Light Yellow an Improvement to 5-Card Majors
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Light Yellow An improvement to 5-card majors What follows is structured approach to improving 5- card majors. There are 5 steps, each of which can be learnt and played until the partnership is ready to move on. The end result is a style of system that merges 5- card majors with modern 2/1 pus some of the latest ideas on minor suit openings. In particular there is a set of transfer responses to a 1♣ opening. Opening 1♣ as natural or balanced coupled with 4 card transfers is regarded as a major innovation. Bran Senior, an English international, has described this new style of bidding as one of he most important advances in bidding over the last few years. In the Light Yellow system an opening of 1♦ promises a 5 card suit. Moreover the system has been devised to be very consistent and free of exceptions. An expert reader may wish to jump in at page 6. Advantages are summarised on page 7. Finally I would like to play tribute to my long term bridge partner John Bradbrook. He humoured me by playing earlier versions of Light Yellow. Index Improvementsto5CardMajors3 Preface 3 5cardMajors3 Step1,TheXYZConvention 3 Modern2/14 Adding2/1GameForce4 LightYellowBasic5 Background5 LightYellowLite6 LightYellowTransferResponsesto1C6 LightYellowLite(LYL)6 LightYellowExtended7 LightYellowExtended(LYE)7 Opener’s strong rebids after the basic responses of 1♦/1♥/1♠ 7 ResponderisSlamish7 LightYellowBenefits&InCompetition8 Philosophyincompetition8 Examples 8 FullLightYellowBenefitsComparedToStandard8 Optional 9 VariableNoTrump9 AnytimeStep,TheOneBelowConvention9 Introduction 10 UsingRandomHands 10 Whatdoesbalancedmean?10 Improving5-cardmajorspage1010 Appendix:FurtherBackground11 TransferResponsesto1♣11 AppendixTheXYZConvention 13 Background 13 TheXYZConvention 13 DoesPlayingWalsh&XYZCreateAnyProblems?13 SomeExamples 15 References 16 LightYellowInSteps 17 BiddingPracticeHandsForLightYellow18 Follows 198 random hands, each annotated with the suggested opening bid Improvements to 5 Card Majors Preface This document is not written in the usual bridge style. Instead it is written in a teaching style aimed at those that want to understand, rather than learn something by rote. It includes references. Moreover it is not written by a bridge professional, but by an enthusiast. However, the author does have relevant professional credentials in the area of university faculty, going up learning curves, innovation and publishing his work. These include being at one time an acknowledged expert on computer memories, first generation silicon chip design, the application of microprocessors and automatic test equipment. In later life he was chairman of the Research & Development Society, a cross discipline group that meets in The Royal Society building. In summary the author has a logical mind and is an experienced communicator. Light Yellow Lite Light Yellow stems from my wife calling my first attempt at developing something new Phil’s Incredibly Simple System. Later refinements caused the simple to be changed to subtle. Now, several iterations and years later I am starting with a stepped learning approach, rather than a cliff. Basically I wanted something that is as easy as possible to pickup, so that it will appeal to club level players already fluent in 5 card majors. And in my experience this requires: • Minimal departure from standard bidding • Minimal exceptions • Getting started with as little new to learn as possible • Secondary sources such as the web and books, see refs. Light Yellow Lite, is as simple as possible. You can transition into the full Light Yellow by adding new bids/sets of sequences, one by one. The suggested way forward is to add the new bids when an inquest shows that the partnership would have done better had a particular bid been available at the table. 5 card Majors 5 Card majors is now the dominant system in the USA and world wide. This is the system where most of the innovation occurs, the best ideas being published. This is a very important issue, as without such a resource almost all partnerships will flounder. Step 1, The XYZ Convention After an opening bid of 1NT major suit fit finding methods are well developed and well known. But after a 1NT rebid it is very easy to miss-out on 3-5 fits, or 4-4 in a bypassed major. Checkback Stayman was the first convention to tackle this inherent problem. Two-way checkback came later, and XYZ increases the applicability two fold. • Major suit fit finding is enhanced • After a 1NT response a weak responder can confidently plan to make a WTO to a long suit: opener will know to pass. • Responder is able to show