Opener's New Suit - Forcing or Non-forcing? by Matthias Huberschwiller

In this quiz, you will have five auctions where opener has bid a second suit.

Can you tell if his bid is forcing or not, and how many points he has?

Good luck!

Oh, by the way: there are no hands in this Quiz!

Question 1

Your Hand
♠
♥
♦
♣

Q: 1 - Is South's last bid forcing or not? What is his distribution? How many points does he have?

South	West	North	East
1♦	Pass	1♠	Pass
2♣

A: Non-forcing - South has shown an economic two-suiter, showing at least five Diamonds and four Clubs.

He might have anything from a minimum opener (12HCP) up to a fairly strong hand (18HCP). It's not forcing, but North can pass only when he's really weak, since his partner can have up to 18 points.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠
♥
♦
♣

Q: 2 - Is South's last bid forcing or not? What is his distribution? How many points does he have?

South	West	North	East
1♣	Pass	1♠	Pass
2♥

A: Forcing - This time, South's bid is a reverse, showing a strong hand, and it is forcing.

What is a reverse?
It's when the second suit bid by opener at another level is ranked higher than the first one (here, Hearts are higher than Clubs). It's forcing, with at least five Clubs and four Hearts, and shows at least 17/18 points.

With fewer points and five Clubs and four Hearts, South would have to bid his Clubs again, with 2♣.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠
♥
♦
♣

Q: 3 - Is South's last bid forcing or not? What is his distribution? How many points does he have?

South	West	North	East
1♥	Pass	1♠	Pass
3♦

A: Forcing - South has bid an economic two-suiter with a jump. This is the strongest way to show a two-suiter, showing at least 19 points, and it is forcing to game.

South has at least five Hearts and four Diamonds. A common mistake is to think it shows five Diamonds, but it does not. A 21-point South with 5 Hearts and 4 Diamonds cannot bid only 2♦, he has to jump.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠
♥
♦
♣

Q: 4 - Is South's last bid forcing or not? What is his distribution? How many points does he have?

South	West	North	East
1♣	Pass	1♥	Pass
1♠

A: Non-forcing - This is not a reverse, despite Spades being ranked higher than Clubs, because the Spades have been bid at the same level as the Clubs. It does not even show a two-suiter. South can have a balanced hand and could still be 4333.

1♠ shows a hand from 12 to 18(19) points. Therefore, North may only pass with a really minimum hand.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠
♥
♦
♣

Q: 5 - Is South's last bid forcing or not? What is his distribution? How many points does he have?

South	West	North	East
1♥	Pass	1♠	Pass
3♠

A: Non-forcing - South is showing a Spade fit. Therefore, he has at least five Hearts and at least four Spades, with an intermediate hand, 15 to 17 points.

A common mistake is to think this is stronger than 4♠, due to the Principle of Fast Arrival, but it's not. This principle is only true when you know you are going to a game. That's not the case here as 3♠ is only an invitation to game. It's up to North to decide at which level his side should play.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Play this Hand

Now that you've bid five hands, let's see how your play goes.

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What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
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