June 3, 1999
The Fiskforsk complex of notrump responses is named after the URL of Petter Olsen's website that inspired the ideas. In it's original form it was designed to economically use the limited bidding space over 2NT openings to best advantage, accomodating the possibility that opener could hold a useful five card major or minor suit. The principles, with minor modifications, can be adapted to 1NT auctions, both of which are discussed below.
This paper is part of a series on the Polish Club bidding system. Although applicable to all strong notrump opening ranges, the remainder of this paper focuses on those used by this system.
| 12-15 | Open 1D, 1H or 1S and rebid 1NT or open 1C and rebid 1NT after a major suit response or a major after a 1D response. Fiskforsk is not applied to this point range. |
| 16-18 | Open 1NT, may contain a five card major. |
| 19-21 | Open 1C and rebid 1NT after a 1D response or 2NT after a major suit response. (This denies good 3 card support.) May conceal a five card major. Note 1C-1Maj,2NT may also be 24+. |
| 22-23 | Open 2NT. May conceal a five card major. |
| 24-25 | Open 1C. After a 1D response rebid 2NT. After a positive response find a forcing continuation (usually 1S, 2C, 2D or 2NT.) This implies that 1C-1D,2D is either unbalanced or 26+ points! |
The Fiskforsk structure is applied to the 16+ point cases where responder hasn't shown a suit, i.e. the 1NT and 2NT openings and 1C-1D, xNT. Other methods are used in the development of the 12-15 point hands. They are discussed in a companion paper.
Opening (or rebidding) notrump on hands with a five card major that are otherwise balanced (e.g. 5332) will often produce better results than when opened in the major. When 1H or 1S is opened on these hands opener often has a rebid problem. Further, when responder raises on a minimum opener is compelled to carry on to the three level which may be too high with six opposite 16 points. In these cases 1NT is often a better contract.
The down side of opening 1NT with a five card major is the absence of tools to disclose this feature that aren't in some other way seriously compromising. Fiskforsk addresses these problems, as well as the somewhat less serious issue of finding opener's occasionally slam producing five card minor.
The structure following the 1NT opening and 1C-1D,1NT sequence (the "1NT auctions") are identical, as are those that follow the 2NT opening and the 1C-1D,2NT sequence (the "2NT auctions.") The main differences between the 1NT and 2NT cases involve the need for invitational auctions in the former, and the availability of an additional level of bidding below game. In both cases the non-jump suit responses (1NT-2C, 2D, 2H and 2S and 2NT-3C, 3D, 3H and 3S) and the four level responses have common meanings. The 2NT and three level suit responses to 1NT have meanings that have no anaolgy in the 2NT case.
Here is an outline of the responses that both cases have in common followed by detailed discussions.
1NT-2C and 2NT-3C |
The Fiskforsk Stayman inquiry hands that don't have an otherwise clear cut action, including: invitational or better hands hands with a three or four card major and slammy hands with a minor suit or six card major and four card side suit. | |
1NT-2D and 2NT-3D |
Transfer to hearts, could be 45xx. | |
1NT-2H and 2NT-3H |
Transfer to spades. Could be 55xx (with no slam ambitions) but not 54xx. | |
1NT-2S and 2NT-3S |
Specifically invitational or better 54xx or the first move on a club or diamond bust. | |
| 1NT-2NT | Invitational | |
| 1NT-3C and 1NT-3D | Invitational to 3NT with a long suit. | |
| 1NT-3H | Strong minor two suiter, xx44, xx54 or xx45. Slam interest. | |
| 1NT-3S | Strong minor two suiter, xx55. Slam interest. | |
1NT-3NT and |
To play. | |
1NT-4C,4D,4H,4S and 2NT-4C,4D,4H,4S |
Roman Keycard Gerber in hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds respectively. The suits are reversed (e.g. clubs shows hearts) so that the ask can be repeated at the five level for kings without it sounding like a signoff, thus 1NT-4C,4S-5C sets hearts as trump and asks about kings. | |
To this inquiry opener rebids his cheapest four card major or 2D (3D after 2NT) with any five card suit. With neither of these opener must rebid 3NT in the 2NT case. In the 1NT case opener rebids 2NT, which can be passed, with a minimum hand. With a maximum opener rebids the 'obvious' fragment at the three level. The obvious fragments are: 3C=3334, 3D=3343, 3H=2344 and 3S=3244. This fragment bid solves responder's support discovery problem below 3NT.
