Forcing No Trump – Introduction

 

In the introductory article to “Two Over One”, we showed a variety of hands which were just not good enough to force to game, and therefore which needed to invoke the so-called “Forcing No Trump”.

 

Let’s recap the basic requirements for a Forcing No Trump:

-         Partner opens 1♥ or 1♠

-         We have less than game-going values

-         We don’t have a hand that can raise Opener’s major

-         If Opener’s bid was 1♥, we don’t have 4 or more Spades

-         We have sufficient values to make a response of some sort, say a decent 5 HCPs or better.

 

Yes, it’s really that simple!

 

Opener’s Rebid

 

Suppose that you open 1♠, and Partner responds with a Forcing 1NT.  Select your rebid on the following hands:

 

♠ AJ6543                    With 6 Spades we have a simple 2♠ rebid.

♥ K7

♦ KJ

♣ J87

 

♠ AKJ543                   This hand is too good to 2♠.  We rebid 3♠, which is not forcing.

♥ K7                            But it does show extras (and at least 6 Spades).

♦ KJ

♣ QT7

 

♠ AQJ65                     Yes, the simple and obvious 2♥ is the bid here.

♥ K754

♦ Q6

♣ 87

 

♠ AQJ65                     But this one is not so simple.  We are now obliged to rebid 2♣,

♥ K7                            for want of better.  Yes, after a Forcing No Trump, Opener’s

♦ Q32                          rebid of 2♣ or 2♦ may need to be made on a 3-card suit.  In fact,

♣ T32                          in one particular auction, namely 1♥ 1NT, 2♣, Opener might
                                    even have only 2 Clubs, if he happens to be 4-5-2-2.

 

♠ AJ765                      Our own preference would have been to open this hand 1NT, even

♥ K76                          with the 5-card major.  If you don’t care for this style, then you

♦ AJ7                          can open 1♠ and rebid 2NT with this hand.

♣ K8

 

♠ AJ765                      This one is good enough for a 3NT rebid.

♥ K76

♦ AQ7

♣ A8

 

♠ AKJ76                     Here Opener has a hand that is good enough to force to game,

♥ A4                            and makes the simple, obvious jump shift to 3♦.

♦ AK764

♣ 9

 

Responder’s Rebid

 

Suppose that the auction has started 1♠ 1NT, 2♣.  What would you rebid as Responder with the following hands?

 

♠ 32                             With this hand, we must bid 2♠, however unappetizing it may

♥ KT76                       seem.  First of all, Opener may have only 3 Clubs, and we would

♦ AQ6                         surely prefer the 5-2 major fit to the 4-3 Club fit.  But, we would

♣ 8542                        like to keep the auction alive … remember, Opener might have

                                    quite a decent hand for his 2♣ bid, so we cannot rule out game at

                                    this point.

 

♠ 32                             On this one, though, we are delighted to pass 2♣, we have a

♥ K76                          minimum hand, we are in at least an 8-card fit, and game does

♦ 843                           not seem at all likely … so, time to hit the deck!

♣ QJ765

 

♠ 32                             The same hand as before, with an extra King.  Now, we cannot

♥ K76                          give up so easily, game (probably in No Trump) is still possible,

♦ K43                          so we must give Partner another chance, and bid 3♣.

♣ QJ765

 

♠ 32                             This is an invitational No-Trumpish hand, an obvious 2NT bid.

♥ KJ7

♦ KJ7

♣ K9765

 

♠ 3                               Here, we bid 2♥.  This bid shows a 6-card suit, with a moderate

♥ JT6543                    hand.  With the same shape, and an invitational hand (let’s say

♦ K76                          the one shown, plus a couple of Kings), we could have bid 3♥.

♣ J63                         

 

♠ 432                           An obvious 2♠ bid, going for the known 8-card major fit.  You

♥ K5                            may wonder why Responder did not bid 2♠ directly.  Well, the

♦ 8765                         general style is to use a direct 1♠ 2♠ auction to show a better

♣ Q432                       hand … with a poor hand we slow things down by going via 1NT.

 

♠ K32                          1♠ 3♠ normally shows a limit raise with 4-card support.  Here, we

♥ AQ87                       have limit raise values with only 3-card support.  The solution? 

♦ QT65                        Bid 1NT first, then jump to 3♠ on your next bid.

♣ 76

 

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