Discards are an important way to communicate with partner. But not just the first discard, every discard matters. Here we look at discards later in the play.
Responding to 1NT is a balancing act of showing both strength and shape while keeping the auction at a low enough level. With a game forcing hand (10+ points), the goal is usually to be able to describe our hand below 3NT, particularly with hands that are strong enough to be interested in slam. This is not a problem with relatively balanced hands, but with distributional hands it may be more difficult for Responder to show their shape and explore slam without getting the auction too high (going past 3NT). Transfer bids allow Responder to show their shape while using space efficiently. After making a transfer bid, Responder usually gets to make a second bid without the auction getting much higher - one of the most valuable parts of playing transfers. A way to further improve our use of bidding space is to play transfer bids not only on the first round of the bidding, but on the second round also after a Major-suit transfer. Let’s see how these Transfers Over Transfers work on Responder’s second bid after a Responder starts with a Jacoby Transfer.
Constructive: Responder
Transfers have become a larger and larger part of both competitive and constructive bidding. These transfers help with playing the contract from correct side, but they are also effective in searching for a fit while keeping the auction at a low level. One auction where transfers by Responder can be helpful is after Opener has started with a suit opening bid at the 1-level (1X) and then made a jump rebid of 2NT – showing a balanced hand with 18-19 points. Let’s see how transfers by Responder in this auction can help our side describe our hands in the limited space below 3NT. This treatment replaces Modified Wolff Signoff after a 2NT rebid.
Competitive Bidding
There are two general categories of systems against the opponents 1NT opening bids – ones that use a Double as Penalty and others that use a Double as conventional. When the opponents open the bidding with a weak 1NT we need a good method for dealing with their unusual opening bid. The most common range for a weak NT is 12-14 points, but we define 1NT to be weak if the range does not contain 16 points. Some examples: 10-12, 11-13, 11-14, 12-14, 12-15, or 13-15 points. Against these opening bids we use a system that has a penalty double. Let’s look at one fo the most interesting of these sysetm, Landy with Transfer bids.
Constructive: Responder
When our side opens the bidding 2♣, we need an agreement about how we handle our responses. There are a variety of ways to handle this -- 2♦ waiting, Steps, Controls, 2♥ Bust. People have strong opinions about 2♥ for showing a bust. The players who dislike it are worried about “wrong siding” a ♥ contract. The players who like it like knowing that 2♦ is game forcing, determining if we are going to game or not immediately.
Constructive: Responder
When partner opens the bidding 1-minor (1m), a jump shift to 2-Major (2M) by Responder can be used for a variety of different hand types. Both the standard approach of a strong jump shift and the common approach of a weak jump shift leave a lot to be desired. The modern style is for good hands to go slow, which makes a strong jump shift less appealing because it eats up valuable bidding space. With players responding to a 1m opening bid with 1M more and more aggressively, this makes using a weak jump shift less common even if it is our agreement. For these reasons many experienced partnerships choose to use these jumps to 2M for other constructive bidding purposes. Let’s look at uses of these jump shifts that can help us with some problem hands for Responder.
