December 2016 - 25

Opener
2♠
3♣

Responder
2NT

opener's 3♣ rebid does indeed show
an ace or a king, but more important, it
shows a maximum. Consider these two
hands:
A. ♠K Q J 5 4 3 ♥8 2 ♦7 6 ♣K 4 3
B. ♠Q J 10 5 4 3 ♥8 2 ♦7 6 ♣K 4 3
With hand A, opener should rebid
3♣ saying, "I am at or near the top
of my range, and I have a high honor
card in clubs." But with hand B, opener
should answer 3♠ saying, "I am at the
bottom of my preempt range." That's
what partner is asking: High (show a
feature) or low (repeat your suit).

You shouldn't open a weak twobid with a void in a side suit.
This one's a half truth. Declining to
open a weak two-bid on a hand that
contains a void may be wise. But you
should understand that the void has
nothing to do with it.
If you have a weak hand with, say,
six hearts and it also has a void, that
means that you have seven cards left,
usually divided 4-3. If you open 2♥
with:
♠J 6 3 ♥K Q 9 8 5 2 ♦Q 10 7 2 ♣- ,
it will often be difficult to reach a playable spot in either spades or diamonds
if they are the best strain. Often, we get
locked into the original preempt suit.
So the warning about opening a weak
two-bid with a void is really because
we have three places to play: six cards
here, four cards there and three cards
in the corner. On the other hand, if you
don't preempt, you lose the obstructive
power of the preempt when your side
has a big fit.
Damned if you do, damned if you
don't. Most of the time I come out on
the side of I do - but at least I know the
dangers.

A new suit by responder is
always forcing.
That is a general principle, because
new-suit bids frequently have no upper
limit on points. However, there are
several major exceptions you should be
aware of.

A The first exception starts with
understanding the meaning of a double
of a 1NT overcall, such as:
West
1♦

North
1NT

East
Dbl

South

This is a penalty double. The corollary to this is that a new suit bid in this
situation is limited in high cards and is
intended as non-forcing. For example:
West
1♦

North
1NT

East
2♥

B In the modern bidding world, it is
a rare partnership that does not play
new minor forcing (NMF) or one of its
many variations. NMF is a way for the
responder to locate a 5-3 major-suit
fit (or sometimes a 4-4 heart) after the
opener rebids 1NT. For example:
Responder
1♠
2♣

2♣ is NMF, asking opener for threecard spade support or for a four-card
heart suit. It usually shows invitational
or better values. So if you play NMF,
this sequence is non-forcing:
Opener
1♦
1NT

♠K 9 8 5 3 ♥Q J 8 3 ♦10 2 ♣9 6.
Accordingly, if the opener has:
♠Q 4 ♥K 7 6 5 ♦A 8 6 5 ♣K J 4,
passing 2♥ is the clear choice.

C A third example of when a new
suit by responder is not forcing occurs after responder has previously
responded 1NT (showing 6 to 10 points
in standard or 6 to 12 playing 2/1) and
then bids a new suit. I call this "a new
suit out of the blue." Here are some
examples:
Opener
1♠
2♦

South

This indicates a long heart suit, but
limited in points. Why limited? Because if you had 10 HCP (some say 9)
or more, you would have doubled 1NT
instead of bidding your suit. This new
suit by responder is not forcing.

Opener
1♦
1NT

sponder. Why? Because with a stronger
hand, responder would have used NMF.
Responder might have a very weak
hand such as:

Responder
1NT
2♥

Responder holds:
♠7 ♥Q J 9 7 6 2 ♦8 4 ♣K 9 6 3.
Or:
Opener
1♥
2♦

Responder
1NT
3♣

♠9 8 7 ♥5 ♦Q 3 2 ♣K Q J 8 6 4.

D A fourth example is when the
responder bids a new suit at the two
level after a takeout double by the opponents. For example:
West
1♠

North
Dbl

East
2♣

South

2♣ (or 2♦ or 2♥) shows a long suit,
but limited points. Why? Because with
10-plus HCP, responder is supposed to
redouble first if he can't bid a major at
the one level.
◾

Responder
1♠
2♥

This shows 5-4 or 5-5 in the majors,
but weak in points. It is not forcing
even though 2♥ is a new suit by the re-

Mel Colchamiro of
Merrick NY
is a Grand Life
Master and
bridge instructor.
December 2016 Bridge Bulletin

25
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2016
