Now that you have got to grips with major suit transfers, we move on to minor suit transfers, which we use for weak hands with six or more cards in a minor. This distinction between the suit types - that we always transfer with 5+ cards in the majors, but only with 6+ cards in a weak hand in the minors - is one that is often forgotten by inexperienced players, so do try to fix that in your mind.
Responding to 1NT Openings with 6+ cards in a Minor Suit
You will be happy to hear that this topic is much shorter and simpler than responding to 1NT with 5+ cards in a major. There is another rap performance from the fruit, though.
Question 1/3
Penelope has opened 1NT and Walter has a really weak hand - only three points. What should he bid?
Explanation: Weak hands with six or more cards in a minor should force their partner to play in the minor suit at the three level. This turns hands that might be completely useless in NT into hands that can take tricks in the minor trump suit and allow declarer to get to the weak hand to takes finesses. The bid that we use to transfer to either minor suit is 2♠. Opener will bid 3♣ over this, and responder can pass with clubs or correct to diamonds. Here, Walter is planning to pass 3♣ when Penelope bids it
Another very weak hand for Walter opposite his partner’s 1NT opening. He has learned the system, and bid 2♠ as a minor suit transfer, over which Penelope has done as she is required to do, and bid 3♣. What should Walter do now?
Walter just wants to play in 3♦ with this hand. His diamond suit will be useful as trumps, so he should correct Penelope’s 3♣ bid to 3♦, and she will know to pass.
What should Walter bid in response to Penelope’s 1NT opening with this hand?
Walter has 9 points as well as his six card suit. Whilst we would usually consider nine points as invitational opposite 1NT, when you also have a six card suit (which will be a good source of tricks) most 9 point hands should make nine tricks. As there is no room below 3NT for invitational bids with minor suits, hands with 6+ cards in a minor and nine points should just bid 3NT.
The links will take you to the Bridge Training website, where you can have a go at bidding and responding to Minor Suit Transfers. You will then be able to play the hands and see if you can make your contract. Have as many goes as you like if you don’t succeed the first time.
Responding to 1NT with Exactly 4 Cards in One or Both Majors
We return to our constant quest for the eight card major suit fit. When your partner opens 1NT and you have exactly four cards in hearts or spades (or both) you can afford to look for the major suit fit with hands that are invitational or better. We will cover what to do when you are responding to 1NT with 5 or more cards in a major suit in the next step.
IMPORTANT POINT! We are talking about responder having exactly four cards in their major to use this piece of system. From the 1NT opener’s perspective, they are being asked whether they have at least four cards in either major. They might have a five card major in a 5,3,3,2 shape hand with 15-17 points. In response to an enquiry, they show their major as long as it has at least four cards.
Responding to 1NT with Exactly 4 Cards in One or Both Majors.
Question 1/7
Wlater has seven points and a four card major. How should he respond to Penelope’s 1NT opening bid?
Because asking the question 'do you have a 4 card major?' raises the bidding to the 2 level, responder needs at least a good 8 points to do that. If opener doesn't have the hoped-for four cards in responder's major, they will now need to play in 2NT instead of 1NT and so they need to have enough points to do that. With only 7 points, Walter has a weak, balanced hand and he should just pass. 1NT will be a good contract, and if Penelope has four hearts that suit will deliver a few tricks.
Same situation, but a slightly better hand. How should Walter bid this one?
Here, again, Walter has exactly four cards in a major suit. This time, though, he has an invitational hand, so he can afford to find out whether Penelope also has four spades. He bids the artificial 2♣ to ask 'do you have a four card major, partner?'. A Stayman enquiry.
Continuing the auction from question 2, Penelope has shown four spades - the suit Walter was hoping for. What should he bid now?
Penelope has bid the suit that Walter was hoping for and they have found their spade fit. Walter should confirm that to his partner by raising spades. As his hand is only invitational, he raises to the three level. Now Penelope has the choice to pass and play in the part score if she has the minimum 15 points, or go ahead and bid game if she has 16 or 17. If Walter had one more point, taking him to a game forcing hand opposite a 1NT opening, he would bid 4♠ instead, confirming both the fit and the fact that they have the values for game.
This time, when Walter has asked about four card majors, Penelope’s bid says that she doesn’t have four cards in either major. What should Walter bid now?
