This has become very widespread amongst expert pairs. I (Paul Dalley) play this, and know that many/most strong pairs are playing this or very slight variations of it.
After 1NT, these are the bids
- 2♣ = Stayman
- 2♦ = Transfer to hearts
- 2♥ = Transfer to spades
- 2♠ = Transfer to clubs OR range ask
- 2NT = Transfer to diamonds
- 3♣ = Puppet Stayman
- 3♦ = Both minors, 5+
- 3♥ = Singleton heart, 3 spades — typically 31(54)
- 3♠ = Singleton spade, 3 hearts — typically 13(54)
The only slightly tricky part of the system is the 2♠ bid. It's easy once you get used to it, but it might feel intimidating at first.
The 2♠ bid
So, we have four transfers. If you want to simply invite, bid 2♠. This is how it works.
When responder bids 2♠, either they have a simple NT invite, say ~9 points, or they have clubs. Opener does not know immediately, but will quickly find out.
If responder has the NT invite
Let's assume for a moment that responder has the NT invite. After 2♠, opener bids 2NT with a minimum, which will be passed.
Or, with a maximum, bid 3♣ — that says absolutely nothing about opener's clubs, it just says they have a maximum (this is to accommodate a hand that wants to just play in clubs; remember, it's ambiguous what responder has initially). Partner will just bid 3NT over this when they had the NT invite hand — they have found out that opener was a maximum.
If responder actually has clubs
However, sometimes responder actually has clubs. So, let's look at what that looks like. After 1NT – 2♠, if opener shows a minimum by bidding 2NT:
- Responder can bid 3♣ — that says, "I just want to play here," the equivalent of transferring to clubs.
- Or, responder can bid something else — this indicates that responder is not the NT invite, because, remember, with that hand responder either passed 2NT or bid 3NT over 3♣.
NB: Over minor-suit transfers, my recommendation is that the next bid by responder shows a shortage in that suit. So, for example:
1NT – 2♠ – 2NT – 3♥ — let's summarise what that means:
- 2♠ was ambiguous initially — either clubs or just an NT invite.
- 2NT — opener showed a minimum, not accepting an NT invite.
- 3♥ — now responder doesn't have the NT invite hand; they in fact have clubs, and are showing a short heart.
I recommend a similar thing after 1NT – 2NT, which is a transfer to diamonds. After partner bids 3♦, bid a new suit to show shortage in that suit.
An article coming very soon will give a variety of example hands and show how this versatile system is well equipped to handle them all.