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Defense To Weak Twos
Methods in this situation are not so different than methods over one-of-a-suit openings, but it's worth introducing a couple of extra gadgets into the partnership's arsenal: - After Partner has doubled their Weak Two, there is much to be said for using Lebensohl to improve bidding efficiency. - With strong two-suiters (at least 5-5) we recommend a treatment known to most as Leaping Michaels.
6th April, 2011 Both Vul
West’s 2NT is about the same strength as a 1NT opening or overcall. Now what does East do? It makes sense to play “systems on” here, but the question is “Which system?” That needs to be asked if E-W play, for example, regular Stayman opposite a 1NT opening and Puppet opposite a 2NT opening. The simple (or default) approach is to use your 2NT system here, though regular Stayman might be more practical than Puppet. But partnership agreement is the most important thing, so much better than a theoretical perfect misunderstanding.
Purely as an aside, how about this auction? West North East South Pass 2♠ 2NT Pass 3♥ East is transferring into their suit and is clearly not trying to play in that suit. Our suggestion is that it shows shortness. It’s a warning to Partner that 5♣ or 5♦ might be the place to play if his Spade holding is not the best.
6th April, 2011 None Vul
What should North do now? That’s a three-loser hand and is just a couple of Key Cards away from making slam. North’s options are: - 4♥: We’d characterize this bid as “Neanderthal but practical”. But whenever we make this kind of bid, Partner always shows up with just the right cards for slam. - Dbl: The plan would be to bid Hearts next, but things could get complicated and what happens next will depend on the partnership methods (is this a Lebensohl situation for you?). Also, you won’t be thrilled if Partner makes a Penalty Pass. - 4♣: Many play this as Leaping Michaels, typically showing 5-5 in Clubs and Hearts and a good hand (but not necessarily this good). The downside here is that it is an underbid and that the Hearts are good enough to be trumps unilaterally. - 3♠: In this case, North will bid 4♥ next, and perhaps that is the best plan of all.
4th May, 2011 E-W Vul
This is a pretty good hand provided that West has a fit with Spades or Diamonds and, as luck would have it, there is a convention for this two-suiter, it’s called Leaping Michaels. You can follow the link for more on the subject, for now we’ll just say that when the other side opens a Weak Two in one of the majors, then our leap to 4♣ or 4♦ shows at least 5-5 in the bid minor and the unbid major. The bid is game-forcing.
7th October, 2009 E-W Vul
Do you play Leaping Michaels as part of your defense to a Weak 2♥ and 2♠? Using this gadget, the following bids all show 5-5 hands (or better): - 4♣ shows Clubs and the other major - 4♦ shows Diamonds and the other major - 4NT shows the minors - 4 of their major also shows the minors and is stronger than 4NT To see how Leaping Michaels works when the opponents open 2♦ please follow the link.
What strength is needed for a Leaping Michaels bid? It’s forcing to game but that does not mean that we need game in our own hand to make the bid, that’s not practical. We’d say that the West hand has a bit extra, he’d also bid 4♣ with the same high cards and 1=5=2=5 distribution.
28th February, 2007 Board 32 E-W Vul
Oh, those pesky preempts, don’t you just hate them! How would you handle this lovely 17-count? We can think of three different ways that make sense, and we’ll further say that we think all three of them have their merits: - How about 4♥? Somewhat agricultural, perhaps, but not completely unreasonable. Sure, we wish we had better Hearts, and, yes, maybe 3NT will be a better spot, but we’d bet that 4♥ is where this hand belongs more often than not. - How about 3♥? Perhaps a slight underbid, but at least it gives Partner the chance to bid 3♠ (looking for 3NT) if she has good values in the minors and no Heart fit. - How about Double and then 3♥? This sequence is not forcing but it does show a really good hand, this one may well qualify. As you can see, we don’t have strong views on this one, but if we were forced to make a choice, this would probably be it.
10th May, 2006 Board 12 N-S Vul
What do you bid as East over 2♥? Double is not an option with that doubleton Spade, so the choices are 2NT or Pass. If the vulnerability were reversed, it would be right to bid 2NT, giving your side a chance to bid the vulnerable game … but at this favorable vulnerability the percentage bid is surely to pass … this is a bid which can win in two ways: (a) if game is not possible, then +200 (or more) defending 2♥ undoubled will be a good matchpoint score; (b) if game is possible, then West probably has enough to balance with a Double … now, down two or better beats the score for the E-W game.
