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for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players....and others. It's Fri day.  Worth a mention? You have not got much of a hand….but your partner has! They opened a Game Forcing 2C. So, you had better co-operate. What should you bid as... read more here

All care along the way. One can bid and then play some boards in a routine fashion, finding a fit easily, perhaps drawing trumps and then claiming for the required number of tricks. Then, there are others:   ♠... read more here

An old chestnut? What you see…or what you hope partner has! Another opening lead problem from the North Island Pairs. It covers familiar territory though few East players got it right at the table….or at least completely right.... read more here

Time to Break the Rule? Our game is full of rules/guidelines about how we are best to play, bid or defend. We glory in knowing the right time to go against the recommended approach. The question today is whether “now is the hour” to... read more here

Johnny Davidson.  North Island Pairs On-line. After a most successful on-line South Island Pairs a couple of weeks back, the Waikato Bays Region hosted the North Island Pairs on-line. There were not quite so many pairs, 58 as opposed to 74,... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others: it’s Fri  Day! The Dangerous Discard. While today’s story features discarding to a long suit, the happy end for the defenders would not have happened without the... read more here

Five Level: Fast Lane! There were plenty of decisions to be made around the table with today’s board. Try the following one as South. You are playing Swiss Pairs.         North DealsN-S Vul... read more here

Times change. Many many years ago, one only pre-empted with two of the top three honours, maybe even three of the top four, in the suit one has opened. The same applied for a Weak 2. That made bidding and defending a lot easier for their partner... read more here

  The Wellington Main Regional Teams was held last weekend at the Wellington Bridge Club. While the number of participating teams was at 18 rather low, most of the usual suspects were there. However, there were one pair who really should... read more here

Malcolm Smith…a man with plenty of  not much! A Guiness Record Book Deal. There are two questions for you today relating to the bridge hand below. You are not required to choose a bid. You have already chosen yours and surely it is... read more here

for Junior and Intermediate players....and others. It's Fri  day.  A Dangerous Opponent. Something perhaps tough for Junior players today: something perhaps to aspire to. The following deal looked pretty routine, at least when South... read more here

Choices….. Often, when the opposition open the bidding, we have one obvious bid to make. Sometimes, we may have a choice of two bids…and then there are the times when it is much harder…like here!   South... read more here

Wrong but Right. Could it be because this deal occurred in a Pairs competition that so few pairs bid to an excellent slam? Let’s be generous and say “yes”. Perhaps some East-West spade intervention did not enable North to... read more here

                                                      stolen bid!   The natural psych! Something a... read more here

Jan Cormack Age is no barrier to success. The South Island Pairs was played on-line this past weekend, hosted by the Nelson Bridge Club. There was plenty of bridge with 4 x 30 board sessions and an excellent turn-out with 74 pairs taking part.... read more here

for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players...and others! It's Fri day.  A “Maybe” Trick. Today’s deal offers a number of instructive points about play and defence, perhaps in bidding, too. For now, we will watch the deal... read more here

Not quite the norm. It seems however you treat today’s problem hand, it will fall outside what partner expects you to hold. Maybe, then, the aim should be to finish as declarer to prolong the suspense of what you do have…or in this... read more here

Pearson Points to Passing! The two hands below have some things in common but one point of difference. The bidding in each case starts in an identical way.... read more here

                                    can be different.  A Teams and a Pairs top! What does it take to score a good board at Teams? Bidding a... read more here

Never presume you have nothing to say! Round 4 of the monthly Trans-Tasman Teams took place this past Friday evening. It was a great night for two teams, Cornell and the Australian Seniors Team who both recorded maximum wins. For Cornell, with... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others! Slam tools. We all love bidding slams, as long as we then make them! We are, justifiably, a little nervous, maybe more circumspect when it comes to grand slams. One slip or bad break... read more here

The price we may pay. Penalty doubles and even bids by opponents issue warnings to a declarer that suits are breaking badly. We have to be pretty sure that when we do double for penalties that the warning given is not enough to put declarer on... read more here

Does it really matter? An innocuous choice. Well, is it? You might think so but it could be the key to success or failure on the following board. East DealsNone Vul ♠ 9 8 ♥ K 10 7 3... read more here

Cream….or custard!  Could that describe our hand today? Altogether, you have a 16 hcp hand. It must sound promising that you have a game to bid and make. Well…..         West... read more here

Beaten…quickly! Swift Sequence and quickly down! Today’s deal is both instructive and exciting. Let’s put you on lead after the following sequence:   ♠ K 10 4 ♥ A K... read more here

  For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players..and others! It's fri day! Before trumps are drawn! There are times to follow the golden rule of drawing the opponents’ trumps as soon as you and there are times when your priorities... read more here

                                                        guess which one? Finesse for slam.... read more here

Grant and Debs reliving this board and others.  Just good friends…on the same wavelength…Just! Indeed, Debs Smith and Grant Jarvis are just that…and occasionally, they get to play bridge together like last weekend at... read more here

Safety First. There was lots of bridge played over the past weekend especially in Auckland, Hastings and Wanaka. All three Congresses featured Teams events where if we can, one's aim is to find to the safest game, given there is a choice. With... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players..and others. It’s Fri day! Putting the pressure on! Competitive bidding often creates difficult situations. One good piece of advice is to bid quickly to where you think (with emphasis on... read more here

No Profit from “Crime”. Whoever says crime does not pay, certainly when the crime is reaching the no-trump game and totally missing the top-scoring suit game. At Teams, such a “crime” might gain or lose an imp, not... read more here

                                                 to the fore! The strange case of the Missing Majors. We all know that... read more here

Kiwi Success in Bangkok New Zealand did not send official teams to the 9th APBF Open Bridge Congress which was held in Bangkok from 18th until 27th May this year. However, two self-funded New Zealand teams did attend: Tislevoll: GeO Tislevoll... read more here