All News

Fast Arrival….or Take it Slow? Below is the bidding sequence and hand we gave you yesterday. We asked you what action you would take at this point of the auction. We asked that of our Panel too but we also asked the Panel whether they... read more here

The hunt for another queen. Yesterday, we found that a little investigation beforehand made it absolutely clear which opponent held a key queen, thus ensuring the contract’s success. It is the same contract, today, with once again the... read more here

  Richard Andrew. We were poised in April to make New Zealand Bridge’s regular Volunteer of the Month Award though, with our bridge clubs shut, no presentation could be made. Therefore, our April award is being made a couple of... read more here

The “hunt” for the queen. Where is she? She is not singleton. Either defender could hold her. There are only four cards missing in that suit which is often but not always the trump suit. It was not trumps in the deal below. It seems... read more here

Communication Crisis. You are almost certainly in the wrong contract but one which probably should make but with less tricks than in at least one, maybe even both higher – scoring major game contracts…and to make matters worse, a key... read more here

The Aim against the Rubber Game....or Slam! How adept are you in the delicate art of sacrificing in Rubber Bridge, the form of bridge from which today’s hand arose? Rubber Bridge is not that common in this country, especially around club... read more here

The Power of a Pre-empt. Sometimes they do backfire. There is a risk in making such a bid. An understanding partner must appreciate that if your action was sensible but wrong. However, I would think the effect of a pre-empt (and a weak jump... read more here

It’s Amazing what You can do. Yes, you. You have powered your way to slam and get some rather bad news at trick 2. You have two alternatives: Moan about your bad luck (No-one is listening, least of all your opponents) and give up or Get... read more here

Fighting for The Plus-Score. You cannot make a game or slam on every deal. Sometimes, despite having the majority of the high-card points, you cannot make a contract! Weird distributions are all part of the fun, in a “weird” or... read more here

WE HAVE A NATIONAL CONGRESS. The big news to come from this newsletter is that New Zealand Bridge will be running this year’s National Bridge Congress on schedule this year, that is from Saturday 26th September until Saturday 3rd October.... read more here

Two Strange Views on One Hand. When you are in a hole, do you accept your fate or try and dig your way out of it? If you take the latter course, there is a chance that you may slip even further down…and, of course, there is a presumption... read more here

Redouble: lots of trouble! We do not use this bid much but when we do, it will cause some heartache for at least one player at the table. Is it you? There are various meanings attributed to the least used bid, “redouble”. It can... read more here

     Two-way mirror. Same Board :Different Seats. It is not often you are asked to bid for one side and then defend for the other on the same board. You would think, then, that with some inside knowledge of declarer’s... read more here

“HIGH FIVE” The ace is the highest card of a bridge pack where we do not allow any jokers or give special privileges to bowers. However, we all know how important those little cards at the bottom end of a pack can be. I was rather... read more here

The Swinging Pendulum. The pendulum swings…and so does the fate of many bridge contracts. Cold off one minute, making the next but finally? Who knows? Will the pendulum ever stop swinging? North DealsN-S Vul... read more here

“FREAKY” DOUBLES -Part 2. Blood on the table..but whose? Are you still here after yesterday? Like all good 2- part stories, we give you the highlights from Part 1 where we saw a penalty double with 5 decent trumps and a couple of... read more here

“FREAKY” DOUBLES -Part 1. Our two boards over the next two days have a common theme where a player has five trumps to the ace, and in one case, decent cards below in that suit, and has a seemingly obvious penalty double as the... read more here

Bid ‘em Up: Play ‘em Safe. “Well, I kept my part of the equation” muttered North as he put down dummy in the grand slam contract to an expectant South, who would like nothing better than to say “thanks” and... read more here

   A real hand to open! “How Low, Joe?” What does a minimum opening bid with both major suits look like? It really can be a little less in strength than if you had both minors, or even just one major since you do not need... read more here

You wish! The Best Guess is “No Guess”. How often have you been in the situation at the bridge table when you know whichever card of two you play will be wrong? Typically, it occurs when you lead towards KJ with absolutely no idea... read more here

Life on the Wild Side. There are times when we get a little tired of trying to restrict overtricks in an opponent’s 1NT or 2H contracts, especially playing Pairs when it is really important. “Something more exciting, Mr. Card-Dealer,... read more here

A Smooth Duck? Well, it has to be smooth, doesn’t it? There is no point in going into a 90 second huddle and then ducking. The secret is out: you had something to think about…and not whether you were playing D4 or D6! If you are... read more here

Avoiding 3NT. When one partner shows a flattish hand and there is no obvious major fit available, it can be difficult to avoid the no-trump game. “If in doubt, bid 3NT.” is a common enough saying when looking for a game contract. Yet,... read more here

Winners never give up. Well, I hope that makes me a winner because I am very reluctant ever to concede! One thing that causes players to lose focus is the sight of a very strong dummy. It can be very intimidating, if you let it. When you see such... read more here

How Good is your hand? There are several advantages in playing an Acol 1NT rebid as 15-17 balanced as opposed to 15-16 and therefore a 2NT rebid as 18-19. Bidding 3NT with a balanced 19 takes away so much valuable space to explore for the right... read more here

Time for A Change. When to switch: when to keep going? These questions are central to defending so many hands. You can play a suit for one round too long and pay the price and equally switch too soon. There’s no guiding rule with every deal... read more here

Locating Honours. We feature today two deals united by the fact that declarer’s success depends entirely on finding which opponent has a missing honour, in one case the queen and in the other the lowly jack. They are separated in time by 23... read more here

  A Certain Way. You will probably say there is nothing certain about the problem given to you for today. Even that statement contains too much doubt! While we think we can make 3NT much of the time (slight tinges of optimism now!) with a... read more here

this suit? Which Suit is Trumps? For a reason which I cannot fully explain, I find a Weak 2 in diamonds a very awkward bid against which to defend. (I can now just see everyone opening this bid against me, no matter what their diamond holding... read more here

                              Dream-time? A bridge dream can be very simplistic: bidding and making... read more here

A “Key” Convention. Cast away on a desert island with just a pack of cards and just three conventions, I would have to select my conventions carefully. Both Stayman and Transfers would be with me and the third would be a form of ace... read more here

The Sneak Attack. It seems to happen quite often. The opposition bid 3NT, not with a balanced 17 count opposite a balanced 12 count with holds in every suit but “just in case it makes”! Or, alternatively, because they were asked by... read more here

Opposite Approaches. Game values? If you have them, and you have a 4-4 major fit, then it seems a good idea to play in 4 of that major. Normally. With less than game values, it can also be correct to seek out a major fit, too. One hand below took... read more here

unusual events. Yes, They Happened! So, as promised, a change for today as we look at a few of the zanier things that have occurred at the bridge table in this country. They are all from about 20-30 years ago. No-one does anything as silly as... read more here

Proving North Wrong. One mark of a good partnership is that when one player takes a rather unusual action which backfires, that their partner is, at least outwardly, very understanding. The “sinner” feels bad enough in recording a... read more here

The Easy Way, The Obscure Way or One Down. I have mentioned more than once that even playing Pairs, there is a lot of good sense in taking a line to ensure your contract and worry about possible overtricks later. They are certainly worth having,... read more here