A new year, and yet another hand played in the club recently. There is not a lot to this hand, but I thought that as I do always produce hands with varying amounts of difficulty, I thought that we should start the year off with something quite easy.

I have only shown one hand on purpose here, because this is a "What does East bid here" problem. I know that all the experts out there will be screaming at the screens with the answer, but how did you become experts?

So, the opening bid is 3 ♦, saying that they have 7no ♦, and somewhere between 5 - 10 points (I realise that the point count may vary between partnerships, but basic ACOL is what is being shown here).

Do you realise how powerful a hand East has?

In the East hand, you have definite stops in both ♥ & ♠, you must have a stop in the ♣ suit, based on the combination of high cards that you possess, and the K ♦ must be a valuable card to your partner. You can assume that your partner has some useful cards to go with your hand. So what do you bid? Try not to reveal the other hands first, as you should make your decision, based on what you have heard etc, just as would happen in real life. 

The answer is 3NT. This is not about finding a fit in a suit, but about finding a good game contract, and listening to what your partner is saying to you.  

The opening lead that you get from South is Q ♠, not a very helpful lead, but you can instantly see, that you have nine tricks, without breaking any sweat (A ♠, A ♥, & 7no ♦ tricks). 

This ends up being a very flat board, as, try as you might, your opponents do not help you take any extra tricks. Unless you do not bid 3NT.......................

BE AWARE - We now start at 10.00 a.m. for two & a half hours approximately, finishing at 12.30 p.m.

NEW PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS ARE WELCOME & EXISTING MEMBERS DO NOT NEED A PARTNER.

Well it happened again, and not all the cake was consumed & we still have the capacity for more members & newcomers to turn up. 

Last week our topic was opening leads, but we got sidetracked, and it did not happen. This week our topic is again opening leads. Perhaps, it will actually happen this time.

This relaxed & laid back session is predominantly aimed at people who want to learn the basic information about bridge, and to explore a bit further into the game. 

• These hands (usually up to eight) will be pre-dealt hands that have not been played before, and so will all be new, even to myself.
• There will definitely be a break around the half - time  mark, for a cuppa & a bite to eat. The kettle is always boiled when you arrive, so you can grab a cuppa then as well.
• We normally include a topic to talk about - this changes every week!
• We normally include at least one sample hand - just to illustrate a particular point.

We want this session to be a fun & very relaxed session, and a place to learn about the world of Bridge, as well as card play & defence - two absolute basics of playing Bridge. We would also encourage you to talk & discuss Bridge related problems, and if you do not fully understand something, PLEASE ask & we will try and answer your query, even if it is not straight away. 

Please note that this session is to be charged at the same rate as any of the other Wakefield Bridge Club's sessions. I look forward to the journey..............

Do not forget that the club does run teams events, on a reasonably regular basis. These occur predominately on a Monday evening (once a month) or sometimes on a Thursday evening (once every three months).

Please look out for these nights, which also appear on the "MENU" under "CALENDAR".

We plan to put out a regular pattern of teams events, every few weeks on a Monday, and a Thursday teams event once every 3 months.

The next Monday teams session is on Monday 20th January.

The next Thursday teams is TBA. 

Please sign up on the list on the notice board for the appropriate session.............................(when it appears).

The next committee meeting of Wakefield Bridge Club is Friday 21st February 2025 @ 1.30 p.m. If there is anything that you think might need raising at this meeting, please ask one of the committee members to bring it up on your behalf. The names and photographs of the committee members are on one of the notice boards in the big Bridge room, so that they cannot hide!

The committee members act on behalf of YOU the members, and to help keep the Club in a financially stable condition, amongst many other considerations.  

Is there any more we can do on other matters? Tell us please, and you never know what may happen!

Look on the web-site under "CALENDAR" for all future Committee meetings dates, including the date of the 2025 AGM ...................

The Fun Day took place on Saturday 4th January 2025, and it was a very nice pleasant atmosphere, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. The overall winners of the day N / S were Liz Clarke & John Dalton, the winners E /W were Anne Hawkins & Jane Hawkins.

The proceeds of these events in the past, are there to be seen in the fabric of our Bridge Club. We have just acquired a microphone system, to help with running this event, and others like it. Now we are looking to upgrade the blinds all along the West side of the Club rooms

In June, we raised just over £1400.00, a fantastic amount, and early indications are that we have exceeded that amount this time,  so THANK YOU all for your generosity. Thanks go to everyone involved in making this event happen.

Look out for the next one, which will probably be on Saturday 7th June, and you should add your names on the list on the notice board when it appears (nearer to the time)........................... 

We have started to get involved playing in the EBU Seasonal Sims Pairs events, which take place approximately every three months. This gives us all an opportunity to measure ourselves up against other bridge clubs from around the country. Over the course of four days (Monday - Thursday), the same hands are played up & down the country - (they are different boards each day). We, (if we are playing the event), normally play on a Thursday, and the cost of each of these events is normally £3.00 + our normal session charge, with the £3.00 going to the EBU charity.   

The 2025 dates for the British (Seasonal) Sims Pairs events are (based on playing on a Thursday) :-

1. Winter on Thursday 16th January 2025. (We are not taking part in this one).
2. Spring on Thursday 10th April 2025.
3. Summer on Thursday 24th July 2025. 
4. Autumn on Thursday 9th October 2025.

More details to follow (as & when we enter these events)............................

Good Practice for Ensuring Sessions run to time.

One of the most common complaints from players in all sessions is slow play. The following are all good tips to ensure a good pace is maintained throughout any session.

