The Strong 2 Club Opening

There are two kinds of 2♣ opener. The first is balanced and too strong for a 2NT opening, which shows 20 to 21. The second is unbalanced and strong in playing tricks: about nine tricks in your own hand when a major suit is trumps, or ten with a minor, so that game needs one trick or less from partner. Count a long suit by its top cards and its length, so AKQJ974 is worth seven tricks.

• Balanced, 22 or more points: open 2♣ and rebid notrump. ♠AK5 ♥KQ4 ♦AQJ3 ♣KJ2 is 23 points, so open 2♣ and rebid 2NT.
• Unbalanced, about a trick short of game: open 2♣ whatever your point count. ♠AKQJ974 ♥AK5 ♦A4 ♣3 is only 21 points, but it holds seven spade tricks, two hearts and a diamond.
• Strong but well short of game: open at the one level. ♠AKQ9 ♥AKJ85 ♦K4 ♣72 has 20 points and about seven tricks. Open 1♥ and expect partner to keep the bidding open with very little.

Many teachers also want real defense in a 2♣ opener, about four quick tricks (an ace or KQ counts one, AK two). A hand of long suits and few aces is better opened at the one level, where the opponents will usually bid and give you a second chance. Point ranges vary a little by partnership. Some pairs open 2♣ on a balanced 23 rather than 22, and some play a 2NT opening of 20 to 22, so check what your system card says.

Responder bids 2♦ on most hands. It is a waiting bid, it says nothing about diamonds, and it keeps the auction low so opener can describe his hand first. A positive response shows about 8 or more points and either a good five-card suit or a balanced hand. Positives are worth making because they tell opener at once that slam is in the air.

A good suit usually means two of the top three honors, such as KQ1083 or AQ974. A hand with 9 points and J8742 in spades should bid 2♦ and show the suit later, because a positive in a broken suit can talk the partnership into the wrong trump suit. Most pairs reserve the positive for hands that will help with slam, so a hand of 8 points spread thinly with no good suit also starts with 2♦. Responder never passes 2♣, even with no points at all.

After the waiting 2♦, opener describes the hand. A notrump rebid gives the range of a balanced hand, and a suit rebid names the long suit and is forcing.

Most pairs treat 2♣ as forcing to game with two exceptions. Opener's 2NT rebid may be passed, and so may opener's rebid of his major at the three level after responder has shown a very weak hand with a double negative (see below). Every other auction carries on until game is reached.

This is the auction for a balanced 22 to 24. Responder treats 2NT as if partner had opened 2NT, one notch stronger, and the same structure applies, with Stayman and Jacoby transfers at the three level. Game needs about 25 points between the two hands, so responder bids on with about 3 points or more and passes with less.

Responder's 3♥ transfer works the way it does over a 1NT opening (see Jacoby transfers), and 3♣ asks the Stayman question. Some pairs play Puppet Stayman here instead, which also finds a five-card major in opener's hand. The 3NT rebid (25 to 27) uses the same ideas a level higher, 4♣ as Stayman and the four-level bids as transfers.

The waiting 2♦ covers a wide range, from a hopeless hand to one just short of a positive. When opener rebids a suit, responder can now say which. The usual tool is the second negative, also called the double negative: the cheaper minor at the three level shows a very weak hand, usually 0 to 3 points. Over a major-suit rebid that is 3♣, and over opener's 3♣ rebid it is 3♦.

After the second negative, opener knows partner will contribute almost nothing. He bids game himself holding the tricks for it, or rebids the suit at the three level, which responder may pass. Without the double negative, opener would have to guess whether a 2♦ response was a bust or a hand of 6 or 7 useful points.

Standard 2♦ waiting is what most club players use, but two alternatives are common among experienced pairs.

• 2♥ as an immediate double negative. 2♦ then promises some values, about 4 points or more or an ace or king, and 2♥ shows a bust at once. Opener knows the news before he rebids, and the cheaper-minor second negative is no longer needed. Pairs who play it need their own agreement for a positive response with hearts.
• Control-showing steps. Responder counts controls, an ace as two and a king as one, and answers in steps. One common version is 2♦ for 0 or 1 control, 2♥ for 2, 2♠ for 3 made of an ace and a king, 2NT for 3 as three kings, 3♣ for 4 and 3♦ for 5 or more. Opener learns where the aces and kings are, which helps with slam bidding but says nothing about responder's suits.

Neither is better than standard for a new partnership. Agree one method and write it on the card.

Had South bid a waiting 2♦, North would have rebid 2♥ and the spade fit would have come to light a round later, with less room left to explore. The positive response saved a whole level of bidding.

• Passing 2♣. It is artificial and forcing. Even with no points at all, responder bids 2♦.
• Opening 2♣ on points alone. A 20-point 4-5-2-2 hand with seven tricks is a one-level opening. The 2♣ bid needs 22 balanced or close to game in playing tricks.
• Making a positive response on a poor suit. Partner will often want to play in your suit or count on it for slam. Bid 2♦ with a broken suit and show it later.
• Passing a suit rebid. After 2♣ - 2♦, opener's 2♥ or 2♠ is forcing. The only auctions that may stop short of game are the 2NT rebid and opener's three-level rebid after a double negative.
• Forgetting the 2NT structure. After 2♣ - 2♦ - 2NT, 3♣ is Stayman and 3♦ and 3♥ are transfers, the same as over a 2NT opening.

Strong 2♣ sits alongside weak two bids in SAYC and in 2/1 game force. For the whole opening structure on one page, see the bridge bidding cheat sheet.