Newsletter 26 March 2026
In our newsletter this week...
- April is Red MP Month!
- Beginners Lessons
- Working Bee - 11th April
- Workshop with Will Jenner-O'Shea
- Youth Shoutout
- Upcoming Events
- Online Lesson with Will
- Lost Properties
- Name Badge Order
- Experts in the ACT
- Congratulations to the Seniors and Mixed Team Qualifiers
- Lighter Moments
April is Red MP Sponsored Pairs Month!
During the month of April we will be holding RED Masterpoint events for selected sessions named after our sponsors, to give all players the opportunity to earn red masterpoints.
To be promoted to State Master or beyond, you need at least 25 red masterpoints, as well as your green masterpoints.
- If you play with the same partner over the three weeks, your cumulative score will determine your final place,
- No pre-entry is required. The table money is the same.
- Master points awarded for 3/3 scores or 2/2 for RB
The selected April events are as follows:
- 8 April - 22 April Wednesday evening f2f : Pacific Pairs
- 10 April - 24 April Friday morning f2f: TBIB Pairs
- 10 April - 24 April Friday afternoon f2f: Colourful World Pairs
- 13 April - 20 April Monday afternoon RB and Monday evening RB
- 14 April - 28 April Tuesday afternoon f2f: Travel Associates Pairs
- 16 April - 23 April Thursday afternoon RB
Beginners Lessons
Question: Do you know the best form of advertising our bridge classes for beginners?
Answer: Via word of mouth. So share your love of the game with your kids, neighbours, friends, baristas, colleagues, person next to you on the light rail and let them know that the next round of Beginners Classes starts in April.
Outdoor Working Bee Saturday April 11th at 9 am
A few willing workers are required to help with the following:
- Removing woody weeds
- Installing more brown irrigation piping
- Installing some stepping stones through a garden bed
- Preparing the ground for some new plantings.
We particularly need someone with a trailer for the removal of the rubbish.
If you can help, please contact Jennifer Yeats on 0412031903 or
Workshop with Will Jenner-O'Shea
Will's next CBC workshop will introduce the Jacoby 2NT system focusing on the follow-up bids that complete this very useful convention. This workshop will be held on Sunday 5th of April.
- The Game Forcing Jacoby 2NT Raise, and Responses
- Slam Bidding Using 4NT, Keycard (14/30)
- How To Value Hands For Slam (Shortages, Honours)
- Examples Of Control Bids, And Asking For Kings
Details:
- $60 per player including a delicious morning tea, a light lunch, and a booklet of notes.
- $20 for players under 30. (A portion of entry fees and book sales goes towards Youth Bridge in the ACT)
- Sunday 5th April 10am to 3pm.
To make a booking click on the link below or with any enquiries please email
Youth Shoutout!
A strong Youth Bridge program can only occur with dedicated people supporting us, nurturing beginner players and mentoring. This week I'd like to say a particular thank you to Andrew Struik who has spent many Sundays the past few months mentoring some of our Youth players. We wish him and Nikki safe travels and look forward to seeing them again later this year.
- Suz Wilkinson
Upcoming Events
The next Tuesday night competition is the 2 weeks BFACT State Open Swiss Matchpoint Pairs (incl BFACT Mixed Pairs Champ). This event will run from 14th to 21st April 2026 and will start at 7pm.
Graded Butler Pairs Saturday inc ANC Country Team Selection - Details:
- Where: CBC
- When: Saturday 18 April from 9:45 to 5:15pm
- Director: Steve Geddes
- Cost: $24 for full members, $20 for concessional members and $30 for non-members
- Click here to register - you will be charged on the day of the event, registration is free
Online Lesson with Will
Will is running regular Online Lessons that are suitable for Club players of all levels.
There is a LIVE ZOOM on Thursday Mornings at 9:30am, or you can sign up for the lessons and receive the Recording, Hands, Notes, and a way to Replay the hands later. The full list of lessons and topics can be found on our website.
Next lesson is on "Checkback Part 2 - Simple Checkback". Purchase through the link below.
Lost Properties
Next time you are at the club please take a look through the Lost Properties Table that has been put near the upstairs kitchen.
All items left there on the 31st of March will be taken away and donated to charity.
