Sunday, September 18, 2005 7:27 PM
2 ♣ - Interference
PITBULLS:
You know you love interfering with an opponents forcing 1♣ auction. What if the tables are
turned and they interfere with your
strong 2♣ auction ? I dislike opening at the one level with huge hands where
game is extremely likely. Strong two suiters are opened at the one level with many players. I loathe that practice , so we must come
up with some “fixes” as 2♣ does pre-empt the auction. if we have a free ride , a clever use of relays allows the strong 2♣ to show
her two suits at a relatively low level.
What
if the opponents interfere in the sandwich position by bidding directly or
raising his partner & you have a two
suiter as your 2♣ opener ? Since our relay system is off in competition, we need another fix. Rodwell has come up with an
idea that he uses with his precision 1♣ openers that are two suiters. The
“double pass inversion” he calls it. As usual, from Meckwell it is quite logical. A double by the 2 club bidder should show the
NT hands or 3 suiters . A bid
obviously shows the one suited hands
and NT is left as natural based on
playability. What about the pass by opener ? This is the inversion which commands partner
to double. Partner may only break this
relay only with an exceptional hand. This action is used as a relay as now when the 2♣ bidder
bids a suit , he shows a two suiter DONT
style . Who would have thought of a pass
as a relay to a double ? This “pass and pull” concept applies at all
levels except the slam level where normal pass & pull understandings apply.
In fact with this “pass & pull” understanding and the rank order of suits
you can identify your two suiter exactly.
♠AKQxx ♥ AKQxxx ♦ x ♣ x 2♣-3♦-P-4♦ P*-P-X-P 4♥
The pass is a relay to a double and now the 4♥ bid shows a two suiter. Partner has ♠xxxx ♥x ♦xx ♣AJ10xxx and bids 4♠ . 4NT brings one Ace and 6♠ is attained.
♠AKQxx ♥Ax ♦x ♣ AKQJx 2♣-3♦-P-4♦ P*-P-X-P 4♠ Must be a black two suiter as we bypassed hearts.
♠x ♥Ax ♦AKJ10x
♣AKQxx 2♣-2♥-P-3♥ P*-P-X-P 4♣ Must be the minors as spades were not
mentioned.
A
double shows a NT hand or the other 3 suits. What if you ( 2♣ opener) have a penalty double of their suit ? Simple
, you pass and partner is forced to double
and all pass . This may expose a psyche or very
bad bidders.
♠AKQJ ♥x ♦Kx ♣ AK109xx 2♣-P-2♦-3♠ P*-P-X-P P-P
Jump
Q bids or splinters should not
exist in competitive auctions over 2♣ as the psychers are out in full force.
Generally when you bid their suit
as a jump it is natural . Why double and allow them to
describe their escape suit ? A pass
works just fine as a penalty double.
A double and then bidding their suit can be a Q bid with this understanding.
We
have been discussing what opener’s bids , doubles & passes mean. What about
responder with interference from the opponents ? What is a direct double or by responder when they interfere ? I think
showing controls when we do not have a suit established is silly. Not so with interference though. Since they are jamming
you , knowing how many controls responder has is very valuable information.
Tom & I play that a double or XX is the 1st
step showing one control or 4 . The pass shows zero or 3 controls and a suit bid is 2 controls. BJ and I play a double as penalty then bidding shows controls with step responses. Zero is the
1st step and then 1 , 2, 3, 4 up the line.
Here is a hand from Victoria where Tom & I
reached 6NT . Tom opened 2♣ with ♠AKQ
♥AKQJ ♦AK9x ♣xx and my RHO doubled . I held ♠xxxx ♥xxx ♦Jxxx ♣AK
so playing Tom’s system , I pass
showing zero or 3 controls. Tom
bids 2♦ which is an impossible bid in our system as diamonds
are taken out of the 2♣ structure. I leap to 3NT to show the 3 controls with my
balanced hand. Tom bids 6NT and we have 12 tricks for +1440 .
Counter
defenses are needed when they enter your 2♣ auction. Forcing passes come with the territory of interference and 2♣
openers. Pass & pull at the slam level is the strongest auction available.
The normal forcing pass “pecking order” of course applies. Discuss with partner.