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Vil Gravis Writes

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Q&A 06: Major Oriented

Vil's Tips - Thu, 29/01/2026 - 4:32pm

Not enough people play strictly major oriented takeout doubles, and then they find that because they
don’t trust partner to be on the same page, end up in the wrong contract. Here is a good example

You are SOUTH, Both vulnerable, dealer West.
SouthWestNorthEast-1X2

Your hand is:
42AT42J4AJ987

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Q&A 05: DOUBLE OR QUITS

Vil's Tips - Tue, 27/01/2026 - 5:46am

Not enough use is made of the DOUBLE and REDOUBLE in our bridge bidding. These bidding
problems and answers revolve around the use of the “X and XX”. To make it more meaningful to the
club player, all questions and answers come from match point play.

You are SOUTH, EW vulnerable, dealer North.

The Bidding has been:
SouthWestNorthEast--1NTPass2XXXPass?

Your partner’s 1NT is 12-14 and your 2C is Stayman. You play Stayman with no specific point count.
Stayman, as you play it, simply asks a question: “do you have a four card major?”
West doubles and partner (the 1NT opener) redoubles

Your hand is:
K842A753A52J2

What do you make of it?

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Q&A Test Answers 04

Vil's Tips - Tue, 20/01/2026 - 5:05pm

Here is another one that has a 100% answer. It should be easy for anyone who can count but despite the
fact that the giveaway clue of “Precision 1C” should have told us everything, there were a number of
players who would still take a finesse that was certain to lose, and not take a finesse that was certain to
succeed!

Let me show you the full deal as it was at the time it was played some years ago
Dealer W NS Vul
QJ7AQT93972K3KKJ7AKJT6J9866542654Q54754AT9838283AQT2

West is dealer, NS vulnerable; the bidding has been:
SouthWestNorthEast-11Pass122Pass3Pass4PassPassPass

West’s 1C was alerted and explained as a PRECISION 1C 16+ high card points, any shape. East’s
pass, after partner’s 1H overcall, has been explained as 0-5. West leads the ACE OF DIAMONDS, East
follows with the three (‘reverse attitude’) and West continues with the king, then another diamond, East
producing the queen. Declarer ruffs.

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Q&A Test Answers 03

Vil's Tips - Fri, 16/01/2026 - 4:30pm

The bidding has been uneventful, 1NT by West, 3NT by East. Partner leads the TEN OF HEARTS and this is what you see in dummy:

K93QJ7AQ93J42

Your hand:

Q64K54J429863

What is your analysis of the situation?

When declarer covers with the jack in dummy, which card do you play?

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Q&A Test Answers 02

Vil's Tips - Tue, 13/01/2026 - 1:17pm

Another teams match and the bidding:

Dealer West All Vul
SouthWestNorthEast-1NTPass2Pass2Pass4PassPassPass

1NT has been announced as ‘12-14’. 2C is Stayman.
Your partner leads the seven of hearts. Dummy comes down and this is the situation:

Dummy:
QT82QJTA98K85

Your hand, as South:
95A8432732Q92

What will be the first two cards played from your hand, and why?

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Q&A Test Answers 01

Vil's Tips - Fri, 09/01/2026 - 1:44pm

This one is an exercise in lateral thinking. It comes from many years ago and may not be replicated
these days, because bidding methods may well be different. Nevertheless it provides many points of
interest.
1.You are playing teams. You are SOUTH, EW vulnerable, dealer West.

The Bidding has been:
SouthWestNorthEast-1Pass1Pass2Pass2NTPass3Pass3Pass3NTPassPassPass

You ask about the bidding, as you should, and are told that the bidding is natural, 2S shows 5+
diamonds and 4 spades, and is game forcing. 2NT shows ‘not much’, and nothing has been ‘discussed’
as far as further bidding goes.

Your hand is:
853KQJ9232974

What would your opening lead be?

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Questions and Answers

Vil's Tips - Mon, 22/12/2025 - 5:02pm

Is AI the answer to all our bridge problems? I wanted to check out just how brilliant AI would be on this opening lead problem, which I recall writing about many years ago. I recall it quite clearly because the opening lead required thinking about how the play would go. I did wonder whether AI would give the answer that was found at the time.

Dealer W Nil Vul
J93K743Q54274A864Q6TKQJ963Q5A952AK983T8KT72JT8J76A52

This was the bidding at the time:
SouthWestNorthEast-1Pass1Pass1Pass2Pass3Pass2NTPassPassPass

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Questions and Answers

Vil's Tips - Mon, 22/12/2025 - 5:00pm

Is AI the answer to all our bridge problems? I wanted to check out just how brilliant AI would be on this opening lead problem, which I recall writing about many years ago. I recall it quite clearly because the opening lead required thinking about how the play would go. I did wonder whether AI would give the answer that was found at the time.

