Friday, November 03, 2006 11:34 PM

Hand Evaluation – Wolffe Relay ( Partner’s Minor )

PITBULLS:

Slam tries in partners minor have been traditional awkward after partner rebids 2NT. The Wolffe relay was designed to correct that. If responder makes a relay & just bids 3NT thereafter , it begs the question why did she do that ? Why did she just not bid 3NT directly ? The answer is that she is making a mild slam try in partner’s minor without going past 3NT. This bid is the cornerstone of the Wolfe relay structure . This is why you cannot use the Wolffe relay as a “new minor forcing” to see if partner has 3 card support for your major. No , no & again no. If responder wants to find your 5-3 major fit , rebid your 5 card major. Partner will raise you with 3. With 6 card majors & no slam interest , why are you rebidding it ? Just bid 4 of the major !!! With slam interest & a broken 6 card suit , relay first & bid your major again at the 4 level. With a solid major , just keep bidding it with no initial relay so partner will get the message that you are making a slam try with a solid suit.

Here is a nice auction by Wolffe & Hammon , playing the Wolffe relay of course. 1♣ by Hammon , a spade response by Wolffe. Hammon rebids 2NT with ♠AK ♥QJ10 ♦Ax ♣KJ987x . Wolffe with ♠J10xxx ♥Kx ♣Jx ♣AQ10x bids 3♣ which is a relay to 3♦. He now bids 3NT showing a mild slam try in partners minor. Partner with the 6 card club suit takes control so they get to 6♣. 4♣ is , of course , KCB for clubs by the opener.

Here is another auction. ♠Ax ♥AJx ♦AQxxx ♣Kxx opposite ♠xx ♥KQxx ♦Kxxxx ♣Qx , partner opens 1♦. With a strong forcing to game hand with 5 trump , we bypass the 4 card major & invert. Not so with an invitational hand though, we bid our 4 card major first. After 1♥ by you , partner rebids 2NT. Your duty is to make a mild slam try in diamonds but you do not want heart preference. You make a Wolffe relay & bid 3NT . What could be simpler ??

People who are scared of the word relay think that the Wolffe relay is rocket science . It is not. It simplifies the oft confusing 2NT rebid . The bid divides responders hands into two classes of hands, slam interest & only game interest or escaping to a partial. This in itself is worth its weight in gold.

With more distributional slam tries in partners minor , we just bid naturally. 1♦-P-1♠-P

2NT-P-3♦ This is a slam try not some NMF trying to get spade preference. If we had a weak spade/diamond hand , we just relay & pass 3♦. We will get spade preference by re-bidding our 5 card spade suit. When partner’s opening bids 1♣ , we no longer play Gerber after a 2NT rebid. 4♣ is a natural , distributional & a slam try. 4NT is the “death response” & to play. The Wollfe relay allows us to keep natural bidding as forcing & slamish which in itself simplifies auctions.