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Vil's Tips

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  • warning: date(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected the timezone 'UTC' for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone. in /var/www/sites/drupal/modules/aggregator/aggregator.pages.inc on line 259.
  • warning: date(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected the timezone 'UTC' for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone. in /var/www/sites/drupal/modules/aggregator/aggregator.pages.inc on line 259.
  • warning: date(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected the timezone 'UTC' for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone. in /var/www/sites/drupal/modules/aggregator/aggregator.pages.inc on line 259.
  • warning: date(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected the timezone 'UTC' for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone. in /var/www/sites/drupal/modules/aggregator/aggregator.pages.inc on line 259.
  • warning: date(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected the timezone 'UTC' for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone. in /var/www/sites/drupal/modules/aggregator/aggregator.pages.inc on line 259.
  • warning: date(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected the timezone 'UTC' for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone. in /var/www/sites/drupal/modules/aggregator/aggregator.pages.inc on line 259.
  • warning: date(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected the timezone 'UTC' for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone. in /var/www/sites/drupal/modules/aggregator/aggregator.pages.inc on line 259.
  • warning: date(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected the timezone 'UTC' for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone. in /var/www/sites/drupal/modules/aggregator/aggregator.pages.inc on line 259.
  • warning: date(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected the timezone 'UTC' for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone. in /var/www/sites/drupal/modules/aggregator/aggregator.pages.inc on line 259.
  • warning: date(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected the timezone 'UTC' for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone. in /var/www/sites/drupal/modules/aggregator/aggregator.pages.inc on line 259.
  • warning: date(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected the timezone 'UTC' for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone. in /var/www/sites/drupal/modules/aggregator/aggregator.pages.inc on line 259.
  • warning: date(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected the timezone 'UTC' for now, but please set date.timezone to select your timezone. in /var/www/sites/drupal/modules/aggregator/aggregator.pages.inc on line 259.
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Merry Xmas X-Clubs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vil's Red Book

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