This week’s bridge news sheet No. 295 has 11 articles. To start with you hold ♠KJ95 ♥9853 ♦6 ♣Q985 and the bidding goes 1♦ 3♣(weak) 4♠ to you, what do you do? Next you hold ♠A ♥K10874 ♦732 ♣KJ87; LHO opens 1♥ and partner overcalls 1♠, what do you bid? 1NT or 2NT? next we have a very interesting one. You are playing weak jump shifts and you hold ♠- ♥J1098632 ♦K7642 ♣4 and partner opens 1♣, is a weak 2♥ appropriate? Next there’s a silly double which partner took as penalties when a clear 2♠ bid was available. Then we have an article about a change of suit being non-forcing opposite a 1-level overcall - you have ♠AQ8 ♥AK8642 ♦107 ♣A10 and LHO opens 1♦ and partner overcalls 1♠, what do you bid? 2♥ is not forcing and the best bid is the Unassuming Cue Bid of 2♦. This is followed by two articles about when the bidding starts 1♣ - 1♦ - 1NT. One Standard French Player says that the 1♦ bid denies a 4-card major. Playing Walsh the 1NT rebid may or may not contain 4-card major(s). Next you hve an interesting one, you hold  ♠K106 ♥KQ954 ♦- ♣AKQJ and RHO opens 1♥, what do you bid? What do you think of a 1NT overcall? Next there are the usual two Dave columns on the play of the hand. We finish with a suit play problem. With plenty of entries your trump suit is KJx opposite AJ10xx, how do you play the suit? You can test out your solution by trying it on the Suit Play Calculator on the website.

This week’s bridge news sheet No. 294 has 6 articles. First of all we have ♠A542 ♥A43 ♦9873 ♣AK opposite ♠K86 ♥1075 ♦AQ42 ♣J52 and the bidding went 1NT (15-17) - 3NT, OK? NO! it’s not OK! It’s not unlucky that 3NT does not make, the culprits simply did not understand hand evaluation. The opening hand is not worth 1NT (open 1♦) and the flat responding hand is only worth a raise to 2NT. With experienced players it should go 1♦ - 1NT - pass.

Next we had a hand where a player jumped straight into Blackwood with a weak side suit and then did not know what to do - the answer was to bid 4th suit forcing first.

Then we have a rather similar deal, you hold ♠7 ♥A852 ♦AKQ10865 ♣9 and partner opens 1♥, what do you bid? The holder chose a ridiculous bid of 4♣ which was asking for aces in her system. She got a one ace reply and then bid 6♥, knowing nothing about partner’s strength nor the whereabouts of the trump king and queen. Obviously Jacoby 2NT (or something similar) followed by Roman Keycard Blackwood answers all of the questions.

Next we have a simple situation which two players messed up. You hold ♠K2 ♥A10 ♦KQ10863 ♣J83 opposite partner’s ♠AQ97 ♥K754 ♦J7 ♣Q64. Partner opens 1♣ and RHO overcalls 1♠, what do you bid? At one table responder correctly chose 2♦ (natural and forcing unless you play negative free bids) but partner passed because he was minimum. At another table responder chose 3♦ and was not pleased when partner passed that, saying that it was a weak bid. It’s up to you what 3♦ means, you simply have to agree - weak or a splinter?

Finally we have two Dave columns. One is the usual play of the hand problem and the other is a bidding problem where Bridge Baron bid to 3NT when 7♣ was laydown

This week’s bridge news sheet No. 293 has 6 articles. First of all you hold ♠Q83 ♥A103 ♦86 ♣KQJ32 and partner opens 1♣, what do you bid? Next you hold ♠Q96 ♥Q4 ♦Q764 ♣Q643, RHO opens 1♣, you pass, LHO bids 1♦ and partner doubles; RHO passes, what do you do? Next you hold ♠K108 ♥92 ♦A92 ♣KJ953 and partner opens 1♠; you bid 2♣ and partner rebids 2NT, what do you bid now? Then there’s an opening bid question, you hold ♠A ♥AK74324 ♦4 ♣AK964, what do you open? This hand contains 10 playing tricks and should open 2♣ (or your strongest bid). Next we have a deal where one pair stayed low but in the wrong strain and the other pair found the fit but bid too high. Finally there is Dave’s column on the play of the hand.

This week’s bridge news sheet No. 292 has 6 articles. First of all you hold ♠J83 ♥K972 ♦AKQ73 ♣8. You open 1♦ and partner bids 1♠, what do you bid? Next you are dealer at both vulnerable; you hold ♠A2 ♥KQJ10984 ♦J3 ♣42, what do you open? Next its again both vulnerable and you hold ♠J6 ♥K852 ♦AK982 ♣72. Partner opens 1♣ and RHO overcalls 1NT, what do you do? Then we have the two usual Dave columns on the play of the hand followed by another simple safety play.

This week’s bridge news sheet No. 291 has 6 articles. First of all you hold ♠AK86 ♥AK10964 ♦QJ4 ♣- and RHO opens 1♦. Do you double, overcall 1♥ or bid 2♦ - a Michaels cue bid showing both majors? Next you hold ♠5 ♥K4 ♦QJ10952 ♣AQ96; partner opens 1♠ and you bid 2♦, partner then bids 3♣, do you bid 3NT or 4♣? Next there is a hand where the opponrents freely bid to 3NT and you double for a lead (of dummy’s suit). Then we have the usual two Dave columns on the play of the hand followed by an article about restricted choice which everybody got wrong.

