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A DEAL TO PROVE THE RULES Often, boards written up create exceptions to what seem to be the rules or guidelines created to help us through a particular deal. It’s fun seeing when and how and why we should “break” those rules.... read more here

Any Action? With today’s hand, the above comment could apply equally to the opening bidder and to their opponents. We focused in our question as to what might happen after the bidding started with a 3H pre-empt but should there have been a... read more here

We really hope the news about this year’s National Bridge Congress is and remains good. The best news we can give this year is that it will take place as scheduled between Saturday 26th September and Saturday 3rd October at the Sir Don... read more here

a happy team from Whangarei...see why below. Greetings to all from “Whangarainy”. I normally say the "Winterless North" and although we are not cold, boy has it been wet. A devastating flood here July 17 saw many homes and businesses... read more here

To Win the Yeh Cup Online Teams. “Slowly but Surely” Were this a normal year, then the prestigious Yeh Bros Invitation Teams would have been taking place. This is no normal year and an on-line invitation Teams event took place over... read more here

Down to the Wire. The National Rubber Bridge competition has been an important if not over-popular part of our bridge calendar for many years. It presents a very different way of playing the game. We hand deal, really want to pick up lots of... read more here

         WRONG BUT ALL RIGHT. A couple of days ago, we gave an example of being “wrong” but “right” in the bidding. Here, we look at a play problem where being wrong did not mean that... read more here

     Wrong but Right. Can you be both right but wrong? Five imps in in a Teams match sounds a fair pick-up but were you a little fortunate? Our Panel thinks so:         East... read more here

Strong Preference…and Restricted Choice! Maybe you rather regret your opening bid after partner’s quadruple jump. They certainly had a fine hand and perhaps did not expect you to have problems with the suit which became trumps. Yet,... read more here

Into the stratosphere? When your part-score contract is defeated by four tricks and you were cold for an overtrick in game in a different suit, something must have gone wrong in the bidding. Was it bad luck, wrong judgment or the... read more here

IDEAL If “I” was to create the perfect “deal” to demonstrate a certain convention, then this would be it. It had all the ingredients, all the clues, to make one glad one had this weapon in one’s armoury. Let’s... read more here

Scoring well. Stopping that Overtrick. Well, you are playing Pairs and even if you cannot beat their contract, you do not want to concede any overtricks. That’s your aim with today’s problem. An under-trick would be nice but at least... read more here

a double celebration for Barry Smith (pictured here with his wife, Judith). See below what he was celebrating. It was back to bridge, as if we had never left it. Unfortunately, as I was about to send this update to NZBridge, we found our first... read more here

Where is the queen? Maybe you should have taken the money assuming there was much to be had (there was not!) but you hope that “the 5 level does not belong to the opposition” this time. You are in 5 with an 8- card trump fit and with... read more here

Avoiding the “ruff”. No matter how it is spelt, you want to avoid it whether you have a club or 13 cards in your hand. We cannot be much help here with the former but let’s see if a ruff can be avoided at the table.... read more here

Should we pass: can we pass? The two parts of the title refer to two separate bids, one which we have already made and the other to a situation we helped to create. We did not pass at the first opportunity and are faced by rather a strange couple... read more here

Part 2. Well, today, unlike yesterday, you really have nothing, not even one jack over which to gloat! Do not let anyone ever tell you that 10’s are wonderful cards. They are when they are the fifth highest card in a suit: otherwise not... read more here

Potentially wonderful. Sometimes, you hear some excellent news when you ask your partner to bid. They bid your best and longest suit and jump the bidding to show they have high-card points as well. Which way forward and how far are the questions... read more here

Part 1. Well, it was “much ado” about not much since you were dealt one jack. Partner was silent during the bidding and thus there was no stress involved there. Up and up they went with spades looking like their preferred suit until... read more here

“Silence is golden.” Can “pass” be correct? This is not really the story of the East hand you see below. Yet, without East who faced this problem, there would have been no story! The story concerns a pair of bridge... read more here

Is anyone watching? We should be familiar with the concept of giving one’s partner a ruff. When you do so, you suggest what partner plays next after the ruff. By playing a high card in the suit in which the ruff is given, you suggest... read more here

Onwards and Upwards? You have 18 hcp and a decent 6 card suit and your partner opened the bidding at the 1 level. With opening bids seemingly getting weaker and weaker, should we give up at the Game level? After all, we have no fit established.... read more here

Take advantage of it! Working Finesses. They really do, sometimes, and when they do, you want to take advantage of them. Yet, some finesses are not quite as straightforward as you imagine. South DealsBoth Vul ♠ A... read more here

Hand.. Full of Potential. With many aces, first or second round control of all four suits and a fit established, it would seem the “sky could be the limit”, certainly the 7-level. The opposition have been kind enough to let you... read more here

Jane Lennon has plenty to smile about. She has achieved something quite remarkable this month…….. read on to find out more. Covid-19 smashed a huge hole in our tournament program, and of course all tournaments for March, April, May... read more here

It’s not what they play….. Which way? What to do? It looks like you can beat the contract. Maybe but you have an important decision to make and if you get it wrong, the score is -620. Decision time!   East... read more here

“Bread and Butter” Bidding. 2 Level Overcalls revisited. It really is important to get the basic bidding right. Then, you can concentrate on the harder bidding decisions. There should have been no hard decisions to make on... read more here

Breaking the Rules? Should You? You know the rule, or do you? Let’s just check and see if there is any reason to break the rule. It is one of those “we have got hearts: they have got spades” boards. How high should we go?... read more here

The missing queen. Where is she? You are not allowed to look at your opponents’ cards or even rearrange them to suit your purposes but you can play a board in such a manner that the opponents’ cards are sorted such that would suit... read more here

12 pairs representing five Auckland schools took part in the annual Auckland-Northland Schools Pairs competition held at the Auckland Bridge Club on the morning of Sunday July 26th . There was a very friendly and competitive atmosphere as the... read more here

Rate this bid! Your Kind of Overcall? What constitutes a vulnerable 2 level overcall? How bad can it be? These two questions are lurking behind today’s problem. While the actual deal is a freak, the question one might ask is whether you... read more here

Keeping Options Open. While there are times when playing or defending a hand that you have to go down one path for success, that is not always the case. Let’s look at the following defensive situation: South DealsE-W Vul... read more here

Getting a Plus. It may not be a big plus but to go negative would be an absolute disaster. Your partner had a decision to make when you doubled for a second time. They thought that beating the opponent’s game contract would more easily... read more here

Controlled Optimism. If I were to put down a hand as dummy with three suits headed by AK, I would not be ashamed of my bidding if I had started it with a game-force opening. That could well be the case with today’s hand though does it... read more here

Walking a Tightrope. It’s Pairs and the bidding is fast and furious. You have rather pushed the opponents higher than they probably wanted to go and for that to be the right thing to do, you need to defend accurately. There’s no room... read more here