 JUST ANOTHER HAND? - JULY 2026 - No 76 |
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 Occasionally, a hand comes up that some people do not know how to deal with. Here is one that came up recently in the Club.
So the question is " What should you open with?".
Please consider, first of all, something that we all know & should be drilled into us all - MINOR SUITS SCORE POORLY. So taking this as the basis for thinking, bidding any number of the ♣ suit will surely end badly. So although opening 1 ♣ is perhaps the correct bid, what you should be able to see now is that effectively you have nailed your colours to the mast, and you will surely end in at least a ♣ game, which will make, losing just two ♠ tricks. It is possible to take more tricks, as the ♦ finesse will work, and so if the ♠ suit has not been played, will give rise to a ♠ discard on the K ♦. Ending up in any ♣ contract below this level will score poorly. You should never preempt with 4 ♣ !! This is a very poor bid, although it gets across the number of ♣ you hold, you are far to strong to perform this action. As your partner has already passed, they are highly unlikely to do anything else but pass.
Two further options are much more appealing. They are as follows :-
A) Just bid 3 NT. This is a classic type of hand for this contract, known as the Gambling 3NT. You have a long & strong minor suit with an outside A ♦ and you hope that your partner may provide some useful cards.
B) Bid 2 ♣ (standard ACOL bid). One of the options of this type of bid, is that you can take the option of 8 playing tricks, which just about fits this hand. If you play positive/negative responses, your partner should respond 2 NT, which shows 7+ HCP's & no 5 card suit. It should be easy now for East to bid 3 NT over this bid.
So how does 3 NT play?
If it is played by East, it could fare badly. South has a five card suit of AJT74 of ♠, so if he leads the standard fourth highest of this his longest suit, the 7 ♠, he will find his partner with K9 of ♠, and so the defence could take the first five ♠ tricks. Contract defeated.
If it is played by West, North should never lead from his doubleton ♠ holding, and will probably end up leading one of the red suits. Now either 11 or 12 tricks are secure, as a ♦ lead will ensure 11 tricks are taken, with no real effort required. Contract made with overtrick/s.
Sometimes the direction of a contract can make all the difference.
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| Last updated : 15th Jul 2026 21:02 BST |
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| CLUB DIARY - BRIDGE + BREW - SUPERVISED IMPROVER TRAINING SESSION |
 NEW PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS & EXISTING MEMBERS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME. YOU DO NOT NEED A PARTNER.
We start on Thursdays at 10.00 a.m. for two & a half hours approximately, finishing at 12.30 p.m.
Last week, we looked at defence against your opponents 1 NT opening. This coming Thursday, please all look forward to losing a trick early.
Our basic session can include :-
- Playing up to ten hands, possibly more on some specific occasions. These will all be pre-dealt hands that have not been played before, and so will be new to you. After playing a hand, you can have a chat at the table about these hands, if you so desire, unless you are specifically requested not to, in the case of competitions.
- There will definitely be a break around the half - time mark, for a cuppa & a biscuit. The kettle is always boiled when you arrive, so you can grab a cuppa then as well.
- Normally we will have a topic to talk about - this usually changes every week!
- Usually we encompass at least one sample hand - just to illustrate a particular point, but not always on our topic.
- Sometimes, we can have a little chat about what is going on at the Club.
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. Bridge is a relatively easy game to learn the basics of, but is extremely challenging to master the complexities and subtlety of, which is why most of us are still learning!
Please note that this session is to be charged at the same rate as any of the other Wakefield Bridge Club's sessions. We look forward to the journey..............
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| Last updated : 18th Jul 2026 14:09 BST |
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| CLUB DIARY - FUTURE EBU BRITISH SIMS PAIRS EVENTS 2026 |
 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 & members from around the country. As well as our Club results, there will also be National results for each day, from every Club that participated on that particular day.
Usually, over the course of four days (Monday - Thursday), the same hands are played each day up & down the country - (they are a different set of boards each day). We used to play on a Thursday, but we are changing this to a Tuesday for the last two of these sessions in 2026, as a trial. The cost of each of these events is normally £3.00 + our normal session charge, with the £3.00 going to the EBU charity EBED (English Bridge Education & Development), which funds the development of youth players in the game.
The 2026 upcoming dates for the British (Seasonal) Sims Pairs events are :-
- Summer on Tuesday 21st July. We have entered this event.
- Autumn on Tuesday 6th October. We have entered this event.
The 2027 dates for the British ( Seasonal) Sims Pairs events are :-
- Winter on W/C 10th January.
- Spring on W/C 4th April.
- Summer on W/C 18th July.
- Autumn on W/C 3rd October.
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| Last updated : 15th Jul 2026 21:04 BST |
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| CLUB DIARY - TEAM PLAYING |
 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".
The next Monday teams session will take place on TBA.
