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Saving Partner. Looking at the bidding below and at dummy, your first and second reaction might be why your partner is not playing this deal in 3NT. No such joy. They seemed to be looking for slam! They have left you to play a rather precarious... read more here

No slip -ups! It seemed fairly routine initially. South bid their major and North showed a strongish hand with lots of clubs before South ended the auction in 3NT. Soon, you were about to find a discard. What is it to be?  ... read more here

It's Friday...for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players...and others!   Problem Solved. Yes, all hands may seem like problem ones but today we do seem to have a hand that just does not fit into what we have been taught. We look today... read more here

Double? Right but wrong. What might have been. Well, I thought I was right but there were few imps to be won by my action. Indeed, I started doubting whether I was right at all. It’s that difficult area of doubles which is often open to... read more here

Withhold Information. Do not tell the opponents what they do not need to know. That applies equally in bidding and in the play of the hand. Of course, in bidding, you need to explore with your partner to find the right level and denomination but... read more here

  The hard-to-find fit. Today’s deal caused problems for some North-South pairs in a recent Pairs tournament. It all started with the choice of opening bid. We posed two questions to the Panel:      ... read more here

Good news for the declarers unless you find the right defence. Spoiling a Dream. Both pairs could have been defending today’s hand and had the opportunity to defeat the game though in most cases did not. Let’s see how you would go... read more here

Nice breaks for a nice occasion: Sybil turns 100. Congratulations to Sybil Cornell who last Tuesday turned 100. Sybil is of course the mother of Michael, one of our top players for the last 50+ years. No-one would be prouder of Michael’s... read more here

Science and Guesswork: guessing game. Yes, we have a piece of both in today’s problem, a problem caused by one of those perennial problem pre-empts. One day, the pre-empt will back-fire on the pre-emptor but as is so often the case, the... read more here

Plotting the Play. As a defender, you cannot always predict what will happen over the next 12 tricks but sometimes you can. If you can, then perhaps that will help you with your defence. South DealsN-S Vul ♠... read more here

There’s One Thing More Dangerous…. even than a player who bids a long suit at the 4 and then the 5 level, especially vulnerable. That player is a concern to their opponents. Take a look at this:      ... read more here

Richard Solomon officially resigned from his fulltime role as Education and Major Events Manager for NZBridge on the 31st December 2022.   But rest assured we won't go cold turkey as he will continue to contribute in a variety of ways... read more here

It’s Fri    day    for Junior, Intermediate, Novice players...and others! A Problem Solved. The first stage in solving any problem, whether in bridge bidding or anywhere really, is to recognise that you have one! So,... read more here

  PLAN B. Do you need one? Do you have one? You may have a very plausible way of making a contract but it becomes threatened. Do you go down graciously or try to find another way? Board 13North DealsBoth Vul    ... read more here

  Listening to the Bidding. That’s what you should be doing as a defender whether you have lots of hcps or lots of 4s and 5s! Either way, if you and your partner do not bid, you are likely to find yourself on lead!  ... read more here

Avoiding Trouble. We can all get caught by unlucky breaks in a competitive bidding auction. When you have 6 reasonable spades and your left-hand opponent has 6 more, you may not enjoy being declarer. However, it seems we may be able to reduce... read more here

Cards partner does NOT hold! Nice Hand, Partner! Two on-line events took place over this past weekend, Teams on Saturday and Swiss Pairs yesterday, the events being a thank you from New Zealand Bridge for those who have endured many cancelled... read more here

for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players..and others: It's Fri   day. Even if you don’t know why. There are times for a defender to change the line of attack (or more precisely defence) but generally pursuing the same line as your... read more here

Agreements. Normally in bridge, we look at the bidding of a hand first and the play and defence afterwards. Wise folk know that most “normal” situations have exceptions in our game. So, after watching yesterday at the defence to a... read more here

Do you play this lady? Defensive Finessing. If you can never seem to take a successful finesse as a declarer (well, let’s call it “selective memory”!), then how about taking one as a defender! The result can be most rewarding.... read more here

choices! Going somewhere: hopefully not down! 19 hcp is a good number of points to pick up. Yet, when an opponent enters your auction, it can become more difficult:       North DealsBoth Vul  ... read more here

A Valuable Card. Two stories: one card: great value to the defenders. Today’s stories are a mixture of defensive convention and common sense. Let’s have a look: North DealsE-W Vul ♠ 10... read more here

         for less experienced players....and others. It's Fri Playing it Safe. Recently, a declarer failed in their contract when a defender appeared not to go along with one of the guidelines given to new players..and... read more here

Tactics. When one has a distributional hand, one can plan an approach in how to bid. Maybe we jump to a high level. Maybe we take it slowly. Today, we have a hand of some potential though it is unfortunate that the long suit is clubs, the suit... read more here

poor result…again! Pre-empts do work. That’s why we keep churning them out. Whether we like to have AKQ to seven or a little or a lot less in our suit, we like to set the opposition, even alas our partner, with a problem, like this:... read more here

Going higher? Slam time….but for whom? A lively quite informative auction. Are you going to end the bidding or keep going? How many tricks can each side make?  “ ♠ Q 10 9 2... read more here

For a Christmas Stocking. “All a bridge player wants in their Christmas Stocking, Not multi alcohol nor chocolate: really shocking.All a bridge player wants, a small request, please…..”   East DealsE-W Vul... read more here

Taking Care.   For Juniors, Intermediates, Novices and others. There should be a happy ending for the declarer in today’s deal though they will need to earn that good result with some careful play. South DealsNone... read more here