Aaron Haspel

Out, Damned Gee Spot!

Mar 242003

Both Vul
IMPs
Dealer: East
Lead: K

	oguz A Q 10 4 J Q J 8 7 J 10 9 7
nano J 9 7 2 K Q 4 9 4 3 8 6 2		tinmarin K 6 5 A 9 7 5 3 10 5 Q 4 3
	Maestro 8 3 10 8 6 2 A K 6 2 A K 5

West

Pass
Pass
Pass

North

1
2NT
Pass

East
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass

South
1

1NT
3NT

I confess that I am not entirely happy with the Gee-Spot formula, which, to review, is 100*(P(C) – P(G)), P(C) being the probability of success of the correct line, P(G) being the probability of Gee’s. Sometimes it doesn’t quite capture the achievement.

Take today’s hand, for instance, an excellent 3NT contract reached after a rare normal auction. The defense begins with four rounds of hearts, West discarding a spade on the fourth round. You or I cash a club, cross to a diamond, take the club finesse into the safe hand, and score ten tricks when East shows up with Qxx in clubs. 100% for nine tricks no matter how the clubs lay out. The maestro slaps down the ace and king of clubs. The queen does not fall. He plays a third club, and East wins the queen and cashes the long heart for off 1. He then complains that he tried three things and none of them worked. (Queen singleton, queen doubleton, and queen with West, if you’re counting at home.)

In a naked Gee-spot reckoning this scores:

100 * (1.0 – 0.61) = 39

A 39 Gee-spot is respectable, but not especially noteworthy. Yet who can gainsay the magnificence of his line?

The problem is even more conspicuous here:

N/S Vul
MPs
Dealer: South
Lead: J

	konijn A Q 7 5 2 A K 8 9 8 6 Q 7
jdonn 10 9 7 6 5 2 A Q 10 J 10 8 2		dragon 9 3 Q J 10 3 7 3 2 K 9 5
	Maestro K J 8 6 4 4 K J 5 4 A 6 4

West

Pass
Pass
Pass

North

2NT
4

East

Pass
Pass

South
1

Pass

Another normal contract on another normal auction, although Josh can perhaps be faulted for failing to Bones four spades, especially at matchpoints. The club jack is led, queen, king, ace, and it’s Endplay 101. Pull trump, eliminate the hearts, discarding the third club from the closed hand, and exit a club. Eventually West will have to lead a diamond back to you or concede a ruff-sluff. Again, a 100% line for the contract.

Gee pulls trump and plays another club. West wins and shifts to hearts. Gee wins a high heart, and it’s still not too late: cash the second heart, discarding a club, ruff a heart, cross to the board with a trump and run the diamond 9, covering whatever East plays. But Gee runs the diamond 9 immediately, eliminating neither suit and giving West his choice of safe exits. West exits a club, ruffed on board, and now with AQ10 all offside in diamonds he has no chance to make the contract. (How he managed 41 of the matchpoints remains a mystery.)

The Gee-spot works out as:

100 * (1.0 – 0.88) = 12

A lousy 12 Gee-spot for that brilliant effort? Gee-ology, for good or ill, remains as much art as science.

Mar 222003

Dear Dr. Robert,

Why won’t Gerard cut his hair? Does he believe, like Samson, that it is the real source of his bridge ability?

—Confused in Canaan

Dear Delilah,

On the contrary. His table feel is so precise and sensitive that if he didn’t maintain some sort of blocking device around his eyes, he would always deduce the cards of each opponent from their mannerisms, pupil dilation, breathing patterns, and general behavior. Think of the parents who always know when their kid is perpetrating mischief just around the corner.

Of course there are the aesthetic considerations. My coiffe consultant says: “It screams so many things at me! It’s a little mad scientist and a little nutty professor, a little Medusa and a little Helen of Troy. It says ‘Look at me!’ with one breath and ‘Go away!’ with the next. Your friend Gerard is lookin’ fine!” I can add only that, speaking personally, I think it’s dead sexy. Grrroowwwlllll…ahem, that will be all for today.

Mar 222003

Gee results update: As of today, according to his site, 2867 hands of IMPs, averaging -0.6435 per board, and 569 hands of MPs, averaging 42.32%.

I Am the Walrus

Mar 192003

Today, a special bonus round of WWGD, in two parts, and everyone can play! First, your partner opens a 15-17 point notrump at IMPs vulnerable against not, and you hold the following:

K9
J32
83
AKQJ95

WWGD?
A. Bid 4C Gerber, postponing his decision until after his partner shows aces.
B. Make a quantitative raise to 4NT, asking partner to bid slam with a maximum hand.
C. Bid Stayman, planning to rebid 3C over any response, showing a slam-invitational hand and clubs.
D. Raise to 3NT and take the sure profit.

