None Vul
IMPs
Dealer: South
Lead: 
J
Maestro 8 10 2 K Q 9 8 7 6 5 2 J 10 |
||
| doktor K J 10 9 4 A 7 5 3 10 4 7 4 |
![[W - E]](http://gee.aaronhaspel.com/files/2012/10/t.gif) |
maytaman Q 7 6 Q J 6 4 3 9 8 5 3 2 |
| pkchance A 5 3 2 K 9 8 A J A K Q 6 |
| West
Pass |
North
4 |
East
Pass |
South 2NT 4 6 Pass |
You remember yesterday’s hand with the two deaf old ladies chatting at the supermarket? I should have saved that for today. Now I have to go back and write a different lead for yesterday, but that would force me to change today’s lead…the critic’s work is never done.
Gee is North, and responds to his partner’s 2NT opening with Gerber, his favorite convention, which he plays, by his own account, over any notrump bid. (Any notrump bid, you ask? Any notrump bid.)
South mysteriously replies 4H. I’m not sure what he thinks the 4C bid was. A transfer? An unspecified two-suiter with slam interest? Checkback Stayman? He certainly didn’t think it was Gerber.
The 4H bid, showing one ace, might give the STCP™ pause. Off three aces, he can’t bid the diamond game, let alone a slam. He might try signing off in 4NT, which South should pass, and pray that his diamonds come in.
Sissy stuff. Gee deduces immediately that his partner did not understand his bid — less experienced players should carefully note the implications for partnership trust — and charges ahead to 6D. South is still confused, and corrects to 6H. I lack even a theory about the meaning of this bid and would be obliged to any reader who can supply one.
As North, I would now conclude that South has a 4H opener and psyched the 2NT to shut the opponents out of the bidding. This merely points up the difference between the amateur and the professional. Gee fearlessly corrects to 6NT, which is cold, while 6D is down 1 on the almost certain heart lead. (In a normal auction, South, with AJ in diamonds and the HK to protect, should pull 6D to 6NT, reasoning that he will take the same tricks in either spot; but never mind.) The anonymous spec who sent me this hand footnoted 6NT as “the genius bid,” and who could argue?
6D is easy, it’s a transfer at the six-level.
Over 1NT and 2NT some players play a convention called South American transfers instead of Texas. 4C is transfer to 4H, and 4D is transfer to 4S. This perhaps may explain the 4H bid. The advantage of this convention over Texas transfers has never been explained to me.
Firstly, it’s called south african transfers, not to insult any south americans out there! Secondly it has no technical merit, it is purely to prevent forgetting that you are playing texas if you open nt and partner bids 4h. At least if you forget you’re playing this one, he won’t pass 4c or 4d! Thirdly, maybe they were playing 1430 gerber?? hehe ok a slight stretch, but I would have thought that if I was speccing, till the 6h bid anyway.
Aaron … It must have hurt to waste words on this auction.
I’m inured to suffering.
Over 1NT South African Texas has a lot of merit because one can play the major suit game from either side. Gerber auctions come after 2C any response. Over a major suit response, it is standard to play 3OM with shortness and 4D as a flat hand slam try so RKC would come after these auctions. 4C is plain old Gerber. Over 2D, 3m is F so 4C is still Gerber unless one wants to use it as unspecified shortness with a diamond suit but it is high when 3D is F. Over 2NT SA Texas is unplayable because of limited space. On this hand, Gerber is remarkable…in that 3 means the protected K in the 4th suit also! Maybe, 4H is a lying response saying I doubt your ability to play a hand and I will lie by 2 aces. Usually one lies by only one but 2 is serious doubt!