Abbey has opened her Master Class in Hand Evaluation to players from clubs other than her own (ASBC), taking place on Saturday 28^th March 2026 and the same session on Wednesday 8^th April 2026. The seminar will be held at Drayton Parslow Sports and Social Club. Abbey will provide an entertaining and informative mix of teaching, practical advice and exemplar hands. All levels of experience are welcome, you don't need to be partnered. The usual facilities will be available to you - tea, coffee and biscuits, and, of course, the bar will be open at the end so you can chat to each other and to Abbey. £20pp for ASBC-members and £25pp for non-ASBC-members. Abbey regularly plays for England and her style of teaching is relaxed, and fun. Follow this link for more details and to book a place.

No slams to choose from this week so I had to trawl all the hands looking for clear tops. Most that I found were clearly the result of a defensive or declarer error, with unmakeable contracts being made and cold ones going down. No HotWs for those! Eventually my gaze fell on Board 18. Twelve tricks are available in both the red suits but only two essayed even a suit game, with most pairs opting for the safe 3NT, making 10 or 11 tricks. Three tables played in Hearts, possibly the trickier of the suit choices. A 6-1 fit is not ideal under any circumstances and, for good measure, the trumps split 5-1. Even seeing all four hands, 12 tricks look impossible but a second look reveals 5 trumps, 5 diamonds and 2 black aces. I have a feeling that, had the contract actually been 6H, panic might have set in when the trump split came to light; it’s always easier to make 12 tricks when you only need 10! The pair with the cool heads, who brought in the overtricks for a top, was Gill and Peter. Well done!