The answer, for you neophytes, is of course D. As the responder you are captain. The opener, crew, has already shown his hand, and it is up to you to place the contract. You have 13 points, partner has 17 at most, how can slam be a high-percentage proposition? Here’s the full deal:

N/S Vul
IMPs
Dealer: North
Lead: 4

	gritbiz Q 6 A Q 4 A K Q 5 4 10 6 4
fraser A J 7 10 7 6 5 J 7 6 8 7 2		misu 10 8 5 4 3 2 K 9 8 10 9 2 3
	Maestro K 9 J 3 2 8 3 A K Q J 9 5

West

Pass

North
1NT
Pass

East
Pass
Pass

South
3NT

Tough luck: 6NT is cold, requiring either the heart finesse or a 3-3 diamond break. More tough luck: a 5 IMP loss on the hand, to those pairs who reached slam, betraying their ignorance of fundamental bidding theory.

On to part 2. IMPs again, both vulnerable. You hold:

K10852
K5
Q6
QJ106

Lefty opens a diamond first seat, partner overcalls one spade, righty negative doubles. WWGD?
A. Redouble, promising whatever it is you hold, as you explain slowly and carefully to partner in the post mortem.
B. Bid 2NT, because all those spade tricks are just as good in notrump, and you right-side the hand.
C. Raise to 4S on the 5-5, possibly shutting the opponents out of a heart game.
D. Raise to 2S, taking the sure profit.

You didn’t choose C, did you? The answer, once again, is D. All those loose queens and jacks aren’t going to do you any good in a suit contract, and you figure to have only about half the points anyway. Let’s have a look:

Both Vul
IMPs
Dealer: West
Lead: 5

	gritbiz A Q 7 6 4 10 8 4 3 10 A 3 2
fraser J 9 A Q A 8 7 4 3 K 9 7 5		misu 3 J 9 7 6 2 K J 9 5 2 8 4
	Maestro K 10 8 5 2 K 5 Q 6 Q J 10 6

West
1

Pass

North
1

Pass

East
Dbl
Pass

South
2

Now that’s a shame; turns out 4S is cold. But it needs East to have the heart ace or West to have the club king, and we certainly couldn’t expect anything like that on the bidding. Remember kids, it’s making the right bid that counts. Don’t worry about results. As Gee will tell you, over the long run you’ll get the scores you deserve.

Mar 172003

Heard in G-spec:

G: Aaron makes a living misrepresenting what people say
Spec: How much of a living?
G: Can’t be much.

I knew I shouldn’t have taken that piecework deal.

Colors Are For Children

Mar 142003

Both Vul
IMPs
Dealer: West
Lead: 10

	gritbiz 9 4 10 3 K 9 8 5 4 2 Q 3 2
fraser A 6 3 K J 9 7 5 10 6 K 7 4		misu Q J 8 7 2 2 A Q J 3 J 6 5
	Maestro K 10 5 A Q 8 6 4 7 A 10 9 8

West
Pass
Pass
Dbl

North
Pass
Pass
Pass

East
1

Dbl
Pass

South
2

Pass

Today, faced with a third-seat spade opener from East, our hero steps into the breach with a reasonable 2H overcall. As it happens 2HX goes for 500 at least, but it works out that way sometimes. (East/West have an outside shot at four spades with a diamond lead, not that they’re likely to bid it. But the maestro would undoubtedly lead his ace of clubs, and a club continuation assures four tricks for the defense.)

2H is passed around to East, who reopens with a double, which West would be happy to pass. He never gets the chance. Gee pulls immediately to 3C, taking advantage of the opportunity to show his four-card minor — just look at those spots! — which West of course doubles. Being unfamiliar with his partner’s expert methods of bidding two-suited hands, North reasons that his partner is 5-5 and passes.

West leads the diamond 10, ducked around, and Gee ruffs a second round of diamonds in hand as East inserts the jack. He plays the heart ace and low heart, which West ducks, allowing his partner to ruff. The queen of spades comes back, covered by the king and ace, and the defense continues spades. East wins the jack and plays a low trump, ducked to the king.

West leads trump back, and the queen from dummy fetches the jack from East. Gee overtakes with the ace and now the hand is an open book. West is known to have five hearts and three trump. The diamond 10 is from a doubleton, unless we assume West led it from Q10x with Ax of his partner’s suit as an alternative. This leaves him with three spades. Draw the trump, cash the spade, and exit a small heart. West is endplayed in hearts, for down 2, and a merely catastrophic -500.