Name Badge Order
If you would like to buy a magnetic name badge please submit your order by clicking on the link below. The badge will display your full name and abf number unless you add in the notes section your preferred name. Cost is $20, please pay when you register
Experts In The ACT
A recent hand came up in the second to last match of the ACT State Open Teams that was decisive in several of the matches on the night. The board is shown below and only around half the room managed to bid their way to the very sound contract of Six Hearts.
At most tables the play was simple enough. South tended to lead the Diamond King and Declarers around the room won the Ace, played the Ace, Queen and then the Five of Hearts to Dummy’s King. They then turned their minds to Clubs, cashing the Ace, King and Queen and making all thirteen tricks when it turned out that Clubs broke three-three.
William Jenner-O’Shea was one of these Declarers and he also won the Diamond lead, drew trumps and then played the Club Three to his Ace, followed by the Club Eight. When South contributed the Six, William took stock. He realised that if Clubs broke three-three he would make all thirteen tricks. He knew he would likely only make twelve if they broke four-two. However, he saw a danger that not many considered. What if Clubs were breaking five-one?
The fifth Club must lie with South (since he’s just seen a second Club from them, so William made what is known as a safety play. He gave up on his chance of making thirteen tricks by inserting Dummy’s Club Ten. Although this gave the defenders a Club trick (turning his plus 1010 into plus 980) he had guarded against the unlikely but real chance that South had all five of the outstanding Clubs. In that case, William would win four Clubs (the Ace, Ten, King and Queen) but everyone else in the room would need to concede two tricks. Still scoring him a plus 980 while everyone else had to write down minus 100. It’s thinking like that that distinguishes the expert player from the merely very good.
At one table, the hand had even greater relevance. Stephen Fisher and Andrew Spooner (one of Canberra’s strongest pairs) had the following auction:
2NT (a big, balanced hand)
3D (transfer to Hearts) : 3S (showing three Hearts)
4C (serious slam interest) : 4NT (Keycard)
5C (one Ace or Heart King) : 5NT (We have all keycards)
7C (A choice of grand slam) : 7H
Having bid the grand slam, Andrew Spooner now had to make it. He could have just drawn trumps and pinned his hopes on Clubs being three-three, but he knew that would only work around thirty five percent of the time. He found a better play which let him make all of the tricks not only when Clubs were three-three but also in some of the four-two breaks.
He began by cashing the Ace and Queen of Hearts. Learning that trumps were breaking nicely, he then turned his attention to Clubs, leaving one trump outstanding. He cashed the Club Ace, played the Eight to Dummy’s King and then ruffed a small Club with his Heart Five.
As the cards lay, this was unnecessary and both opponents followed. The extra edge he had identified was that if the player with only two Clubs ALSO began with only two Hearts then they would be unable to over-ruff his Heart Five. He knew he would still be okay if Clubs were three-three but his extra chance would occur a little over twenty percent of the time. These little extra chances add up over a career of bridge and it’s no wonder Andrew has performed so well in State and National events in recent years.
One’s immediate reaction might be to think of the risk – what if the second Club gets ruffed? What if the hand with two Clubs actually has THREE trumps?
Well if the second Club is ruffed that means Clubs are five-one and he’s not making his contract anyway. And if the hand with two clubs can over-ruff then drawing the trump wasn’t going to help (the four-two break would then defeat him anyway).
This combining of chances is often the difference between expert players and the “merely very good”. We are lucky in Canberra to have some great bridge players and many of them play at the Club every Tuesday Evening. If you regularly win your weekly session and are looking for a challenge and a way to lift your game to the next level, there is no better way than playing with a good, regular partner in a strong field. The Tuesday events tend to last two or three weeks and are an excellent way to test your mettle.
If you have any interesting hands that come up (or hands you wish you’d known how to play) we would love to hear about them at:
- Steve Geddes
Congratulations to Australian Team Mixed and Seniors Qualifiers
Christy Geromboux and Sebastian Yuen took out the Mixed Teams finals in Hobart on the weekend. Congratulations also to Ian Thomson, David Hudson and George Kozakos and their partners who qualified in the Seniors Playoff.
Lighter Moments
A few travel jokes for our travelling manager, Elizabeth.
My favourite childhood memory is my parents paying for the holidays.
You've never felt true fear until your passport isn't where you think you left it.
I wish I was a postcard. For $2 you can travel the world.
