All News

Nearly Ready. The World Olympiad starts local time in Buenos Aires at 10am on Tuesday morning, at the Centro de Convenciones de Buenos Aires in the very early hours of Wednesday morning in New Zealand. Each of the four competitions, Open, Women,... read more here

A gigantic  jump! Wouldn’t it be boring if we all bid the same hand the same way? We might not have very much to discuss in the post mortem….or at least we would all say the same! This recent deal was not handled that well by... read more here

Young players just love bridge.  for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players.....and others, especially those younger in age.  Better than 50-50. Last Sunday afternoon, a small group of young players enjoyed an on-line session on... read more here

(read on to find out why this man appears at the head of this article). A Two-Pronged Attack. There’s something about an auction that starts with a game-force bid and a positive response. It has a momentum which one starting at the... read more here

You have been warned! Double Danger. Really, any South who was not doubled in the popular contract on the deal below, is unlikely to make their contract while anyone doubled should. Naturally, reality was far from the above: East... read more here

stay quiet. A Day for Passing? After a lot of concern about the final outcome, our East-West pair emerged with a good result on today’s board. This simple sequence has produced  divergence from the Panel on the two questions raised:... read more here

Minor Danger! The final round of this year’s Trans- Tasman Challenge took place last Friday evening and as throughout this Challenge competition, the Kiwi teams mainly came out on top though this round was spoilt by two teams, one from each... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players… and others! It’s Fri-  day! How Good is a Void?  When some players first sort their hand and see that they only have three suits, they think they have a wonderful hand. That... read more here

Keep in Touch. It is time for a piece of defending today, an example perhaps of how difficult this can be. Yet, the solution is quite simple and logical. Let’s set the scene: East DealsBoth Vul ♠ A 8 5... read more here

A strange discard. The “low road” was staying in game, fairly uneventful and either winning or losing double figure imps. There was a “high road” with its share of danger! Firstly, though, the bidding:  ... read more here

Plain Tough. Those words could be used to describe Michael Cornell at the bridge table. He has never given an inch and never will! Yet, those words were used by Michael about one decision he had to make en route to winning the New Zealand Open... read more here

The following was read out on the last day’s play at this year’s National Congress. By popular demand (well, no-one has objected!), it now has a place on the New Zealand Bridge website. Our National Congress started in Rotorua in... read more here

Our National Congress. A week of bridge has just ended at Bay Park Tauranga. Hopefully, it was a happy time for all who participated, whether they were playing in the Novice Pairs or the final of New Zealand Teams, whether one was playing or... read more here

for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players...and others! It's Fri day.  Amazingly quite normal! On the eve of this year’s National Bridge Congress, let’s feature a board which is both most strange but at the same time proves... read more here

Tap, Tap! At a recent Open tournament, the following board was played 8 times in a heart contract, sometimes in part-score, sometimes in game. Not once did the defence take more than three tricks. Can you do better? South DealsNone... read more here

But which one? Slamming at Pairs. Today’s deal raises a number of interesting points in the bidding. We posed a couple of them to the Panel.   ♠ J 5 3 — A K J 6 3... read more here

Swingy…but flat! Today’s board also, like yesterday’s, comes from the final of the HCL International tournament in New Delhi, won by Matt Brown and Michael Whibley and their Australian teammates, Sartaj Hans and Andy Hung. This... read more here

Big Winners from Down Under. 21st HCL International, the most prestigious tournament in India has been won by an Australasian team, Team Wham, which consisted of Australians, Sartaj Hans and Andy Hung and our own Matt Brown and Michael Whibley.... read more here

for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players...and others! It's Fri  day! “One, Two…that will do!” Sometimes players get lucky when they make the wrong bid. Today, though, is a chilling reminder that wrong bids often... read more here

Difficult decision. A Feisty Opponent. Opponents are allowed to make a nuisance of themselves in the bidding but when one’s own side contracts to play 3NT, they should defend! Such a wish might have been going through North’s mind... read more here

Scoring a positive. North-South reached a poor contract today as a result of a couple of decisions made in the bidding. Could they/ should they have been avoided?       North DealsE-W Vul  ... read more here

Take advantage! No Wasted Opportunity. It looked to the declarer of today’s deal that an opportunity to defeat the contract had been missed by the defence. It is thus a good time to avoid any slip-up in the play. South... read more here

Safety First. The scoresheet looked very consistent on today’s board. It was not one that the declarers would have wanted. Yet, the play of the hand started so well for most of them. East DealsBoth Vul ♠... read more here

For Juniors, Intermediate and Novice players…and others! It’s Fri  day! Real Life Rescue! This is no made-up hand to prove that good advice works out. This is real life! I know because I sat North!    ... read more here

Double Trouble! We always bemoan missed opportunities when a contract escapes a penalty double and goes several down. Comments like “I was afraid they would run to a better spot” are common. So often, even if they have a better spot,... read more here

Pre-emptive Problems. I am not the first person to say that pre-empts do work and certainly will not be the last! This one caught East with a good hand and some difficult decisions to make.       West... read more here

Does “Crime” pay? It is not too hard a problem for this Monday. Normally, when you pick up a very rare “rock-crusher” looking hand, your partner does their best to spoil your pleasure by opening a Weak 2 or pre-empting in... read more here

For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players …and others. It’s Fri  day. Time to change course? There are contracts where defenders have to change course if they want to be successful. Either an initial lead has not worked out... read more here

Weaker but Better! Today’s deal also comes from the recent Trans- Tasman Challenge. It provided a challenge for both some declarers and all of the defenders in the West seat. That is the seat from which you will see the deal initially:... read more here

Leading from Nothing at the Trans -Tasman. Nothing to go on? Well, not much. Certainly there is nothing much in our hand to admire, a true Yarborough. The bidding is swift, too. Try: Board 7South DealsBoth Vul    ... read more here