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Puppets on a string. It is rather nice when we can make our opponents do what we want them to do. That is much better than leaving the success or failure of a contract to good fortune or bad defence. The defenders would not like to admit it but... read more here

A Clear Head? Have you got that? You are defending and it does not look that easy. A glass or two of your favourite alcoholic beverage is not recommended before you embark on a tricky defence. Indeed, that really is the only advice needed before... read more here

Hand for a strange year. Everyone says it. So, it must be true. 2020 has been the most unusual year for a very long time. That comment needs no further explanation in a bridge column. Here though is a hand befitting this year, a hand not right to... read more here

Keeping Options Open. Whether or not you can use the “undo” button when playing bridge on-line, you get no second chance to withdraw your lead in real life. There is certainly no second chance when you see immediately that you regret... read more here

            Beware the successful finesse. So, your finesse worked. A time for celebration, an extra trick, maybe more. Indeed, but it is not time to be casual. Look what happened to our... read more here

Awkward Choices (Part 2). Damage Control. Yesterday we survived. We made a bid most of the Panel would not have made and then was left with an ugly choice next time round. Would we be so lucky, or so intelligent (let’s face it, our second... read more here

Awkward Choices (Part 1) Today and tomorrow, we will look at a couple of problems which arise when one plays reopening doubles. A reopening double keeps the bidding open with the possible intention of one’s partner being able to penalise... read more here

The Best Chance. Recognising the best chance in making your contract is step one to success. Then, if you fail, there will surely be someone to tell you what you should have done! If you have taken the best line, then someone, your partner, even... read more here

Planning for the Inevitable. What’s that? Nothing so morbid as a will! For many, well, let’s say all, bridge players, “the inevitable” is that you take a losing finesse. If not on this board, well, it will happen soon. In... read more here

                            Pull the trigger? Sayings in bridge are useful, to an extent. One issue is when... read more here

                  Danger in unexpected places. When one defender opens the bidding and the other maintains total silence throughout the auction, one would think... read more here

Christmas must be approaching... After apologizing for the lack of bridge results and fodder over the past six months, we have finally turned a corner … heaps to report on! The IP’s have just finished and we must make special... read more here

             Low Level: High Stakes To quote a well-known and much abused rule, “when your side has the majority of the high-card points” and your side is defending a suit... read more here

A Nice Hand. Welcome to the world of overcalls, reopening doubles and avoiding the axe! There are a number of questions that could have been posed around today’s hand. In our problem from Friday, we looked at the deal from the view-point... read more here

Multi Choice! Multi Problem: Multi Answers. When eight panellists provide six different answers to a bidding problem, it looks like it might be a tough one. It is our friend, the Multi 2 which is partly responsible for this problem, and as often... read more here

 The Guide. As a defender, it seems you are always struggling to do the right thing. Of course, you tend to forget the countless normal and successful defences you find, let alone the seemingly rare occasion when you does something really... read more here

GOOD IMAGINATION. Today and tomorrow, we will look at two boards from the recent Inter-Provincials where the defence could either get it right…or not! Do you want a plus score or a minus score? So, let’s pose you the problem for... read more here

Clean Sweep for the North Island. It was North Island all the way in this year’s Inter-Provincial Championships with each of the four North Island Regions taking out one title and Auckland-Northland the all-important Dougal McLean trophy... read more here

Central Districts Early Leaders. Central Districts are the early leaders in the chase for the Dougal Mclean Trophy at this year’s Inter-Provincial Championships. After 5 of the 7 rounds in the first round-robin (each team has one bye), they... read more here

Which Major First? Some slams are a straightforward make while others provide options with the declarer hoping to take the route with the most chance of success, in bridge terms, the best percentage line. The following slam certainly fell into... read more here

High Stakes from the Start. I have a little confession to make, to the Panel. When today’s deal occurred, it was in the Pairs’ environment where if one makes the wrong decision, it is only a maximum of around 4%. 16 or 17 imps in the... read more here

How Strong’s Your Weak No-Trump? Yes, that’s all your hand is….and a minimum point-count 12 hcp at that. Yet, it is starting to look a little better….but how much better? Good enough to advance the bidding freely to the... read more here

The Achilles Heel. One advantage of keeping a strong hand hidden as declarer is that the defence are less able to know for sure which honours declarer has or may not have. One would think that when the “monster” hand is exposed as... read more here

                              Don’t Go Chasing Rainbows. We all like to look for any way... read more here

A Dangerous action?                              Sound or... read more here

Winners and Losers Today’s deal is about winners, about keeping them and not discarding them, about saluting them, the team above who won the National Open Teams in Auckland last weekend in some style and who got our deal today just right.... read more here

A Baker’s Dozen. It is not very often that your side holds all 13 cards in one suit. It is even rarer that you know from the start of the bidding that this is the situation…and you are the only one at the table who knows it! How do... read more here

No Half Measures: All or Nothing. Some declarers in the recent National Open Teams in Auckland failed in a game contract to a rather unkind ruff but should never have been in that position because they either drew one trump too many or one trump... read more here

or Attack or Defence Today’s problem is not just about an opening lead but it is an opening lead problem with which we left you, maybe a rather random problem because you neither have much nor have much information on which to base your... read more here