or 4
if we have an eight-card or longer major suit fit, otherwise, in 3NT. If we are going to play in the partscore zone, we want to play in any eight-card or longer fit, otherwise, in no trumps.CHAPTER 5
Responding to an Opening Bid of One No-trump
We appealed to women, to their natural inferiority complex. Bridge was an opportunity for them to gain intellectual parity with their husbands. We worked on their fear instincts. We made it almost tantamount to shame not to play contract.
Ely Culbertson describing some of the methods he and his wife Josephine (thought by many to be the better player) used to get public interest.
When your partner opens the bidding, you are in the position of responder since you are responding to the opening bid. When the opener starts the bidding with a limit bid, such as 1NT, he clearly describes the strength and shape of his hand. As we saw in the previous chapter, the responder now plays the role of captain and can often decide quickly on the final contract. The responder can think about the final contract through considering the following questions:
What is the best zone for our partnership?
• Do we have 25 or more combined points? If so, the partnership belongs in a game contract
• Do we have fewer than 25 combined points? If so, the partnership belongs in a partscore contract
What is the best denomination for our partnership?
• Do we have an eight-card or longer fit? If we are going to play in the game zone, we want to play in 4 or 4 if we have an eight-card or longer major suit fit, otherwise, in 3NT. If we are going to play in the partscore zone, we want to play in any eight-card or longer fit, otherwise, in no trumps.
Remember the assumption that if you are in the game zone you would rather play in 3NT than climb all the way to 5
or 5
when you have a minor suit fit. On the other hand, if you have decided on a partscore, you may decide to play in a minor suit since you are not going for a bonus level and can play safely at a low level.
Let’s see how the responder, the captain, can apply these principles when his partner opens the bidding 1NT. The simplest approach is to divide the responder’s hand into three categories, according to his point count:
• 13 or more points (the responder wants to be in a game contract)
• 10 or fewer points (the responder wants to be in a partscore contract)
• 11 or 12 points (the responder is not sure whether to be in a game or partscore contract)
Responding with 13 or more points
With 13 or more points, the responder knows the partnership should be in the game zone since there are at least 25 combined points. The only decision is the denomination: no trumps or a major suit (occasionally a minor suit). Let’s look at some examples. Your partner opens the bidding 1NT. What would you respond with each of the following hands?
With the first hand, you have a balanced hand and know that your partner also has a balanced hand. Since there are enough combined points for a game, bid 3NT. Even if there is an eight-card or longer fit in diamonds, it will be much easier to take nine tricks in no trumps than eleven tricks in diamonds.
In the second example, you also want to be in a game contract, but would prefer to play with spades as trumps. Since your partner’s hand is balanced, you know he has at least two spades to go along with your six-card suit. Make the decision to play in a major suit game contract and bid 4.
In the last example, we have interchanged the spades and clubs. This makes a difference. This time, even though you are certain to have at least an eight-card club fit, you should prefer to play in 3NT rather than 5. Respond 3NT.
In all three examples, you, as responder, were immediately able to make a decision on the final contract. You jumped directly to a game contract. Since you are the captain, the opener is expected to pass your response in this situation. A bid which your partner is expected to pass is called a sign-off bid.
Responding with 0–10 points
We are going to look next at the lower end of the scale for the responder, 0–10 points, because, as with the upper range of 13 or more points, the responder can make a decision without any more information from his partner. Even when the responder has as many as 10 points, the partnership has at most 24 combined points (14 + 10 = 24) and the decision, should be to play in a partscore contract. Having made that decision the responder need only decide on the denomination. Let’s look at some examples when your partner opens 1NT:
In the first hand, with only 4 HCPs and a balanced hand, you are satisfied with the contract and would decide to pass. There is no obvious eight-card or longer fit and you do not want to get any higher on the bidding steps trying to find one. By passing, the partnership stops in the partscore of 1NT. You may not make the seven tricks you need for your contract – after all, the opponents have more points than you do, so may well take more tricks! – but there is nothing you can do about that. 1NT is your side’s safest resting place at this point in time.
The next hand has the same number of high card points, but you would rather play in hearts than in no trumps since you know there are at least eight hearts in the combined hands. The decision you would make is to bid 2, the cheapest available partscore in hearts.
In the third hand, we have exchanged the hearts and diamonds. Since you are not going for a game bonus, there is no need to prefer to play in a no-trump contract rather than a minor suit. Bid 2. Remember, when you know you have an eight-card fit and are in the partscore zone, you want to play with that suit as trumps. It is only when you are in the game zone that you prefer playing in no trumps to clubs or diamonds.
As with the jumps to game when responder has 13 or more points, the response of 2 in the second example and 2 in the third example are both sign-off bids and the opener is expected to pass. (If you pass 1NT, as in the first example, the opener will have no choice!) The opening 1NT bidder has described his hand so well with the first bid that, when the responder decides on a final contract at the game zone or a partscore, the opener has nothing further to add.
