RealBridge, the platform which first gave us the opportunity to play bridge online and see all the players simultaneously has recently launched a monthly bridge bidding competition.
At the beginning of each month, they will publish a set of eight bidding problems and you will have a whole month to decide on your choices. If you change your mind about your answers, you are welcome to submit your answers a second time.
The members of their world class expert panel will also be answering these same problems. At the beginning of the next month, you will be able to compare your answers with theirs. You will see how the panelists voted and read the explanations for their choices.
We have seen similar programs on other channels but what, in my opinion, makes this contest particularly interesting are the following points
- On most of the hands, it will not matter what system you actually play! You have exactly the same problem when the opponents pre-empt against you, or intervene over your 1NT opening, or when partner starts with a takeout double or an overcall of an opponent's opening.
- You are allowed to submit multiple entries and only your last one will be treated as final. This means that you can revisit the problem after discussing with your friends and gurus and alter your bids if you wish to.
- The winners of each month will be invited to join the panel of experts in future months. I understand that this may be rare, but if you strike gold, I believe the opportunity is priceless!
- Understanding the rationale for various bids is one of the best ways of improving our standards.
As an aside, basically to clarify any doubts on the score, you can even answer this quiz on your mobile!
To answer this month's quiz, click here
To know more details about the contest click here
Disclaimer : All opinions are entirely those of the author and are no reflection of the views of the BridgeFromHome Team.