Topics for Al’s Teaching lessons "Play and defense"
Schedule:
1. Lessons every TUE 8:00 am CET 2. No Tournaments at the moment
To prepare, you may have a look to my
notes and reviews from the 2007 lessons notes from the 2005-2006 teaching tourneys
notes from the 2004/2005 teaching sessions reviews from the 2004-2005 teaching sessions
1.    Play at No-trumps 2.   Defence against No-trumps
 

Planning the play 

  Planning the defence
    Count your winner     Count your winner
    Count opponents winner     Count declarers winner
    Count opponents HCP     Count partners / declarers HCP
     Count opponents distribution       Count partners /declarers distribution
  Holding off stoppers (e.g.. Bath-Coup)   Defensive holdoff
  Ducking to preserve entries (i.e. Blanko Coup)   Ducking in defence (Blanko Coup in defence)
  Other entry plays   Other entry plays (Merrimac- Deschapelles-Coup .. )
  Avoidance plays   Defence against avoidance plays
   Suit-combinations   To cover or not to cover??
  Safety plays    
  Playing with the odds    
   Endplays   Defending against endplays
  Squeeze play   Defence against Squeeze
      Defensive signals
3.   Play at Suit Contracts 4.   Defence against Suit Contracts
  Planning the play   Planning the defence
    Count your loser (or dummy's)     Count declarers winner / loser
    Count opponents HCP     Count partners / declarers HCP
    Count opponents distribution     Count partners /declarers distribution
    Decide to play on plan I, II, III or IV     Decide which plan declarer will follow?
          Count your winner (and partners)
          Opening lead (especially trump lead)
          Defensive signals
  Apply all techniques from NT   Apply all techniques from NT
    Holding off stoppers     Defensive holdoff
    Ducking to preserve entries       Ducking in defence (Blanko Coup in defence)
    Other entry plays
    Entry plays on defence (Merrimac-Coup; Deschapelles-Coup)
    Avoidance plays     Defence against avoidance plays
     Suit-combinations      
    Safety plays      
    Playing with the odds      
    Endplays     Defending against endplays
    Squeeze play     Defence against Squeeze
   Plan I: Using dummys shortness (including Cross-ruff)
  Defence against Plan I
  Plan II Using dummys lenghth   Defence against Plan II Using dummys lenghth
  Plan III Winning tricks with losers   Defence against Plan III Winning tricks with losers
    The art of finessing (or not to finesse)    
    Endplays      
  Plan IV Winning extra trump tricks   Defence against Plan IV Winning extra trump tricks
     Dummy reversal      
    Ruffing with declarers small trumps      
    Cross-ruff      
    Trump coup      
        Getting additional tricks by defensive ruffs