Keeping Up With Conventions Other Conventional Calls BY DAVID LINDOP OTHER CONV. CALLS: New Minor Forcing: 2-Way NMF This series of articles looks at how to fill Weak Jump Shifts not in Comp. 4th Suit Forcing: 1Round Game out the standard convention card. he right-hand, or front, side Diagram 1 - The Convention Card for Other Conventional Calls of the convention card is mainly designed to cover what’s the best game contract? You game level or whether it only forces T haven’t yet found an eight-card major opener to make one more bid. The constructive bidding ... opening suit fit. Although you prefer clubs to most popular approach is to use bids and responses. Previous articles hearts, you don’t want to support that fourth suit as forcing to game. If have covered the auction after open- suit since partner’s second suit may that’s the agreement, you would ing bids at the one and two level. All be only four cards in length. check the appropriate box: that is left is the area for OTHER It looks as though notrump may be 4th Suit Forcing: 1 Round Game √ CONV(entional) CALLS. This is the best spot. However, a jump to shown in Diagram 1. 3NT with three low diamonds is a If you do agree to play fourth suit If your partnership uses very little unilateral. Partner may be short forcing to game, be z K 9 7 5 2 standard methods, you can ignore in diamonds ... and the opponents are careful when you y 3 this section. Everything is marked in quite likely to lead that suit after this hold a hand like this x Q J 10 4 3 red, indicating that anything you put auction. If opener does have strength as South and the w 6 2 in this section is alertable. in diamonds, a notrump contract will auction begins: For some partnerships, however, likely play better from partner’s side, WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH with the opening lead coming up to this is the most crowded section of 1y Pass 1z partner’s high cards. w the card. It’s where you put anything Pass 2 Pass ? A popular solution to this that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere Much as you’d like to, you can’t dilemma is for responder to bid the x else. There’s a myriad of possibili- bid 2 as opener will keep bidding fourth suit in this situation, 2x. Even until game is reached. What should ties, most of which are well outside partnerships playing standard you bid? Tough call. 2NT would be the scope of this article. However, methods would treat 2x here as an overbid, showing an invitational there are also some popular prac- forcing ... a new suit by a responder hand of about 11-12 points. If this tices that you might want to consid- who didn’t pass initially. If you bid hand were given to a panel, you’d er. If so, read on. 2x with this hand, however, it is get votes for pass, 2y, and 2z. Fourth Suit conventional and must be alerted. You’ll just have to guess ... perhaps The reason is that you are using it as while wishing you’d never agreed to Suppose you pick z A Q 8 6 2 a totally artificial call, saying nothing play fourth suit forcing to game! up this hand and y A 5 about your holding in diamonds. You partner opens the x 7 5 4 might have three low cards, as on this Exceptions w bidding 1y. Your K 6 3 hand, or you could have no diamonds Suppose you have z Q 7 5 2 first bid presents no problem. You at all. This useful convention is this hand as South y J 2 respond 1z, looking for a fit in that referred to as fourth suit forcing. and the auction x A Q J 4 3 suit. Partner rebids 2w. Now you w 6 2 One Round or Game begins: are faced with a challenge. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH With 13 high-card points plus 1 Before marking this convention on 1w Pass 1x length point for the five-card suit, the card, the partnership must Pass 1y Pass ? you want to go for a game bonus decide whether a bid of the fourth Oops! 1z would be fourth suit opposite partner’s opening bid. But suit commits the partnership to the but you don’t want to commit the partnership to game with only 10 New Minor Forcing: √ If the answer is 2z, you are playing high-card points plus 1 length point. strong jump shifts and don’t need to On the other hand, you don’t want There are many variations of this mark anything on the card. It’s to miss an eight-card major suit fit convention. The line beside the box standard practice. by bypassing the spades. can be used to indicate whether the If you would respond 1z, you still Even partnerships that play bid of a new minor suit is forcing to don’t need to mark anything. A new fourth suit forcing to game general- game (GF) or only invitational suit response is forcing and you are ly make an exception in this particu- (INV). Some partnerships prefer to presumably planning to show the lar sequence. A fourth suit bid of 1z always treat 2w as the forcing bid extra strength and slam interest later. is only forcing for one round. (some after a 1NT rebid, whether or not the However, you are obviously wasting partnerships use a jump to 2z here opening bid was 1w. This is usually the 2z response. You don’t use it to as the artificial game-forcing call.) referred to as checkback Stayman. show a very strong hand. Others prefer to treat 2x as artificial Another exception arises when Since strong jump shifts by and game forcing, and 2w as artificial responder has passed initially. With responder are a rarity anyway, some but forcing for only one round. This fewer than 13 points, it’s unlikely partnerships prefer to use them to is referred to as two-way new minor responder will need fourth suit as an show weak hands. You always seem forcing ... or 2–Way NMF in the artificial game forcing bid. So, some to get lots of those! For example, bridge jargon on the convention card. partnerships treat fourth suit as a nat- after an opening bid z K J 10 9 5 2 ural, non-forcing bid in this situa- Whatever the partnership agree- of 1w, they might y 3 ment, you’ll still face challenges. tion; others prefer to keep fourth suit respond 2z with a x 9 4 2 Suppose you agree to new minor as forcing, but only for one round. hand like this: w J 6 4 forcing and are z K 9 7 5 2 This is referred to as a weak dealt one of our y 3 New Minor Forcing jump shift and you would check the earlier hands. The x Q J 10 4 3 Fourth suit isn’t appropriate box on the card if this is z A Q 8 6 2 auction begins: w 6 2 always available to y A 5 your agreement: responder as a forc- x 7 5 4 WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH w z Weak Jump Shifts not in Comp. √ ing bid. Let’s return w K 6 3 1 Pass 1 to an earlier hand and suppose the Pass 1NT Pass ? The “not in Comp.” means not in auction starts like this: You can no longer bid 2x since competition ... that is, after a takeout that would now be forcing. Instead, WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH double or an overcall of opener’s bid. 1w Pass 1z you’ll have to decide between pass- The meaning of responder’s calls z Pass 1NT Pass ? ing or rebidding 2 , hoping to find after a takeout double is covered in a reasonable spot. Maybe it’s time to a different section of the card and You want to be in game, but it’s go back to the drawing board! unclear what the best contract will be. most partnerships assign some other meaning to a jump shift following an Opener’s balanced hand could easily After a 2NT Rebid opponent’s overcall. include three-card spade support. Whatever your agreement after a 1NT Unfortunately, fourth suit isn’t Again, be careful if you are going rebid, you should also discuss what to to use a convention like this. You available as an artificial forcing call do after a 2NT rebid. z Q 8 6 2 don’t want partner to think you have since only two suits have been bid. For example, suppose y Q 9 7 4 a very strong hand when you are In standard methods, a bid of 2x you hold this hand and x K 6 3 2 trying to describe a very weak hand. here would be non forcing. It is nat- the auction begins: w 4 Also, some partnerships only use ural, asking opener to choose WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH weak jump shifts in some sequences between spades and diamonds as 1x Pass 1y ... perhaps only jumps to the two trumps and opener can pass with a Pass 2NT Pass ? level or after a minor suit opening. preference for diamonds. Most partnerships would treat The modern style, however, is to 3w here as checkback Stayman or What Else Goes Here? treat a new minor suit bid as forcing new minor forcing, but you want to You can write other agreements on after opener’s 1NT rebid.