Sunday, June 05, 2005 9:52 AM

The Club Suit & Relays

PITBULLS:

The club suit creates problems with relays as it is the relay suit. After a club opener and a major response we still want to preserve the jump to game in the major as distributional. The flat hands with 4 card major support are shown with a two NT rebid after a club opener only. This is our “work around” as we do not have the luxury of a 3♣ jump shift bid being a relay to 3♦. After a club opener and a 2NT rebid , 3♣ is still a relay to 3♦ as these are “check back” bids also. A relay and a bid of 3NT is a mild slam try in partners minor ( i.e. clubs) in this instance. If we have a strong major/club hand as responder we must force the auction to 4NT as the relay gets in the way. After a club opener and a 1NT or 2NT response , club bids are natural bidding as opposed to relays.

Clubs also prove difficult when they are the secondary suit to a major opening. Once partner responds 1NT to a spade opener , the club “problem” is handled by the BART convention. With a weak 5-5 in the blacks , Tom and I open 1♣ to circumvent some problems. After a heart opener , a forcing NT and a club rebid we have the “idle” two spade bid to assist us with strong club hands.

What about the invitational 2NT bid by responder after a heart opener and a club rebid by opener ? Gittleman recommends combining the relay concept with these kind of hands. In other words , a direct bid is weak and a relay to diamonds shows the strong club hands or weak 6-4’s . This is a good work around as any. xx AJxxx x AJ10xx 1♥-P-1NT-P 2♣-P-2NT-P 3♣ ends the auction. A strong 5-5 xx AKxxx x AKxxx is shown by 1♥-P-1NT-P 2♣-P-2NT-P 3♦-P-3♥-P 3NT . A 3♦ bid is a relay to 3♥ and 3NT completes the picture. The weak 6-4 can be shown in a similar manner as you can pass the relay. x AJ10xxx xx AJ10x 1♥-P-1NT-P 2♣-P-2NT-P 3♦-P-3♥-P P . With the strong 6-4 with hearts , you do not need the relay as 3♥ is strong anyway. x AKxxxx xx AKxx 1♥-P-1NT-P 2♣-P-2NT-P 3♥-P-4♥-P

The relay is a powerful tool in Bridge. Experts use them to fix standard bidding shortcomings. The above discussion where the club suit is involved addresses the shortcomings of the relay itself. Relays generally fit well with standard bidding and present very minor complications when clubs are involved. A relay of 3♦ to 3♥ fixes the club problem nicely.