All News

WE DID IT How wonderful to be proved wrong. We seemed a long way off making the quarter-final stage of the Bermuda Bowl.... but our Open Team did it. Read on and see how dramatically close it was.   Open  ... read more here

Hindsight is a wonderful  thing to have. At the start of Day 6, our Open Team would need about 40vp from Day 6 to stay competitive for the top 8. Read on to see if they could achieve that on a day of three very hard matches. ... read more here

Our Open Team started the day against top placed Sweden. A really bloody board helped one of these countries to score an excellent win. See if you would have avoided going for -1100.     Open    ... read more here

Lyon – Day 4 Among the interestingly shaped hands today was a powerful 7-5 in the reds and a blockbuster 4-9 in the majors. If you like that kind of excitement, then the South seat is where you should be!   Open... read more here

Lyon – Day 3. Life in the nervy 5 level....a hand with 2 x 6 card suits....and some more freaky slams. Some good news....and less good news re our three teams in France.... read more here

Lyon Day 2 Three wins for our Open team but disappointment for our other two teams on the second day of competition. Plenty of interest including a wonderful vulnerable sacrifice at the 7 level.... read more here

 Stop  Cards are “ear” to stay! There are just two serious statements I want to make this week. The first is unlike a number of bridge players, I am very much in favour of the use of “Stop” cards, or should I... read more here

Welcome to the first of the daily reports from Lyon on the progress of the three New Zealand teams who are taking part in the Bermuda Bowl/ Venice Cup competitions. We all hope for performances to match those of our Open and Women’s Teams in... read more here

We will start daily reports on the progress of the three New Zealand teams in the World Championship events(Open, Senior and Women) on the morning of Monday August 14th.   Richard Solomon read more here

OUT OF SIGHT: OUT OF MIND They are very considerate at the New Plymouth Bridge Club. They know that when you are scoring well, you are very happy for everyone to see your score. When, shall we say, you have just experienced or in the case of... read more here

August 2017 - Cynthia Clayton (Hamilton) - Card player and maker. Cynthia has been involved in Bridge for over 40 years, first playing, then teaching in Hawkes Bay before moving to Rotorua and then on to Hamilton. She is a Silver Grand Master... read more here

BUT THEY BID HEARTS! Bridge is full of good pieces of advice … and we know that sometimes we find reasons to break the advice. However, such tips are there for a purpose. At least one player paid the price when they did not follow a very... read more here

Counting down the days…. It’s less than two months until the Congress gets under way. So, if you have not done so, now would be a great time to start entering the events you want to play. You can do that without reaching for your... read more here

EXPOSING A RISKY RUSE On this board, a declarer played a dangerous game and came up smelling of roses, but should the defence have been able to work out what was happening? Let’s look at the board from the point of view of West.... read more here

Sweet Orange ….. or Sour Lemon? You start off with a hand of great potential which is either decimated by the sight of dummy (“You are on my side, partner…or have you forgotten?”) or by subsequent bidding or by a wrong... read more here

LOSE ONE TO WIN TWO. When you are playing in a no-trump contract, it is rarely correct to play all your aces and kings at the start unless you can see you have enough tricks to make your contract. Even then, sometimes, crafty declarers can make... read more here

HEART ATTACK …and HEART BREAK! The evening was littered with long heart suits. The heart suit normally has to play second fiddle to the black  spades but much of the action revolved around the red hearts. Spring Lin and Kevin Fan were... read more here

As I’m into the second week of calving and life is busy on the farm, I apologise in advance for this month’s regional round up … it is likely to be shorter than usual, riddled with errors with a few unsubstantiated stories... read more here

A “Partnership” Slam Much of the time when we have bid to slams (good slams, that is!), the play can be quite straightforward. One must be very careful in the play but barring very bad trump breaks, the line to success should be quite... read more here

  There’s Always a Way Don’t we love Deal Master Pro, that little box at the bottom of each hand on the hand record we clutch at the end of any session of Bridge? It can be so reassuring…27 high card points but somehow... read more here

SHOWING A STRONG HAND When the opposition open the bidding with a suit bid at the one level, we double to show an opening hand reasonably balanced between the other three suits apart from opener’s. There is, though, another type of hand for... read more here

ONCE MORE INTO BATTLE In English History, it could be “The Wars of The Roses” between Yorkshire and Lancashire. In cricket, it could be the battle for “The Ashes” between England and Australia. It could be Trans-Tasman... read more here

DIAGNOSIS OF A DISASTER The opposition reached a very poor 3NT contract, with insufficient high card points and no real long suit to run….at least not without a loser or two first. They got a little lucky with the break and position of... read more here

 A Bidders’ World. Would you?  Should you?  There’s not any money at stake but you are playing Rubber Bridge and you are winning the match. The opponents are vulnerable and stand to claw back your advantage if they make... read more here

The Finesse That Cannot Fail. Everyone is taught the art of finessing at a very early stage of their bridge career. Playing a small card towards AQ gives you a 50% chance of success, even if you feel that more than half of your finesses do fail!... read more here

Hope Springs Eternal The emotions one can through during the 7 or so minutes you play a hand of bridge can be quite contrasting. You can start off with dreams of gold, a nicely shapely hand with an almost solid suit…and just for once, your... read more here

They Do Not Come Very Often…. Especially when your partner opens a strong 1NT! So, enjoy the minute or two bidding such a hand and hopefully you can have a sensible auction to the right spot. One such hand occurred last weekend in the... read more here

July 2017: Heather and Chris Jared It is a great pleasure having joint nominations this month with the award going to husband and wife, Heather and Chris Jared. They have been long-time supporters of the Hutt Bridge Club in particular and of... read more here

THE IMPORTANCE OF…..or Replacing the Guess You can manage without it but without it, it becomes guesswork. You can try and guess what is happening with a deal, what the declarer wants you to do and therefore do the opposite. You can... read more here

Getting Rid of Your Losers The teacher said when you are in a trump contract, it is usually best to draw the opposition’s trumps. Normally, hopefully, your side has more than they do and you can stop their trumps being a threat. The... read more here