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Vil Gravis Writes

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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

Thursday Tips 12

Vil's Tips - Thu, 02/10/2025 - 4:19pm

This week’s tip is: Even when you think something is impossible, don’t just give up and concede. The following deal gives us a great example of why. The deal comes from Tuesday 30/9/25. It also gives us a very easy to understand example of when the seemingly impossible is possible if you know the basics of the “Trump Coup”.

Board 25. Dealer N NS Vul
AK8AKAQ73AQ92765424J4JT853QT3J863T96576J9QT9752K82K4

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Thursday Tips 11

Vil's Tips - Tue, 09/09/2025 - 5:04pm

This week’s tip: Count your tricks. Not just your certain top tricks but your potential tricks. There are actually EIGHTEEN highly likely tricks for NS in the following deal, so getting to 7NT should be easy wouldn’t you think?

Board 5. Dealer N NS Vul
J52AAQT7653A4K863294T8763283J9754J82Q95AKQT9764QTKKJ

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Thursday Tips 10

Vil's Tips - Sun, 31/08/2025 - 10:09pm

Another one that does not come from a Thursday, but from Tuesday 26/08/2025. Very much worth discussion. What is YOUR understanding of ‘fourth suit forcing”? Whatever it is, I would wager that is different to mine, and that you have no clear understanding with your partner about it. But let’s see.

Board 5. Dealer N NS Vul
AK42AQ3AT628298586J9873KQ4QT76K42KQ4T96J3JT9755AJ753

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Thursday Tips 09

Vil's Tips - Sun, 17/08/2025 - 2:05pm

This “Thursday Tip” actually comes from a Friday at X-Clubs, on 15-Aug. There are TWO tips, and they are both contradictory, yet complementary. Let me first quote the American great Mike Lawrence (apologies all round if I have the wrong person) who said: “God did not deal you the ace and king in the same suit for you to lead any other suit”. I totally agree, why wouldn’t I? But now let me remind you of the number of times I have documented my advice about trump leads, the general gist being: “Trump leads usually only help declarer because the first thing most declarers do is to draw trumps, so why do it for them? Singleton trump leads can be particularly disastrous because they often allow declarer to pick up a lower honour like the queen or jack when declarer would have been unlikely to do so himself. But there are always exceptions.” One such exception that I have cited often enough is when declarer has bid to a game or slam all on their own, with an obviously self sufficient suit and no regard for partner’s negative response or responses. The only thing of value in dummy might be a queen or jack, about which we can do nothing about or, an unlikely “ruffing value” (which we can do something about). When declarer has all the strength, it is vital that the defenders give nothing away, and a trump lead is therefore the only option, unless it is clearly evident that there is a better lead. Take a look at the following deal and I must admit that the bidding may have been a bit different some of the time, but I believe South has a clear 2C opening and then a 4H bid opposite North’s negative 2D. What should West lead?

Board 1 from X-Clubs 15/09/2025
Dealer N Nil Vul
962T7JT98764JJT884AQ53AK85Q74395K2T6432AK5AKQJ632Q97

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

One Over One

Vil's Tips - Wed, 13/08/2025 - 5:25pm

In a new collection of articles under the Vil's Books tab above Vil offers something different .. and yet the same. His One Over One system is a variation on strong opening bids and five card majors which allows more accurate communication with partner in game forcing situations and low level contracts. The full 'system' may not be acceptable by the powers that be for play at Junior tournaments but if you and your partner are interested in trying something different then Vil's "One Over One" system will be presented here as PDF attachments as he produces them. You may find it helpful to be able to communicate freely with your partner in all bidding situations, but .. be warned. There will always be a need to THINK. If you're not prepared to do that, then Vil recommends that you stick with what you know.

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Categories: Vil Gravis Writes

Vil's Red Book

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