19th July, 2006 Board 12 N-S Vul
What are the choices? Not Double, of course, we have to bid some number of Hearts. 2♥ is not enough, we need so little from Partner to make game. 4♥ is a possibility, but why guess if Partner has the trick we need? No, the right call is surely 3♥, which, needless to say, is not a preempt ... the jump to 3♥ shows values … basically, it says “Bid game if you think you have a trick for me”.
26th July, 2006 Board 9 E-W Vul
After the opponents open with a Weak Two, many partnerships play that jumps to the 4-level show good two-suited hands. If the opening bid is 2♦, there are two variations in common use: - Bid 4♣ to show Clubs and a major (now 4♦ asks "Which major?"), and 4♦ to show both majors - Bid 4♣ to show Clubs and Hearts, and 4♦ to show Clubs and Spades. We prefer the second method, it's always nice to announce both suits immediately, making life easier for Partner if LHO bids a few more Diamonds.
Perhaps the real problem on the hand is on the next round of bidding. Let's say that we make one of those two-suited bids, and that it now goes 6♦ on our left, back to us. Clearly, 6♦ is being bid to make (they are Red vs White). Would you bid 6♠ now? Tough call! True, we have already shown our two-suiter ... and, true, Partner had a chance to bid and didn't. On the other hand, we have some extra distribution (6-5), and almost zero defense. We rather like 6♠ here, but some of our panel voted otherwise. Of course, we bid 6♠ in sight of all four hands ... so, perhaps not surprisingly, it was the winning call!
18th October, 2006 Board 26 Both Vul
This one is about methods. Assuming that we are playing Leaping Michaels, we could just bid 4♦, showing both majors, but that would be a huge overbid, of course. Another possibility is to bid 2♠, hoping to get the chance to bid Hearts later, but that would also be something of an overbid. The ideal solution is to have 3♦ here available as Michaels, showing both majors but not necessarily a big hand. If that were available, that would be our choice, and if it were not available we’d bid 2♠ and cross our fingers.
Some partnerships play that 3♦ here would be a probe for 3NT, typically, it’s a hand with Club tricks in search of a Diamond stopper. Well, if you decide to change to a Michaels 3♦ in this situation, then with the Club hand you’ll just have to Double or bid 3♣, whichever seems more appropriate.
13th December, 2006 Board 5 N-S Vul
There’s a useful device against Weak Twos called Leaping Michaels, which can be used to show strong two-suiters, and for more on the subject please follow the link to an article on the subject. South’s hand is ideal for the convention, and she bids 4♣ showing Clubs and Spades, typically 5-5, and a good hand.
How good does the hand have to be? Well, the South hand certainly qualifies, and we would suggest that it has about a King to spare. In other words, take away one of those Kings and it would just about qualify for a 4♣ bid, take away any more than that and it would not qualify. 9th May, 2007 Board 30 None Vul
A simple choice here. An immediate 3NT (2NT would be a huge underbid)? Or a Double followed by 3NT? Yes, the latter is the way to go, that’s how we show a big balanced hand. Bidding 3NT directly obviously shows a very good hand, but it should be more based on tricks than on HCP’s. Maybe something like: ♠ A9 ♥ KJ2 ♦ J8 ♣ AKQ765
10th May, 2006 Board 12 N-S Vul
After a Weak Two, in the balancing seat, with shortness in the opponents’ suit, we bend over backwards to make that Double. After all, South did not further the preempt, nor did South make a constructive bid … so, most of the time, East is either ready to Pass the Double or has the values needed for E-W to compete in a part-score. Is West’s 7-count enough for a balancing Double? Absolutely!
4th July, 2007 Board 6 E-W Vul
We are in the balancing seat with 15 HCP’s, surely we need to do something. Double might work, but our hand is square and we have only 3 Spades. Apart from the small detail of that lack of a Heart stopper, we’d say that the North hand is a perfect 2NT bid, and that would be our choice. It won’t always work, of course, but 2NT has a numer of ways to win: - Partner might have a Heart stop, or a half-stop such as Q or Qx - The suit might be blocked (for example, a singleton honor with West) - If we bid 2NT confidently enough, East might be deterred from leading a Heart … for example, with AQxxxx he might instead lead another suit, hoping to get Partner in for a Heart lead through North.
