YouHold

In the first part of this series, we were faced with the following declarer problem after West bid both majors:

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The US Bridge Championships are currently underway. This event determines one of the 2 teams that will be sent to represent the US in the next major international team event, such as the Bermuda Bowl or Olympiad.
The format of the event is a round robin, followed by a series of single elimination KO matches. Certain teams have earned byes into the later rounds due to their performance in the premier events at the nationals.
The Round Robin and first KO round are complete. The matches for the next round (not counting byes) are:
JACOBS vs FOUT
ROBINSON vs BROD
WELLAND vs …read more

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The WYTCs are now over.  USA1 had a big lead going into the final segment of the event, 100 IMPS.  This is good, since Italy put on a massive rally in the final segment, winning that segment 82 to 1.  However, USA1 was still victorious.
Congratulations to Josh Donn, Jason Feldman, Ari Greenberg, Joe Grue, John Kranyak and Justin Lall.  Well done all.

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In addition to the ACBL, there is another American bridge orginization, one which has been around about as long: The American Bridge Association. The ABA was created back in the days of racial segregation. Most of its membership consists of Black bridge players, however all events (just as in the ACBL) are open to all races.
The ABA recently had its summer nationals in Atlanta, where I live. I had obligations which kept me from playing throughout the tournament, but I was able to play in one national event, a swiss team event.

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For anyone interested in watching the World Youth Team Championships “live”, there is a vugraph available over the internet at Bridge Base Online, a free place to play or watch bridge on the internet.
The schedule is available online. Check it out!

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A double squeeze is a squeeze performed against both opponents.The classical ending is something like this, south to lead (assume no trumps):

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The 11th World Youth Team Championships (formally known as the World Junior Team Champtionships) are underway in Bangkok, Thailand. This event happens every other year with youngsters (26 and under) from all over the world competing for a coveted world championship title.
New this year is a second category of play. In addition to the Juniors (26 and under) event, there is also a “Schools” event, limited to players 21 and under. I have several friends from the USA participating in both levels, and I wish them the best of luck. Bring home some good stories and …read more

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The life cycle of a bridge hand has 2 very distinct phases: bidding and play. The concept of bidding may be somewhat familiar to those of you who have played Spades or Pinochle. The idea is to try to determine how successful you and your partner can be in the card play as a team. In other words, to reach a good “contract”.

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After 1NT (15-17) – 3NT by the opponents, you are faced with this defensive problem:

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Consider this the first in a regular series of card play problems, either defense or declarer play. Solutions will be posted separately.

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