Friday, November 03, 2006 11:34 PM

Slam Try - Partners Minor

PITBULLS:

Slam tries in partners minor have been traditional awkward after partner rebids 2NT. The Wolffe relay was designed to correct that. If responder makes a relay and then just bids 3NT thereafter , it begs the question why did she do that ? Why did she just not bid 3NT directly ? The answer is that she is making a mild slam try in partner’s minor and she did not go past 3NT. This bid is the cornerstone of the Wolfe relay. This is why you can not use the Wolffe relay as a “new minor forcing” to see if partner has 3 card support for your major. No , no & again no. If you want to find your 5-3 major fit , rebid your 5 card major. Partner will raise you with 3. With 6 card majors and no slam interest , why are you rebidding it ? Just bid 4 of the major !!! With slam interest and a broken suit , relay first and bid your major again. With a solid major , just keep bidding it with no relay and partner will get the message.

Here is a nice auction by Wolffe & Hammon , playing the Wolffe relay of course. 1♣ by Hammon and a spade response by Wolffe. Hammon rebids 2NT with ♠AK ♥QJ10 ♦Ax ♣KJ987x . Wolffe with ♠J10xxx ♥Kx ♣Jx ♣AQ10x bids 3♣ which is a relay to 3♦. He now bids 3NT and partner with the 6 card club suit takes control and they get to 6♣. 4♣ is , of course , KCB for clubs by the opener.

Here is another auction. ♠Axx ♥AJx ♦AQxxx ♣Kx opposite ♠xx ♥KQxx ♦Kxxxx ♣Qx and partner opens 1♦. With a forcing to game hand , we bypass the 4 card major and invert. Not so with an invitational hand though, we bid our 4 card major first. After 1♥ by you , partner rebids 2NT. Your duty is to make a mild slam try in diamonds but you do not want heart preference. You make a Wolffe relay and bid 3NT . What could be simpler ??