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It’s Fri Day ..for Juniors, Intermediates, Novices and others! A Two- Sided Threat. You can sometimes exert great pressure on a declarer by simply playing your cards in the prescribed manner, nothing flash but doing what the textbook says.... read more here

Second encounter. It’s the second board of the day, the second board of three days with lots of bridge to be played. You have been fired up by making a part-score on the first board and sort your hand for the second encounter.... read more here

What makes the Kaikoura Bridge Tournament so popular?The beautiful coastal town of Kaikoura held their annual 8B Tournament on 20th May. 124 players entered. Each year the tournament gets bigger and is now held in the Memorial Hall on the... read more here

An interesting inference. I wonder if at trick 2 below, you thought to ask one rather relevant question. It might just help your defence. Making the wrong decision below will not prove fatal but it would save both you and your partner a lot of... read more here

for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players...and others, too. It's Fri day.  Doubletons can be good leads too! Many players are taught that doubleton leads are to be avoided, that they help out the declarer with the playing of difficult... read more here

or so I think! The Right Occasion for….. a bid that is rarely used, certainly rarely used at the right time. On this particular occasion, I rather wished it had not been used. More of that later. Let’s begin with a question. What... read more here

Everybody’s guessing! Pre-emption is a delicate art. You want to make it as hard as possible for your opponents, to make them guess. The problem is knowing when they have guessed right! With that in mind, what is your bid with the following... read more here

No exception to this saying. Don’t you love defending? I am sure you do, sometimes. It can, though, be pretty challenging. So, today, the defence seems to start quite well. Partner leads your suit and has a decent holding in your suit, too.... read more here

Trans-Tasman Challenge – Round 4 Friday 26th May saw Round 4 of this on-going challenge between Australian and New Zealand teams, 8 rounds in all. Thus, at the half-way point, these are the current leaders. Round 4  ... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players …and others. It's Fri Day Few points should be no deterrent. We are told we need at least 25 hcp to bid and make a game. That may be true in no-trumps (and even then game has been made on less... read more here

The Missing Jacks. They are usually the least important of the honour cards, that is the honours we attribute points for. Let’s see how we fare when we have four aces, three kings, four queens but no jacks! North DealsBoth Vul... read more here

Does partner know best? This unusual deal occurred in the recent Seniors’ Zone 7 match between New Zealand and Australia. It provided a 3 imp swing to New Zealand though far more imps perhaps should have flowed the other way. Let’s... read more here

An Awkward Two-Suiter. I thought life was easier when one holds spades, the “master-suit”. Not so. We have three suits between our two hands and yet the opposition are making it awkward to find our best fit.    ... read more here

Leading partner’s suit: good or bad? Zone 7: Seniors. Match 2. The second half of the Zone 7 Seniors’ match between Australia and New Zealand took place last Saturday afternoon on Real Bridge. After 28 boards, New Zealand held a... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others. It's Fri Day. A Strange Selection. Why would you ever want to choose a suit bid by your partner where you have only two cards in that suit and have three cards in your... read more here

The Route to a Making Game. On a different day, we might be debating the merits of opening the North hand below 1H. Such a good suit and just about the only suit you would not want your partner to lead were your side to end up as defending! Yet,... read more here

A Kiwi Come-Back. The first half of the Seniors’ Zone 7 on-line play-off between Australia and New Zealand took place yesterday with New Zealand staging a fine recovery after a dismal first 14 boards which saw Australia lead 25-6. A... read more here

or bid? First time at a high level. There is a useful guideline that when we introduce a new suit at the three level that the bid is forcing for at least one round. That’s fine for the three level but what about when the bid is made at the... read more here

ZONE 7 SENIORS PLAY-OFF BERWEEN NEW ZEALAND and AUSTRALIA ZONE 7 Seniors Play-off between Australia and New Zealand will be played on    Tuesday 16th May, start 1pm NZ time, 2 X 14 boards, and Saturday 20th May, start 1pm NZ time,... read more here

for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players...and others. It's Fri Day. Calming those Nerves! Well, bridge is not stress-free. While you all have, I hope, understanding partners, who will be most sympathetic when something goes wrong in your... read more here

Make Aggression Pay. Today’s deal seemed a little tricky both to reach game and then to make it. There were certainly losing options. How would you fare? South DealsNone Vul ♠ K J 7 ♥... read more here

4+2+3= 8! Having 9 tricks does not always mean it is easy to make 3NT. They can be awkward to unravel and if you are not careful, 9 could easily become 8. With that in mind, have a look at today’s deal. South DealsNone Vul... read more here

Too Aggressive? We all have, or maybe should have, unwritten rules about when to pre-empt. It is common to be “a little frisky” when the vulnerability is in our favour. However, what about when only our side is vulnerable? How good do... read more here

  Within the space of six months, New Zealand Bridge has lost four of its Life Members. In November 2022, we said farewell to Shirley Waymouth and in March 2023 to both Alan Turner and John Wignall. Last week, it was to Tony Thomson. Tony,... read more here

Now is the hour. Overbidding can sometimes be rewarded with a helpful dummy, maybe even helpful defence or a fortunate lie of the cards. On other occasions, you need to find some way to avoid the inevitable defeat. The dummy below was not all... read more here

It's Fri  Day... for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players....and others! A Valuable Asset? We are on lead again, in the spotlight but are not leading blind or in hope. There’s been a bit of bidding from our partner… and that... read more here

A “Maybe” Slam. When opener shows a minimum hand and the responder is in the “maybe slam” zone, it is good to keep the bidding as low as you can to see if a slam move is warranted. Today’s deal raises questions in... read more here

 A “No Go” Area? When the opposition show a flat 20-22 hcp hand to open the bidding, it is normally a “no go” area for the opposition. You would need something special to bid at the 3-level when 2NT is opened on your... read more here

may be easier! Easier than Declaring? If only we knew when that would be. When the opposition have bid aggressively and quickly to the 5-level, there is little time to decide. It’s Pairs and neither side is vulnerable. East... read more here

    New Zealand champion Pamela Livingston talks about finding your bridge passion and sharing that passion, why mentorship and access to resources are so important for the future of the game, and neurodiversity in... read more here

in the singular! Only One Loser. You certainly do not want that person to be you but that’s certainly the outcome you would like as you have propelled yourself to the 6-level and have bought yourself a not unreasonable dummy. “Fight... read more here

A Rare Opportunity. When the opportunity to use a rare bid that has been in your “system tool-box” for 100+ years  comes up, do remember to use it. A shame if you forget. The same applies to the play of a hand. Such opportunities... read more here