This Week in Bridge
(361) Responder’s Rebids Opposite Opener’s 1-Suited Rebids
© AiB Robert S. Todd
Level: 6 of 10 (2 of 6) robert@advinbridge.com
General
When Opener begins the bidding with a suit bid at the 1-level and hears a 1-level response from partner then rebids their same suit at the 2-level or the 3-level, they are generally showing a 1-suited hand without a fit for Responder’s suit. It is possible they have another 4-card suit they choose not to bid or could not bid without reversing, but most of the time they are going to hold a hand with one 6+card suit and no other 4-card suit. Here, Responder is the captain of the auction, as they know a lot about the side’s combined assets. Responder can choose to stop the auction low, invite game, bid game, or even explore slam.
This auction can be trickier than when Opener rebids NT, as Responder does not know that Opener has “tolerance” for their suit. It is important for Opener and Responder to have good agreements about Responder’s bids here - what bids are non-forcing, non-forcing constructive, 1-round forcing, and game-forcing. Responder also has a valuable conventional tool for continuing the bidding when they need to force Opener to further describe their hand – Extended New Minor Forcing is Responder’s tool when the Opener rebids the same suit at the 2-level. Let’s look at these auctions in detail and see Responder’s rebid options.
Opener Rebids at 2-Level
When Opener rebids the same suit they opened at the 2-level, showing usually a 6+card suit, about 11-14 HCP, and frequently an unbalanced hand (though semi-balanced is possible), then Responder is often going to leave partner in their long suit when they have a bad hand (Responder does not make many corrective bids here, because Opener could be short in their suit.) Let’s take a look at all four of these possible rebids by Opener and examine the meaning of Responder’s bids in detail.
Example 1
1♣ 1♠
2♣
Opener generally shows a 6+card ♣ suit and a minimum opening hand (about 11-14 HCP). It is possible they have only a good 5-card ♣ suit and some other 4-card suit they could not bid. Opener also has 0-3 cards in ♠. In this auction, we use the unbid minor as an artificial “tell me more bid” and we use new suits as non-forcing constructive (if the new suit is a reverse then it would be forcing, but here that is not possible).
Example 2
1♣ 1♠
2♣ __?
Pass Most minimum hands
2♦* Extended New Minor Forcing, Artificial, 10+ points, 1-round forcing
2♥ 5+♠, 4+♥, 8-10 pts, Non-Forcing Constructive
2♠ 6+♠, 8-10 pts, Non-Forcing Constructive
2NT Natural, invitational, only 4-card ♠, 10-11 pts
3♣ Natural, invitational, only 4-card ♠, ♣ fit, 10-11 pts, not wanting to declare NT
3♦ Natural, invitational, 5-card ♠, 5-card ♦, 10-11 pts
3♥ Natural, invitational, 5-card ♠, 5-card ♥, 10-11 pts
3♠ Natural, invitational, 6+♠, good 10-11 pts
3NT To Play
Extended New Minor Forcing
We use the unbid minor (2♦ in the example above) similarly to the way we use New Minor Forcing after a 1NT rebid. This bid is forcing for 1-round, shows 10+ points, and asks Opener to “tell us more about their hand”, with a focus on their Major suit holdings. If the artificial bid happens at the 3-level, it is game forcing.
Do you have 3 cards in our suit? (♠ in example above)
Do you have 4 cards in the other Major? (♥ in example above)
2NT -- stoppers in the unbid suits
3♣ -- most minimum action
Example 3
1♦ 1♠
2♦ __?
Pass Most minimum hands
2♥ 5+♠, 4+♥, 8-10 pts, Non-Forcing Constructive
2♠ 6+♠, 8-10 pts, Non-Forcing Constructive
2NT Natural, invitational, only 4-card ♠, 10-11 pts
3♣* Extended New Minor Forcing, Artificial, Game Forcing
3♦ Natural, invitational, 10-11 pts, not wanting to declare NT
3♥ Natural, invitational, 5-card ♠, 5-card ♥, 10-11 pts
3♠ Natural, invitational, 6+♠, good 10-11 pts
3NT To Play
Example 4
1♥ 1♠
2♥ __?
Pass Most minimum hands
2♠ 6+♠, 8-10 pts, Non-Forcing Constructive
2NT Natural, invitational, 10-11 pts
3♣* Extended New Minor Forcing, Artificial, Game Forcing
3♦ Natural, invitational, 5+card ♦, 10-11 pts (discuss with partner, some play this forcing)
3♥ Natural, invitational, 2+card ♥, 10-11 pts
3♠ Natural, invitational, 6+♠, good 10-11 pts
3NT To Play
Other Auctions – Responder’s Reverses
In addition to jumps and Extended New Minor Forcing, in some auctions Responder can use a Responder’s Reverse to show a good hand.
Example 5
1♣ 1♦
2♣ 2♥
This 2♥ bid by Responder is a Responder’s Reverse and shows a 4-card suit, 10+ points, and is forcing for 1-round. Since Opener has denied a 4-card ♥ suit by rebidding 2♣, this 2♥ bid can be used with a ♥ stopper and a problem in ♠ even with fewer than 4-card ♥.
Example 6
1♦ 1♥
2♦ 2♠
This 2♠ bid by Responder is a Responder’s Reverse and usually shows a 4-card suit, 10+ points, and is forcing for 1-round. It could be made with fewer than 4-cards in ♠ sometimes since Opener has denied a 4-card ♠ suit by rebidding 2♦.
Other Auctions – Rebids After 1NT Responses
When Responder has responded with 1NT, they have limited their hand:
1NT over 1-minor shows a minimum hand, denies a 4-card Major, and usually about 6 to a bad 10 points.
1NT over 1-Major shows a minimum to invitational hand, about 6 to 11 points (1NT Semi-Forcing).
Let’s look at some example auctions:
Example 7
1♦ 1NT
2♦ 3♦
Good ♦ fit, usually 3+ cards with an honor, and a good 9 to 10 HCP.
Example 8
1♥ 1NT*
2♥ __
Pass Most minimum hands
2♠* Impossible Spade, best ♥ raise, 3-card limit raise
2NT Natural, invitational, 10-11 pts
3♣ Natural, 6+card ♣, minimum values, corrective, usually a ♥ void
3♦ Natural, 6+card ♦, minimum values, corrective, usually a ♥ void
3♥ Natural, invitational, 2-card ♥, 10-11 pts
Opener Rebids at 3-Level
When the Opener’s rebid is at the 3-level in their suit (a jump rebid, showing a 1-suiter with extra values) then in many ways the auction is simpler. Pass is what we do with most poor hands (6-7 points). With a good 8+ points we are likely to drive to game. Responder does not have much room to operate and often has to make natural bid. All bids are game forcing! Responder can rebid a good 5-card suit if they do not have enough space to otherwise operate.
Example 9
1♦ 1♠
3♦ __
Pass Most minimum hands
3♥ Natural, GF, usually a 4+card ♥ suit and some reason not to rebid 3NT
3♠ Natural, GF, a good 5+card ♠ suit, not sure which game to play
3NT To Play
4♦ Slam Try (natural or minorwood, based on agreements)
Conclusion
Making a rebid after Opener has shown a 1-suiter is similar to doing so when they have shown a balanced hand. Responder has a gadget to continue the auction when they have a good hand, Extended New Minor Forcing. One of the significant differences in this auction is that Opener has not promised tolerance for any of the other suits and has promised a long suit of their own. That makes corrective bidding far less attractive and so we do not use it nearly as much. Make sure you and partner feel as comfortable in these auctions as you do when you rebid 1NT or 2NT.