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The forcing raise of partner's minor suit opening. |
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A74 |
Suppose you pick up this hand and partner opens 1♦, what do you do? |
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74 |
You could gamble with 3NT and that will often be the best contract. BUT, partner may partner may well not have ♥'s stopped, 5♦ may be the best spot, or there may even be a ♦ slam. So raise partner? The problem here is that neither 2♦ nor 3♦ are forcing in standard methods. |
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A10952 |
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AQ2 |
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The solution? Play Inverted Minors. |
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Playing this convention, the meanings of the two and three lever raises are reversed, the two-level raise is actually invitation or better and forcing to 2NT or 3 of the minor. Thus: |
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| Over partner's 1♣ opening |
2♣ = 10+ points, 5+ card ♣ support, no 4-card major. |
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3♣ = usually a pre-emptive raise, non-forcing, no 4-card major. |
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| Over partner's 1♦ opening |
2♦ = 10+ points, 5+ card ♦ support, no 4-card major. |
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3♦ = usually a pre-emptive raise, non-forcing, no 4-card major. |
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And what then? Basically, after an inverted raise to 2♣/♦, opener and responder bid stoppers up the line, usually in the hope of reaching 3NT. The emphasis is on major suit stoppers - as opener has generally denied a 5-card major and responder has denied a 4-card major, the other minor is usually stopped. |
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As opener has promised no more that 12 points and responder no more than 10, the onus is on the player with more than minimum values to bid beyond 3-of-the-minor or 2NT (if he thinks that there is a game contract somewhere) and not to make these bids himself as they are non-forcing. |
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Typical set of opener's rebids, assuming you play a strong NoTrump are: - |
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| 2♦ |
= |
♦ stopper. |
♥ 's and ♠ 's are unknown. |
| 2♥ |
= |
♥ stopper and ♠ 's unstopped. |
♦ 's no good stop but could have a partial stop |
| 2♠ |
= |
♠ stopper and ♥ 's unstopped. |
♦ 's no good stop but could have a partial stop |
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| 2NT |
= |
balanced minimum, 12-13 with both majors stopped. |
| 3NT |
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balanced maximum, 14-15 with both majors stopped. |
| 3♣ |
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minimum and no desire to compete further. |
| 3♦/♥/♠ |
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maximum (14-15) and mini-splinter. |
| 4♦/♥/♠ |
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maximum (16+) splinter with slam interest. |
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| After 1♦ - 2♦ |
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| 2♥ |
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♥ stopper and ♠ 's unstopped. |
♣ 's unknown |
| 2♠ |
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♠ stopper and ♥ 's unstopped. |
♣ 's unknown |
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| 2NT |
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balanced minimum, 12-13 with both majors stopped. |
| 3NT |
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balanced maximum, 14-15 with both majors stopped. |
| 3♣ |
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second suit (either no major stopped or a hand unsuitable for NoTrumps). |
| 3♦ |
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minimum and no desire to compete further. |
| 3♥/♠ |
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maximum (14-15) and mini-splinter. |
| 4♥/♠ |
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maximum (16+) splinter with slam interest. |
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Obviously these require a degree of cooperation and each player must be thinking about which contract will be best and who declarer should be. And there are a few omissions in that a few ♦ sequences are not specified. |
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The above is pretty standard except that the splinters are Paul 's suggestions, which have worked well for him, but you would have to agree these (or something else) with your partner. |
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Also the opener (or responder), with a strong hand, must manufacture a forcing sequence to cater to game or slam going hands without resorting to the over-abused 4NT. One moderate solution is for opener to use 4♣ over any inverted raise as Gerber, and 4NT as a 18-19 balanced hand. This fits with the above. |
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The splinters etc. are up to partnership agreement, the main thing is to bid stoppers up the line and to ensure that you do not make a non-forcing bid if you have extras. |
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Alternative Treatments for Inverted minors |
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There is another version of Inverted Minors that differentiates between an invitational and game forcing initial bid from responder: Using this scheme, an inverted raise to the two level shows invitational values and a jump in the other minor shows a game-forcing raise: - |
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| 1♣ - 2♣ |
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invitational |
| 1♣ - 2♦ |
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game forcing |
| 1♦ - 2♦ |
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invitational |
| 1♦ - 3♣ |
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game forcing |
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The drawback with this treatment is that you lose the normal meanings for the jump in the other minor |
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Also note that thing are different if you play a weak NoTrump, you just have to change the meaning of the 2NT and 3NT rebids (say to 15-16 and 17-18 resp), the philosophy of bidding stoppers up the line is the same. |
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| Paul Quodomine & Terry Quested |
Pattaya Bridge Club - |
www.pattayabridge.com |
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