The next Thursday teams session will take place on Thursday 23rd July.
You can sign up to this on the notice board when the list appears............
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| Last updated : 14th Jul 2026 14:13 BST |
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| CLUB DIARY - COMMITTEE MEETING AND MORE .... |
 All 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!
The next committee meeting is on Friday 24th July at 13.30 in the Club rooms.
Look on the web-site under "CALENDAR" for all future Committee meetings dates, for the next financial year...................
The next AGM will be on Tuesday 13th April 2027 - all welcome, with a free shortened Bridge session afterwards.
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| Last updated : 14th Jul 2026 14:13 BST |
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 CLUB DIARY - 6 HIGH PAIRS - SATURDAY 1ST AUGUST |
 This brand new event will take place on the above date. The event is for members with an NGS of 6 or less, as all members on a NGS band of 7 or above, will not be eligible to participate. This will be a FREE event to all, as a gesture of your committee's enthusiasm for launching these types of events. The event will commence at 10.30 am (please turn up beforehand), and we envisage that there will be two sessions, each of twelve boards. The two sessions will be separated by a midday break, for which we suggest that you bring your own favourite lunch to.
Those of you who are eligible in the Bridge Club, should have already received an invitation to this event. We will also make a decision about holding more of these types of Club events after this event.
Click anywhere on this article to view the details of this event.
You can look forward to more of these events provided by YCBA on the calendar in 2027.
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| Last updated : 18th Jul 2026 14:07 BST |
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| CLUB DIARY - SATURDAY MORNING SESSIONS |
 Our latest new session for your participation, on the last Saturday of each month, has been taking place.
These sessions started at 10.15 am & finished for about 1.15 pm, playing 20 - 24 boards. The popularity of these sessions, so as to ascertain whether this initiative will continue, and any new sessions offered is now under review.
Well, we have decided to continue on the following dates :-
- Saturday 25th July - NOW CANCELLED.
At this stage, we envisage the continuation of these sessions going forward, always on the last Saturday of the month, with the exception of between Xmas & New Year, when it will not run (it would be on Boxing Day anyways).
As to whether we expand on this once a month session, to more Saturday sessions, well the jury is out on that decision.
So proposed until the end of the year (all to be confirmed as yet) are :-
- Saturday 29th August
- Saturday 26th September
- Saturday 31st October
- Saturday 28th November
All are welcome to this session, as all you need to do is turn up with your partner, in order to play.
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| Last updated : 18th Jul 2026 14:07 BST |
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| CLUB DIARY - CHRIS MAYNARD CLUB DUPLICATE CHAMPIONSHIPS NO 3 - SATURDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER |
 This event will have it's third outing on a new date. This time it will take place in September, starting at 10.30.
The event will feature "Blue Points" instead of the normal "Black Points", so highlighting the prestige of this competition. There will be prizes available for all the stratified winners on the day, so all levels of our Bridge Club will be able to take part. This is because, by stratifying this event, each partnership will be competing against partnerships at their own level of ability etc.
More details of cost & details of what food is likely to be available, will follow in the near future, as well as a list to apply appearing on the notice board.
We hope that you all will apply to join in.....................
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| Last updated : 14th Jul 2026 14:47 BST |
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| CLUB DIARY - CLUB PROMOTIONS |
 We like to celebrate all Master Point promotions for all our members. Please also look at the notice board in the club for the most current ones.
For June 2026, we congratulate :-
One Star Regional Master - Martin Fenton.
One Star Master - Bryan Hutton.
One star Master - Marilyn Poole.
Local Master - Jackie Barron.
Local Master - Mick Dent.
Local Master - Diane Hilton.
Local Master - Les Wright.
Well done to everyone.
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| Last updated : 14th Jul 2026 14:23 BST |
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| CLUB DIARY - WBC BRIDGE BREAK 16TH - 20TH NOVEMBER 2026 |
 The details are out now on the first ever Wakefield & Barnsley Bridge Clubs joint experience. This is a Bridge Break event in Scarborough from Monday 16th - Friday 20th November 2026. We will be staying at the "Weston Hotel", which is above the South Bay in Scarborough. There will be a full breakfast on offer along with a choice of three course evening meals (Lunch is your responsibility). There will be a Bridge session every evening, with an optional bridge session and / or seminar in the morning. If you have the means or the inclination to travel, Scarborough itself is only a short walk away, and a bit further away are other attractions on the Yorkshire Coast, or even in the North Yorkshire Moors. Every afternoon is your chance to visit anywhere that you choose, or stay in the hotel, as you desire.
The picture shows the view northwards from the hotel, taken last year. The weather we received, was not that which we had ordered!
We are now fully booked for this event - if you wish to be added to the waiting list, please click anywhere in this article to find the contact details for either Steve or John..
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| Last updated : 14th Jul 2026 14:14 BST |
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