Improver articles

A squeeze you can perform. You may have heard of this term “squeezing an opponent”. You may think it is something the “better players do”. Certainly, they do get extra tricks, make seemingly impossible contracts, by... read more here

                   ASSIGNING BLAME As well as being a story about a bridge hand, this is a story about attitude at the bridge table. We know that our game... read more here

And the Danger is…..? Often the danger that can await you on a board may not be apparent as it can arise from a card or series of cards held by the declarer. On the following deal, the defender should have been aware of the danger as it... read more here

THE “MISSING” HEARTS Have you heard that defence, maybe declarer play, even bidding too, is about “counting”? Right from the time you sort your cards (are you sure you have 13?), you are counting…high card points,... read more here

Careful or Careless? When suits break evenly, playing a contract is relatively easy. There is usually more than one path to success even if your path is not the one taken by the experts. Yet, the mark of a good Bridge player is a careful Bridge... 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

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

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

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

Guiding Partner Good defence can be thoughtful defence. You know what needs to be done but partner may not be on the same wave-length. If you can, guide them. Look at the very simple error which occurred in the defence to this part-score.... read more here

“Don’t Send a Boy on a Man’s Job” The “boy’s” name was Jack.  He was sacrificed, was sent out too early. His loss caused a break-down of the whole operation (contract) resulting in failure. Cause of... read more here