Please note that the Thursday afternoon game will resume this week, August 13th. Until further notice, this game will be run by Bridge Manitoba with Shirley Galler directing.

Congratulations to Marielle Brentnall and her team for placing first in the National Women Team competition at the CNTC's in June! Marielle and teammates Sondra Blank (Quebec), Susan Culham (Alberta), and Brenda Bryant (Ontario) scored a landslide victory of 158-68 against runner-up team Connell. Her team will continue on to compete in the World's in Poland next month, along with two additional teammates Yimeo Cao and Jingyuan Gong. The date of the event is August 27, and those interested can view results on the World Bridge Federation website.

Well done Marielle, and best of luck to Team Canada in the World's!

Neil has written his 4^th bridge book, Winning Bridge Strategies. Here is a brief description of its content, in his own words:

My goal is to address some esoteric and difficult-to-teach expert bridge practices, such as table feel, drawing inferences, and other difficult-to-learn strategies. Most of these cannot be found in other bridge literature.

Part I considers Indirect Strategies, which you may apply at the table, but many of them also come into play at other times.

·      Getting ready.

·      Partnership Care.

·      At the Table.

·      Away from the Table.

·      Learning.

Part II focuses on direct strategies. These are strategies for bidding in general as well as slam bidding. Slam bidding gets its own chapter. First, I believe this is an area where partnerships have the lowest percentage of success. Combine this with the fact that slam swings usually result in a 10-14-IMP difference, and it is obvious that improving the number of slams you make will directly improve your winning percentage. I can’t promise that every reader will become an expert or world-class player. However, the strategies that follow are ones that are extremely important tools to have in your bridge toolkit and, if put to effective use, will definitely make a positive difference in your game. Here are the direct strategies covered:

·      Hand Evaluation.

·      Visualizing Partner’s hand.

·      Changing Bidding Priorities.

·      Two bids and a double (TBAD).

·      Deception in bidding.

·      Do not bid situations.

·      Penalizing.

·      Preempting and bidding over preempts.

·      Slam bidding.

This is an advanced bridge book. However all players can benefit from Indirect Strategies right away, and apply the Direct Strategies over time.

Neil is taking pre orders for anyone who wishes to buy a copy. These will be available in early August, for a purchase price of $20. Please contact Neil at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., if interested.

Have you ever wondered what to do after your partner has failed to alert your 2C as a Drury raise, and instead has raised you to 3C? Has your opponent ever pulled a card out of their hand after declarer has led, and then thought for several minutes and put it back? Has your partner ever scowled at you when you have failed to lead something they wanted? Worst of all, have you ever been accused of behaving in an illegal or unethical manner at the table, and not known what exactly you've done?

We've all experienced, and committed, breaches of bridge etiquette at some time or another at the table. But sometimes these breaches go beyond etiquette and give an advantage to our opponents. While there's been a great emphasis on "learning the game", we haven't all been taught what is illegal or unethical in duplicate bridge.

We approached Neil Kimelman and asked him to provide some guidance on this subject, and he's graciously agreed. Please note that while his article is more geared toward the beginning player, there is still much to be learned from his article for many of our members. 

To read Neil's article, click here.