Walter has done well to look for a fit in spades but sadly hasn't found one, so now he knows the best contract for the partnership is NT. However, his hand is only invitational, so 3NT would be a stretch if Penelope has the minimum 15 points. By bidding 2NT, he shows his invitational hand and leaves it up to Penelope to pass and play in 2NT or to bid 3NT if she is non-minimum.
Here, Walter has a nice hand with four hearts. He starts by looking for heart fit but is disappointed to learn from Penelope's 2D bid that she doesn't have four hearts. What should he bid now?
Having failed to find fit, Walter knows they should play in NT and this time he has comfortably more than a game forcing hand so he can just bid 3NT. Bidding 4NT would be just like it is if you bid it directly in response to 1NT - saying we have enough for 6NT if you are non-minimum. With a maximum possible of 31 points between them, Walter cannot see enough to do this.
After the same start to the auction, Walter is delighted when Penelope shows four hearts. What should he bid?
When Walter finds the heart fit he knows two things: First that they belong in hearts, and second that they belong in game, so he can convey both pieces of information to his partner by bidding 4♥.
Genius question: Here’s one to test your ingenuity - you can feel very pleased with yourself if you work it out. Walter has asked about the majors in response to Penelope’s 1NT opening. She has four cards in both majors, and so correctly shows her hearts first (four on the floor). Walter then bids 3NT. What should Penelope do now?
When Walter asks whether she has a four card major and she shows hearts, Penelope knows that Walter would raise hearts if he had four of them. But he hasn't done that - he has bid 3NT. Penelope asks herself why would this be, and brilliantly concludes that Walter must have been hoping she would show spades, and therefore he must have four spades. She can 'see' the spade fit that Walter cannot, so she should bid 4♠. Very well done if you worked that out!
The links below will take you to the Bridge Training website. Because you are practicing responses that will make your partner declarer, you start out in the North seat for the bidding, then you will automatically be swapped to South to play the hand.
Opening 1NT is, perhaps, the simplest bid of all to learn about. Responding to 1NT openings, though, can seem complicated at first because it involves the use of artificial bids. The system is designed to produce the best outcomes but it takes a bit of getting used to.
Before we move on to how you should bid the various hand types after your partner’s 1NT opening, we would like you to watch this introductory video. There is no quiz on this, and no practice hands. These will follow in the next three steps, as we introduce you to how the system works.
Penelope has opened 1NT - she’s going to do that a lot in the next few quizzes - how should Walter respond?
Walter has a weak, balanced hand. Adding his points to even the maximum that Penelope can have in her 15-17 range, he can see that they don't have enough for game, so he should pass and let Penelope play in 1NT.
How about here?
Let's do the sums. If Penelope has the minimum for her bid, 15 points, then the partnership has a total of 24, which is not enough. If she has 16 or 17 though, they do have enough, so Walter should invite game by bidding 2NT
You can probably see this one coming. What should Walter respond this time?
Add Walter's 11 to Penelope's minimum of 15 and we get 26, so the pair (the pair with the pear) definitely have enough for game. Walter can make sure they play there by bidding 3NT.
How should Walter respond with this rather nice hand?
16 plus Penelope's minimum of 15 would give them 31 - not quite enough for slam. But if Penelope has 17 they have 33 between them and that is enough, so Walter should invite slam by bidding 4NT. Penelope will know to pass if she has a minimum hand or bid 6NT with a better hand.
What about with this, even nicer hand?
Even if Penelope has the minimum 15, Walter can see that they have 33 points between them so he can go ahead and bid the slam.
The links below will take you to the Bridge Training website. Because you are practicing responses that will make your partner declarer, you start out in the North seat for the bidding, then you will automatically be swapped to South to play the hand. Have as many goes playing the hands as you like if you don’t get it right the first time.
Hopefully, you have watched the introduction video about responding to 1NT openings. That will help you to understand why we use transfer bids in these cases. It gives the partnership the maximum opportunity to play in the best contract, based on what is known by both opener and responder.
It all takes some getting used to, but you will be surprised at how soon it will seem really familiar. We will start with major suit transfers, which we always use when we have 5 or more cards in either major after a 1NT opening by partner.
After singing the transfer song to himself, how should Walter respond to his partner’s 1NT opening with this hand?
