Tuesday, July 04, 2006 10:35 PM

Smolen - Concepts

PITBULLS:

As we have played Stayman forever , getting our minds around the Smolen concepts needs some keys. The most obvious start is that the concept comes into play when there has been a 2♦ or 2♥ response to Stayman . Mostly the theory revolves around the 2♦ response to a Stayman inquiry. OK if you played “standard Smolen” you would jump to 3♠ to preserve the transfer to the 5 card heart suit . With two level Stayman , the same thing but you bid 2♠ to show the 5 hearts & 4 spades. The huge difference is that two level Smolen demands a relay. This relay is needed because the traditional meaning of this sequence is non forcing . This sequence can be any number of hands , right up to a grand slam try so the relay forces the auction to continue.

We also need a relay to 2NT to sort out the sequences. Now , after a major suit bid or a jump after the 2NT relay , we are still describing the Smolen distributions. A 3♠ bid shows the 4-5-3-1 distribution , a 3NT bid shows the 5-4-2-2 distribution , a 3♥ bid show a 4-6 hand and game invitational. Jumps to the 4 level in a minor is the 5-4-3-1 fragment and a slam try. These are the Smolen heart hands.

After the 2NT relay with the above sequence if we bid a minor instead of a major , 6-4 hands are described holding any 4 card major . The next step up asks for the 4 card major and your 6-4 is described completely. We need this sequence because 3♣ would normally be re-Stayman but the 2NT relay negates that.

Now for the other Smolen distributions with spades as the anchor suit. After the 2♦ response , in standard Smolen , you would leap to 3♥ to preserve the transfer and show 5 spades. No different with 2 level Smolen but you bid 2♥. This forces a relay to 2♠ ( accepts transfer) because there is a dual use for the bid & the relay is needed to continue & sort it out. After the 2♠ relay, if you bid 3♠ it is the same as the other sequences 5-4-3-1 and 3NT is 5-4-2-2 . The jumps to 4 is the fragment slam try 5-4-3-1 . However , the relay is needed because any other bid than the above shows all the invitational 5-5’s with spades as an anchor suit .

If we did not have dual meanings for sequences, there would be no need for a relay as the Smolen hands pretty well describe themselves by the two level. When you complicate things , you need relays to sort things out. Both Smolen sequences demand a relay.