Wednesday, August 25, 2004 7:21 AM

Lebensohl vrs Rubensohl

PITBULLS:

Lebensohl over a strong NT was invented so that you can compete better and show game forcing hands immediately. The bad part of Lebensohl is that you must go thru a relay to find out partners real suit and if RHO competes you might never know that you have a fantastic fit. In today’s game the opponents always seem to use their toy to disturb your NT and RHO is getting into the act more and more to re-preempt the auction. Jeff Reubens from the Bridge World thought it was a better idea for partner to announce the suit directly and your strength later with a D.S.I.P. double or a Q bid or by bidding again.

1NT-2♠-3♦-4♠ ? xxx AQxx AKxx Kx it might be a good idea to bid 5♥ . Partners hand is x Kxxxxx xx Q10xx and playing Lebensohl he would have bid 2NT and with the same 4♠ bid by RHO the partnership is poorly placed. Neither side is aware of the huge heart fit !!

Competing for a partial is important as double partial swings are expensive. You hold xxx Ax Axxx AKxx and they overcall 2♠ after your 1NT bid. Partner bids 2NT Lebensohl and they bid 3♠ . You guess that partner was competing in hearts so you pass. Wrong , partner had diamonds . x xxx QJ10xxx Qxx and you are on a hook for 5♦ and you sell out for 3♠ unaware of your huge diamond fit.

The device Rubens suggests to prevent RHO from jamming you is to replace the Lebensohl structure with a transfer structure. This allows the NT opener to know the suit immediately and by the simple act of accepting the transfer he can be dropped by partner if his intention was just to compete. If partner’s intention was to force , he can bid game or Q bid or bid Blackwood or whatever. The brilliant part of this structure is that you can define meanings to transferring into their suit.

Lets assume a 2♠ overcall first . He uses 2NT as the first transfer which signifies clubs , clubs shows diamonds and diamonds show hearts. Pretty simple ! Bidding 3♥ ( transferring into their suit) is Stayman without a stopper. A direct 3♠ bid is a transfer to 3NT without a stopper & a direct 3NT shows a stopper. Next lets discuss a 2♥ overcall over your strong NT. A 2♠ bid is natural and non forcing . A 2NT bid is a transfer to clubs , a 3♣ bid a transfer to diamonds . 3♦ ( transferring into their suit ) is available for something you want to invent and Rubens suggests Stayman without a stopper in their suit. If the NT opener does not have a 4 card spade suit or a heart stopper he just accepts the transfer otherwise he bids 3NT. A 3♥ or 3♠ both shows spades and forcing so you can define one of them to show a stopper in their suit. A jump to 3NT directly would show no stopper but a pretty rare bid.

If the opponents overcall a natural minor , this treatment is as follows. Two level bids are natural and non forcing. If they overcall 2♦ , 2NT shows clubs as usual , but 3♣ is Stayman for both majors and asks if partner has a diamond stopper. If no major or stopper , just accept the transfer ! You can scramble from there and maybe find a 4-4 club fit or a Moysean. Jumps in the majors are just natural and forcing.

With a 2♣ ( natural or not ) overcall , a double is Stayman without a club stopper & two level bids are natural and competitive. A jump to 3♦, 3♥ & 3♠ are natural and forcing. A 2NT bid ( transferring to their suit ) can be defined as Stayman with a stopper .

With so many toys being bid over 1NT with modern bidding , Rubensohl has a distinct advantage to announce your suit early as the bidding may take off with RHO getting into the act . He knows partner’s suit(s) but you do not know your partner’s suit with the Lebensohl 2NT . There is a tactical advantage knowing that you have a fit immediately so you are not jammed out of the auction.

The above is a very very basic overview of Rubensohl . There are many versions of Rubensohl around. Tom Gandolfo and I play the Kantar version but even that gets modified.