Walter has 5 cards in a major. As the responder to 1NT opening you should always transfer to your 5-card major - that is make your partner bid your suit - regardless of whether your hand is very weak, invitational or game forcing. “If it’s five or more then who gives a hoot, just make your partner bid your suit” as they say in the major suit response rap. You do that by bidding the suit below your long major and your partner will know to complete the transfer - to bid your suit. Here, Walter's suit is spades, so he bids 2♥ - the suit below - to make Penelope bid 2♠.
Continuing that same auction, Penelope has completed the transfer by bidding 2♠. What should Walter bid next?
Walter's hand is weak. He knows that the partnership cannot have enough points for game because Penelope's hand is limited to 17 points at most. He also knows that with his hand being so weak, the play will be easier for Penelope in a trump suit, even if she has only two spades. So after the completion of the transfer he should pass, ensuring that the contract will be 2♠ unless the opponents choose to come in at this point.
Let’s look at that same start to the auction again, with Walter having transferred to spades and Penelope having done as she is asked, and bid 2♠. What should Walter bid with this better hand?
This case - where responder has exactly five cards in their long major and invitational strength (9 or a good 8 hcp) is the one where they give opener the maximum number of choices. Walter knows they might have enough for game, if Penelope is not minimum, and that they might belong in either NT or spades, depending on whether partner has three or more spades in her hand. By starting with the transfer, then bidding 2NT, he shows exactly this hand and now Penelope has all the information she needs to play in the best contract. She will pass if minimum with only two spades, or bid 3NT if non-minimum with two spades. If she has fit, she will bid 3♠ and play there if minimum, or bid 4♠ if she is non-mimimum.
This time, Walter’s major is hearts, and he has six of them. He starts with the transfer, but what should he bid after Penelope’s completion?
With six cards in his suit, Walter knows that the partnership has a fit, because Penelope must have at least two hearts to open 1NT. So he doesn't want to give her the option to play in NT. However, his hand is only invitational, so he doesn't know whether or not they should be in game. By bidding hearts again after the completion of the transfer he shows his extra heart length, and by doing so at the three level he shows his invitational strength. Now Penelope has the choice to pass and play in 3♥ or to bid 4♥ if she is non-minimum.
Here, Walter has started by transferring to his five card spade suit, and Penelope has complied. What should Walter bid now?
With 13 points, Walter knows for sure that the partnership has enough to play in game. He doesn't want to give partner any part score options. However, with only five cards in his long major, he doesn't know whether they have an eight card spade fit. If Penelope has only two spades they will want to play in 3NT. So by bidding 3NT he shows his game forcing strength and at the same time he gives Penelope the choice to pass and play in that contract when she doesn't have spade fit or to bid 4♠ if she has three or more spades.
Last one from Walter’s perspective. How should he follow up his transfer to hearts this time?
This time, Walter knows everything he needs to know to choose the best contract. His six card suit means they must have fit in hearts, and he can see enough points for game. He doesn't need to consult partner at all - he can just go ahead and bid 4♥.
This time, we are looking at things from opener’s side of the table. Walter has transferred to hearts and then followed this up with a bid of 2NT. What should Penelope bid now?
Penelope has heart fit - she has three of them, so she wants to play in hearts. However, Walter's 2NT bid shows that his hand is only invitational. With 10+ points and five hearts he would have bid 3NT to give her the choice of games. She has the minimum 1NT opening - just 15 points, so she should elect to play in partscore and bid 3♥.
One more from opener’s point of view. What should Penelope bid here?
As Walter's 3NT bid has already put the partnership at the level of game, Penelope has just one choice to make: Would she prefer to play in 3NT or in 4♠. With three nice cards in spades it's clear to prefer to play in 4♠, where they have at least an 8 card fit (especially as she has so little strength in hearts!)
The links below will take you to the Bridge Training website, where you can have a go at bidding and responding to major suit transfers. Because you are practicing responses that will make your partner declarer, you start out in the North seat for the bidding, then you will automatically be swapped to South to play the hand. You will then be able to play the hands and see if you can make your contract. Have as many goes as you like if you don’t succeed the first time.
Deprecated: File Theme without sidebar.php is deprecated since version 3.0.0 with no alternative available. Please include a sidebar.php template in your theme. in /home/newtrick/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6260
