New Minor Forcing

 

When Opener rebids 1NT after Responder bids 1♥ or 1♠ he may or may not have 3-card support for Responder's major.  The most common method of checking back for a 5-3 major fit is known as New Minor Forcing, as illustrated in the following examples.  As we shall also see, the New Minor method works equally well in these two additional situations:

- Opener rebids 2NT, as in 1♦ 1♠, 2NT 

- Opener rebids his minor, as in 1♦ 1♠, 2♦

 

 

28th March, 2007                Boards 6 and 29

 

            Board 6                                                           Board 29

            West                                                                West

            ♠ KQT85                                                        ♠ AJ543

            ♥ 2                                                                  ♥ J52

            ♦ Q854                                                            ♦ K97

            ♣ AT2                                                             ♣ AQ

            West    North   East     South                           West    North   East     South

                                    1♦        Pass                                         Pass    1♣       Pass

            1♠        Pass    1NT     Pass                            1♠        Pass    1NT     Pass

            ??                                                                    ??

In both auctions we hold 5 Spades and in both cases we are worth another bid … the first hand is worth an invitation to game, the second hand will insist on game one way or the other.  Most partnerships play New Minor Forcing (or some variant) in both situations as a method of checking to see if Partner has 3-card Spade support.  So, the question here is “Would you use NMF in the two situations above?

 

In the first case, Board 6, we most certainly would use NMF because of our Heart shortness, it’s likely that we have a Heart weakness and if Partner shows up with 3 Spades we can invite with 3♠, otherwise we’ll invite with 2NT and hope that the Heart situation is not fatal.

 

In the second case, it’s not so clear that we should be using NMF, the hand looks so No Trumpish.  True, we don’t have a Heart stop on this hand either, but Jxx might be quite useful in 3NT.  Remember, if Partner has 3 Spades then he chose not to give us a 3-card raise, presumably he thinks that his hand is also No Trumpish.  One thing we can be sure of is that Partner will not have 3 Spades and a small doubleton in Hearts for his 1NT rebid, with such a hand we’d expect him to raise to 2♠ instead.  So, perhaps we should not worry unduly about Hearts, and should just bid 3NT directly, our judgement being that 3NT is likely the best spot regardless of Partner’s Spade holding.

 

 

11th October, 2006           Board 14      Dealer East       None Vul

 

 

Anyone for New Minor Forcing with the North hand?  Using that gadget, North can bid 2♦ after Partner’s 1NT, checking back for a 3-card Spade fit.  It’s certainly an option here, but we much prefer North’s actual 3NT bid, giving up on the 5-3 Spade fit.

 

One point to remember here is that Partner was quite at liberty to raise with 3-card support on the previous round of bidding.  So, if she has 3 Spades and bid 1NT anyway, she’s no doubt saying that her hand is No Trumpish.  Our hand is also No Trumpish (look at those tripleton Queens!) so we’d take our chances in 3NT.

 

 

14th June, 2006                Board 7      Dealer South      Both Vul

 

 

North is in an awkward, but not uncommon, situation here.  She would like to play this one 3NT or 4♠, depending upon whether or not South has 3 Spades.  In fact, North is in exactly the same situation that she would be in if South had rebid 1NT instead of 2♣.  After the 1NT rebid, most players use New Minor Forcing (or some other checkback method) to investigate the 5-3 major fit.  And, yes, you can use it in this sequence, too!  So, after 2♣, North bids 2♦, and now South shows that 3-card support.

 

Without that 2♦ device, North would be totally up the creek … 2♠ is not forcing, nor is 3♠ (which should show better and longer Spades, anyway), and 3NT would give up on a 4♠ contract.  So, 2♦ is the practical bid … it’s forcing, and it gives Partner a chance to support Spades.  In fact, on this hand, you might well make the bid regardless of whether you and your Partner have discussed its meaning, it seems like a safe enough way of investigating the 5-3 fit.

