Major suit opening bids promise a 5-card suit, which gives you an advantage in all auctions but especially competitive auctions.
Minor suit opening bids promise a 5-card suit or a 4-4-4-1 shape. This gives us a huge advantage over those pairs who open a 3-card or 2-card minor, particularly in competitive auctions. When responder has 4-card support, he is safe to compete to at least the three level, knowing that opener has a 5-card suit or a 4-4-4-1 shape (which plays well opposite a 4-card fit or better).
Note: The 1
opening may be 17-22 hcp balanced.
But, in a competitive auction, if responder has club support
he is safe to assume that opener has a genuine club suit and to bid accordingly.
If opener doesn't have clubs then he will have 17+ hcp and will be strong enough to correct to a sensible NT contract.
In every other bidding stystem, when you have a balanced hand outside your 1NT range you have to open one of a suit. If your partner is too weak to respond, you will frequently find yourself playing in a silly 4-2 or 4-1 trump fit (or even a 3-2 or 3-1 trump fit if you are playing 5-card majors), and you will be wishing that, somehow, you could have got to 1NT insead. Has that ever happened to you? Yes — me too. It's sickening, isn't it?
It will never happen in the Double Club System.
All balanced hands that don't open with 1NT
open with a forcing 1
(or a forcing 2),
ensuring that we will always play in no trumps when that is the right denomination.
Silly fits do not occur, ever, when you play the Double Club System.
When opener has a balanced hand and opens 1
he almost never receives a response of 1NT,
so he can bid 1NT or 2NT himself and is guaranteed to declare the NT contract.
When opener has a balanced hand outside the 1NT range and opens 1,
then if responder bids an artificial 1
and opener rebids 1NT we play our 1NT response system.
Similarly if the Kokish Relay is used.
But if responder makes a natural bid and opener then rebids 1NT or 2NT, all further bids are natural.
We have no need to play Checkback (of any sort) or New Minor Forcing.
Author: Chris Burton
Gravesend Bridge Club