All News

The image. What image? It’s not an image. It’s a cold hard fact, a black fact, set in concrete. Well, you need a spade or two to “set concrete”. The image…the fact…is that if you hold more spades, you are... read more here

The “slow” or the “fast” lane? A night of fairly routine games and part-scores was brought to life at some tables by a deal where no pair could bid the better of the available slams but where there was much interest in... read more here

We have the next installment of teaching material now this website.  This is the Powerpoint presentations for Improver classes.  A big thank you to the Teaching committee and Amanda Smith for their hard work in providing the... read more here

September in Hamilton Our National Congress is less than three months away. We hope many of you are not just thinking of coming to Hamilton for all or part of the week but have started planning to do so. Some have already registered and paid. For... read more here

LEADING AGAINST SLAMS There are those who think leading against slams is a pretty random occupation. Actually, “leading” against any contract is pretty random. By the time they have key carded or cue-bid their way to slam, you may... read more here

The Wellington Regional Committee has thanked and farewelled Dinnie Hall, our chair over the last 6 years. She was still smiling as we broke up, which is a tribute to the enervating effect of bridge administration. Or maybe it's just the way... read more here

This is a new award, to be made monthly, to someone in our bridge community who “gives”, a true volunteer. So many people volunteer to help make our game so enjoyable. New Zealand Bridge wants to highlight, say “thank you”... read more here

Here’s an opportunity for you to tell an interesting,perhaps funny story about some recent bridge happening. Maybe your partner or an opponent did something pretty smart. (You are far too modest to own up to your own brilliancies, I hope!).... read more here

  Junior/Intermediate Teams winners at the Hawke's Bay Congress, Susan Brown, Karen Eriksen, Jolene Zink and Judith Lucas There’s only one place to begin, at this year’s, the 24th, Hawke’s Bay Congress. It was held as... read more here

 A "Recipe for Success" by Karen Martelletti The Tauranga club decided to take a leaf out of the book of the Hamilton club and run a novice session alongside their Intermediate and Junior tournaments (all held on the same day). The novices... read more here

    You wish, don’t you that the line you take for any contract is the right line, the play that ensures your contract is “cold”. You do not want always to have easy contracts, at least not if you want to do well,... read more here

Congratulations to the Royle Epsom Bridge Club and especially to the club owner, Angela Royle, who organized a 24 hour Bridge Marathon on Friday/ Saturday 11th/12th June in the clubrooms. The event raised $7245 for children with severe burns... read more here

The Art of Diving Two boards offered East-West the chance of diving at perhaps uncomfortable levels but few achieved the optimum results on the two boards. Certainly, one required North-South to take mildly aggressive action before the... read more here

We bridge players are used to hearing comments made like “My grandmother plays bridge.” The comments we want to hear more of are ones like: “My grandchildren are playing bridge…and love the game.”   New... read more here

Wild Weather and Hands The dealing machine was certainly in tune with the elements this Wednesday night and threw up some freaky hands with awkward decisions in the bidding and play. One of the more awkward ones came early in the evening.... read more here

       Douglas's co-correspondent. Read on to find out more. Well, the weather in Auckland might be pretty chilly at the moment, but the bridge is hot hot hot, with tournaments just about every weekend (and more) to... read more here

“Be Prepared” That’s the motto for boy scouts and for bridge players, especially defenders. You know those precious few moments when you as a defender see dummy…and the declarer does their thinking about how to play the... read more here

East Pier Hotel, Napier, the new Hawke's Bay Congress venue. Yes, plenty of all three this past weekend with major bridge congresses in Napier and Auckland along with two major tournaments at the Otago Bridge Club. A teaser though to whet the... read more here

31 POINTS FOR 6H? “NOT TODAY, JOSEPHINE”. No, we are not referring to the wife of one of the bridge greats, Ely Culbertson, who was no slouch of a player herself. If you read the advice given to beginners, you need at least 31 points... read more here

It’s not easy when you are a full-time student and are aiming to play against the world’s best bridge players in this year’s World Championships in Poland. There’s the little question of finding enough time to practice and... read more here

  EXTRA PLACE IN RUBBER BRIDGE FINALS   Each year, the National Rubber Bridge finals take place at the National Congress. Each of our seven regions is currently running a knock-out event to determine which pair will... read more here

  Giving Status Not all our tournament players will get their chance to represent this country playing bridge. It’s a neat feeling to have done so. We want if possible to give as many players as possible the chance to represent and if... read more here

BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS So you thought 15-17 was a range in respect of strong no trump openings or overcalls? That maybe but at Akarana Bridge Club, it spelt out some boards which attracted some rather hefty scores. Board 15 was fairly tame at all... read more here

A tribute to the late Lindsay Adams who “passed peacefully away” on May 19th stated “Just a warm, gentle, very kind man, a privilege to have known Lindsay.” That too is my memory of Lindsay, coupled with a lovely little wry... read more here

YOUR JOB You know that old saying about “second player playing low”. Just like every “old saying”, there are times when you these wise sayings do not apply. East really should have been a little more alert on this deal.... read more here