SUPPORT DOUBLES / REDOUBLES and NEW MINOR FORCE

A. [1♣ – P – 1♠ – P 1NT – P – ???]or [1♣ – P – 1♠ – P 2NT – P – ???]

B. [1♣ – P – 1♥ – 1♠ ???]

Responder has named a 4+ card major: the primary responsibility of all responders in Duplicate.

In A., opener has rebid NT, showing an average or very strong, flat hand. She didn’t raise responder’s Spade suit, so we know she doesn’t have 4 of them, and she can’t raise with 3.

In B., opener hasn’t rebid yet.

What does responder do in Case A. (the 1NT rebid) if she has a good hand (10+) and a 5-card Spade suit? We know she won’t rebid a 5-card suit because we don’t rebid unsupported 5-card suits.With just 4Spades, we’re out of here, but with a decent strength hand and 6Spade cards, responder can rebid them herself:

[1♣ - P - 1♠ - P 1NT - P - 2♠ . . .] or [1♣ - P - 1♠ - P 1NT - P - 3♠. . .]

Theoretically, there are 2 simple ways we could find out if opener has 3 of responder’ssuit:

1. Responderin Case A could ask on her rebid: In English, not Duplicate, it’s:

“Partner, I know you don’t have 4 Spades, but do you have 3Spades with me?”

2. Opener in Case B could tell responder without being askedif she has 3 Hearts:

“Partner, I have 3 Hearts with you.” or “Sorry, partner, I don’t have 3 Hearts.”

Could Duplicate bidding really have a way to do both of these theoretical things easily?

Yes. Here they are: they are the conventions named in the title of this page.

What’sarelevant difference between these two auctions?

A. has no interference bidby 4th seat – just a NT rebid by opener.

B. has an interference bid by 4th seat, but opener hasn’t rebid yet.

So, we need simple bidding techniques to handle auctions with and without 4th seat interference.

First: the “without” (A.) Case. We already know opener doesn’t have 4 Spades or she would have raised responder’sSpades – to 2♠, 3♠, 4♠ or even 6♠. She didn’t because she rebid NT.
2nd seat passed again, so now it’s time for responder’s rebid.

Q. How can responder ASK opener aboutSpades? A. She bids 2 of the Other Minor – 2♦*.

[1♣ - P - 1♠ - P 1NT - P - 2♦*] 2♦* means exactly “Opener, do you have 3 Spades with me?”

Although it should be named the “Other Minor ASK”, it’s called the “New Minor Force”. NMF.

It’s alerted because it’s artificial and a convention. It shows a chunky 5-card major suit and at least 10+ HCP. The A. responder (the Captain, remember?) feels Spades is a better place to play than NT if there’s a fit. Responder could have 14 HCP and a singleton Club for all we know.

But, what if opener doesn’t have 3 Spades after being asked by responder via a NMF bid?

Opener must find a rebid showing anything interesting because she has been forced to bid again. That’s why responder must have a 10+ hand:because if there’s NOT a fit, she has pushed the contract beyond the 1NT level. Some forcedexamples without a fit:

[1♣ - P - 1♠ - P 1NT – P - 2♦* - P 2NT …] A flat opener with stoppers everywhere.
[1♣ - P - 1♠ - P 1NT – P - 2♦* - P 2♥ . . .] Hearts, not Clubs, stopped.Not 4 Hearts.
[1♣ - P - 1♠ - P 1NT – P - 2♦* - P 3♦ . . .] No Heart stopper; some Diamonds.

The B. case – interference in 4th seat: [1♣ - P - 1♥ - 1♠ ???]

It’s opener’s turn to rebid and responder has made an unlimited major suit response: now what?

Easy: we’re always looking for a major suit fit and responder has shown one, but, with the4th seat bid, opener now has more ways to TELL responder about majorswithout being asked.

How to tell her? Just Double the interfering bid. [1♣ - P - 1♥ - 1♠ Dbl* …]“I have 3 Hearts.”

The name of this convention is a Support Double. It’s an unsolicited tellabout the major suit count in opener’s hand without being asked by responder via NMF. Always majors first, right?

What’s a Support ReDouble? – if the 4th seat bid is a Double, opener can’t also Double, so she ReDoubleswith 3 of responder’s major:
[1♣ - P - 1♥ - Double ReDouble* …] “Partner, I have 3 Hearts with you.”

What if opener doesn’t have 3 Hearts? Again, she showsanything interesting in her hand:
Some examples:

[1♣ - P - 1♥ - Dbl 1NT …] A flat 1NT with a Spade stopper, because 4th seat has Spades. [1♣ - P - 1♥ - Dbl 2NT …] An 18 – 19HCP opener, again with Spade stoppers.
[1♣ - P - 1♥ - Dbl P . . .] “Nothing interesting to tell you, partner: you figure it out.”

SUMMARY

Two simple conventions doing exactly the same thing: looking for a 3 – 5 major suit fit; one with interference; one without. They are on extreme opposite corners of the ACBL convention card, but they should both be in the same box. You can hardly play one without the other: that makes no sense. And now, finally, you see why we insist on not raising a major response with only 3 cards in support. We have 2 ways to avoida4 – 3 unclear fit: one in competition, one without.
It’s “unclear” because we couldn’t know if opener has 3 or 4 trumps in support.