With the Bermuda Regional around the corner players will be looking at their game and wondering what they can do better over the fairly intensive seven days of the tournament. So here are a few things to do ahead of and during the tournament to help you along:

BEFORE

Sit with your partner(s) and go through the convention card in detail. Agree on all your systems, signals, leads etc well ahead of time. The card has recommended leads so agree whether you are following them or doing something different.

A few specific things to discuss:

Do you play systems on after partner opens a NT and opponents interfere.

Do you play a forcing NT? Does it apply if you are a passed hand and bid 1NT after partner has opened?

What system do you play when opponents open a no trump? Is it different if they open a weak no trump?

What system do you play after partner opens a weak two bid? Does 2NT ask for a feature or a singleton ?

What do you lead from a suit headed by the Ace King – the Ace or the King ?

What do you lead from xxx – low or MUD ( middle up down )? Is it different when partner has bid the suit

Do you always lead fourth best against no trump?

Do you always give count when following suit – up the line with an odd number, down the line with an even number?

Clarify what your splinter bids mean! A splinter bid is a mild slam try asking partner whether you have a great fit…partner cannot judge that if he doesn’t know your point range or whether you have a singleton or void ! Discuss it.

SIMPLIFY your system! Bridge is a game of getting to the most reasonable contract as often as possible – you cannot hope to get to the perfect contract every time. So clogging your brain with esoteric sequences that come up once in a blue moon is, in my opinion, a losing approach.

AT THE EVENT

Move on after a bad result- it is done!

Do the normal things !

If you overcall make sure you either have a good suit or a good hand!

Lead partners suit unless you KNOW something else is better – not if you THINK something else may be better!

Take your plus scores!

Don’t go searching for the magic slam! A game plus overtricks will usually score well.

When you are declarer plan the play at trick one .

If everything looks good plan for bad breaks …if everything looks horrible play as if everything is sitting exactly as you want it! Be nice to partner…….no letters please !

So, talking of planning the hand take a look at this one.

Dealer West, Both Vulnerable

The Bidding:

West North East South

1? Pass 1? 4?

Pass Pass Pass

West led the diamond king.

This is just a superb declarer play problem!

Declarer has nine tricks and his tenth can come from any one of four places!

a) Finding East with Kx or K of spades

b) Finding a second heart trick

c) Make a club trick

d) Ruff a club in dummy

The first three are all pretty unlikely ……West has not started with a top club so East is marked with a top club honour and probably the king of hearts … that leaves West with almost certainly having to have the spade king for his opening bid.

Making a club trick is also highly unlikely on this holding ……..a low club from hand would work if West started with AK of clubs but that does not look likely given the opening lead.

So declarer decided to go for the club ruff but quickly realised that he had to go about it carefully…..on the assumption that the Club honours were split declarer had to avoid East winning the first club and playing through a spade as that would kill the hand. Declarer found a neat avoidance play solution!

At trick two declarer crossed to the heart Ace and led a low club from dummy – East is trapped!

If he plays low West wins with the Ace but cannot now play a spade, so declarer can eventually ruff a club.

If East hops up with the Club King in order to play a trump declarer can eventually set up a club trick by knocking out the Ace and making the hand with 7 spades and a trick in each of the other suits – great planning by declarer and he was well rewarded by being the only successful declarer in the room!