An unexpurgated lesson! With commentary! I am gratified to give all of my readers a chance to profit from the master’s wisdom. The reader who wants to get the most out of this lesson will progress more rapidly if he carefully answers the discussion questions at the end of each hand.
Both Vul
IMPs
Dealer: West
Lead: 
A
Maestro A 6 4 2 3 2 9 8 7 5 2 6 5 |
||
| can K K Q 8 7 A Q J 3 K 8 7 3 |
![[W - E]](http://gee.aaronhaspel.com/files/2012/10/t.gif) |
rowrow Q 9 7 3 J 9 4 K 4 A 9 4 2 |
| Student J 10 8 5 A 10 6 5 10 6 Q J 10 |
| West 1 2 4 5 Pass |
North Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass |
East 1 3 4NT 6 |
South Pass Pass Pass Pass |
(During the auction)
G: who’s the captain for our team?
Student: me
G: no more captain… we both gave up a long time ago
Student: agree
G: after the 2H-PASS… we decided nothing will do
Student: agree
G: in other words, you could not force any bid from me after that nor could I force from you
Questions to Discuss
1. Why, after leading the SA, dropping SK, does Gee shift to diamonds at trick 2?
2. How many bidding errors is it possible to make when neither partner holds more than eight points or a suit better than five to the 98?
N/S Vul
IMPs
Dealer: North
Lead: 6
| Maestro A J 8 7 6 8 5 A A Q J 5 2 |
||
| can K 4 A Q J 10 3 Q J 5 4 10 9 |
|
rowrow Q 5 K 9 7 6 4 K K 8 7 4 3 |
| Student 10 9 3 2 2 10 9 8 7 6 3 2 6 |
| West
Dbl |
North 1 4 Pass |
East 2 Pass Pass |
South 4 Pass Pass |
G (after opening 1S): who is the captain?
Student: me
G: ok
G (after 4S is doubled): as the captain, you don’t have to jump to force a bid…new suit by captain is always forcing
G (seeing dummy): LOL
G: good bid
G: 3D was enough
G: but was your privelege (sic) as captain
Student: preempt
G: yes… but your hand not really pre-emptive… you had support in my suit
Student: I HAD NO POINTS AT ALL
G: pre-emptive means you have 1 suit, no support for mine and no points
Student: OK
G: or very few points
G: from the auction, I knew this was impossible
Student: I should have passed
Questions to Discuss
1. How does Gee know from the auction that it’s “impossible” for his partner to have a weak one-suited hand with no spade support?
2. If 4D is a “good bid,” how would you characterize Gee’s recommendation, 3D?
3. Define “preemptive.” Compare your definition with Gee’s. What are the similarities, if any? The differences?
N/S Vul
IMPs
Dealer: East
Lead: A
| Maestro 3 7 A K Q 8 7 6 5 A Q 9 4 |
||
| can J 6 A Q J 9 4 3 J 4 3 5 3 |
|
rowrow A Q 9 8 5 K 10 5 10 K J 8 2 |
| Student K 10 7 4 2 8 6 2 9 2 10 7 6 |
| West
1NT |
North
2 |
East 1 Dbl 4 Pass Pass |
South Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass |
G: who is the captain?
Student: you
G: what do I have to do to force you to bid then, If I need a bid from you?
Student: new suit
G: correct
G: 4H got you off the hook:)
(The play begins. Gee cashes the two minor suit aces, rectifying the count for a squeeze, and shifts to spades. West goes up with SA, ruffs a diamond, and runs trump, squeezing Gee in the minors. Making 5.)
G: well done Can
rowrow: don’t expect to play that good!
can: thx
G: beautiful execution
Questions to Discuss
1. What are the advantages of cashing the CA before leading a spade? What are the disadvantages?
2. If a new suit by the captain is always forcing, and East passes 4C, what should South bid with 10xxx xxxx void Jxxxx?
N/S Vul
IMPs
Dealer: South
Lead: 10
| Maestro 5 3 Q 9 8 4 Q 10 4 A Q 7 4 |
||
| can A 10 7 2 10 6 5 A J 9 2 10 6 |
|
rowrow 6 K J 2 K 8 7 6 K J 9 3 2 |
| Student K Q J 9 8 4 A 7 3 5 3 8 5 |
| West
Pass |
North
3 |
East
Pass |
South 2 Pass |
(The hand should be down 3, but East discards a heart, and declarer holds it down to one heart loser.)
Student: disaster!
G: not disaster
G: we lost 2.49 IMPs
Student: then…
G: not bad…you actually played well and saved a trick + the trick given away by opps
Questions to Discuss
1. Perhaps you are familiar with “The Law of Total Tricks.” Discuss Gee’s vulnerable spade raise with reference to this law.
2. What might the score have been if East/West had bid and defended properly? Would this be considered a “disaster”?
3. How much more of this do you think I can take?
Re: the last hand – 1) Gee’s reasoning is impeccable; since a vulnerable weak two bid must be within two tricks of the contracted eight, it follows that holding an ace would also make the three level within two of the slightly higher contracted nine tricks. That the hand contains enough defense to assure the opposition can likely make only a partscore is irrelevant. 2) East, holding shortness in the opposition’s suit, should double 3S for takeout, and West, holding at least three tricks in defense, should apply a corollary of the Bones Principle, which states that when partner makes a takeout double of a Gee preemptive raise, one should not take it out; it will be the correct action 90% of the time. As to whether minus 8 bones and umpty-ump imps is a disaster, I leave that to the astuteness of the teacher. 3) And as to how much more of this I think you can take, how long is infinitum?