[TWO4BRIDGE]

There are times when Responder with a 4+card fit for partner's major just wants to go key-card.
It is usually with a couple of stiffs and nice side suit of his own.
And you wish you could use Baby-Black; but you would never use 1S-3NT! for that.

But I have an idea for an alternative way to reach 3NT! just for that purpose.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The hand in question that prompted this was posted recently at rec.games.bridge :

---

After 1S open, Responder decided to immediately launch into 4NT-RKC.
Even if a slower approach would have been taken, the final 5-level contract
is subject to defeat as you can see --- losing all 3 Aces.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After thinking about it I came up with "including RKC into the lower Bergen Raise":

1H/1S - 3C! ( relays to 3D! )
3D! - ??

3M = 3C! was the Constructive Bergen Raise
3S! = Baby-Kickback ( when Hts are trump)
3NT! = Baby-RKC ( when Sp are trump )

After 3M:
Opener can either pass or bid game with a strong hand.
- - - - - -
But after the respective "Baby"-RKC use the following:

For example when Hts are trump:
1H - 3C!
3D! - 3S! ( Baby-kickback )
??
..3NT! = 1st step = 0/3
...4C! = 2nd step =1/4
...4D! = 2 - hQ
...4H! = 2 + hQ

After the 1st or 2nd steps, Responder "signs-off" in 4M;
and if Opener has the HIGHER number of keys,
he "answers" as if there were a trump Q-ask.
Otherwise he passes 4M.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For the hand in question:
1S - 3C!
3D! - 3NT! ( Baby-RKC )
4C! ( 0/3 ) - 4S
PASS

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For the following hand:

---

1H - 3C!
3D! - 3S!
3NT! ( 1st step = 0/3 ) - 4H
??
...4S! = hQ + sK
..4NT! = hQ and no outside K
...5C! = hQ + cK
...5D! = hQ + dK
...5H! = no hQ

After 5H! >> 6H

[Free]

Your first example is aweful, since that's a 1♥ opening. Then again, it's from rec.games.bridge...

[ArtK78]

Changing the meanings of commonly used conventional calls to cater to hands as rare as the example hand is a terrible waste of mind power. Besides, the use of 3♣ as a transfer here gives the opponents additional opportunities to make a lead directing or sacrifice suggesting double. It also keeps the bidding lower than it might otherwise be and gives the opps an easier entry into the auction.

The idea itself is not unsound. It is just a waste of time and effort to cater to such an unusual hand type.

[hrothgar]

The big problem with Bergen raises is that they provide lots of information about general strength and trump support and absolutely no information about shape.

Your suggestion to turn the 3♣ response into a puppet to 3♣ exacerbates this problem by depriving opener of making any kind of game try based on shape.

If you insist on the need for a Baby RKC, why not pack it into your forcing NT response?

Use a sequence like

1M - 1N
2m - 3oM

or

1M - 1N
2m - 4om

as keycard

[TWO4BRIDGE]

hrothgar, on 2010-November-22, 09:40, said:

The big problem with Bergen raises is that they provide lots of information about general strength and trump support and absolutely no information about shape.

Your suggestion to turn the 3♣ response into a puppet..... exacerbates this problem by depriving opener of making any kind of game try based on shape.

This is true. The game try is given up.
and in case of Hts, there is only one game try bid anyway -- 3D! -- which I have used as a general LTC type of gametry ... and that situation comes up much more frequently. ( Opener makes game try bid of 3D! with a 6 losing trick count ... and responder accepts with an 8 LTC but declines with a 9 LTC ) .

I'll have to think a bit on your other suggestion re. 1NT!.

[Zelandakh]

Note that you can also use an in-between splinter bid for the first East hand here and stop safely in 4 since this West hand is going to make a sign-off. This approach would also work on the second hand. Examples

1S - 2N = mini-splinter or in-between splinter
3C - 4C = asks // singleton club
4S = yuck, no thanks

1H - 2S = mini-splinter or in-between splinter
2N - 3N = asks // singleton spade
4C - 4S = denial cue // RKCB
etc

It seems like you could incorporate such a scheme into your lower Bergen raise too, in which case having bids for in-between splinters seems much more useful than access to Baby-Blackwood. of course if you already use 1S - 3H for this then you you could simply keep 1S standard and make a modification over 1H.

[han]

hrothgar, on 2010-November-22, 09:40, said:

The big problem with Bergen raises is that they provide lots of information about general strength and trump support and absolutely no information about shape.

I don't think this is true. I think the main problem with Bergen raises is that you can use 3C and 3D for only one meaning and there are other useful meanings. If I was allowed to bid "3C Bergen raise" on Bergen raises, and bid "3C weak" or "3C strong" on others, and "3C fit jump" on other hands again, I think that would be a very good system.

Usually after a Bergen raise partner will just bid game. This may go down sometimes because the hands fit badly, but it also may make because little is known about either hand. I think auctions like that are a big winner in the long run. The 3C bid is descriptive enough in terms of both strength and support that opener will usually be able to make a sensible decision. And if opener has slam interest then there is plenty of room to investigate.