The Forcing 1NT Response
If the partnership has agreed to play two-over-one game force (2/1), then a new suit response at the two level is a marathon bid , forcing to at least game. That can create a challenge for responder when the opening bid is 1
or 1
and
responder has 11 or 12 points
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 Pass ?
8 4
A J 4
K Q 10 7 4
8 5 2
Suppose responder, East, has this hand. In standard methods, East is too strong to bid 1NT and would respond 2. The 2 response is forcing , but not forcing to game. Playing 2/1, however, the 2 response would be forcing to game. With only 10 high-card points plus 1 length point for the five-card suit, responder isn’t strong enough to commit the partnership to the game level.
To get around this dilemma, the range for a 1NT has to be expanded from 6-10 points to….Click here to continue reading