Editorial by Paul Bowyer
Welcome to the ninth edition of V-Blue, the interactive, internet magazine for those “experienced learners” of the wonderful game of bridge.
In this issue there are four series. In two of them we are looking at furthering your card-play technique in the area of the finesse. The finesse is a simple play, a 50-50 shot, right? Well, not exactly... How about double finesses, combination finesses and ruffing finesses? If you have no idea what these terms mean then we aim to enlighten you here. Hopefully, VuBridge, your ever-attentive bridge teacher, will be by your shoulder, guiding you along the right path.
When you have worked your way through these twelve interesting deals you may like to head for the two “General Series” of six and four hands respectively.
The first series has been written by our famous guest author from England, the prolific David Bird. There’s no theme to these half a dozen deals and the level of difficulty varies from hand to hand. That’s precisely as it should be of course – when playing the game in practice some hands are easy and some... aren’t.
The final set of four deals comes as two pairs of hands. There is a connection between the first two deals and the last two. What is it? We’re not telling..., except to say that they are all hands on defense!
We also have a quiz for you to try. Ten questions on Negative Doubles and the vexed problems of the contested auction. There’s plenty for you in this edition – enjoy!
Series #2248 - Ruffing & Double Finesses - Part I (ACOL)
In this series we are revisiting the finesse. This common play occurs in more forms than you can imagine - in this set of six deals we are looking at the double finesse and the combination finesse. In the second series we are going to investigate the ruffing finesse.
Negative double Quiz
Your partner has opened the bidding, and your Right Hand Opponent has chimed in also. You would like to bid a new suit, but sometimes your bid would be promising five cards and (if going to the two-level) maybe more points than you have. You are grinding your teeth in frustration; what to do, what to do?
Well, happy days! We have a new tool for your armory, called the Negative Double. (Believe me, there is a double for almost every occasion.) Unlike its cousin the Take-out Double, the Negative Double is made as a Response to partner. A Take-out Double is usually the first bid made by your partnership. A Negative Double advances your side's bidding after an overcall.
Negative double Quiz: click here
Series #2249 - Ruffing & Double Finesses - Part II (ACOL)
This series continues the theme of the finesse but now we are focusing on trump contracts and the ruffing finesse. You are not sure what that means? Well, allow us to explain by means of a simple example...
This set of four deals concentrates on defensive play.
The hands, though, are in two pairs, there being a link between Hands 1 & 2 and another link between Hands 3 & 4.
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