 

 

22nd November, 2006       Board 9      Dealer North       E-W Vul

 

 

Most of us are familiar with New Minor Forcing in an auction such as this one:

            1♣       1♠

            1NT    2♦

Here the 2♦ bid is artificial, normally made in pursuit of a 5-3 or 6-2 fit in Responder’s major.  The bid is not forcing to game but it does promise invitational values (could be more).

 

Well, New Minor Forcing is just as useful when Opener rebids her minor, and we suggest you play it in the same way, whereby Responder may or may not have Diamonds.  If that’s the agreement, we have an obvious 2♦ bid here.

 

Here’s a variation:

            1♦        1♠

            2♦        3♣

Yes, 3♣ is also a New Minor Forcing bid, but, because of the level, it’s practical to treat this one as game-forcing.

 

 

13th December, 2006        Board 19      Dealer South       E-W Vul

 

 

This is clearly a hand which belongs in 3NT or 4♥, let’s first look at a couple of bids which do not meet the requirements of the hand:

-       3NT:   No, that gives up the 5-3 Heart fit

-      3♥:      No, this is doubly flawed … firstly, the bid is not even forcing … secondly, it overstates the strength of the Heart suit (should be 6 for this sequence)

 

What’s the solution?  Yes, as we have encountered a few times in recent weeks, this is a good opportunity for New Minor Forcing, a convention that works equally well when Opener rebids her minor, as it does when Opener rebids 1NT.

 

 

31st May, 2006                  Board 12      Dealer West       N-S Vul

 

 

After West’s 2♥ rebid, what should East do?  He’s going to game, of course, and would like to convey the message of a good Spade suit.  But, no number of Spades is appropriate … 2♠ would be a weak hand, 3♠ would be merely invitational, and 4♠ would be an overstatement of the Spades (the suit is not so good that East can insist on it as the trump suit).  What’s the solution?  We’d choose 3♣, which looks like the best way to create a game force, while also allowing the partnership to investigate the best game.  It's a variation of New Minor Forcing.

 

 

17th May, 2006                 Board 14      Dealer East        None Vul

 

 

West’s 3♥ is forcing, and probably shows a 6-card suit.  Not five?  No, with 5 he would have gone through a New Minor or Checkback sequence (3♦ or 3♣, depending on the partnership methods).  With that in mind, East surely should opt for a Heart contract, those Diamonds look dangerously weak for No Trump.

 

So, a simple 4♥ bid is called for?  We’d say yes, but consider also that, if East thinks that his hand is good slam material, he is allowed to say so along the way to 4♥ … 3♠ or 4♣ would say “I have a slam-oriented hand in Hearts with something in the bid suit”.  We actually don’t think that the East hand is quite up to snuff for a cue-bid (a 3^rd Heart and a ruffing value would make all the difference), but we thought we should mention the possibility.

 

 

6th September, 2006          Board 5      Dealer North       N-S Vul

 

 

West’s 2NT rebid showed 18-19 HCPs, and did not deny a 4-card Spade suit (unlike a 1NT rebid).  Most partnerships play New Minor Forcing after a 2NT rebid, the primary purpose of the convention being to investigate further a major suit fit.  Does this mean that we should bid 3♣ here?  We wouldn’t, out preference being to follow these rules in this situation:

-         we use New Minor Forcing when we have 5 cards in our bid major (with or without 4 in the other major;

-         when we are 4-4 in the majors we rebid 3♠

 

So, the bid here is 3♠, denying a fifth Heart.

 

 

12th September, 2007       Board 8      Dealer West       None Vul

 

 

2♣ was “New Minor Forcing”, a method of checking back for a 5-3 major fit after a 1NT rebid by Opener.  South shows at least game-invitational values for that bid.  Two points of interest:

-         Should North bother to show that 3-card Spade support, considering that her hand is square and the trumps are so feeble?  We say “Yes!”, North has already declined once to show 3-card support, it would be perverse to refuse again to show it.

-         Assuming that North is going to admit to Spade support, what is his correct bid?  We would jump to 3♠, showing a maximum hand as well as those 3 Spades.  If North bids only 2♠, South will place her with a minimum and may pass.

 

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