All bridge lessons
Every article on Bridge Champions, organised by topic — 151 lessons covering bidding, declarer play, and defence for beginners and advanced players.
Beginner — Bidding
- Opening Bids: Balanced Hands and the 5-Card Major Rule
- Responder's First Bid: Raise, New Suit, or No-Trump
- Bidding fundamentals #3 - Learn and Checklist - Balanced hands revision
- Opening 1NT: When to Open and When Not to
- How to Play Contract Bridge: Step-by-Step Guide
- Bridge Scoring: What Actually Matters at the Table
- Counting Combined Points: Bid Game, Part-Score, or Pass
- Preemptive Raises: Why Big Trump Fits Beat Big Points
- How to Improve at Bridge - Focus
- Bidding fundamentals #4 - Learn and Checklist - Simple opener rebids after 1♥ or 1♠
- Opener's Rebid: Strong Rebids
Beginner — Declarer Play
- Ruff in Dummy: Win Extra Tricks Cheaply
- Playing Long Suits: Build Extra Winners Early
- Finesses: Single, Double, and Leading Low Toward Honors
- Drawing Trumps: A Simple Habit That Saves Tricks
- When Not to Draw Trumps: 3 Situations to Delay
- Building Side-Suit Winners: Honor Sequences Like KQJ10
- Cash Trumps Without Blocking: Keep Your Winners Running
- No-Trump Basics: Build Your Long Suit and Cash Winners
- Hold Up Play in No-Trump: When to Duck the First Trick
Beginner — Defence
Bidding — Advanced
- Bidding Basics: Build a Clear Auction Plan
- Find a Major Fit After 1NT: Stayman, Smolen, Puppet, Texas
- Negative Doubles and One-Level Responses
- Responding on balanced hands - how much to invite?
- When Not to Double: Expert Principles
- Pass can be the best bid
- Raising partner. Simply supporting is best.
- Sacrifices when and how to use.
- Bidding fundamentals #1 - Learn and Checklist - Open 1♣
- Bidding fundamentals #2 - Learn and Checklist - Open 1♣ (unbalanced)
- Bidding fundamentals #5 - Learn and Checklist - Opener jump rebid
- Bidding fundamentals #6 - Learn and Checklist - Artificial 2NT rebid
- Losing Trick Count for Bidding: Judge Contracts Better
- Bid Your Third Suit Naturally: Keep the Auction Clear
- Why Card Texture Matters in Hand Evaluation
- Re-Evaluate Your Hand as the Auction Develops
- Hand Evaluation in Suits: Do More with a Good Suit
- Do Less with a Weak Trump Suit
- Just Bid 3NT: Recognize the Right Auctions
- Second Suit in Competition: Compete with Purpose
- Third Seat Openings: Practical Aggression
- Should You Invite with 11? Practical Guide
- The Stayman Convention in Bridge: How and When to Use It
- Transfers over 1C: How They Work
- Bergen Raises: A Bridge Bidding Convention
- Is that bid forcing? Responder's first bid.
- Bidding No Trump - Show a stopper
- Splinter Bids in Bridge: How and When to Use Them
- Weak Two Bids in Bridge: Opening and Responses
- Bidding Bible - Part 1 - Bid your hand
- Bidding Bible - Part 2 - Bid the contract
- Bidding Bible - Part 3 - Going positive
- Bidding Bible - Part 4 - Slam bidding - The real secrets revealed
- Hand from Poland - Finals Mixed
- Hands from Poland World Championship - semi final of the Mixed
- Poland - Open teams qualifying day 1
- Poland - Round of 32
- Four-Level Doubles: What to Do Next
- Misfit Auctions: Put the Brakes On Early
- 1NT with a Six-Card Suit: When It Still Works
- Preempting by Vulnerability: Risk and Reward
- Preempting in First Seat: When to Be Bold
- Vulnerable Auctions: Why Too Careful Can Be Costly
- Opening 2C: When (Not) to Use It
- Takeout Doubles in Bridge: The Complete Guide
- System Over 1NT: Transfer Responses and Conventions
- Roman Key Card Blackwood (RKCB) and Blackwood
- DONT convention: Interfering over No Trump
- Super accept: 1NT Transfers Jacoby
- Bridge winning strategies - Top 5 to improve your results
- Multi 2D opening: How to play and defend it
- Cue Bids in Bridge: Slam Bidding Made Simple
- Two-way checkback: all you need to know
- The Unusual NT: A Two-Suited 2NT Overcall
- 2 over 1: Game forcing
- Favourable Vulnerability: When to Bid Aggressively
- 18-19 "Mexican" 2D opening
- 9 Card trump fit does it matter?
