TaigaBridge

Hand of the Week

Gordon Bower published a "hand of the week" column for the members of the Farthest North Bridge Club from 2008 to 2010, and revived it for a while in Idaho in 2014.

The column is currently on hiatus — in fact, it may or may not ever resume — but bridge players around the world stumbled across the column, and the past few years it has been one of the leading sources of traffic for the TaigaBridge website.

The original columns are all still available (unedited from the form they originally appeared, and not converted into modern CSS-formatted HTML) at their original URLs, via the links below.

Attention webmasters and bridge teachers: if you want to reprint these columns on your website or in your newsletter, write to me and ask for permission unless you want me to come at you with a chip on my shoulder and a big precision club in my hand.

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Browse previous hands of the week by year of publication:

2014: 407 406 405 404 403 402 401
2010: 310 309 308 307 306 305 304 303 302 301
2009: 232 231 230 229 228 227 226 225 224 223 222 221 220 219 218 217 216 215 214 213 212 211 210 209 208 207 206 205 204 203 202 201
2008: 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Index by level and theme:

	Beginning	Intermediate	Advanced
Bidding	405 311 307 301 231 227 222 215 214 210 202 33 30 19 17 15 8 6 4	407 403 402 310 309 304 232 220 216 212 211 205 204 201 27 21 19 18 16 9 2	224 221 219 32 26 5
Declarer Play	306 206 26	404 305 230 225 223 217 207 203 31 29 27 24 20 3 1	209 13
Defense	229 218 34 25	401 311 308 302 226 213 208 28 23 22 14 11 10 7	406 303 228 12

Index by specific topics:

• Bidding:
  • Choosing the right strain 310 224 222 214 212 210 33 32 27
  • Competitive judgment 309 307 216 211 30 26 21 19 16 4
  • Hand evaluation 407 405 304 301 220 204 9 5
  • Lead-directing doubles 402
  • Planning ahead for your rebid 232
  • Raising partner 407 301 219 2
  • Slam decisions 403 201 18
  • Standard American basics 311 231 227 215 202 19 15 8 6
  • Third seat openings 205
  • Unauthorized information 307 221
• Declarer play:
  • Card Combinations 404 305 206 27 26
  • Choosing the best line of play 306 230 223 217 31 1
  • Clues from the auction 207
  • Counting 20
  • Endplays 209 13
  • Safe and dangerous opponents 209 29 24 3
  • Trump handling 203
  • Unblocking 225
• Defense:
  • Clues from the auction 14
  • Counting partner's and declarer's hands 406 208 28 7
  • Opening leads 406 401 311 308 302 229 218 213 208 34 23 22 11 10
  • Signals
    • Attitude 303
    • Count
    • Suit Preference 25 228
  • Third hand play 25 228
  • Unusual defensive maneuvers:
    • Avoiding an endplay 27
    • Cutting declarer's communication with dummy 12
    • Preventing partner from misdefending 226
    • Refusing to play third hand high 302