This Week in Bridge
(600) 1-minor Overcall Transfer Responses
© AiB Robert S. Todd
Level: 10 robert@advinbridge.com
General
When partner open the bidding with 1-minor and our RHO makes an overcall of a suit, then we need a way to describe our hand to partner. The traditional Responder tools are negative double and positive freebids, but in some auctions, there are other approaches that use transfers to give us a better way to compete as Responder. Unfortunately, we don’t have a transfer structure in every auction (when they overcall 1♠, we have very few good systems) but hopefully there will be more and more interesting development in this area of bidding theory.
Transfers by Responder over an Overcall
Let’s look at our transfer auctions by Responder.
Example 1
Opener Interferer Responder
1♣ 1♦ __?
X* Transfer to ♥, 4-5 card ♥ suit, 6+ points.
1♥* Transfer to ♠, 4-5 card ♠ suit, 6+ points.
1♠* Relay to 1NT. This can be used for many hand types:
o 6-10 balanced, planning to pass 1NT.
o 10-12 balanced, no 4-card Major, planning to raise to 2NT.
o A negative freebid in one of the minors – after partner bids 1NT, Responder bids the long minor suit, showing a long suit and 5-9 points, non-forcing.
1NT* There are a couple of partnership options for a 1NT response:
o Some partnerships choose to make this like an old 2NT bid, invitational.
o Some partnerships choose to make it a non-forcing ♣ bid (where 2♣ would be natural and forcing.)
2♣* Natural and forcing for 1-round, 5+♣ (like inverted minors), 10+ points
2♦* Transfer, 6+card ♥ suit, 0+ points
2♥* Transfer, 6+card ♠ suit, 0+ points
2♠* Mixed Raise, 5+card ♣, 7-9 points, shapely
3♣ Weak ♣ raise, 5+card ♣, 0-6 point
Example 2
Opener Interferer Responder
1♣ / 1♦ 1♥ __?
X* Transfer to ♠, 4-5 card ♠ suit, 6+ points.
1♠* Relay to 1NT. This can be used for many hand types:
o 6-10 balanced, planning to pass 1NT.
o 10-12 balanced, no 4-card Major, planning to raise to 2NT.
o A negative freebid in one of the minors – after partner bids 1NT, Responder bids the long minor suit, showing a long suit and 5-9 points, non-forcing.
1NT* There are a couple of partnership options for a 1NT response:
o Some partnerships choose to make this like an old 2NT bid, invitational.
o Some partnerships choose to make it a non-forcing ♣ bid (where 2♣ would be natural and forcing.)
2♣* Natural and forcing for 1-round, 5+♣ (like inverted minors), 10+ points,
2♦* Natural and Forcing for 1-round, 5+♦, 10+ points
2♥* Transfer, 6+card ♠ suit, 0+ points
2♠* Mixed Raise, 5+card ♣, 7-9 points, shapely
3♣ Weak ♣ raise, 5+card ♣, 0-6 points
Example 3 – My Favorite Transfer Auction
Opener Interferer Responder
1♦ 2♣ __?
X Negative Double
2♦* 5+card ♥, 8+ points
2♥* 5+card ♠, 8+ points
2♠* Mixed Raise, 4+card ♦, 7-9 points
3♣ 4+card ♦, 10+ points, Q = LR+
3♦ 4+card ♦, 0-6 points
This system allows us to “stretch” to show our 5-card Major suit, since partner can stop in 2-Major. That is why we can make our 2-level freebid (transfer) with only 8+ points, not the normal 10+ points.
Conclusion
When partner opens 1-minor and RHO overcalls a suit that allows us to use a transfer system, we have better ways to describe our hand (while keeping the auction at a low level) and we get to have partner (the opening bidder) become Declarer in more auctions. This also puts Overcaller on lead more often and forces them to lead away from their honors – often giving us a trick. If you like systems, especially competitive bidding ones, give these transfer responses a try.