1. Keep an eye on the clock. Remind other players to speed up if you are falling behind. EBU guidance suggests boards should typically take approximately 7 1/2 minutes to play.
2. Lead the opening card before writing down the contract or entering it into the bridgemate. This saves time, and also allows declarer to begin planning the play immediately, which saves time.
3. Score the board quickly, and avoid a post mortem about the hand. This is important for two reasons. Firstly it saves time. Secondly, talking about the hand can give information to other tables, who have not yet played the hand. Talking about hands is another common complaint from members.
4. Move quickly between tables. Once the T D calls for movement, ensure that you move quickly. Usually, one minute is allowed for the movement between tables. Greet your opponents. but save your chat for the end of the round.
5. Don't ask every time that the alert card is used. Asking for an explanation of the bid can take up time. It is often better to keep quiet, unless it affects how you might bid yourself. If you were always going to pass anyway, DON'T ASK. You can always ask before the opening lead is faced, if necessary.
6. Consider which player sits in the North position, so that slower players are not using up time on the Bridgemates. Entering the score onto the Bridgemate, can take up time, so try to ensure that it is done quickly & accurately at your table.
7. Consider claiming all the remaining tricks if you can. There are many hands, where you know for certain, that you will win all the remaining tricks. If, that is the case, you can claim the rest of the tricks. To do this, you should place your cards face upwards on the table, and say how you are going to play the rest of the cards. This can often save two or three minutes.
8. Make an effort to catch up if you were late on the previous round, if you can. Following some of the above tips & advice given here, could be a big help.
9. Practise sorting out your cards quickly. It can take time to pick up the cards & sort them out. If you do this slowly, it is worth spending some time practising, so that this process becomes quicker. Similarly, if you are dummy, try to get the cards down on the table, in their correct positions quickly, rather than one card at a time.
10. DO NOT start your last board, if there are less than 4 minutes remaining on the clock, for that particular round. Occasionally, the T D will ask the table to take an average score for that particular board, if there is not enough time left to play the hand. Please accept this graciously, as this is only done on rare occasions, for the benefit of all the players in that session. It prevents the session from running over time, or the possibility of having to cancel boards, at the end of the session.

Slow play, leads to a table that has finished & is waiting to move, starting to talk. Although this may be quiet at first, as more tables finish the hand, the crescendo of noise begins to grow. All this leads to a second major complaint from our members - The Noise. Quite an easy fix to this, is to follow the tips given above, as much as you can, so that if all tables finish at approximately the same time, the noise problem will go away.       

An idea which we are looking into is Cafe Bridge. This is just as simple as it seems - Bridge played in a Cafe. We are at present looking into Cafe's in the centre of Wakefield, where we could try this out. Our idea is simply to promote the game of Bridge to the inhabitants of Wakefield, some of whom may be under the misapprehension that Bridge is a game/pastime that takes place in big houses (it seems to be portrayed this way on television). We are probably looking at a time which is not a busy time (meal times), but when they are open & have some passing trade. It may be a good idea or it may not, but other Bridge Clubs up & down the country have tried it, so why not us!

You should all have received a copy of the details of the survey, which was carried out over the Summer. A lot of time & effort was put into giving you all extremely detailed & comprehensive analysis, which we hope that you can appreciate & you can now find under "CLUB HISTORY" on this web-site. Watch this space for developments..........................    

We are also looking into more ways to get out & about to promote our Bridge Club, as we feel sure that there are a lot of people out there, who are totally unaware of us. Watch this space to see what develops.....................

You all may be aware, that not only have we been recently renewing some of the visible items in our Club, we have also been renewing / upgrading some items that you might not be aware of, and did not know where available.

• Did you know that there are left handed bidding boxes available at the Club. The right handed bidding cards boxes, are all in Red or Green bidding boxes, whereas the left handed bidding cards are in Black or Yellow bidding boxes. There are a couple of the left handed bidding boxes available on the shelves next to the computer station in the Club House. There are some more of each hand of bidding boxes, these are kept in the storage room, if required.
• Whilst we are on the subject of bidding boxes, if you come across a bidding box with an individual (or more) cards missing from it, please do NOT try and sort this out yourself. Please make the TD aware of the problem first PLEASE. We need to be aware of a problem, so that we can rectify it, for everyone's benefit. Do not just simply swap it with another spare bidding box.  All the bidding boxes were recently checked, and we were disappointed to find that some of the bidding boxes had bidding cards missing from them. They had both been placed on two separate usually unused tables. Please help us to help you all..............
• We have available some card holders for those of you who may struggle holding the playing cards. These are usually available in the small storage room - if you would like to use one, all you have to do is ask...............
• A recent development is the positioning of the table numbers on the sides of the bidding boxes. These are designed to be seen from the aisle down the middle of the room, which we normally use as the main thoroughfare in the Club. We believe that this should make them instantly visible for everyone - much better than ending up underneath a bidding box (which is useless!!!). These are held onto the bidding box by magnets, so if they come adrift, they are easily put back together again. This has recently been extended to all of the bidding boxes in the Club, no matter where they are.
• The "PASS" cards in all of the bidding boxes in the Club, have all been upgraded again, for the second time this year, and all those that were showing signs of wear & tear have been replaced. 
• Have you noticed the larger than ever shelf of library of books available? - borrow what you like & try to remember to return them, when you have finished with them.
• Did you know that we purchased a brand new dealing machine for the Club this year?
• How often do you think that we replace the playing cards that we all use?
• There are a lot of unsung people, quietly working away keeping OUR bridge club functional. 
• Have you noticed the "Headers" on the notice boards?
• Have you noticed the new coat hooks & additional one outside the kitchen? You may have noticed that the old hat & coat stands have now finally disappeared. 
• Do you have any ideas to make things easier at the Club

Things are happening all around! There are other ideas that we, your committee have, to make things nicer & easier to play Bridge at Wakefield Bridge Club. Please watch this space.........