This week’s bridge news sheet No. 290 has 4 articles. First of all there is an article about when not to go for the Moysian fit.  Next you hold ♠AQ93 ♥A874 ♦J10 ♣QJ6 and open 1♣. The next hand overcalls 1NT and partner bids 2♥, what do you do? This is NOT a case for the Law of Total Tricks and you shold pass. Finally there are the two usual Dave columns about play.

This week’s bridge news sheet No. 289 has just 4 articles. First of all, you hold ♠972 ♥85 ♦Q ♣K1097642 and partner opens 1♦ in first seat, what do you bid? If you play Weak Jump Shifts at the three level then 3♣ is the bid. For those of you who play Bergen Raises or Mini Splinters and only use the weak jump shift at the two level it will probably be best to bid 1NT and hope to rest in ♣’s at a sensible level. Next we have an interesting deal where no less than three of the four players bid recklessly with total disregard of the Law of Total Trumps. Finally there are the two usual Dave columns about play.

This week’s bridge news sheet No. 288 is a very interestong one, with eleven articles.
It starts off with a fairly familiar topic - Michaels cue bids (and the UNT). These show two-suited hands but should they be basically pre-emptive or any strength? Your hand was ♠KJ73 ♥KQ974 ♦A2 ♣J9 and RHO had opened 1♦. I disagree with a 2♦ Michaels cue bid here and I would overcall 1♥.
Then there’s an example of a good UNT when LHO has opened 1NT and RHO transferred into a major; it’s favourable vulnerability and you hold  ♠J ♥J4 ♦109754 ♣AQ753 - bid 2NT.
Next you hold  ♠AQJ ♥AKQJ1042 ♦K6 ♣Q, what do you open playing Benjamin twos? 2♣ or 2♦?
Next you hold  ♠K1076 ♥864 ♦A7532 ♣4 and partner opens 1♣ (could be short), you bid 1♦, partner bids 1♥ and you bid 1♠ (natural and forcing). LHO then bids 2♣ and partner bids 2s. You pass and LHO bids 3♣ which is passed to you - what do you do?
Now here’s a very tricky one. You hold ♠J8743 ♥A94 ♦4 ♣AKQJ and open 1♠; partner responds 2♣. What do you do? Playing two-over-one it’s easy of course, 3♣ is forcing - but is it in Standard American? And it certainly is not forcing playing Acol.
Next there are the two usual Dave problems on the play of the hand, but one is not at all clear to me.
Then there’s another play problem. trumps are K9872 opposite A1064. You play low to the ace, LHO drops the queen and RHO the five. You then lead th ten fro table and RHO plays the three - do you finesse or not?
This is followed by an article about restricted choice or eight ever-nine never.
Next you hold ♠A765 ♥KJ853 ♦94 ♣K85; LHO opens 1♣ and partner overcalls 1♦, what do you do? If you think that 1NT is right (it is not) then have a look at Responding in No-Trumps to partner’s overcall.

Finally we have an incident where the director was called when a 1NT was overcalled with a Multi Landy two clubs which turned out to be a club suit.

This week’s bridge news sheet No. 287 has six articles.
It starts off with something a little new; a few of us were having a discussion over brunch before a Monday session and Dave mentioned a hand where he opened a weak 2♥ and his partner bid 2NT. They had had no discussion over the meaning and so Dave, with a maximum and good ♥’s, simply bid 4♥. The merits of playing 2NT as asking for a feature or playing it as Ogust then ensued and Jeremy chipped in that 2NT is the only forcing bid over a weak two. I disputed this of course (RONF) and so he said that a new suit was not forcing playing Acol. It is not! RONF also applies when playing Acol. The discussion then turned to a take-out double followed by a new suit after partner’s suit response. Jeremy maintains that it shows a two-suited hand, I maintain that it’s a single suited hand too strong for a simple overcall. My meaning is ceretainly correct playing any variation of Standard American but it appears that some Acol players do indeed double with two-suiters. I do not. We’ll leave the discussions there and go onto a couple of hands from play. You hold ♠KJ9 ♥QJ74 ♦AK6 ♣K95 and RHO opens 1♠, what do you bid? I think that double is terrible. The next article is about manners and criticising an opponent and finally we have the usual two Dave columns on the play of the hand.

This week’s bridge news sheet No. 286 has seven articles.
It starts off with a player holding ♠Q7 ♥A ♦KQ987 ♣KQ1083; partner opened 1♥ and he incorrectly responded 2♣ instead of 2♦. Partner rebid 2♥ and then this player jumped to 4♦. Sheer lunacy of course (on both bids) but fortunately partner did not assume that it was a splinter as it should be. 3NT was the top spot and 4♥ went two down. Next we have the same player holding ♠J98 ♥AQ8 ♦K53 ♣AJ64; he chooses to open 1♣ (I would pass, this flat hand does not conform with the The Rule of 20 ). Anyway, LHO bids 1♦, partner bids 1♥ and RHO bids 1♠; what do you bid now? Then we have the two usual Dave columns on the play of the hand and a third one which is a double-dummy problem which one member claimed Deep Finesse had got wrong. Finally there are two articles on trusting partner. In the first one you hold ♠7 ♥J632 ♦K9842 ♣KJ7; RHO opens 1NT and LHO bids 2♣ Stayman, partner doubles this and RHO bids 2♥, LHO bids 2NT which is passed out; what do you lead? On the next deal you hold ♠KJ ♥95 ♦AKJ84 ♣K653 and choose to open a strong 1NT. LHO overcalls a natural 2♥ and partner doubles, what do you do?