tentation” It is 4 high card points for an ace, three for a king, two for a queen and one for a jack which leaves nothing for any of the spot cards. Yet, we would rather have 4 10’s than 4 2’s, wouldn’t... read more here

Evaluation. How good is our hand? Not many high-card points but trump support and some good shape. So, do we bid it up or just on the basis of our high card points?   ♠ Q 10 4 2 ♥ J 6 5 4... read more here

Firstly, a reminder of our new home, Lion Foundation Centre, Bay Park, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga….and the dates of the Congress: Saturday September 25th until Saturday October 2nd 2021 Changes covered in our previous update No night play... read more here

Not so “useless” after all. A hopeful but not outlandish slam which seems to depend on one of two finesses working. That’s 75%, reasonable odds and let’s face it, you would claim that you are due to have a few successful... read more here

Friendly lead? For Less Experienced Players. The Lead and The Line. Is there a connection? There certainly can be. Sometimes you receive a very friendly lead and can play the board in a relatively easy manner, whatever that means! Then, there... read more here

 It’s Jan’s Day, a day for Imagination! Yesterday, we left you with four hands from a deal and asked you to guess (maybe you knew and no guess is required!) the contract and the result. You might have gathered it was not a normal... read more here

Rubbish! 13 Cards. That is one way of describing a hand of dubious worth. You must have held such a hand like  765   865  9762   543 and hope that your partner does not make you bid too many times. Only very... read more here

Who’s to bless: who’s to blame! When one reaches a small slam, which has less than a 50% chance of being successful, someone in the partnership has usually overbid/ misbid a little, maybe more than a little. So, we asked you and the... read more here

For Less Experienced Players. The Good, The Bad and the Greedy! Today’s story is about the play of a board. Yet, we left you yesterday with a bid to make. So, let’s see which contract you are going to play. Oh, you may be setting the... read more here

    Jan Cormack Jan’s Day: No Substitute for Experience. A play problem for today and then a “Jan’s eye” view on how to solve it. You love bidding slams, don't you? Well, only when you make them!... read more here

choices! Tricky Trick 3. It’s time to defend and it’s time to be careful. You have taken two tricks, half the number you need to defeat their game contract. It’s time, perhaps, to get off lead, but how? South... read more here

The Uncooperative Partner! A nice hand, an extremely nice hand, especially when you find a fit. You have three suits, a void and over 20 hcp. Can you risk opening such a hand at the 1 level or is it right to use what for most pairs these days is... read more here

                But is it?  SAFE BUT UNSOUND. When you hold KQJT or QJ109 or J1098 you have very safe leads when you are defending a no-trump, or perhaps any... read more here

For Less Experienced Players. The Wrong Hand. It did not seem at the time such a big error to make…and it was not 100% terminal but a tiny mistake caused our declarer today to fail in what seemed to be a rock-solid contract.... read more here

Cunning! Welcome to “Jan’s Day” where we will find the answer to the problem opening lead we left you with yesterday. The following Precision auction left you on lead as East:      ... read more here

  Discovery Day. It seemed a pretty sensible line to play the overcaller for a key ace. It was a vulnerable overcall, after all, and we all know that vulnerable overcalls are respectable, don’t we! So, at least one declarer, probably... read more here

I hate the concept. Life is worth far more than a chance. So, why did I employ it at the bridge table? At least, in my bridge version, I did have a 50% chance of survival, maybe 51!   ♠ A 10 8 ♥ A... read more here

                     Remembering Pete. The second session of the Young Cup Pairs took place at the Wellington Bridge Club on the evening of... read more here

as worn by Pete Benham. This article is dedicated to the late Pete Benham and is reproduced from a 2008 NZ National Congress Bulletin. It reflects the way Pete and his teammates played the game, very competitively but always with a sense of... read more here

Every Dog has its Day…but was this it? The answer to the above question maybe “no”, but maybe “yes”! Maybe!  This deal centres around a Michaels Cue-Bid and whether you are prepared to take what could be a... read more here

For Less Experienced Players. (it's Thursday)     Spot the Danger. If only our South had. Then, they would have recorded a plus score in their game contract. No overtricks, as you cannot always make them, especially when the... read more here

Jan Cormack. How High on Jan’s Day? Today’s "Jan’s Day" article features a classic “how high do you pre-empt” situation. Before we see the winning answer, we checked with our Panel some 45 years after the problem... read more here

 A decent minor hand!  It’s All About the Minors. Who cares about the major suits when you can play in a minor? The opposition have one major while the other one seems spread around the other three hands. We have those precious... read more here

            Help at hand. Discarding to a long suit can be, well may be, one of the most difficult and frustrating parts of the game. Sometimes your partner, even indirectly the declarer,... read more here

                                         &... read more here