Introduction to Bridge

Dear Residents,

I am a qualified bridge teacher through the Contract Bridge Association, and I am delighted to share my passion for the game with you.

In each issue of the newsletter, I will be sharing bridge hands with helpful tips to enhance your skills. There will be one hand suited for beginners to start off and I will build on that in future newsletter with further tips and guidance. The focus will be on solving problems logically, helping you sharpen your strategy and decision-making.

I look forward to your interest and hopefully participation in bridge!

Richard Elvin
Clann Resident
Dublin

Hand 1 for beginners  

You hold 

♠️9742 

♥️J843 

♦️J652 

♣️7 

You may not be particularly excited about this hand, but it’s still essential to stay alert and pay attention to what your partner and opponents are bidding. 

Your partner opens 1NT, which could indicate 12-14 or 15-17 points, depending on whether you’re playing a weak or strong No Trump system. You glance at your hand, ready to pass when your turn comes—but wait! Should you pass? I can already hear some of you saying, “Yes!” 

Let’s consider this hand:
♠️ KQ84 ♥️ KJ64 ♦️ A742 ♣️ 7 

With this, you should happily bid Stayman. If your partner responds with 2♥️ or 2♠️, you can confidently bid 4♥️ or 4♠️, respectively. However, if your partner bids 2♦️, you should bid 3NT and hope they have clubs covered. 

Now, let’s examine another hand:
♠️ 9742 ♥️ J843 ♦️ J652 ♣️ 7 

What’s wrong with bidding Stayman here and passing regardless of your partner’s response (2♠️, 2♥️, or 2♦️)? Your hand may be worth at least one trick, possibly two or even three, as your partner is likely 4-4-3-3, 4-4-3-2, or even 5-3-3-2 with five cards in a minor suit. 

You might be wondering, “Why was I never taught this?” The reason is simple: Stayman is the first conventional artificial bid introduced when learning bridge. Your teacher likely focused on ensuring you understood the basics of Stayman in that lesson, leaving little time to cover non-forcing Stayman—a valuable tool where you control the bidding after initiating the 2♣️ Stayman convention. 

When 1NT is opened, it’s always the responder (the 1NT opener’s partner) who dictates where the final contract will be played and asks the necessary questions. 

Why? Because the opener has already disclosed their hand’s approximate point range and distribution (typically 4-3-3-3, 4-4-2-2, or even 5-3-3-2 with a five-card minor). As you gain more experience, these concepts will evolve. 

So, when you pass after your partner’s response, you might actually be steering the partnership out of a near-impossible contract into a playable one—and even if it fails, it will likely cost less than the original alternative.