SEASON’S greetings to all of you and I hope 2005 brings good things at and away from the table. Make sure the New Year resolutions are achievable and make some secondary resolutions in relation to improving your bridge game. One which might help is to learn the structure of bidding instead of learning just how to bid.

This game, especially the bidding, can be as deep as you want to make it but in order to bid well you must understand forcing and non-forcing sequences, reverses, the whole no-trump bidding complex, pre-empts, etc. and the more time you take to understand each of these, the better you will become in both the bidding and the play.

Okay — enough of the serious stuff! If you want to have a bit of fun during your Christmas social bridge game try playing ‘Goulash’. In Goulash the cards are not shuffled after the play and are then dealt in clumps of five, five and three. The hands turn out incredibly distributional and it needs a really different approach to the bidding and the play.

This hand, played by Stuart Wheeler at the Portland Club in London, was reported by Andrew Robson in his excellent column in the Times and demonstrates why Wheeler has dominated at the Portland for five decades!

Dealer: West

None VulnerableNorth

[spade]None

[heart]None

[diamond]A K J 7 4 2

[club]K 10 9 8 7 6 5

West East

[spade]Q 10 9 8 6 4 3 2 [spade]None

[heart]6 [heart]9 7 4 3

[diamond]Q [diamond]10 9 8 6 5 3

[club]A Q J [club]4 3 2

South

[spade]A K J 7 5

[heart]A K Q J 10 8 5 2

[diamond]None

[club]NoneThe bidding (the Portland allows no conventions!)West North East South

1[spade](1) 2[club](2) Pass 6[heart]1. Hmmm . . .

2. No Unusual NT allowed!

3. Very, very dangerous at Goulash!

A spade return and a trump or club lead and ten tricks is probably it, maybe 11 with a spade endplay. But on the ace of clubs lead you ruff and . . . did you ruff with the two of trumps? If so, East can beat you!

If you ruff with a high trump you can cash three trumps and then, after cashing a spade to ensure East has none, exit with the two! This sacrifices a trick but East now has to lead a minor and three losing spades disappear! If you had ruffed with the trump two at trick one an alert East can throw all his high trumps and refuse to ever win a trick! Now you must go down. Wheeler played the hand perfectly and was successful — as would you, no doubt!

Enjoy the holidays!LATEST RESULTS

Bermuda Bridge ClubWednesday, December 15, morning, N/S: <$>1. Mary Arton-Alice Palmer; 2. Louise Rodger-Barbara Huntington; 3. Ann Sims-Elma Anfossi. E/W: 1. Joan Sims-Gwen Christensen, 2 jt. Magda Farag-Mona Marie Gambrill and June Stanton-Patricia Riding.

Wednesday evening: 1. Dee Griffiths-Peter Jones, 2. Christine Ambrosini-Wendy Salvia, 3. Stephan Juliusburger-Cliff Alison.

Friday: 1. Ian Harvey-Tony Saunders, 2. Stephan Juliusburger-David Pereira, 3 jt. Lyn O’Neill-Oswald Dittrich and Diana Diel-Judy Bussell.

Granaway Bridge Club

Wednesday, December 15, Section A, N/S: 1. Lyn O’Neill-Marge Way, 2. Enid Hyland-Sara Zug (1. Section B), 3. Stephen Ball-Magda Farag. Section A, E/W: <$>1. Rachel Gosling-Elizabeth McKee (1. Section B), 2. Mary Arton-Nea Willits, 3. Charles Hall-Jean Bath.