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for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players....and others. It's Fri Day.  A Difficult Deal. Today’s deal is difficult for both sides. We will look at it through the eyes of North-South. It shows the value of good Hand Evaluation and... read more here

The Mixed Team Trial to determine which team goes to the World Championships in Argentina in October takes place over this coming weekend (a 3 day weekend for the 2 most successful teams) in Auckland. The event takes place upstairs at the... read more here

Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory. It would never happen to you, would it? Before you write today’s article off as being too simplistic, consider all the basic points behind it like: Counting your winners. Be aware of the... read more here

Dealing with Disaster. It happens someday to us all, whether you are playing in a World Championship final or in your first night out of classes at your club. You will get a bad result. How should you deal with that bad score? It’s hard but... read more here

A High-Wire Lead. Some action today from the Open Teams  at the Gold Coast Congress. Victory went to the Ware team below though they would not even have made the final had the following semi-final board gone against them. Ware: ... read more here

Ivy Dahler Restricted Butler Pairs winners, Derek Bartosh and Jan Bennett, from Auckland.  Haste need not mean waste. Firstly, congratulations to the mixed Kiwi- Australian team which won the Gold Coast Teams at the weekend winning the 64... read more here

Protection! You sit there thinking about how to bid your potentially nice 20 pointer. What should you open? Well, that decision is taken away from you by an opening 1S bid on your left. Then, out comes 4H from your partner and suddenly your... read more here

Big hand: little hand. There are frequent discussions about how forcing a sequence is when one partner opens 2. I have already stated that I think 2 is best treated as forcing to game and that the partner with less than nothing just has to keep... read more here

A reward for risk. This deal from the first round of the Gold Coast Teams proved too hard for many declarers. What are your thoughts about coming to 10 tricks? Overtricks can wait for another deal! North DealsN-S Vul... read more here

Who’s the boss? Well, some hands involve an exchange of information to reach the right contract, both the level and the suit denomination. Then, there are others where one partner takes control and when it comes to slam bidding, it is the... read more here

or even: No Double Spells Trouble! The first 56 boards at the Gold Coast Congress produced relatively few excursions to the slam zone. The following one produced mixed outcomes for the slam bidders. Our problem today is for those on lead at... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others. It’s Fri Day! Gamblers. Some bridge deals can be bid, defended and played in a precise manner. Players bid what they have and barring bad breaks, they should be making their... read more here

The “unusual” Unusual 2NT. The Unusual 2NT overcall is a popular convention which often produces good results in either pushing one’s opponents to an uncomfortably high level or even guiding one’s partner into a... read more here

Two Slips to a Making Game. Today’s contract should have been defeated and generally was but produced a couple of interesting situations which were missed at one table, the combination of which allowed the declarer to slither home.... read more here

  To beat a game: to make a game! While the defence to today’s deal, coming from the recent South Island Teams, is not entirely straightforward, I was surprised that the popular 4S contract was made at most tables. Firstly, therefore,... read more here

   Jeff Miller and Graeme Stout. “Southern” winners for South Island Teams. The South Island Teams took place over the past weekend on-line with a huge entry of 58 teams. Fittingly, it was a South Island team which took the... read more here

for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players...and others! It's Fri  day.  One Point, One Bid, One Unhappy Partner! Well, that’s what happened but did it have to? North picked up a very very poor hand. They did not want to bid at... read more here

  The best lead does not always bring the best results! The Best Lead? Well, you want to find the most challenging lead for the declarer. On the following board, the most challenging lead was not necessarily going to beat South’s... read more here

Linda Cartner and Glenis Palmer. “Late singing” once more. I talked yesterday in the report of the Open Trial that nothing is certain until the last card has been played…or until “the fat lady sings”. She did not... read more here

Leon Meier High drama in Open Trial. The New Zealand National Youth Weekend was held in Christchurch in August 2019. I was told there was a last minute entry from a young local player who had just learnt the game a couple of weeks before. We... read more here

Game gone begging. It’s lovely making a game with just 15 high card points between your two hands. It is a bit more frustrating when you could have made the game but did not. West DealsBoth Vul ♠ K Q... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others! It’s Fri  Day. Not real support! Well, it sounded like support to North. Their partner bid the suit they had opened and they had a decent hand, 15 high card points and a... read more here

right...and wrong! The Right Bids ..with a wiggle in the middle! North-South were not a regular partnership and the pre-play discussions covered several “normalish” bidding situations like Michael’s cue-bids and in particular... read more here

A Powerful Problem. So, you are fed up with picking up 1 and 2 counts? You dream of something a little stronger. Well, those sitting South in the afternoon session of  Consolation Pairs at the Tauranga Bridge Club’s Mini Congress had... read more here

The Key Card. We are not talking about a Blackwood response but the most important card for declarer in today’s deal. Indeed, North did not use any form of Blackwood in reaching slam. In laying down dummy, words like I hope you have the... read more here

Lots of clubs!  for Juniors, Intermediates and Novice players...and anyone who likes long suits! We think we are getting an unusual hand when we have a 7-card suit. Very occasionally, it is an 8-card suit. 9-card? Once a decade if you play... read more here

Counting to Ten…that’s the trick(s ). Some deals are quite straightforward to play. Others are much harder. Let’s see how you would classify the following:   South DealsN-S Vul ♠ 4... read more here

Insurance? There are two things certain about today’s problem. Firstly, your partner, West, has a very good hand and secondly problems like this do not go away. They are why we keep playing! (Believe that if you wish!) You are faced with... read more here

Lucky…or not! That is often the case when it comes to opening leads. Sometimes, you have a stand-out safe-looking lead which most in your seat would make…so, if it fails, it fails for others, too. Yet, then there are those occasions... read more here

Powerful and Visible. Ideally, when one hand is very strong and the other very weak, we like the stronger hand to be declarer, not only because its honours are usually protected at trick 1 but also because the opponents are less likely to find a... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others! It’s Fri  day! Early Planning A cheap trick early in the play may not be what a declarer wants. What say you?     South DealsBoth Vul... read more here

Priority of problems. There are times when the safest way to play a suit has to take a back-seat as there is a more pressing issue to consider. That would be the case with today’s deal. South DealsE-W Vul ♠... read more here

Do not forget me! The “Boss” Suit is? Michaels bids often cause problems for one side. Today it is for the side which opened the bidding. The problem is further complicated by the fact that we are playing Pairs where if you have a... read more here

The Only Chance. Despite your interference, the opponents drift into 3NT. You start off in normal fashion but perhaps there is a time to stop and take stock. North DealsN-S Vul ♠ K Q 6 4 ♥... read more here

Take the money? Transfer responses to a 1C opening bid are becoming quite popular. Although today’s deal does feature this method, the problem is as much about judgement and reading the opponents’ bidding as it is about this method.... read more here