Saturday, November 29, 2003 3:19 AM

2♦ - forcing 1 round

PITBULLS:

BART was invented to help partnerships get to good 4♥ games and stay out of bad ones after a 1♠ – 1NT forcing auction and a 2♣ rebid. Since my partners and I avoid bidding 1NT with a good heart suit and are allowed a non forcing to game 1♠-P-2♥ sequence , we have modified the BART 2♦ relay. We prefer just to call it 2♦ forcing one round.

We use 2♦ as a tool with one primary purpose – to show a strong club raise or if diamonds rebid at the 3 level, a weak hand with diamonds. If NT is bid at the two level by responder, she can have a good hand with diamonds or 5 hearts. A side effect is to find our 5-3 heart fit. We then had to redefine the responses after the 2♦ relay.

1♠-P-1NT-P

2♣-P-2♦-P

?

A 2NT bid is defined as a bid used for the most part just to sign off by passing if partner bids 3♣. Partner can also pass this bid. A 2NT bid is impossible anyway given that you choose to bid 2♣ rather then 2NT in the first place. A 2NT bid denies 3♥ so you find your 5-3 heart fits. However , there are meanings to bids taken after we have chosen to go this route. More about that later.

All bids other then making a 2NT or 2♥ bid , show better hands considering the 2♣ rebid in the first place. A 3♣ bid shows a maximum and 5-5 in the blacks (minimum bid 2NT first and pull 2NT to 3♣ ) . A 3♦ bid shows a 3 card diamond suit fragment with a stiff heart and partner can pass if the 1NT bid was based on weak diamonds. A 2♥ bid shows a 3 card heart suit fragment and normally maps out a stiff diamond . A 2♠ bid shows a very good 5 card suit or a 6-4. A hand that you would accept game in spades, if partner has an invite with 2 spades to an honour.

Showing fragments and mapping out stiffs will assist in getting to the best game or possibly slam. Most of these bids are described by the two level with the assistance of the forcing for one round 2♦ !!

O.K. you accepted the 2♦ relay to 2NT with your average hand and partner bids 3♣ . 90 % of the time this will end the auction. A 3NT bid is an exception showing a 5-2-2-4 hand and enough points for a shot at 3NT . A 3♠ bid now shows a 6-5 in the blacks and is forcing.

My partners and I play quite a number of relay sequences to help us with difficult to bid hands. The premises is always the same though . If we take the relay route we are weak . If we ignore the relay and bid directly we are maximum for the bid . We follow Lebensohl principles so we do not forget in the heat of battle. The forcing for one round 2♦ is just another relay in effect.