All News

exploration time. The Route to Game. A direct route or an exploratory one? If you know where you are going and have no slam aspirations, then why not go there? Is that the situation here? If not, what further information do we need and how... read more here

“Insurance?” They sit one underneath the other on the hand record of the event. These two deals occurred in the same 10 board match to the same pairs. Maybe the statisticians can tell us the likelihood of that occurring? Let’s... read more here

A Useful Convention. It's Fri Day  for those new to the game Bridge is full of artificial or conventional bids, bids where the meaning is something other than length of cards in the suit bid. There are very few conventions in an initial... read more here

The basic ones. Just Checking. Most players believe they will be defending 90% of the time, or so it seems, because they and their partner always get poor hands. (True?) So, just checking on your defence here. South DealsE-W Vul... read more here

Thinking Ahead. It’s what we should do if possible whether declarer or a defender and in the bidding too. So, what thoughts are going through your mind with the following East hand when your partner leads A: South DealsE-W Vul... read more here

Double is penalties or take-out! Which? Multi Meaning. The Multi 2 is not a universally loved convention even in “Multi – land” New Zealand. That will be seen in our Panel’s comments. However, it is commonly played by our... read more here

Fri    Day…for less experienced players. The Cruel Game. Our declarer felt quite proud of himself while playing today’s deal but was not so happy at the end. Decide how you would play the following 4 contract.... read more here

Five Weeks to the National Bridge Congress It really is time to put in those entries and if you want to take advantage of the 10% cash discount: Pay by 31st August No excuses that your cheque’s in the mail! Use NZB payment system or pay... read more here

Are you listening? The Ruff that helped declarer! You would think when a defender ruffs one of a declarer’s winning tricks that it would be to the defence’s advantage. That may not always be true.   South DealsE-W... read more here

The Price of Pre-emption. We all know that pre-empts do work. Otherwise, we would not keep opening our Weak 2’s, 3’s and 4’s. Yet, there are times they come at a price. West DealsBoth Vul    ... read more here

A Feisty Opponent. “Pre-empts work” is a common enough truism. Today, we have one awkward problem over a triple jump, well maybe two problems. Time to start thinking as the “Stop Card” is already on the table.... read more here

Keeping in Touch. It can be just a little annoying when you have 9 tricks to take in your 3NT contract but you cannot manage to take all of them..and your contract fails.   North DealsNone Vul ♠ A Q 9 6... read more here

FriDay... for those new to the table. The Message. The Learners’ class you attended may have spent lots of time on the bidding and some time on playing hands. However, it probably did not spend too much time on defence perhaps either... read more here

tough choices! Third Ace Lucky! 11 cards in today’s problem hand cry out for the card holder to bid. Yet, the other 2 suggest that passing might be a wise choice. Will the majority rule? Let’s see.  ... read more here

Prove Yourself Right! You’ve got a great hand which gets even greater when partner makes a limit raise (10-11 hcp) in your long major. So, you check on Key Cards and partner lets you down having not one. So, you bail out at the 5-level and... read more here

  “100 Archway” A street address? No way! A way to introduce a special celebration at the Mt Albert Bridge Club on 11th August. Most definitely. Arch Jelley is a special person. In bridge terms that is especially to the Mt... read more here

Last weekend the Coffs Coast Gold Bridge Congress took place and this attracted players from both sides of the Tasman. It was no small event either with 50 Open and 20 Intermediate teams taking part. Ex Kiwis Liam Milne and James Coutts had a... read more here

Fri Day   for less experienced players The Best Bid is….. “Which rule do we follow today?” That might be the thought running through North’s mind after West started with the bidding, 1H. An opening... read more here

The End Justifies the Means Match Point Pairs can be a brutal game but should we really be playing for tops and suffer the occasional (or is it more than the occasional?) bottom or look for average plusses? What then about the following?... read more here

Longest First? The basic concept of opening bids is to open your longest suit first. Two recent deals challenged that theory..or at least one of them did. Your choice as opening the bidding then with:      ... read more here

Being Pushed Around. Your best hand of the night. The strongest hand you have held in terms of high card points for weeks…and what happens? The opponents bid up to game. The vulnerability, naturally, is in their favour. What are you going... read more here

              Another Crappy Overcall? That’s what partners usually have, don’t they? Not vulnerable, anything goes. Well almost…or maybe not quite so true when... read more here

It's Fri  for our Less Experienced Players Do you know where you’re going? A bidding problem for you today on the second round of bidding. Your partner opens with 1H and after your 2C call, partner bids 2D. What is your next bid with... read more here

A Question of Style? Well, so it would seem with today’s bidding problem. You are playing Teams and have been dealt a pretty long suit. You have a mixture of a constructive and pre-emptive hand, the latter coming from having very little in... read more here

Is that dummy? It’s Tough on Defence! You probably already know that! So, let’s walk through this particular deal. You are playing Teams. South DealsNone Vul     ♠ A Q 3... read more here

Missed Opportunity. Some contracts are just unmakeable as long as the defence is accurate. That would apply to today’s deal though when declarer gets a favourable lead, they should be careful to take full advantage. South... read more here

Losers or Loser! Well, if you do not get rid of them, that’s what you will be. So, you had better make a good plan, quickly. Your slam looks a little dicey. North DealsE-W Vul ♠ A K Q J 6 4 2... read more here

It’s Fri Day…for those new to the game. Run, Rabbit, Run!    We are going to focus today on a bidding situation which so many of our newer players get wrong. Have a go at today’s question and see how you fare.... read more here

Twice in a Lifetime? Well, it’s not for me. I am still waiting for the first time. At a time when I thought every South would be reaching for a little used convention locked deep far down in their box of favoured conventions, few did. Would... read more here

The Danger Hand. There was an interesting tussle recently between the declarer and the defence on the following board. Generally, the declarer came out on top but that was more because many defenders gave East a relatively easy ride. We will not... read more here

or is it? Not Quite So Simple. When your contract seems very straightforward, you should take extra-special care. Maybe it is not as simple as it seems. West DealsBoth Vul ♠ J 8 2 ♥ 6 5... read more here

The Problem Solver. That’s a brave, maybe even foolish, statement to make about a bid but the suggestion today may help. So, what would you bid as North in this position?     ♠ K J 10 9 8... read more here