Vil Gravis's blog

What is the first principle of declarer play? Many would say it is “draw trumps”. You should do that NOT just because you have learnt to do so, but because it makes sense to do that at the beginning as you don't want an opponent to ruff in while you are working on developing other things. Makes sense doesn't it?

I think this hand is worth discussing even though it may be a bit above the level that the normal Wednesday Reviews are aimed at. As I have noted previously, the Wednesday players are quite inexperienced with takeout doubles, but it seems to me that even the more advanced players also have difficulty in getting things right where takeout doubles are concerned. Witness this deal from a recent Thursday session.

Dealer W ALL Vul

	JT3 J753 K8742 6
Q8752 Q8 T9 J542		A64 96 J53 AKQ73
	K9 AKT42 AQ6 T98

From Wednesday 10/08/2016
Board 15 Dealer S NS Vul

	Q64 6542 76 J632
JT5 JT98 K98 AK8		A932 AKQ3 T5 T54
	K87 7 AQJ432 Q97

From Wednesday 3/08/2016
The 1NT opening and continuations should be a very basic part of bridge for those playing at the level which these reviews address. But many of our newer players have trouble with the very basic 1NT opening and its continuations. They also have difficulty in knowing when, how, and what, to bid when an opponent has opened 1NT. These things should be addressed by any pair that wants to improve their bridge at the most basic level.

It is so much easier to play a hand if you know what your opponents' cards are, do you not agree? I discussed the bidding of this hand in the previous article. Now I wish to discuss the play.