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        TIME TO ACT ! NATIONAL CONGRESS UPDATE. July 2019. It’s three months to go before we draw those cards in Hamilton. So, it must be time to start doing a little planning if you have not already done so….... read more here

Keeping out of the Way. You find the right lead, the only lead to beat a contract….and then something major goes wrong! Take a look: South DealsBoth Vul ♠ Q J ♥ Q 4 2 ♦ A 10 9 8 6 5... read more here

A Good time NOT to win a trick. We spend about half our time during the play of a hand defending. So, it is well worth looking at some of the things a good defender could do. That’s in addition to learning about playing hands and the... read more here

They Open: We bid Game.     As South you pick up a nice looking 18-point hand. You are 4th to speak and there’s a bit of bidding before you get your first shot:       West DealsNone Vul... read more here

Good Bidding…. Not Good Luck. Luck plays its part in a hand of bridge. The best of contracts can succumb to a bad break while some with a much lesser chance of success come home thanks to some good fortune. However, when many pairs miss... read more here

June 2019.  Allan Joseph. Just about any month Allan Joseph, director, member of Wellington's Kairangi and Wellington Bridge Club, would legitimately be able to be nominated as the New Zealand Bridge's Volunteer of the Month. June 2019 is... read more here

Bread and Butter Defending…but no jam! Sorry to be unsensational but it is very rare for any Pairs tournament to be won by one’s slam bidding or by bringing home low point-count risky 3NT contracts. It is much more likely to be won... read more here

Like does mean “Like”. We worked through last time what we would lead to a simply bid 3NT contract and left you in the middle of trick 2 after you had chosen the SQ. This is what you saw after the opening lead was made:... read more here

            A Problem Lead. Our focus today is on the choice of opening lead, rather than the bidding. The opposition bid quickly to 3NT with the following uninterrupted sequence:... read more here

                         Honours Even. Honours were even when the two South Pacific nations played each other in 64 board test... read more here

SILVER FOR BRIDGE BLACKS. The event may have ended too soon with the Bridge Blacks on a roll, two huge victories over Thailand and Japan and with Gold Medalists China eventually less than 15 vps ahead. A great finish for the team of GeO... read more here

Two Kiwi Teams Chase Medals. Three good wins, the most impressive being the smallest over table-topping China, has put the Bridge Blacks in line to challenge for a medal on the last day of play. They are now only 9vps behind 2nd placed China... read more here

Our Seniors were by far the busiest of our four teams on this day carrying on their 4 match per day schedule…and 4 from 4 it was, too with the last win against China Hong Kong B being by far the most emphatic. Four wins is great and were... read more here

                                TIME TO SWITCH Remember we left you on Friday at trick 3.... read more here

A day of mixed fortunes. Our Open team would be reasonably happy with three wins over the other three mid-table teams though medal prospects would have been enhanced by a larger win in at least one of their matches. They are though only 13vps... read more here

     India Revisited. Before we move on to Day 4, there were some unusual happenings going on in the final match of Day 3 which deserve a mention. Only the Bridge Ferns and Bridge Masters played these boards. East-West in the... read more here

Bridge Masters Record Four Wins                 Pick of the bunch on Day 4 were the Bridge Masters with 4 wins including one maximum points (who is to quibble over 0.01?!)... read more here

                       A BID TOO FAR. At times, we all tend to underbid hands….and at other times, we all bid a bit too much.... read more here

BRIDGE BLACKS v SINGAPORE. 4.30PM NZ time Friday. on BBO. Day 3 proved to be generally a good day for our 4 teams. A small loss, a bye and a crushing victory over bottom placed India saw our Mixed Blacks climb to 9th in the 11-team competition.... read more here

  BBO COMMENTRY THURSDAY   Bridge Masters at 9.30pm (NZ time) v China Hong Kong A A good day for our Open and Seniors teams but not so good for our Women and Mixed teams. At least after poor results earlier in the day, both Bridge... read more here

         Orchard Road, Singapore. Welcome to the first report on our four teams at the Asia Pacific Bridge Federation Championships for 2019, which are taking place at the York Hotel in Singapore. Firstly,... read more here

Good Planning, Good Luck, Good Result The opposite is often true. A faulty line brings its deserved reward in failure. So, sometimes, sensible play will bring a little piece of good fortune and a good result. Keeping an eye on losers when playing... read more here

Lucky Lie. So, there you are in your 4 heart contract. What you can say is that it looks a better contract than 3NT. You made a good choice when you elected to play in your 5-3 heart fit. North DealsNone Vul ♠ A 4 2... read more here

Finding The Right Game. The words “trump fit” are regularly discussed in Beginners’ Bridge Lessons. The magic number seems to be eight. If you have eight or more cards between you and your partner's hand, then you should be... read more here

NO TRUMPS, NO HOLDS, NO WORRIES….. There are two good things that can happen when you have not got a hold in a suit and you contract for a no-trump contract. Firstly, your partner, who is on your side may help you out with a useful card or... read more here

“WANGLING” ONE’S WAY OUT. Many times, our opponents make bidding difficult for us. Even sometimes when the opponents are silent, our partner can make life impossible for us. Occasionally, even when our partner and the opponents... read more here