The Multi Two Diamond Opening Bid

Five for the Price of One

The Multi 2D opening bid is loved by ambitious partnerships who want to cram into their system as many different opening bids as possible. Opening 2D as a pre-empt in a major suit leaves 2H or 2S available as strong Acol two openings (or for some type of two-suited pre-emptive openings if that is your partnership's preference).

The Multi 2D opening bid can show, with the one opening bid, any of the following:

Responder's Action When Next Opponent Passes

Responder should not pass, of course. Responder's usual action is simply to bid 2H, asking opener to pass if his suit is hearts, bid 2S if his suit is spades, or to bid 2NT, 3C or 3D with one of the strong hand types. But other actions are possible, the full list being:

The above list is standard, and is found in "The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge". But that publication follows the list with a note that a pair may have alternative interpretations for some of these bids.

Responder's Action When Next Opponent Overcalls in a Major

A double of a natural major suit overcall is for takeout to opener's major suit. Obviously, if the opponents have overcalled in opener's suit (it does happen!), opener should pass. Otherwise he corrects to his major suit at the lowest level.

All other bids retain their original meaning except that 4C or 4D is natural if it is a non-jump bid.

Responder's Action When Next Opponent Overcalls in a Minor

A double of a natural minor suit overcall is for penalties. Opener must pass.

All other bids retain their original meaning except that a non-jump bid of hearts at any level is "pass or correct" (this is required so that responder can compete safely in opener's unknown suit) and a new suit bid of 4C or 4D is natural if it is a non-jump bid.

The fact that a non-jump bid of 4H is "pass or correct" has the unfortunate side-effect that can be impossible for responder to insist on playing in his own good heart suit, if he has one, when the opponent's overcall has prevented his being able to jump to 4H. But that is a lesser disadvantage than responder's being unable to compete in four of whatever major opener holds when he holds reasonable support for both and a good ruffing value in one or both minors.

Opener's Rebid When Weak

Once opener's suit has been disclosed, all suit bids by responder are natural and are no longer pass or correct.

A bid of a minor suit by responder, whether or not opener's suit has been disclosed, is always natural.

If responder needs to find out about opener's hand type and strength, because he is interested in a possible game opposite partner's likely weak two opening, he makes a forcing bid of 2NT to ask opener to describe his hand.

Responder may also bid a direct 4H or 4S if he believes this to be a good contract even if it should be the other major than responder's.

A bid of 3C or 3D by responder is strong and forcing, and asks opener to describe his hand. But a bid of 2H, 2S, 3H or 3S is non-forcing and is known as "pass or correct". This is an important principle of bidding opposite a hand that has an unknown suit. The understanding of it is crucial in the follow-up to a Multi 2D opening.

Pass or Correct

To deal with the subsequent auction, especially if it becomes competitive, it is important to understand the principle of "pass or correct". Because opener's suit is at first unknown, we need the agreement that (while opener's suit remains unknown) any bid by responder of hearts or spades at either the two or the three level, and any non-jump bid of 4H, asks opener to pass if he has a weak two in the bid suit or correct to his suit (or NT) at the lowest possible level otherwise. These bids are known as "pass or correct" and do not show that responder has an independent suit. Opener may only pass if the denomination is his own suit. Otherwise he must bid his suit.

Why do we need this "pass or correct" agreement? Quite simply, because in many situations it is the only way that responder can compete, pre-empt, or invite game. For example, here are some hands responder may hold:

S A J 6 5
H 6
D K Q J 7 3
C A 9 6


Bid 2H. Make the standard response. If partner has a weak two in hearts then you do not want to play any higher. But if opener corrects to 2S then you expect game to be a good prospect, so you will raise him to 4S expecting to make it. Note: If opener has a strong balanced hand he will bid 2NT. You will now bid 3C, which is Stayman in whatever variety your partnership plays over a standard 2NT opening. You will be looking for a small or a grand slam in your safest denomination. If opener has a strong minor suited hand, he will bid 3C or 3D and again you will seek a slam.

S 6
H A J 6 5
D K Q J 7 3
C A 9 6


Bid 2S. The same hand but with the major suits switched. You cannot bid 2H since partner will pass if hearts is his suit and you don't want that. So you bid 2S, which you do want partner to pass if spades is his suit. But if opener corrects to 3H then you will raise him to 4H. Note: Once again, if opener has a strong hand he will bid 2NT, 3C or 3D and you will then be looking for a slam.

S Q 6 5
H K 7 6 2
D 7
C J 9 6 3 2


Bid 3S. If partner has a weak two then the opponents have a probable game. You have enough support to play in 3S if opener's suit is spades but you are happy for opener to bid 4H if hearts is his suit. You would be unable to say anything other than the standard 2H if your bid was a promise of an independent suit. But your pre-emptive "pass or correct" raise will now make life difficult for the opponents. Note: If opener has a strong balanced hand he must now bid 3NT, which will have good chances. If he has a strong minor suit he should bid 4C or 4D (or maybe try 3NT if suitable).