Yes, various good things might happen, but down two (in 3NT) might also happen when the defense cashes the first 6 Hearts. So, if you are not prepared to take that chance, or if your Partner does not have a legendary sense of humor, then you might want to consider doubling.
26th April, 2006 Board 1 None Vul
Do you play Lebensohl over Weak Twos doubled? In this (highly recommended) method, the 2NT bid in the featured auction is a relay to 3♣, usually as a prelude to showing a weak hand (say less than 9 or so HCPs). Playing Lebensohl, though, North is stuck for a plan. A Penalty Pass is a possibility, but we would bid 2NT anyway, heading for 3♥, and hoping that this is not a complete disaster. Much as we like Lebensohl, it does take away the natural 2NT bid, and occasionally, as here, that turns out to be inconvenient.
If N-S were not playing Lebensohl, North would no doubt bid 2NT naturally here … it’s a bit of an overbid, but nothing else appeals.
9th August, 2006 Board 21 N-S Vul
We highly recommend that you play Lebensohl over a Weak Two, doubled by Partner. Using this treatment, North bids 2NT (a relay to 3♣) to get out at the 3-level with a weak hand … with invitational values, North bids her suit directly. So, in the above auction, North would bid 3♣, showing something in the 9-11 range, or thereabouts.
And, what is our suggestion for those players who do not play Lebensohl in this situation? Please learn it, because, without the convention, North's hand is impossible to bid sensibly.
6th December, 2006 Board 27 None Vul
We have just about enough for game opposite Partner’s Take-out Double, but it would be a mistake to jump to 4♠ directly. Partner may have only 3 Spades, in which case we’d probably be better off in 3NT. The way to investigate further is to bid 3♦. Partner will now show a 4-card major if he has one, and on the actual deal would bid 3♥, showing a Heart suit, of course, and also not denying a 4-card Spade suit.
What next? Over 3♥, we bid 3NT, which, by inference, shows Spades. If we are not interested in Hearts, and can bid 3NT by ourselves, then surely our reason to bid 3♦ was to investigates Spades before settling on 3NT. Why be so devious, why not just bid 3♠ over 3♥? Primarily because if we do, and if Partner has only 3 Spades, he will be obliged to go past 3NT (it’s hard to imagine that he would have a Diamond stop).
5th March, 2008 Board 8 None Vul
Do you have any methods here? If not, then consider the actual hand (let’s call that Hand A) and also this one: Hand B ♠ A42 ♥ KJ9 ♦ T82 ♣ K976 Hand A is just below invitational strength, whereas Hand B is indeed good enough to invite game. How do you distinguish between the two? Playing standard methods it’s virtually impossible, and with Hand B you can either underbid with 3♣ or else overbid by cue-bidding 3♦. Not very satisfactory, eh?
No worries, help is at hand, via the Lebensohl convention. Follow the link for more on this, but the abbreviated version is: - Direct 3♣: Natural showing invitational values, our choice with Hand B. - 2NT Relays to 3♣: Our choice with Hand A, the plan being to pass 3♣.
5th March, 2008 Board 15 N-S Vul
This is actually three problems in one. What would you bid as West if East’s call is (a) Double, (b) 2NT, (c) 3NT? - If East doubles: It’s obvious to bid some number of Spades. Not 2♠, of course, way too good for that. 3♠ or 4♠? 4♠ is tempting with that nice 6-4 shape, but Partner did only make a balancing Double, perhaps we should cut him a little slack and not be too aggressive. So, 3♠ here. - If East bids 2NT: In this case, West has enough for game, raising the question “Is this a Spade one-suiter or should we keep Hearts in the picture?” It looks like a one-suiter to us but we won’t argue the point, we’ll move on to the next question which is “What are your methods here?” Our suggestion is to play whatever you normally play when Partner opens 2NT. Perhaps not theoretically perfect, but simple, at least. - If East bids 3NT? Suggested methods here are Stayman and Transfers. So, take your pick, depending on how you evaluate those majors.
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