| JUST ANOTHER HAND? - August 2025 - No 53 |
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 This time, we look at what constitutes a bad overcall. South here correctly calls 1 ♥, with an unbalanced but shapely hand with a void. West overcalls, with a horrible five card suit, hoping that his partner will have something better to bid. North passes very smoothly, and East has nothing to say, expecting that with a 5 / 2 fit, that could be the best suit. South now doubles, which is a re-opening double, asking partner to bid something, even though they expect them to be weak. North now turns this into a penalty double, by passing again. East, who could react to this, decides that they have nothing better to offer & passes, knowing that they have a good ♥ suit against South.
What follows is carnage. North can trump 2no ♥ & will always get A & Q ♣, whilst South will take A & K ♦ & get a ♠ trick through force. Two down, doubled whilst vulnerable equates to minus 500 for declarer. But is it necessary?
West should look very, very carefully at all thirteen cards in their hand. Overall, they have the HCP's and a five card suit, so it seems right to overcall. But that ♣ suit is very poor, and you know that South has opening points. How many HCP's are there left? The best option here is to pass. You have all the correct ingredients, but you do not have the substance, so do not be tempted.
1 ♥ by South should be passed all round, unless North overthinks the hand with a bid of 2 ♣, which turns out to be an equally bad bid, and South will surely bid 2 ♥ over this. Any ♥ contract will go down, as they again will probably make only six tricks at best, perhaps less. Unless your opponents help you, declarer can never reach dummy, so that becomes a dead hand, especially as declarer will probably get a ♦ lead.
Sometimes, it is all about what you don't have, especially if you are vulnerable, so beware!
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| CLUB DIARY - BRIDGE + BREW |
 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 end plays & how they can make a difference to results. This week, we will look at opening leads and basic signals to that opening lead.
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. Our basic session can include :-
- Playing up to eight hands, possibly more on some specific occasions. These will all be pre-dealt hands that have not been played before, and so will all be new, even to myself. 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.
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..............
Please note that we have dropped the Cake element. Biscuits are available as an alternative, should you so desire...........
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| CLUB DIARY - ASSISTED HELP |
 We are pleased to announce the launch of a brand new type of session, designed to help with the transition between learning and playing in sessions at Wakefield Bridge Club. In some ways, this will build on sessions already taking place at the Club, but be accelerating the speed of play and decision making involved in a hand of Bridge, greetings and ethical affairs, as well as some of the what you can & what you can't do at the table. This session is being run initially as a three week block, with the last session on Wednesday 6th August @ 11.00 am.
This session is not designed for any members who already play on a regular basis, or already are experienced players - unless you wish to assist with this session as an individual.
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| CLUB DIARY - OLIVER COWAN YORKSHIRE 4 EVENT - 10TH AUGUST 2025 @ HUDDERSFIELD |
 Click anywhere in this highlighted area, for the details of how to apply for the third instalment of the Yorkshire 4 Event. This one takes place at Huddersfield Bridge Club, starting at 11.30, and again is a Swiss Pairs event. This is open to all of our members, so good luck to all those who apply..............
Further instalments of this series are now on our "CALENDAR", as well as flyers which are on the notice board for you to read & apply for, if you so wish.....................
The last one takes place at :-
- York on Sunday 5th October.
Truly, this is a Yorkshire tour!
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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 is TBA.
The next Thursday teams session is Thursday 21st August. Please sign up on the notice board...................
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| CLUB DIARY - COMMITTEE MEETING AND MORE .... |
 The next committee meeting of Wakefield Bridge Club is on Friday 22nd August 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 2026 AGM ...................
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| CLUB DIARY - ANDREW ROBSON YORKSHIRE TOUR |
This October, Andrew Robson returns to Yorkshire. There will be three events, which will take place on consecutive days, at three different Bridge Clubs. The seminars will each day, be on different subjects, so you could arrange to go & see all three if you so desire.
This is your chance to see & learn from one of Bridge's leading teachers & icons.
They are taking place at :-
- Thursday 16th October 2025 @ York Bridge Club, The Green Acomb, Acomb, York YO26 5FG.Starts at 9.45 am until 17.00 pm Cost £45.00 pp including refreshments & lunch. Book via York Bridge Club web-site.
- Friday 17th October 2025 @ Oakdale Golf Club, Oakdale, Harrogate HG1 2LN. Starts at 10.00 am until 15.30 pm. Cost £40.00 pp including lunch. Book via Harrogate Bridge Club web-site.
- Saturday 18th October 2025 @ Bridge Hotel & Spa, Walshford near Wetherby LS22 5HS. Starts at 10.00 am until 15.30pm. Cost £40.00 pp including a two course carvery lunch. Book via Wetherby Bridge Club web-site.
You will need to book your place with each individual Club. These events are filling up fast - some have only a few places left.
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| CLUB DIARY - FUTURE EBU EVENTS |
 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.
Over the course of four days (Monday - Thursday), the same hands are played up & down the country - (they are different boards each day). We 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 EBED (English Bridge Education & Development).
The 2025 dates for the British (Seasonal) Sims Pairs events are :-
- Autumn on Thursday 9th October 2025.
We are entered for this event. Please await a notice appearing on the notice board, nearer the date, as a reminder............................
In the last event, the Summer Sims Pairs, Martin Fenton & Adrian Dubel finished third across the country + Tony Johnson & Tony Murray finished ninth - well done to both pairs.
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| CLUB DIARY - FUN DAY 3RD JANUARY 2026 |
 The last Fun Day took place on Saturday 7th June 2025, where we raised just over £1000. Thanks also go to everyone involved in making this event happen, in whatever capacity.
We are pleased to announce that the next Fun Day, will take place provisionally on Saturday 3rd January 2026, starting at 10.30 am, at a cost of TBA
As always, the proceeds of this event, will be used to enhance the experience of playing Bridge in our Club.
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| EBU CONGRESS SUCCESS |
We all know that success is a fleeting moment in time, and that whenever we can capture a moment, we should treasure & record it.
At the recent EBU Scarborough Summer Congress, two of our members, showed to the rest of the country, that Wakefield Bridge Club breeds them tough enough to compete with the best. No, they did not win the competition, but they competed well, against some of the top players in the country, even though they were massively outgunned in the NGS ratings system. Out of the twelve rounds of seven boards, in the finals of this congress, Karen Lemm & Martin Fenton managed to come top of round six of this congress. That is that they beat the other 83 pairs with these hands overall. Phenomenal!
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