S 6
H A K Q J 9 7 6
D K Q J 7
C 4


Bid 4H. The jump to 4H is not "pass or correct". You need to be able to insist on your own major suit when you have a possible game in your own hand. Opener will pass. Note: If the next opponent were to intervene with 4C you would be unable to bid 4H. A non-jump bid of 4H would ask partner to pass or correct and you can be sure that hearts is not his suit! This is unfortunate. You will just have to pass. The next example, though, shows why a non-jump 4H is best played as "pass or correct".

S Q 6 5
H K 7 6 2
D 7
C J 9 6 3 2


Over a 3D overcall, bid 3S. You can make the same response as you would make without the overcall.

Over a 4D overcall, bid 4H. You are happy to compete to 4H if hearts is partner's suit and are prepared to take a slight risk in 4S if spades is partner's suit. Note that a non-jump bid of 4H is always "pass or correct". Otherwise you have no way of competing on a hand like this one.

In summary, then, any bid by responder of 2H, 2S, 3H or 3S, and any non-jump bid of 4H, asks opener to pass if that is his suit or correct (by bidding his actual suit or NT) otherwise.

Comparison with Weak Twos

Weak Two openings are very simple to play and there is no real chance of any bidding misunderstanding. Any partnership, casual or regular, who wishes to play Weak Twos can do so without difficulty (see my description of Weak Twos). That is not the case with the Multi 2D. A proper system, such as this one, must be learnt and understood and the partnership must be comfortable with the principle of "pass or correct".

After a Weak Two opening, a weak responder with support for opener's suit can often raise the pre-empt immediately to a level that keeps even strong opponents out of the auction for good. This is not usually possible after a Multi 2D opening where opener's suit is unknown. The pre-emptive effect of the Multi 2D is therefore rather less than with a straight Weak Two.

When playing against weaker pairs you will find that your Multi 2D opening will often worry them into doing something silly. This doesn't happen so much against strong pairs, however.

There is one good and valid reason for playing the Multi 2D opening. It makes room for a number of other opening bids by freeing up 2H and 2S for other uses. Ambitious pairs will use these as two-suited pre-empts. Less ambitious pairs can use them as standard Acol Strong Twos, as suggested here.

A Word of Warning

There are a number of non-obvious difficulties involved in playing the Multi 2D. Some of these are:

  1. Opener's hand type is at first unknown. If his LHO competes, especially with a jump bid of any sort, responder often finds himself awkwardly placed. Can responder bid hearts (or spades) naturally, if holding the suit? (The answer is no, by the way.) What does any of responder's bids mean? How can he find out what opener holds? (In competition he often can't: he may be able to guess, perhaps, but he often cannot know for sure.)
  2. There is no single way of playing the Multi 2D. Some partnerships restrict the hand types to a subset of the five given above. Many partnerships play a different strong balanced hand range. (Personally I think 19-20 hcp is too weak to force the partnership to 2NT or above, but since this is the established range at the Gravesend Bridge Club I prefer to go along with it rather than change what others are used to.) If playing the Multi 2D you have to get all of your agreements straight in advance or else you will soon come badly unstuck.
  3. In particular, there is no standard 2NT asking bid and responses, as there is with the Ogust convention that is used over weak two openings. It is essential to play 2NT as asking opener to describe his hand. Your competitors who are playing standard weak twos will have the Ogust convention available to them. You must have something that serves the same purpose, or else you will be at a serious disadvantage to them. Some 2NT convention has to be agreed and understood by the partnership but I'm afraid that there are more to choose from than you can shake a stick at, all doing the same thing but all slightly different in detail.

These points must be addressed by any pair playing the Multi 2D. There is only one way to do it and that is to have a common understanding, discussed and agreed. A short cut is to agree to use a well-defined understanding already documented and accessible to both partners.

And that is what I have produced for you here. This document describes how the Multi 2D is played at the Gravesend Bridge Club by a group of people who are all happy to play it with any of the others.

Well, that is not quite true. I have played the Multi 2D with several club members and I have found that there are gaps in the agreements and the level of understanding. This is not surprising as a lot of agreements are required and there is little time to go through the detail at the start of a club session. But it means that it is risky to use almost any bid after one's partner has opened 2D, except for the immediate 2H response, since there is a risk of a misunderstanding. That is not good. The Multi 2D is a powerful weapon but if you fear to follow up your partner's opening, being afraid that your bid might be misunderstood, your weapon is rendered almost impotant. And if you boldly go ahead with a bid that is misunderstood, your weapon has blown up in your face.

So what I have done here is to add the missing rigour. I have defined the 2NT asking bid and its responses and the meaning of all other bids that responder may make, whether in competition or in an unchallenged auction. This method is a standard way of playing the Multi 2D and will be easily understood by anyone who has ever played the Multi 2D.

A Word of Encouragement

It is only fair to follow the above warning by saying that the Multi 2D really does deliver five opening hand types with one bid. So long as you learn the principles in the later section of this document and remember the responses to the 2NT asking bid you will be able to use the Multi 2D opening successfully and profitably. And it's fun, too.

