 EBU Improvers WEs |
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David and Marilyn Jones are already well known for their Hilton weekends. These weekends take place in a relaxed atmosphere with seminars and play, offering the chance to improve your play and gain experience while playing. Both are highly experienced tournament directors and players in their own right, and they have a wealth of entertaining bridge stories. Here is just one example:
One day David was called to the table where South was having some difficulty in explaining what her partners bid meant. ‘No problem’ said David, and asked South to leave the table while the bid was explained by the bidder. It seemed slightly strange that the three remaining players were sitting giggling but he thought nothing more of it. It was only at supper later that he found out he had sent the headmistress of a prestigious girl’s school to stand in the corner!
In fact this is good example of how we can deal with these situations as they arise, and why the experience of just playing and having the TD called to the table is just as educational as bridge lessons.
We are therefore delighted to announce that in conjunction with the EBU, a new series of weekends, run by David and Marilyn are now available. These are aimed at players who have been learning and playing for about two years or more and are not yet experienced tournament players. Each weekend has a themed topic consisting of two seminars with questions and answers session, and three full and one short session of duplicate play. All the hotels are 4* and have been carefully selected, all bedrooms are en-suite; the tariff is full board with a light lunch and free parking. Click here for venues |
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 MiniBridge |
download free software here If you are just learning bridge, you can practice 'MiniBridge' on the free software available from the link above. MinBridge helps you to learn the basics while keeping the concept of bridge simple. It is especially useful for practicing play techniques such as playing towards an honour or taking a finesse. The list of 'bridge life-skills' is endless. The first step is to listen and remember the bidding or with MiniBridge take careful note of the points each player announces at the beginning of the hand. We can make use of this information during the play to work out where some of the important cards might lie. |
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| Practice MiniBridge |
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| North is dealer and the points are announced :
North – 23, East – 10, South – 5 and West – 2 NS have the majority of points and North has the highest point count so will be declarer.
South puts down dummy. What contract would you choose? |
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To make a game you need to make 9 tricks in No Trumps, 10 tricks in Hearts or Spades (majors) or eleven tricks in Clubs or Diamonds (minors).
North’s hand is balanced but South has a little more shape. You can count 8 top tricks and because you know that West only has 2 points he can not have the Ace or the King of hearts so you will be able to win a trick with the queen of hearts. The contract is game in No Trumps.
East is on lead and plays the spade queen. North has already planned the play when deciding the contract. He has to set up a heart trick so win the first trick with the spade king and play a small heart towards dummy, remember we know East must hold the Ace and King. East wins the trick with the King and exits with a club to the singleton Queen in dummy. Declarer must return to his hand with a diamond and lead another heart towards the Queen on the table. East can win this trick but declarer now has at least two good hearts in dummy and makes his contract with overtricks.
In fact East can do better on this hand. If he refuses to win the first heart trick, declarer will only be able to make 9 tricks. This is the first important decision, the second one is you must lead a club the when you win the first heart because this is declarers entry to dummy. Take a pack of cards and play the hand.
Remember defenders can be sneaky! |
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