September 2021 - 27

Some good news
The new 2 removes the ambiguity
of the standard auction 1NT-2';
2l/2k/2-2NT. Does responder
have a major? Who knows? And if
opener had answered 2k, today's
" phony-Stayman " style forces the
partnership to concoct methods for
responder to be able to show 8-9
points and differentiate between " I
have spades " and " I don't have spades. "
With the new method, 2' guarantees
a major, so opener always knows
that responder has four spades when
they retreat to 2NT over opener's
2k. Accordingly, opener can always
bid spades with four of them over
responder's 2NT if they have them.
And this also frees up 2 for other
purposes. 1NT-2'; 2k-2 can
be used to show five spades and an
invitational hand, usually 5-4-2-2,
5-5-2-1 or 5-4-3-1 patterns without
having to transfer and continuing
with 2NT. You get to play 2 when
the partnership thinks it should, while
retaining the opportunity to bid higher.
This hand would be an example:
A K 8 7 3 k9 2 l10 'J 7 6 5 4.
Saving the best for last
The biggest benefits from not having
to use the two-step, phony Stayman
sequence with the balanced 8-9
HCP hands comes from avoiding an
inherent flaw in playing that 2NT is a
transfer to diamonds, a very popular
treatment. By not having to " ask " for
a major with 2' when responder
doesn't really care if opener has one or
not, the defenders are denied the often
crucial information about opener's
major-suit lengths. It makes it much
more difficult for them to defend
accurately. Range-ask helps disguise
opener's hand by not having them
reveal irrelevant (to you) information
about their major-suit distribution.
An example: Suppose you are on
defense against 2NT or 3NT after
declarer had opened 1NT (15-17) and
dummy is on your right. Here are the
two hands you can see:
North (Dummy)
 Q 2
k A 5 4
l Q 10 8 7 6
' 7 5 2
East (You)
 J 10 7 6
k J 10 7 6
l 9 2
' K 8 3
Suppose partner has led the 'Q
from 'Q J 10 9, and declarer wins
the ace on the third round. Declarer
then leads out the lA K and a third
diamond to dummy's queen. Would
you throw a heart or a spade? That
would depend upon how many cards
you thought declarer started with in
each major. If you thought declarer
had four spades, you'd pitch a heart,
and vice versa.
Without the range-ask 2 (and
playing that 2NT directly would have
been a transfer to diamonds), the
dummy would have had to bid 2',
ostensibly Stayman, and the defenders
have an easier time of it because they
would have heard declarer's answer.
But under the new 1NT-2
scheme, the dummy would have bid
2 over 1NT, not 2', and you'd have
to guess which major to keep. I admit
that maybe partner could have helped
you out with some sophisticated
carding methods, but for most players,
wouldn't it be a lot easier to just know
declarer's pattern?
Finally, recall that the defense
makes the opening lead. What would
you lead from this hand:
8 7 4 kQ 9 3 2 lA 5 '7 6 5 2
if you heard the opponents bid 1NT-
2[size-ask]; 2NT[minimum]-Pass?
You would probably lead a heart. But if
the bidding went 1NT-2'; 2k-2NT;
Pass, you'd wisely not lead a heart
because you know declarer has at least
four of them, and maybe even five.
Range-ask quiz
Partner opens 1NT (15-17). What is
your plan?
1. 9 5 4 kA 7 l10 2 'J 7 6 5 4 3
2. Q 8 7 3 k7 3 lA 8 4 'K 8 3 2
3. K 9 6 k5 4 lK Q 8 6 5 '8 4 3
4. 10 kA J 8 lK 9 2 'K J 7 6 5 4
5. A 6 4 k6 lK J 8 7 6 2 'K 8 5
6. Q 9 kK 8 5 l10 4 'A J 9 5 4 3
7. Q J 10 8 4 k10 l8 7 'A J 5 4 3
Answers
1. Respond 2. Over partner's
2NT[minimum], bid 3'[signoff], and
over 3'[maximum], just pass.
2. Bid 2', Stayman, as you always
would have done.
3. Bid 2, the size-ask. Over partner's
2NT[min], pass; over partner's
3'[max], bid 3NT.
4. Bid 2, the size-ask. But over
partner's 2NT[min] or 3'[max], bid
3, showing long clubs, short spades,
and looking for game or slam in
notrump or clubs. (This sequence will
only occur once in a while).
5. Bid 2NT, a transfer to diamonds, as
you normally would have. The size-ask
structure doesn't affect this at all. And,
whether or not you adopt size-ask,
it's also pretty smart to transfer to
diamonds and then show shortness
(3k).
6. Just bid 3NT. There's no point in
showing your clubs. You want to play
3NT, so bid 3NT.
7. Start with 2', Stayman. If partner
bids 2, raise to 4. If partner
bids 2l or 2k, bid 2 to show five
spades and an invitational (usually
unbalanced) hand.
September 2021 | Bridge Bulletin |
27
September 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2021
