March 2005 - 28

Art by Shane McDermott

Bidding Lab
By Curt Soloff, Overland Park KS

When your side opens 2NT
Here's what most players do over
an opening bid of 2NT (20-21):
3 is Stayman or puppet Stayman,
3 is a transfer to hearts, 3 is a
transfer to spades, 3 is a minor‑
suit slam try, and 3NT is simply to
play. This simple structure covers
the vast majority of hands you
might pick up opposite a 2NT open‑
ing, but you occasionally run into a
bidding problem - namely, that you
can't accurately describe your hand
without potentially bypassing your
best contract.
Say, for example, partner opens
2NT and you hold game‑forcing val‑
ues with five hearts and four spades.
This hand is easy to describe: trans‑
fer to hearts and then bid 3, let‑
ting partner place the final contract
at 3NT, 4 or 4 (the last would
admittedly be wrong‑sided).
But what if your major‑suit hold‑
ings are switched? If you hold five
spades and four hearts, you have a
dilemma. If you transfer to spades
and then bid 3NT, you lose the heart
suit. You could transfer to spades
and bid 4, but this might force
partner to play a 4-3 or 5-2 major
fit when 3NT is your best spot. If
you're playing puppet Stayman, your
continuations over a 3 response
28

to 3 are artificial and don't allow
you to show a five‑card major.
Enter the Soloff convention (I'm
calling it that because I've never
seen it described anywhere). With
this convention, 3 becomes a re‑
lay bid that allows you to either (a)
drop partner in a 3NT game or (b)
show different types of minor‑suited
slam try hands. Meanwhile, it frees
up the direct 3NT bid for conven‑
tional use. Here's the full structure:
After a 2NT opening:
3 = Puppet Stayman.
3 = Transfer to hearts.
3 = Transfer to spades.
3 = Relay to 3NT. You intend
to pass or follow up with a slam try
(see below).
3NT = Shows precisely five
spades and four hearts. Opener
places the contract.
Here are the follow‑up responses
after you use 3 to relay to 3NT:
Pass = Any hand with which you
want to play 3NT.
4 = Minor‑suit Smolen, showing
exactly four clubs and five diamonds
with slam interest. Opener sets trump
by bidding the corresponding major
(i.e., 4 sets clubs, 4 sets dia‑
monds, 4NT denies an eight‑card fit).
4 = Minor‑suit Smolen showing

exactly five clubs and four dia‑
monds. Opener sets trump by bid‑
ding the corresponding major (same
as above).
4 = One‑suited slam try with
long clubs. A rebid of 4NT by
opener shows honor doubleton. 5
shows a low doubleton. Any other
bid is a cuebid and shows at least
three‑card support for clubs.
4 = One‑suited slam try with
long diamonds. A rebid of 4NT by
opener shows honor doubleton. 5
shows a low doubleton. Any other
bid is a cuebid and shows at least
three‑card support for diamonds.
4NT = Slam try with at least 5-5
in the minors.


Richard W. Hunt
Richard W. Hunt, winner of the
1994 Barry Crane Top 500 contest
and the second
player to win
more than 3000
masterpoints in
one year, died
at his home in
Las Vegas in
December. He
was 73.
Hunt worked
for many years in Southeast Asia,
where he was the chief financial
officer for a large corporation.
When he retired, he decided to
try to win the Senior race and the
Silver Life Master race. He lost the
Senior race to Wayne Hascall but
he won the Silver LM title with a
masterpoint total that may never be
equaled.
In 1994 Hunt won 73 regional
titles (31 knockout teams, 21 Swiss
teams and 32 pair games) and one
North American championship.
"He enjoyed the tournaments,
he enjoyed the game," said Mark
Itabashi, a longtime friend and
partner. "He was a very easygoing
person."
Hunt played little after 1994,
mostly with Itabashi in Las Vegas
tournaments. "He virtually became
a recluse the last few years," said
Itabashi.
Hunt had no family.
Bridge Bulletin
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2005