The Opening Hand Types

Weak Twos in the Majors

The suitability of a weak two opening hand is described under Weak Two Openings. There is absolutely no difference in suitability whether you are using standard weak two openings or the Multi 2D opening. The same considerations of strength and shape apply to first/second, third and fourth positions.

Strong Twos in the Minors

Any single-suited hand that has 9 or 10 playing tricks in a minor suit is suitable for the Multi 2D opening in any position and at any vulnerability.

19-20 hcp Balanced

Any balanced hand of 19-20 hcp should be opened Multi 2D. You will rebid 2NT over either of the normal responses of 2H or 2S. You will then play whatever 2NT response system your partnership has agreed for a 2NT opening.

Responding to the Multi Two Diamond Opening

Opponents are Silent

Clearly you must not pass. You don't know what type of hand partner has, so you must make a relay bid and let him tell you. Usually is will be a weak two in a major but the 19-20 hcp balanced hand comes up quite frequently too. The strong minor hands are rare.

The standard response, which you must make unless you have a reason not to (see later), is 2H. This lets opener describe his hand as follows:

That almost covers all eventualities. There are two issues to tackle, however. Firstly, responder may have good heart support, maybe in a strong hand or maybe in a distributional hand. If opener has a weak two in hearts, responder wants to play in 4H, perhaps, not to hear 2H passed out. Secondly, responder may be strong. He would like to ask opener to describe his hand so that he can pick the most appropriate contract. He cannot risk opener's passing, so must make a forcing bid.

We will deal with the first issue here. The second issue requires a conventional bid of 2NT which we cover below.

If responder has heart support and wishes to play in a higher contract than 2H should opener have a weak two in hearts, he makes the relay response of 2S. Opener describe his hand in almost the same way, except that he now passes if he has spades and is forced to keep the bidding open if he has hearts:

Following any response that indicates a weak two, responder is expected to name the contract. After 2NT, the partnership's 2NT system is on. After 3C or 3D responder may pass if having no help in that denomination but should bid on with a trick or more.

Principles used in the subsequent auction

Pass or Convert

At first opener's suit is unknown. It may (and usually will) become known when opener makes a second bid. In competition, however, opener will not bid again with a weak two unless responder invites him to. It is possible to go one or two rounds of bidding and for opener's suit still to remain undisclosed.

While it is the case that opener's suit is undisclosed, any bid of a major suit by responder, whether in competition or not, is a command to pass (if the suit bid is opener's suit) or to correct to the other major at the lowest level. A bid of a major suit by responder is never natural and is always a pass or correct command, all the while that opener's suit remains undisclosed.

Once opener's suit has been disclosed, all suit bids by responder are natural and are no longer pass or correct.

A bid of a minor suit by responder, whether or not opener's suit has been disclosed, is always natural.

A Weak Opener does not make a free bid

In a competitive auction, even if responder has bid a major suit as a pass or correct instruction, responder must not bid if his RHO makes an intervening bid. This is standard bridge, of course. After a player has made a pre-emptive bid his partner is the captain. Opener has said his piece. He should not speak again unless invited to do so. Responder can make a further pass or correct bid if he sees fit, but he might be well-placed to double the opponent.

A Strong Opener must always bid

If opener has one of the strong hand types, he will always bid no trumps, clubs or diamonds at the lowest level, even in competition. Alternatively he may double an opponent's bid. He must not pass, since that would tell responder he has one of the weak openings.

3NT by responder is always to play

If responder bids 3NT at any time, a weak opener should pass. Responder may have 9 running tricks and opener's suit might be useful only as a stopper.

Examples

After opener's 2D, his LHO overcalls 4C. If responder bids 4H it means "pass if your suit is hearts, correct to 4S if it is spades". It does not mean that responder has a heart suit of his own.

Similarly, if the 2D opening is overcalled with 3C or 3D, responder's bid of 3S means "pass if your suit is spades, correct to 4H if it is hearts". Responder obviously has good heart support and moderate spade support. He wishes to be in game opposite a 6-card heart suit and to compete in a spade part-score opposite a 6-card spade suit.

In the unlikely event that opener has one of the strong hand types in such a competitive auction, he will bid no trumps, clubs or diamonds at the lowest level and leave the rest up to responder.

The 2NT Asking Bid

If responder is at least strong enough to invite game opposite a weak two in either major (i.e. both majors), he should bid a conventional 2NT asking opener to describe his hand. The responses are:

Note that it is not sensible to play 2NT as a natural response. A conventional enquiry is necessary, and 2NT is the only sensible bid to use.

Memorising the responses to 2NT

Three-level rebids by opener show a weak two:

Four-level rebids by opener show one of the strong types:

Agreeing the Multi Two Diamond method

Assuming that you are using 2H and 2S as strong opening bids, you will have to agree all of the following with your partner:

That only begins to describe the system given here. You see the problem that I alluded to earlier.

Much simpler, and less likely to lead to misunderstandings, is to say:

I guarantee that this method will serve you well and keep you out of trouble. Only established partnerships who want to spend a lot of time discussing their system would get any benefit at all from doing anything differently to this method.

You will certainly have fun with the Multi 2D. I hope you also have success.

Author: Chris Burton
Gravesend Bridge Club