Our hero cashes the spade first, assuring himself that West does indeed have three spades, and then leads a low heart. West returns his last trump and now the endplay is on the other foot. Two spades, a ruff, the trump king, a diamond, and two hearts make seven tricks for the defense. Not that the extra 300 cost or anything.

Gee summarizes lucidly: “Too bad pd…3H is down only 2.”

Mar 132003

“Why is it that nobody can see what I see?”

Permalink March 13, 2003 No Responses »

Dropping Science

Mar 112003

N/S Vul
IMPs
Dealer: West
Lead:K

	mcailean A J 10 6 4 3 2 Q 10 9 2 K J
fifee K Q 7 A Q 9 8 6 4 K 9 8 4		simsim35 9 5 J 8 6 3 7 5 10 7 6 3 2
	Maestro 8 K 7 5 4 A J 10 3 2 A Q 5

West
1

Pass
Pass
Pass

North
1

Pass

East
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass

South
2

4NT
6

One infallible sign of the expert is his boldness. By visualizing hands instead of merely counting points, he often finds contracts from which the ordinary player would shrink.

Today, for instance, the STCP™, faced with the South hand after a 1D opener to his left and partner’s 1S overcall, might reason that only game is available and content himself with a simple 3NT, probably pulled by North to 4S, and making 4 or 5 either way. Gee, with a stiff in his partner’s suit, Kxxx in hearts, and a double stopper in both minors, is thinking bigger. He bids 2H.

North has a fine hand in support of hearts and raises to game, but matters don’t stop there. Gee visualizes a hand like — well, I’m not sure exactly what, but if I could do these things myself I would be the expert and he would write columns about me instead of the other way around.

Blackwood ensues, North dutifully shows his ace, and Gee plunges to 6H. West eschews the Bones double and leads the spade king.

Sure enough, 6H has some play. If West shows up with exactly three spades and the AJ tight of hearts the hand is cold. Win the spade, spade ruff, trump to the queen and she is helpless.

Luck, as usual, is not with our hero. But he does find an ingenious line for off 2. He wins the spade ace, cashes the diamond king, leads the club jack to the ace, and then plays a low trump. West wins her ace and returns a low club, and Gee misses his first chance to go down one by ruffing on the board. He ruffs a spade, takes the ruffing finesse in diamonds, which holds, and then attempts to cash the diamond ace, discarding a spade. East ruffs in and returns a club. Gee cross-ruffs the rest of the hand, losing the trump jack at the end.

The post-mortem is brief and pointed, as Gee advises his partner, “If you bid like that with me we will be in slam every time.”

Analyze This

Mar 072003

None Vul
MPs
Dealer: East
Lead: 6

	cleos2 K 4 Q J 7 4 3 2 Q J 9 8 3
giorgi A 9 8 7 8 5 7 5 K 10 9 7 4		Maestro Q 3 A K 10 9 10 4 3 2 A 5 2
	jccasper J 10 6 5 2 6 A K 8 6 Q J 6

West

Pass
Dbl
Pass

North

2
Pass
Pass

East
1

Pass
3

South
1

2NT
Pass

Today we have a play problem. How do you make 2NT as South against a club lead?

Answer below, but first some bidding, which is one way to put it. Our hero opens a normal 1D, and South makes a normal 1S overcall. West, with a fine defensive hand, makes a nice pass to await developments. North rewards him with an ill-advised 2H call. Conceivably South holds something like AQxxx Kx A10xx xx and you have a heart game, but with 9 lousy points, a spade tolerance, and a bad suit, passing is more likely to keep you out of trouble.

Gee manages to restrain himself and pass, and South, not unreasonably, offers up 2NT, doubled by West, obviously for penalty. The maestro shrewdly pulls to 3C, which offers several advantages. It keeps his partner off lead against 2NT, right-sides the hand, and helps forge the trust that is indispensable to a successful partnership.

3C buys the hand, and South leads his stiff heart 6, covered by the jack and won in hand with the ace. If South holds four trump and a stiff heart, you’re always down on correct defense (I think — my readers are welcome to correct me, as always), but the hand is pretty cold as long as the trump splits. Two rounds of trump, ending up on the board, followed by the semi-marked heart finesse. South can ruff in and cash his two diamonds, but now declarer’s third trump provides an entry to the good hearts, and the defense gets a trump, a spade, and two diamonds.

