Thursday, February 15, 2007 6:48 PM

Hand Evaluation - XYZ ( Breaking the Relay )

PITBULLS:

When you play 2-way NMF , you do not break the relay. This is because you have tightly defined your hand with a 1NT bid & partner just has an invitational hand. Not so playing XYZ, as your one level rebid can be a wide variety of hands. Like breaking all relays , you must decide is it better that I put partner into the picture by describing my hand or accept the relay allowing her show her invitational values ? Usually when you have a slam going hand with a nice suit , it is best to let partner in on the secret early. Sometimes a strong jump shift by opener is not practical so a 3^rd bid at the one level can be a very good hand.

Here is an example hand. ♠J10xx ♥Kx ♦A ♣AKQJxx , you open 1♣ & partner responds 1♦. You bid 1♠ so 3 bids have been made at the one level so XYZ is triggered. Partner bids 2♣ so do you accept the relay to 2♦ ? No , you bid 3♣ which should show a strong 6-4 with a good club suit . This is exactly what you hold. You make life easy for partner as she has ♠Ax ♥Jxx ♦KQJ10x ♣10xx . She raises clubs so you get to your +1370.

When you open a weak 6-5 or 5-5 in the blacks it is best not to accept the invitational relay. ♠Axxxx ♥xx ♦x ♣AKxxx

1♣-P-1♥-P

1♠-P-2♣-P bid 2♠ to describe your weak 5-5 rather than allow partner to describe her invitational hand. Do not forget what the 2♦ relay means in XYZ . You are “puppeting” to allow partner to describe the nature of her invitational hand. If you feel that describing your hand is more important , break the relay.

Most of the time , it is best to accept the relay. Partner may be making an invitational raise of one of your suits or maybe introducing a 4^th suit. Have a good reason to break the relay . Do not forget that playing XYZ natural jumps or jump preferences by partner are slam invites a la Goren multi years ago. 2♦ is a game force with no clear cut direction or distribution. The 2♦ bid shows HCP’s rather than a fit or distribution.