- Cue Raise in Bridge: A Strong Raise of Partner's Suit
- Kickback Convention: RKCB One Level Above the Trump Suit
- Gerber Convention in Bridge: Asking for Aces with 4C
- Quantitative 4NT: How to Invite Slam in No Trumps
- Cappelletti Convention in Bridge: Interfering Over 1NT
- Michaels Cue Bid in Bridge: The Complete Guide
- Inverted Minors in Bridge: How and When to Use Them
- Points opposite Shortage: Part 1 - Fundamentals
- Points opposite Shortage: Part 2 - Examples
- Points opposite Shortage: Part 3 - Application
- Points opposite Shortage: Part 4 - Exceptions
- Garbage stayman: Stayman with weak hands
- 5NT Pick a Slam: Practical Partnership Agreements
- Fourth Suit Forcing: How and When to Use It
- Puppet Stayman Convention - All You Need to Know
- Texas Transfers: Transfer Directly to Game
- Smolen Convention: Show 5-4 Majors After Stayman
- Lebensohl Convention Explained
- What is a convention, and which are best to play?
- Best slam bidding conventions
- Landy and Multi Landy
- Jacoby 2NT: The Game-Forcing Major Raise
- Reverse Bids in Bridge: Showing Extra Strength
- How to bid 6-5 shape hands
Declarer Play
- Declarer Play Basics: Build a Plan at Trick One
- Suit Establishment in Bridge: Setting Up Side Suits as Declarer
- Avoiding Extra Losers as Declarer
- Bridge Shapes Fundamentals: Read Distribution Quickly
- Count Winners in No-Trump: Build a Trick Plan
- Counting Losers: Plan the Hand and Spot Hidden Dangers Early
- Count Winners in Trumps: Avoid Missed Tricks
- Declarer Practice: Plan Before You Play
- Declarer Practice: Timing and Entries
- Take Every Chance: Extra Tricks Before Defence Settles
- Drawing Trumps: Make the Right Plan and Avoid Autopilot
- Have a Backup Plan: Recover When Plan A Fails
- Cash Side-Suit Winners: Before drawing trumps
- Use Entries Well: Reach the Right Hand at the Right Time
- Duck to Preserve Communication: Set Up Your Long Suit
Defence
- Defence Basics: Build a Plan at Trick One
- Playing through strength and towards weakness: Advanced
- Taking Tricks in Defence: Timing and Purpose
- Defence when Dummy has Limited Entries
- Defence when Dummy is strong
- Defence against ruffs in dummy
- Active and Passive defence
- The Forcing Defence: Drain Declarer's Trumps
- The Trump Lead: When It Kills Ruffing Plans
- Lead Positioning: Dummy on Your Right with Small Cards
- Ruffing in Defence: Turn Shortness into Tricks
- Duck a Winner in Defence: Timing the Hold Up
- Count the Unseen Hand: Read Distribution in Defence
- McKenney (Lavinthal) Suit Preference Signals and Discards
- UDCA - Upside Down Count and Attitude
- Dummy Play Secrets - Part 10 - Counting winners and losers
- Dummy Play Secrets - Part 11 - Counting winners in No Trump
- Dummy Play Secrets - Part 12 - Cash blocking cards
- Dummy Play Secrets - Part 13 - Thinking about endplays
- Dummy Play Secrets - Part 6 - Trick sources
- Dummy Play Secrets - Part 7 - Active and Passive
- Dummy Play Secrets - Part 8 - Entries
- Dummy Play Secrets - Part 9 - Ruffing and Cross ruffing technique
- Dummy Play Secrets - Part 1 - Introduction
- Dummy Play Secrets - Part 2 - Long Suits
- Dummy Play Secrets - Part 3 - Long suits defence
- Dummy Play Secrets - Part 4 - Weak Dummy
- Dummy Play Secrets - Part 5 - Weak Dummy Defence