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Pre-emptive Problems. I am not the first person to say that pre-empts do work and certainly will not be the last! This one caught East with a good hand and some difficult decisions to make.       West... read more here

Does “Crime” pay? It is not too hard a problem for this Monday. Normally, when you pick up a very rare “rock-crusher” looking hand, your partner does their best to spoil your pleasure by opening a Weak 2 or pre-empting in... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players …and others. It’s Fri  day. Time to change course? There are contracts where defenders have to change course if they want to be successful. Either an initial lead has not worked out... read more here

Weaker but Better! Today’s deal also comes from the recent Trans- Tasman Challenge. It provided a challenge for both some declarers and all of the defenders in the West seat. That is the seat from which you will see the deal initially:... read more here

Leading from Nothing at the Trans -Tasman. Nothing to go on? Well, not much. Certainly there is nothing much in our hand to admire, a true Yarborough. The bidding is swift, too. Try: Board 7South DealsBoth Vul    ... read more here

Lysandra Zheng. Catch-up Bridge. This is a very delicate art, the art of recovering from a disaster. Somehow, if one goes looking to make up a few imps, so often one ends up twice as far behind. So, is it better to play down the middle, pick up... read more here

Nick Bailey, Malcolm Mayer, Zachary Yan and Lysandra Zheng. New names and partnerships win the National Teams. This coming weekend sees the National Youth Weekend take place in Auckland. Some 40+ young players are expected to attend for a... read more here

for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players....and others. It's Fri day! A “Certain” Guess. Today, we examine how some guesses as to which defender holds certain honour cards really need not be guesses at all. They are “stone... read more here

to success! Any which way. It would seem a lot easier to make 9 tricks in 3NT on the board below than 10 in hearts. Yet, especially playing Pairs, 4H is the place to be for +420 and maybe any overtrick. However, many found it too hard even to... read more here

  Bidding beyond the No-Trump Game. Our bidding so far has been fairly mainstream, or so we think, though rather strangely, it has now taken us beyond a routine 3NT. What is partner up to and what do we bid next?    ... read more here

No time to moan! Are you tired of flat 5 counts? Generally, that is the type of hand we all hold, or say we do! Actually, it is interesting when that is all one holds and the opposition bid all the way to 2S. What has our partner got? That,... read more here

Universal good defence and play? Perhaps a dream! Most declarers were in 4H by West on the following board. Some were lucky enough to have less than perfect defence to make their contract. Some failed to make their contract after less than ideal... read more here

  For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others! It’s Fri    day! A Leading Problem. Have you ever had no idea what to lead to a slam? Every week? The opponents have given you little information…and... read more here

Stephen and Annette Henry, Liz Fisher and Dwayne Crombie, 2024 Fullarton Teams winners.  Close Contest in Fullarton Teams. The two grand-slams featured in the two articles so far this week came from last weekend’s Fullarton... read more here

Dummy’s delight. If you play Roman Key-Card Blackwood, then today’s bidding question should be very straightforward…or is it? If you do not use this method of checking for aces/key cards, then today’s deal may encourage... read more here

“Grand” Bidding. We all want to. A “grand” bid and made usually produces a great score at any form of scoring and usually gets “bragging rights” in any team post-mortem! So, why then are we so shy when it comes... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice Players…and others. It’s Fri day. A Time to Tell All. There are times when you are best to tell the opposition as little as possible about your hand, perhaps to make their opening lead harder.... read more here

It's time to take one! Bid ’em up: play ‘em well. That might seem a forlorn message with respect to the deal below because there seem four impossible losers to avoid and the contract is 4S. Nevertheless, there is no point in... read more here

The winning team, minus Karen Harris, accepting their prizes. The Cambridge 6’s started in 2013 and with the exception of a Covid enforced break in 2020 have run every year since. The 11th such event took place last Saturday in its now... read more here

More Kiwi Victories in the Trans-Tasman Competition. Although the leaders in this event, NZ Cornell, suffered quite a large defeat in the latest round of matches in the Trans-Tasman competition, the Kiwis still retain a healthy lead in this event... read more here

for Junior and Intermediate players and others...maybe a little hard for Novice players today. Oh it's Fri "super" day! “Super- Accept”! There’s not liking one’s partner’s bid. There’s quite liking it and then... read more here

Less of a guess: No finesse! If one had a choice of a slam that needed no finesses to succeed or one which needed one out of two, only a true masochist would choose the latter. However, on the board below, several declarers were either unaware of... read more here

But some hands are more golden than they look! Small hand problem. Many bridge problems revolve around hands with lots of high card points. Yet, we all seem to get plenty of hands with very few hcps. Pass is not always an option when we have few... read more here

     Russell Dive. Defending Doubled! Today, we feature one further board which contributed to Anthony Ker and Russell Dive’s victory in last weekend’s National Swiss Pairs. It demonstrates that even quite a modest... read more here

Anthony and Russell celebrate a previous success…in the National Rubber Bridge tournament. Emphatic Victory in National Swiss Pairs. The New Plymouth Bridge hosted the on-line National Swiss Pairs over the past weekend. A well-organized... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice Players…and others! It’s Fri  Day. Learning the hard way. It seemed like a routine part-score. Indeed, at most tables it was. West did not really have a take-out double of 1S, without having... read more here

Now take advantage! Benefit from A Lucky Escape. On a different day, we would discuss the merits of your 5H bid below but on this one, our central question is around your defence. Your mission may have been accomplished in that you have pushed... read more here

Shirley and Jenny on international duty.  “Just Average!” One curse of writing up the events of a bridge tournament is to ask the winners to tell on something they had done well during the event, to be able to record in print.... read more here

Strong hand! Tarnished Gold! Perhaps it is just my perception but we seem to be confronted with more strong-looking 6-6 shape hands than in the past. It could also be because I play too much bridge! Here then is one recent situation where... read more here

Kiwis still ahead in Trans- Tasman Challenge. Round 5 of the Trans-Tasman Challenge still sees the Kiwis comfortably in the lead overall: New Zealand 442.68   Australia 357.32 though honours were even this time with four wins a piece.... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players….and others! It’s Fri day. Who’s the decision-maker? There are a few useful lessons to learn from today’s deal which is more aimed at those new to the game. Don’t... read more here

Jack James. Ending on top. The Auckland- Northland Main Regional Teams was played in Whangarei last Sunday and was won by the team of Malcolm Mayer – Pam Livingston and Michael Ware – Jack James. They were in no small way helped by... read more here

Ask the right question. If you want to find out the right answer, then you should ask the right question! Strangely, that should not have stopped most pairs from finding the right contract with today’s deal….but next time it might!... read more here