There are several hand types that are difficult for responder to describe when holding the spade suit and hearing partner open the bidding with 1♥. Many of these are accommodated by playing the Flannery convention, but many are not.
If you don’t play Flannery at this time, but are open minded about the possible benefits it could provide, consider that when you play Flannery you can also utilize the method written here.
When a partnership has agreed to play Flannery within a 2/1 system, they should agree to play a modified version of the Kaplan Inversion as well. The 1♠ response to the1♥ opener is artificial. The 1NT response to the heart opening should show a very specific hand with 5 spades and less than invitational values without heart support.
The 1♠ response should not be alerted as a forcing NT though, because that explanation would be misleading. My preference for the alert description is: “1♠ is an asking bid, requesting opener to make his natural rebid. It denies holding 5 spades and a weak hand (less than invitational values), and it denies the ability to make a game forcing 2/1 response in a minor, and it denies any type of Bergen raise for the heart suit.”
You might add to the explanation that it doesn’t deny holding 5 or more spades and invitational or game forcing values.
Opener will rebid 1NT on all 5332 hands. Opener will rebid the minor suit on all 5431 hands. If opener is 5422 and the 4 card minor is very weak he is permitted to rebid 1NT, otherwise he should rebid the minor. A 2♥ rebid will show a 6 card suit, and the 2♠ rebid is the legit ♥/♠ reverse.
Responder’s rebid after 1♥-1♠*-2m should be obvious. He can pass any minor rebid with 4 card support and weakness, or raise with invitational values. Lacking support for the minor rebid, he will preference hearts when weak, holding a doubleton. A good 6 card minor can be introduced at the 2 or 3 level. The 2NT rebid is a balanced game try.
Responder’s rebid after 1♥-1♠*-1NT are equally self-evident. He will pass with a balanced minimum or raise to 2NT with invitational values. He can bid 2♣ or 2♦ with a good 5 card suit, non-forcing or he can rebid 2♥ which should probably show a very bad hand with 3 hearts.
The value of this approach, so far, is the ease of finding the 4-4 minor fit, and the ability to stop at 1NT when no 8 card fit exists with good suit quality.
When responder holds 5+ spades and the values to invite game or more he will be rebidding 2♠ after 1♥-1♠*-1NT or 1♥-1♠*-2♥/2m. Responder’s rebid of 2♠ is forcing and shows spades!
(I put this auction in the prior entry: 1NT-2♦*-2♥-3♦ and made a comment that was so obvious to the reader that s/he may have said to themselves: “daaa, give me a break!” The reason I did this was to remind the reader how commonplace it is to bid a suit initially artificial (as a transfer) and then bid it later naturally. It is the same for the Kokish relay: Opener rebids 2♥ over 2♦ as an artificial relay request, and then rebids 3♥ later to show the suit.)
After 1♥-1♠*-1NT/2m/2♥-2♠, opener will rebid 2NT lacking 3 card support for spades and a minimum hand. This is non-forcing and may end the auction. Opener will raise spades with 3 card support and a minimum. If opener is weak and 5-5 he will rebid his minor. Opener is expected to jump to game in the appropriate strain when accepting the invite. Jumping to 3NT will promise 2 spades. If opener has the values for game but lacks 2 or 3 card support for spades he will make a 4th suit bid or bid a minor fragment containing a NT stopper and bid 3NT later.
If the reader wants to know what hands holding spades give responder (or the partnership) problems in standard 2/1 methods, consider:
1.) KT9xx, Qx, xxx, QTx 1♥-1♠-2♣-?
Do you preference hearts or do you rebid spades?
2.) KT9xx, Qx, xx, AQx 1♥-1♠-2♣-?
Do you invite game by rebidding 2NT?
3.) KT9xx, x, xx, Axxxx 1♥-1♠-1NT-?
Do you rebid 2♣?
4.) AQTxxx, Qx, Kxx, xx 1♥-1♠-2♣-?
Accepted practice is to rebid 3♠ here, nf. Do you like this bid?
5.) AKJTxx, x, AKx, Qxx 1♥-1♠-2♣-?
If a 3♠ rebid shows hand #4, what will you rebid here? 4th suit?
If you bid the 4th suit, what will you do when partner bids 3NT?
There are many such examples where the 8 card spade fit goes undiscovered or where the partnership ends up in a spade contract with a 6-1 or even 6-0 spade fit.
If a partnership plays Flannery and has made the 1♠ response to 1♥ as promising a 5 card suit they have eliminated many of these problems. But now responder must bid 1NT forcing on many more hands than the standard bidders do. They have a very difficult time settling into a 4-4 minor suit contract, and have no option to play a final contract of 1NT.
By adding this form of modified Kaplan Inversion to the Flannery structure all of these ambiguities are clarified. Using 1♠ as an initial asking bid over 1♥ sets the stage for describing a wide variety of hands actually holding spades (very much like the Kokish relay becomes a “stepping stone” to a variety of different hand types).
1♥-1NT-2♠ probably ends the auction, 3 card spade raise
1♥-1NT-3♠ ♥/♠ reverse, asking responder to bid game on top
1♥-1NT-4♠ ♥/♠ reverse wanting to be in game opposite minimum
1♥-1NT-2 grapes-2♠ weak six card suit (my idea)
1♥-1♠-2 grapes-2♠ invitational to game or more, forcing to 2NT
1♥-1♠-2 grapes-3♠ semi-solid 6+, slam zone
1♥-2♠ 12 to 15 (my idea) 6+ spades
1♥-1♠-2 grapes-2♠-2NT-3♠ 6+ spades invitational
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