Dealer W Nil Vul
J93K743Q54274A864Q6TKQJ963Q5A952AK983T8KT72JT8J76A52

This was the bidding at the time:
SouthWestNorthEast1Pass1Pass1Pass2Pass3Pass2NTPassPassPass

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Re Merry Xmas X-Clubs

Vil's Tips - Fri, 19/12/2025 - 8:38pm

Second, and final, thoughts:
Board 20 . Dealer W All Vul
9A747542AKT748762KQT63AJQ3AKT53KQT83J52QJ4J985296986

The bidding was just as you might expect. West opened 1H, North overcalled 2C, East bid 2S and West 4S. I had to make the opening lead. That is where I came unstuck because I did not lead partner’s suit!

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Merry Xmas X-Clubs

Vil's Tips - Thu, 04/12/2025 - 7:42pm

I have come to the conclusion that I must give up some of my crazy ideas about defence. I should give up on thinking that defence is about anything more than leading partner’s suit, because of my terrible blunder when I was South in this X-Clubs deal, from 28/11/25

Board 20 . Dealer W All Vul
9A747542AKT748762KQT63AJQ3AKT53KQT83J52QJ4J985296986

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Bidding Q&A 05

Vil's Tips - Sat, 29/11/2025 - 8:52pm

This deal comes from Tuesday 25/11/25 at X-Clubs and presents us with a number of questions as well as a double dummy answer that I expect none of us would find at the table

Board 6 . Dealer E EW Vul
AT93AQT33K85352J95QJ75J962864876AKT62AQKQJ7K42984T74

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Bidding Q&A 04

Vil's Tips - Fri, 28/11/2025 - 8:35am

Now we can have a look at real life, not just theory, and see what everyone at X-Clubs did given the monstrous and quite unbelievable deal that the computer threw up.

The full deal was:
Board 3 . Dealer S EW Vul
73AJT2T3QJT64JTQ97397AK872965K865442953AKQ842AKQJ865

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Bidding Q&A 03

Vil's Tips - Mon, 24/11/2025 - 4:53pm

Bidding Q&A 03
This unbelievable deal comes from X-Clubs on 10/11/25. It was also unbelievable from the point of view of the results across all of the clubs so is definitely worth investigating and reporting. I presented the South hand to a number of players across different levels and asked how they would deal with it. The answers were quite an eye opener! Here is the South hand only, and some questions and answers that South might ask, and answer, before bidding after recovering from the shock of seeing the hand and thinking the human dealer had been playing funny buggers with the dealing machine!

Board 3 . Dealer S EW Vul
AKQ842AKQJ865

You are South and pick up this hand. What are your thoughts?

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Bidding Q&A 02

Vil's Tips - Thu, 20/11/2025 - 3:52pm

This deal also comes from X-Clubs on 14/11/25

Board 19 . Dealer S EW Vul
QKJT987532AATAT754482Q9642J98636QT75J87K2AQKJ9643K53

South opens 1D. West passes

Q1. As North, what thoughts occur?

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Bidding Q&A 01

Vil's Tips - Wed, 19/11/2025 - 2:54pm

We start this series with a deal that poses many questions, and also answers that the reader may or may not agree with. The deal comes from X-Clubs on 14/11/25

Board 18 . Dealer E NS Vul
QJ63AT76426537KJ98685AK974827532QJ93QJ2AKT954QT4AKT8

You sit West: South opens 1S
Q1. Would you bid 2S (Michaels) or 2H?

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Thursday Tips 15

Vil's Tips - Mon, 27/10/2025 - 4:19pm

This week’s tip comes from Thursday 23/10/25: Don’t be a smarty. It may well backfire on you!

Board 1
Dealer W EW Vul
KJ6K85AQ752Q9Q754296487542T2JT64KT8AKJTA983AQ973J363

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Thursday Tips 14

Vil's Tips - Tue, 21/10/2025 - 4:57pm

This week’s tip comes from Friday 17/10/2025: Always try and make sure you make your contract. And count your tricks. This is a great example of when making sure of your contract can have an unexpected, and very positive, side effect. Virtue was its own reward for the careful declarers.

Board 13
Dealer N All Vul
752Q4KQ873653JT9AJ96JT942TA6K87A65AQJ74KQ843T532K982

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Thursday Tips 13

Vil's Tips - Tue, 14/10/2025 - 3:01pm

This week’s tip is: Learn the ‘Dummy Reversal’. No, that has nothing to do with transfer bids, but often it is an easy way to create another trick when you have lots of trumps in the two hands. Normally, you would have more trumps in your hand as declarer and fewer in dummy, and you would use dummy’s trumps to ruff any losers you have in your own hand whenever you can.You would use your own trumps to draw out any trumps the opponents might hold. The ‘dummy reversal’ in effect reverses this process, and can thus create the extra trick (or tricks) in certain layouts. This deal, from Monday afternoon play at X-Clubs (Monday 13/10/25), gives us a typical and easy to follow example of a “Dummy Reversal”

Board 14 . Dealer E Nil Vul
AKJT7KQJT3J39842875KJ654328632975KQT9QTQ954A6A642A87

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Vil's Red Book

X-Club Blog

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