N°66 • OCTOBER 2025

However, there are certainly ways of utilising the power of computers to enhance your chances of being successful.

More than ten years ago David Bird and Taf Anthias harnessed the power of a computer to analyse the best opening lead against both suit contracts and No-Trump contracts, which resulted in the production of two groundbreaking books, Winning Notrump Leads and Winning Suit Contract Leads.

Remarkably, no one has followed up on this initiative by getting a computer to analyse some everyday issues that arise during the bidding phase. For example, what about the old chestnut of what to choose when you have opening values and are 5-5 in the black suits? Or the best solution when you have the strength to open 1NT but hold a five-card major? If the computer pointed strongly towards one of the two possibilities, would we be getting closer to determining the best strategy?

Perhaps, but suppose your hand is ♠AKQJ10 ♥A8 ♦6 ♣109876. Even if the computer had determined that with 5♣+5♠ it was best to open 1♣, one doubts any human would prefer it to 1♠.

Number 66 – Monthly – October 2025 – Director of publication Olivier Comte – Publisher Éditions de Presse Spécialisée Le Bridgeur – 33 avenue Emile Zola, 92100 Boulogne Billancourt  – France – Executive Director Karine Meyer-Naudan – Editorial Committee Michel Bessis – Muriel Clément – Philippe Cronier – Mark Horton – Vincent Labbé – Norbert Lébely – Karine Meyer-Naudan – Assistant Editor-in Chief Vincent Labbé – Editorial Secretary Muriel Clément – Adverts Bridgerama+ Muriel Clément 01 42 96 25 50  – Subscriptions 01 42 96 25 50 – Art Director Isabelle Le Squer-Fontaine/Maya – mayatom@me.com – Translation Monika Kummel – Legal Deposit october 2025, N°7.680 – Joint Committee – 1118 K 85690 – ISSN 0184-8127.