Responses to 1NT

I had a partner who tells me that she will never open 1NT until she has stoppers in every suit. Yes, you can get burned once in a while, but the odds (of opening 1NT and being successful) are much greater in the long run. The other huge advantage is that once you open 1NT, your partner knows quite a bit about your hand. The responder is the captain and it is their job to ask you, your distribution, HCP and place the contract.

Your partner opens 1NT ‒ What do you know about your partner’s hand?

1. 15-17 HCP

2. Balanced hand with any of the following distributions 4432, 5332, 4333, 6322 with the 6-card suit being a minor

3. No singleton or void

4. So that is quite a lot of information from just one bid.

Your partner opens 1NT ‒ How do you respond, knowing the above information?

1. With 8-9 HCP balanced hand without a 4-card or 5-card major bid 2NT

2. With 10-14 HCP balanced hand without a 4-card or 5-card major bid 3NT

3. With a 5-card major transfer to that major with 0+ HCP

4. With one or two 4-card major with 8+ HCP bid Stayman

5. With two 4-card major and a singleton or no clubs and 0-5 HCP bid garbage Stayman

6. With a good 16+ HCP balanced hand bid 4NT which is quantitative asking partner to bid 6NT if partner is at maximum 17 HCP or pass with minimum.

7. With a good 18+ HCP balanced hand bid 5NT which is quantitative asking partner to bid 7NT if partner is at maximum 17 HCP or bid 6NT with minimum. It is 100% forcing

Some basic conventions after 1NT opening:

Major suit transfer – with a 5-card major suit and 0+ HCP bid the suit below and partner will be REQUIRED to bid the suit above as a relay e.g., 2D transfers to H and 2H transfers to S

a. After you transfer, responder will then describe their HCP and shape

b. Pass with less than 8 HCP

c. Bid 2NT with only 5-card suit and 8-9 HCP

d. Bid 3NT with only 5-card suit and 10-14 HCP

e. Bid 3 of the transferred major with 8-9 HCP and 6-card suit

1. Texas Transfer – with a 6-card major suit and about 8-12HCP bid the suit to be transferred at the 4 level ‒ e.g., 1NT – 4D and opener is required to bid 4H similarly with 4H transfer to 4S

3 Garbage Stayman ‒ With two 4-card major and a singleton or no clubs ‒ i.e., 4441 hand or 4450 hand and 0-5 HCP bid garbage Stayman ‒ e.g., 1NT-2C-2H/S/D whatever opener bids you just pass

4. With a 6-card minor suit and want to play in a partial, respond 2S and opener will relay to 3C and if responder has clubs then they will pass or bid 3D if they have Diamonds

5. If you have a 6-card minor suit and have about 9 HCP just go straight to 3NT instead of trying to play at 5 of a minor suit contract.

6. If you have 5-4 in the majors and a weak hand you should bid Stayman and if partner responds 2H/S just pass but if partner bids 2D then bid your 5-card suit at the 2 level which asks opener to pass.

To be continued next week, with some examples of 1NT opening and the responses

Happy analyzing!

Kathrine Loh can be emailed at ladyrossmoorbridge@yahoo.com