The responses with 11–12 points were left until last because, when the responder is in this range, he cannot make a decision without getting more information from the opener. As we saw in the last chapter, if the responder has 12 points, this is what happens when he does his addition:
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Partner’s points: |
12 |
or |
13 |
or |
14 |
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Responder’s points: |
12 |
12 |
12 |
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Combined total: |
24 |
or |
25 |
or |
26 |
If the opener has minimum values for the 1NT opening bid, only 12 points, there is not enough combined strength for the game zone and the partnership should stop in partscore. If the opener is at the top of his range, 13 or 14 points, there is enough combined strength to expect to make a game. Although the responder could just make his best guess, there is a way in which he can ask his partner for more information about his strength. He does this by bidding 2NT. He moves toward a game without actually bidding it.
The response of 2NT differs from the response of a suit at the two level or a jump to the game level. It is inviting the opener either to bid again or to pass. Not surprisingly it is called an invitational bid. If the opener has a maximum hand of 13 or 14 points, he accepts the invitation by bidding 3NT. If he has only the minimum of his range, 12 points, he declines the invitation by passing and the partnership stops in the partscore of 2NT.
Since the opener will usually accept the 2NT invitation if he has 13 points, the responder may want to be a little more cautious when he has only 11 points. This is what his addition tells him:
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Partner’s points: |
12 |
or |
13 |
or |
14 |
|
Responder’s points: |
11 |
11 |
11 |
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Combined total: |
23 |
or |
24 |
or |
25 |
Only when the opening bidder has 14 points will the partnership have the required 25 combined points. If the responder invites by bidding 2NT with 11 points and the opener accepts by bidding 3NT with 13 points, the partnership is at the game zone with only 24 combined points. However, the limited language of bidding does not allow you to be 100 per cent accurate and it is usually best to be aggressive when you have 11 points and offer the invitation.
Deciding the denomination
While the responder is usually in a position to determine the denomination after hearing the 1NT opening bid, there are times when he needs more information from the opener.
A typical situation of this type is when the responder knows that the partnership belongs in the game zone but is not sure whether the final contract should be a game in a major suit or in no trumps. This occurs when responder has a five-card major suit and 13 or more points. He knows that he would like to play in the major suit if there is an eight-card or longer fit, but is not sure if there is one. Consider this hand:
The responder has enough strength to want to play in a game. He could guess about whether it should be in spades or no trumps or he can ask the opener for more information. To do this he bids 3. This is a forcing bid. The opener is not expected to pass but must bid again. He has two choices, either 4 or 3NT. If he has only two spades, he chooses 3NT. On the other hand, if he has three or more spades, he chooses 4.
Sometimes the responder has only four hearts or four spades and would like to know whether the opener also has four cards in the major suit. In such situations, the Stayman Convention can be used. This is a special response that is discussed in Chapter 13.
Over Zia’s shoulder
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Audrey: |
Zia’s partner has opened 1NT and he holds this hand: |
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Our eyes are fixed on the great diamond suit. It seems natural to bid them, but no, Zia bids 3NT. Why? |
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Zia: |
It shouldn’t seem that natural to bid the diamonds. My partner has opened 1NT promising 12–14 points. There are only 11 high card points in my hand but we have to consider the length in diamonds. I know the diamonds are tempting, and I hope to take five or six tricks with them when I bid 3NT. I would rather risk taking nine tricks in no trumps than moving all the way to 5 |
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Audrey: |
The next hand is the kind we would like to pass automatically. |
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Zia: |
It is important to think beyond how many points you have in a hand, and consider what you are trying to do – that is, to take the number of tricks for which your partnership contracted. After my partner opens 1NT, I know he is going to have difficulty taking seven tricks in no trumps. My hand offers no tricks for him. On the other hand, if spades are trumps, there may be four tricks from this hand. After the opponents take the first heart trick my small spades are as big as an ace. With this kind of hand, put the final contract where you know it should be, in a partscore in spades. Bid 2 |
Summary
When your partner opens the bidding 1NT, you are the responder, or captain. Use the following guidelines to help you decide what to bid:
Responding to an opening bid of 1NT
With 0–10 points, stop in the partscore zone:
• Bid 2, 2, or 2 with a six-card suit, or with a five-card suit and an unbalanced hand. You may wonder why you can’t bid 2 also with a weak hand and a long club suit. Be patient, please, until Chapter 13 when all will be revealed!
• Otherwise, pass
With 11–12 points, invite your partner to the game zone:
• Bid 2NT
With 13 or more points, bid to the game zone:
• Bid 4 or 4 with a six-card or longer suit
• Bid 3 or 3 with a five-card suit (asking your partner for more information)
• Otherwise, bid 3NT
Commonly asked questions
Q When your partner opens the bidding 1NT, do you ever want to bid higher than the game zone?
A Since you need about 33 or more combined points for the slam zone, you would need 19 or more points to consider bidding a slam. With less, you should stop safely in the game zone. We will take a look at bidding slams in Chapter 15.
Q Since 2, 2 and 2 are all sign-off bids in response to a 1NT opening bid, why isn’t 2 included in the list?
A Although some players use 2 as a sign-off bid, most players have adopted the Stayman Convention, which reserves the 2 response to have a special meaning. This bid is discussed in Chapter 16, the chapter on conventions.
Q What is the message given by my partner’s opening bid? Do I have to say something?
A All the opening bids at the one level are amber, invitational. You do not have to bid when you know the partnership belongs in a partscore. If your partner were unwilling that you should pass in response to his opening bid, he would start the auction with a forcing bid. We will be discussing forcing opening bids in Chapter 15.