invitational strength/game force hands with an economical 2♣/2♦ For more detail see the section on XYZ in the Appendix. Summary of XYZ Adding XYZ will improve major suit fit finding as well as getting to the right level, Note: adopting the XYZ convention will be of benefit even with standard 5 card majors. In a sense it is an any time optional. It gets used a lot, much more so than most conventions. The reason for suggesting that it be learnt ahead of Light Yellow is that so it does not get left behind! Improving 5-card majors page 3 Adding 2/1 Game Force Background 2/1 is rapidly becoming the system of choice for tournament players in the USA, and authoritative sources, say it’s easier to teach. The fundamentals, assuming that responders RHO passes, is that any genuine 2/1 response, promises a game going hand. One of the beauties of 2/1 is that partner is prevented from making a 2/1 that gets in the way of opener’s rebid being a true statement of hand shape, Playing standard they can make a 2/1 with 10-12 points and cause a big nuisance to opener. The classic situation is that opener is two suited in the black suits and responder bids 2♦ or2♥! Opener has to rebid 2♠ and partner with 2 spades has no idea whether or not to support them. The 2/1 system has been around for many decades, and whilst the core is solid, development around the edges has led to several flavours. This includes playing a jump shift to the 2 level, as preemptive/strong; the decision is up to the partnership. A minority of 2/1 players use a variation called semi-forcing. Basically a balanced and weak 1M opener can choose to pass a 1NT response. I initially thought it a very attractive option. But after looking at many random hands I changed my mind. The suggestion is to adopt 2/1 and delay 1♣ forcing with transfers. But starting the two together is an option. Side effects. A 1NT response to 1M is forcing for 1 round. It’s alertable because it could conceal 12 points. • After 1M 1NT an opener with a 5332 hand outside the NT range must respond 2m in their lowest ranking 3 card minor. If this looks scary, experience shows its infrequent and effective. • Aresponseof1NTto1♦ is not forcing. However 1♦ 2♣, is a 2/1, and is forcing to game Summary of 2/1 A 2/1 response is as infrequent as partner having a game forcing hand. But when it happens you have a game forcing auction starting at a low level; a big bonus, especially if a slam is a possibility! And normally there is a useful negative inference combined with the advantages that stem from a 1NT responder getting a second bid. When starting to play 2/1 it is well worthwhile reading the literature, see references. Modern 2/1 2/1 has now been around sufficiently long for some of its shortcomings to be identified and solutions suggested. Mathew Thomson, an Australian international, published in 2016 what seems to me to be a better way of making 2/1 responses. Here are the basic ideas: 1♠ 2♥ Guarantees a 5 card suit in a GF hand 1M 2♦ Also guarantees a 5 card suit & GF 1M 2♣ Is a 3 way bid. The hand type will be revealed on the rebid. It could be: 5 clubs & GF/GF, Balanced 4432/4333, GF & Fit .(The latter replaces Jacoby) When One Below is played 2NT can be recycled to show a limit raise combined with 3 trumps. One Below shows 4. Summary Modern 2/1 makes its easy to show 5 card suits or a balanced hand, & Jacoby goes away. Note: It is strongly recommended to start with this modern version of 2/1 bids. It saves some unlearning time and will better serve a new partner, Improving 5-card majors page 4 Light Yellow Basic Background Light Yellow is the name I used for my initial better balanced bidding system. This version can be learnt in 6 documented steps. See page 16 for a summary. If outside the 1NT range, standard methods are to open 1M with any 5332 with a 5 card major . Hand statistics automatically leads to an opening of 1m often being made with a balanced hand, usually in the weak/12-14 range. In Light Yellow balanced hands outside the 1NT range are opened 1♣. Then: • A1♣ opening is a 2 way bid. When asked it is described as Natural or Balanced. ▪ Balanced hands outnumber natural hands 60:40, and balanced is usually 12-14 • In consequence a 1♦ opening, just like a 1M opening, promises a 5 card suit ▪ The exception is a 4441 shape hand with short clubs and both majors Opening 1♦ . Knowing thatopener has a suit at least 5 long is wonderful!Responses are usually 1M, but if responder is without a 4 card major they usually have 3 or more diamonds, and can raise. In competition responder can often raise aggressively. When holding a 5332 hand with long diamonds it can be opened 1♦ or 1♣; the partnership should decide which.