All News

Fri Play... for those new to the game.  Be Careful: It’s a hold up! The bidding seemed very straightforward. What about the play? South suddenly realised that they were the declarer! Pressure. Let’s hope not too much.... read more here

Chances Aplenty. 33 hcp, a 5-4 trump fit with all the honours present and just one ace along with a key queen in a different suit missing. We have all been in far far worse slam contracts than that. Nevertheless, there’s work to be done to... read more here

nearly that many! How to handle all those hearts! A hand like the following has been seen many times before but there seems a wide difference of opinion on how it should be treated. Many who held this hand and their partners did not seem to be... read more here

but strange. That seems to sum up our feature deal for today. There was a little sting in the tail for some of the East-West pairs when this deal was played out. Firstly, we gave you a slightly strange question to East who held:  ... read more here

Think before you pick. It’s 3NT. It’s trick 1. It’s vital. I am sure you have been there many times. Just take a couple of deep breaths before you play. That might be our ultimate message today but our initial problem is the... read more here

Fri   Play…for those new to the game. The Exception to the Rule. We are told it is usually a very good idea to draw the opposition’s trumps as soon as possible so that they cannot use them for winning tricks. Yet, that... read more here

Sour Grapes? Perhaps that is indeed how I feel about today’s problem which seemed to be a problem for a good many defenders less than a week ago. So, it’s your turn. North DealsBoth Vul ♠ Q J 9 7... read more here

Lost and Forgotten! A shame but there is one suit that does not get a look-in in many auctions….and that may be to the cost of one partnership in today’s deal. Would you feel like taking a bid with this sparkling collection in this... read more here

Attack or Go Passive but not both. There are deals where the defence has to find a dramatic switch part way through in order to beat a contract. The signs are ominous if you do not, like declarer running a long suit. Yet, that is not always the... read more here

Fri Play... for those New to the Game “Pray” and Good Play Combined. You can pray, hope, wish that the cards lie well for you when you are playing a bridge deal but you have to play the cards as well as you can to give yourself the... read more here

Simple but Effective. That’s the message from today’s deal. Here, then, is your opening lead problem. Maybe it is not a problem? North DealsE-W Vul     ♠ 10 7 3... read more here

A Guiding Hand. Have you ever felt as a defender you just do not know which suit to play next? Should you switch or just carry -on with the suit you have led? Often, your partner will say whether they liked or did not like the lead or perhaps... read more here

A “May-be Slam” Approaching a “maybe” slam is what today’s article is about. Your partner opens a weak no trump and you have a 16-count, a reasonable but not great suit and no shortage. Two flattish hands, therefore,... read more here

Second but no third chance. Now, Later or Never. Following suit and waiting patiently for good things to happen works on some boards though not all the time. Sometimes, you have to make it happen to achieve a good result. Making it happen can... read more here

“Fri-yay Play” for those new to the game. Leading and not Leading Aces. One of the guidelines we are given as we learn about the basics of the game is “not to lead unsupported aces”. Let’s see what that means. In... read more here

No luck involved. Well, you might think you would be unlucky if you failed in today’s contract. However, on reflection, you might feel you were not so unlucky and deserved your poor result. Have a look.   East DealsE-W Vul... read more here

Refreshing Fridays…for those new to the table. Bid to game and  take a finesse. There is no such thing as a “simple” bridge hand when you start playing. They are all tough. At this time of year, many new players are... read more here

How Alive is “The Law”? That is “The Law of Total Tricks”. In its crudest form, you bid to the level of the number of trumps in your two hands. With 9 trumps, you get to the 3 level as quickly as possible, no matter how... read more here

A STRANGE TWIST. An interesting board today in many ways. It took place last Sunday evening in the NZ Bridge on-line Pairs, Open section.The first point of interest was the choice of opening bid by the first player likely to speak, East. What... read more here

Can it benefit your side to cover?   Cover an Honour with an Honour …and play one! The first part of the above phrase should conclude “when it might benefit your side from doing so.” Had that advice been followed, then 12... read more here

Sharleen Grounds. “David v Goliath” in the 21st Century. This is a story of the National Rubber Bridge competition and of two different achievements. They straddle two years of the competition rolled partly into one. The heats of... read more here

Rule Change Required. Well, just for today’s deal. Which rule do we want changed? The one that says when you win a trick, you have to lead to the next trick. It would have been quite handy here to let declarer lead to trick 2 in this... read more here

   Any fishhooks? It seems pretty straightforward. 1H promised 5 hearts and 2H guaranteed at least 6. You have a guaranteed 6-2 heart fit, plenty enough for game, maybe even slam on a good day. So, what to bid now? You are playing... read more here

“Off” to a good start. Often, the defence will prevail if the opening leader does the right thing at trick one. Will today’s defence prevail and will West find a good lead to indeed see that the contract goes “off”?... read more here

An unusual development. A short and seemingly rather sweet auction is suddenly hijacked by an opponent in a rather unusual way. As declarer, you were about to see the dummy and then this happened!     ♠... read more here

Or vice versa! “Leading” to the best result. That’s what we always want our bidding to do. Sometimes, though, we have to decide whether we just blast to what we hope is the final contract or else be more descriptive along the... read more here