Paradox responses to a strong 2

This method is copied from Chris Ryall's bridge homepage. It allows the inclusion of SemiForcing hands with / into the strong 2 opening bid. Also included are the traditional 2NT opening bid (20-22 balanced) and GF hands.

2:
  • SemiGF in /
  • 20-22 balanced
  • 25-26 balanced
  • Unbalanced GF hands

    • Response to 2
    2 Semi-positive, 0-2 controls
    2 Negative, may contain a trick for a SemiGF
    2 Negative, one trick for a SemiGF but nothing for
    2NT 5+ controls
    3 3 controls
    3 4 controls
  • The paradox lies in the responses 2 and 2: If you have a trick for just one major, for example Q54 53 8752 7652, you bid the major you do NOT like.
  • Higher bids show controls (Ace = 2, King = 1), 2NT is reserved for the rare hands with 5 or more controls, as this wrongsides many contracts. Hands with 5 or more controls contain at least 11 HCP in core points, which is rare opposite the strongest opening bid.
  • The responses 3 and 3 allow opener to quickly determine if the hand is going to slam or not.

    What constitutes a trick in light of the 2-level responses? This can be very little, one of the following will do:

  • An Ace or King
  • Queen of trumps
  • A singleton or void
  • Two Queens
  • Two doubletons or a doubleton and a Queen, accompanied by at least three trumps

    As one can see, even yarboroughs like xxxx xxx xxxxx x qualify for a 2 response. On the other hand, when you have a SemiForcing in or , this is useful information. Another added benefit is the look on the opponent's faces after 2 - 2/ - pass. For some examples see Chris Ryall's ParadoX advances.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

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