The maestro begins as recommended, with the ace and king of trump. He now plays a spade, and lo! the practice finesse holds, despite the bidding. North rises and leads the diamond queen, overtaken by South, who cashes the master trump and exits with a spade, which Gee wins on board with the queen. We now have:

	cleos2 — Q 7 4 3 2 J —
giorgi A 9 8 5 10 9		Maestro — K 10 9 10 4 3 —
	jccasper J 10 6 — A 8 6 —

Diamond from hand, right? If South wins and returns a spade, no need for the heart finesse. South wins and returns a diamond, ruff, heart finesse, nine tricks. North wins, returns a heart, same nine tricks. Or you could simplify matters by cashing the heart king, playing South to have led the heart 6 from J6. Again, no luck. South shows out, and Gee loses a diamond and a spade at the end for down 1.

2NTX might have been interesting. On a club lead the defense appears to collect four clubs, two diamonds and the spade ace for 300. On a double-dummy heart lead there seem to be even eight tricks for the defense: two clubs, four hearts and two spades. However, my powers of analysis being what they are, I am fortunate to have Gee to set me, and the spectators, straight:

G: further more he doubled a 2NT bid that was making and I took it out… he screamed at me for it (The “scream” was as follows: “how could u over 2nt to 3cl, if i want to bid 3cl i bid myself, it’s only unbid suit, and then in 3cl u cashed top heart instead of finessing it” —Ed.)
Spec #1: 2n was making?
G: sure it was
Spec #2: sure
G: and the 3C making 3 was the only viable contract for us (Um, making 3? —Ed.)
G: making 4
Spec #1: looks to me like you get 4 clubs, AK of hearts and ace of spades on defense
Spec #3: 2NT never makes
G: 2NT makes
Spec #1: 3 rounds of clubs and how can you see they make 2NT i still am missing it
G: it makes 1C, 4D, 1S and 2H tricks

So simple. Once it’s explained to you.

Mar 042003

Dear Dr. Robert:

Could you explain, for us Gee-novices, the difference between Gee’s treatment of unusual and unusual unusual notrump? Is it possible that a third level, an unusual unusual unusual notrump, could clarify certain differences in interpretation?

—Dazzled in Duluth

Dear DD:

I’m glad to see that novices in the master’s way are reading my column along with the more seasoned. Share the wealth, is my philosophy, and I am always glad to cover simple bidding problems as well. Remember, the only way I know what to write about is when you, the faithful reader, write in and tell me! So keep that feedback coming — especially the negative feedback. Some of that is pretty damn funny.

As to your questions, Gee does indeed extend the theory of unusual notrump beyond the comprehension of the mere STCP™. While you and your next door neighbor are of course familiar with a jump to 2 notrump to show the lower unbid suits, or perhaps the minors for some of you old fogies out there, Gerard has explored strange new worlds in which the unusual notrump has many more uses. These are some, though by no means all, of the more expert treatments:

The unusual-unusual notrump. The most comprehensive of his advanced ideas. The main advantage to this method can be seen when opponents attempt a countermeasure. Most people counter the normal unusual notrump with a method called “unusual vs. unusual.” But to counter this method people would have to play “unusual vs. unusual-unusual” and clearly the single unusual of the opponent would be no match for the double unusuals of Gee. This is a useful weapon for any player to add to his or her bidding arsenal.
The really freaking weird notrump. Here we take unusual to the next dimension, or possibly the next universe. Examples of this treatment abound on Aaron’s website, for instance here, and here, also here and here and over here, not to mention my personal favorite. Even his partners have been known to employ it. Any 2NT bid that no one else has ever thought to use in such a fashion fits this category.
The rightsiding notrump. Hand hogging, though familiar to many of us, has been raised by Gerard to an art, all for the sake of the partnership of course. I mean, if you were on a basketball team with Michael Jordan and Tonya Harding, who would you want to have the ball? Exactly. Closely related to this is
The Burger notrump. Can’t decide what to bid? Nothing fits your hand exactly? All bidding systems struggle with this problem, except Gee’s. Just bid 2NT and let partner figure it out! Although this doesn’t always produce superb results at the table, it is highly effective in the post mortem, where it really counts.

Gee’s innovative ideas will shape the face of bridge for years to come, and everyone from the slack-jawed yokel of the Midwestern plains to the sex-crazed bonobo monkey of the lush plains of Africa can reap the windfall. Well, not the monkey, and maybe not the yokel either, but you catch my drift.

PS — Apologies to all my dear fans, as I shall be racking up the masterpoints in Philadelphia for a while. I’ll report in upon my return.

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