The Montreal Gazette – 19 Dic 1985 
Certain techniques, while having some clear advantages, can also be a liability at times. Thus, I have to qualify today’s hand by making a systemic statement. Let’s presume you are not playing New Minor Forcing (NMF) after a one no trump rebid by opener. Consider your rebid as South, E-W vulnerable. South deals
Opening Lead: Five of hearts
Some partnerships have established the criterion that one must have four cards in responder’s suit to raise but that is unworkable in practical terms. Today’s hand illustrates a flaw in that modern technique (NMF) referred to above since it permits opener to rebid one no trump too often when a raise is more appropriate.
North and South were lucky -though since the cards behaved quite well.
The king of hearts won the first trick (lucky 1). Declarer then led a low spade and his ten won when East followed low (lucky 2). A low diamond lost to East’s queen but later in the hand the diamonds divided 3-3 (lucky 3) so South was able to make one no trump by winning one heart, two spades and four diamonds.
Two spades is dearly a superior contract so let’s examine a rebid problem. When does one raise responder’s suit with only three card support?
The first criterion must be that a raise with three cards should include a high honor in partner’s suit so the minimum might be described as Q x x.
Second, the hand evaluation should indicate some superiority in playing the contract in partner’s suit. Today’s hand is difficult since that superiority lies in slow control of the club suit — the king plus the doubleton club and only three trumps obscure this point but it is still there.
Finally, any other call but the raise has flaws. The obvious flaw to one no trump is the absence of a heart stopper. Two diamonds is an alternative but not descriptive of the general nature of the hand. Thus, there are times when it is better to raise responder’s suit with only three card support. The difficulty in this rebid by opener is selecting when those times are upon us.