Hand of the day #211
The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff This column aims to amuse, as well as to educa...
This article accompanies the quiz 'Rebid NT as Responder'
As mentioned in the earlier article about Rebids, rebid is the name used for a second bid and shows the points range held by opener and responder. It gives a clearer picture of what their hand looks like. In this article we’re looking at No Trump Rebids by the responder.
When the responder bids 1NT on the first or second bid, they’re showing 6-9(10) points and NOT necessarily a balanced hand (it can be more points if playing 2 over 1 and 1NT was the first bid by the responder after an opening of 1 in a major). Responding 1NT can be used to show lots of types of weak hands; both balanced and unbalanced.
When the responder bids 2NT on their first or second bid, they’re showing 11-12 points.
When the responder bids 3NT on their first or second bid, they’re showing 13-15 points.
If opponents overcall, the NT responder must have a stopper in opponent's suit.
Note that responding 1NT can be used at any time you need to bid, but you don’t have any other bid; such as supporting partner, rebidding your suit, or bidding the 4th suit (showing a game forcing hand):
At the hand above, 1NT shows 6-10 points, and NOT necessarily a balanced hand. Note that no other rebid is possible: Pass is no good as opponents have more Spades than us, 2♦ would be 4th suit forcing (which is game forcing, showing an opening+ hand) and 2♥ is not a good rebid as opener may not have any Hearts.
You should also note that a new suit at the 2 level would show 10+ points (or 13+ if playing 2 over 1). So if you don’t have enough points and no support from partner, you should be bidding 1NT.
If bidding returns to you, you could bid one of partner's suits as a correction or your long suit if you have one:
In the above example you can’t bid 2♦ as a change of suit at the 2 level shows 10+ points, which you don’t have. Therefore, bid 1NT and maybe later (say if partner rebids 2♣) think about bidding your long suit. Doing so will show a weak hand (fewer than 10 points) and a long suit (normally at least 6 cards).
Have a go at putting this into practice
Oren Lidor is considered one of the best bridge teachers in Israel, is the author of 5 bridge books, and teaches bridge to people from all over the world on BBO.