January 29th, 2014 ~ Steve Bloom ~
2 Comments 
I like to focus on card play, and Monday’s team game had enough interesting material to keep me writing for weeks. At our table, East-West had much the better of it, and finished up 39 IMPs. Change the play slightly on two back-to-back boards and the lead would have been cut to four! With so much riding on those two hands, I’ll concentrate on those alone. We’ll look at each from declarer’s perspective, but the defense had intriguing chances on both hands. Read the rest of this entry »
January 25th, 2014 ~ Steve Bloom ~
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In our match play on Sunday, there were four double-digit swing boards, out of twelve hands. That is quite a bundle of IMPs. However, two of those swings came about when we bid to normal, cold games, with the wrong game bid at the other table. The third came when North, at the other table, holding a 1-4-4-4 near Yarborough, with only the club queen, guessed to lead a club against 3NT, rather than partner’s spade suit. That was the killer. The fourth swing came on the last board, and that was earned. Our declarer found a great line of play in four spades to net 10 IMPs. I love seeing beautiful bridge. Nicely done. I’ll look at that hand later. Read the rest of this entry »
December 26th, 2013 ~ Steve Bloom ~
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Excellent bridge all around on Sunday. I have almost no gripes after the first hand, which was a bit sloppy. I’ll get back to that later. Look first at board 10, from a defender’s perspective: Read the rest of this entry »
November 21st, 2013 ~ Steve Bloom ~
1 Comment
Three declarer play problems from Monday caught my interest, but first, a very elementary suit combination. What is the best way to tackle this spade suit for two winners?
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November 14th, 2013 ~ Steve Bloom ~
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Sometimes our contracts turn out to be pretty hopeless. This can be caused by bad breaks, or poor bidding. Sunday both factors contributed. Still, even when things look really bleak, there are usually a few slim chances left, and you, as declarer, have to play for those. When you need a miracle, ask, and maybe, ye shall receive. Read the rest of this entry »
October 23rd, 2013 ~ Steve Bloom ~
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I was a bit disappointed with Sunday’s play. There were too many card play errors, and the bidding, by both sides, but particularly by East-West, was much too conservative. Aggressive bidding won’t always work out, but winning bridge players are seldom shy turtles in the auction! Read the rest of this entry »
October 17th, 2013 ~ Steve Bloom ~
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Let’s start this off with a simple play problem:
You open one notrump, raised to three, and West leads the spade seven. How would you play this hand?
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October 1st, 2013 ~ Steve Bloom ~
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We had a quiet set of hands last night, which leaves me little to discuss. I’ll start with some bidding issues. Suppose you pick up a dull hand like
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September 24th, 2013 ~ Steve Bloom ~
1 Comment
We had a wild set of hands Sunday night. On the first seven boards, there were five slam decisions. The other two hands were played in three spades doubled (down one on one, making on the other)! I have expressed my opinion before about doubling part-scores. Mostly, it is don’t! These two hands weren’t strong arguments against my view, and the combined doubles cost a net seven IMPs. Read the rest of this entry »
September 17th, 2013 ~ Steve Bloom ~
2 Comments
The play was quite good on Sunday. Two contracts made that could have been set. On one, the defense had five winners set up against three no-trump but let one slip away. The other was cold after the opening lead, so let’s start with that problem. Read the rest of this entry »
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