After 1NT-2C,2D, showing a five card suit somewhere, responder can ask which suit it is by bidding hearts minimally, thus 1NT-2C,2D-2H (or 3H when 2NT is opened.) Opener rebids in steps to show the suits in order: 2S shows clubs, 2NT shows diamonds and a minimum opening, 3C shows diamonds and a maximum opening, 3D shows five hearts and 3H shows five spades. The auction now proceeds naturally. Note the two steps used to show diamonds which is necessary to safely sign off in 2NT when opener is minimum yet reach 3NT when maximum. Here are some examples:
The same approach is used after the 2NT-3C,3D auctions except the distinction between minimum and maximum hands with diamonds is unnecessary and is dropped and the space that is freed up allows us to use responder's relay (except bypassing 3NT) as a Roman Keycard Ask in opener's suit, thus:
Although it would be easier to just bid the actual suit held after the 2/3H inquiry, it creates a problem in the 2NT auction because it bypasses 3NT when opener's suit is a minor. A related problem, in both the 1NT and 2NT auctions, is responder's approach when holding support for only one of the major's that opener might have. We don't want opener to bypass 3NT (or 2NT in the 1NT auctions when only holding invitational strength) when that might be the right spot. The solution to this is for responder to rebid something other than 2/3H on these hands. With a willingness to play in hearts but not spades responder rebids 2/3S, and with spades but not hearts he rebids 2/3NT. This latter bid can be passed by opener so should be avoided on slam going (after 2NT) or game going (after 1NT) hands.
After 1NT-2C,2D responder is free to bid a suit of his own at the three level. (Similarly after 2NT-3C,3D four of a minor shows that suit and slam interest.) The minor suits promise five or more cards and slam interest. The majors are forcing and show a five card suit with three cards in the other major, which may match opener's five card suit. (Note with a five card major and anything but three in the other major responder will begin with a transfer, or 2S with 54xx.)
If responder rebid a minor (1N-2C,2D-3m) and opener's five card suit is a major then he bids it - he can always show interest in partner's suit on the next round. Opener rebids 3N with five cards in the other minor. Any other rebid shows support for responder.
If responder rebid a major (1N-2C,2D-3M, showing 5-3) the auction can proceed pretty much naturally. Opener rebids 3N to deny interest. Any other rebid shows support for responder. Here are some examples of all this:
There are a few auctions that need clarification when responder pursues opener's five card suit with 2H (1N-2C,2D-2H). Regardless of the suit opener shows, responder's rebid in opener's suit is invitational, 3N is to play and 4N is quantitative 4C is RKC in opener's suit and anything else is a cue bid.
When opener shows a four card major after 1NT-2C things develop pretty much as with standard Stayman. Responder's 2S rebid after 1NT-2C-2H shows four spades and is forcing one round; without support opener rebids 2NT when minimum and his four card minor at the three level on a maximum (or 3H or 3N with none) to facilitate the slam search when responder holds a five card minor. (This is similar in spirit to the 1NT-2C,3x auctions.) Responder's 3C and 3D rebids (e.g. 1NT-2C,2any-3m) show five or more and slam interest.
When opener rebids 2NT showing a minimum hand without a five card suit or a four card major responder's rebids are much the same: 3C and 3D set the trump suit and ask opener to cuebid with four or bid 3NT with only three (opener will never have just two.) Responder's rebid in a major after 1NT-2C,2NT shows a five card suit.
When opener rebids a three level fragment showing a maximum hand without a five card suit or four card major responder knows more about opener but is more constrained. A suit bid below game is forcing, sets the trump suit and initiates cue bidding. 3NT and four of a major are signoffs. 4NT is quantatative. (Note that the awkward auction 1NT-2C, 3S-4H need never occur.) Here are some examples:
Auctions that follow these transfer bids follow pretty much standard practice. Opener must minimally rebid responder's 'anchor' suit except when holding four card support. With four and a minimum hand opener jump rebids in the anchor suit. With a maximum opener rebids a doubleton, or NT with 4333.
After opener's simple rebid responder passes with no game interest; otherwise rebids 2 or 3NT with a five card suit and no slam interest, asking opener to show three card support, or 3 or 4 of the anchor suit with six or more and no slam interest.
With slam interest responder rebids 3C and 3D (4C and 4D after 2NT.) This minor may be a bogus suit when responder holds something like AQxxx Axx Kxx Qx; other times it will show a real four or five card suit. In any case, opener rebids the anchor suit with three card support, some other suit with four card support for responder's second suit, and 3NT (4NT after the 2NT opening) with neither.
Responder shows 55xx hands with these auctions.
After 1NT or 2NT and a transfer, 4NT and 5NT by responder are quantatitive (5NT forcing six) unless opener has shown support, in which case they are RKC and GSF respectively.
The 2S response shows specifically invitational or better 54xx, or a club or diamond bust. Opener rebids a minimum NT with no tolerance for either major (and, in the 1NT opening case, with a minimum hand), otherwise rebids clubs. After opener's NT denial responder passes or bids 3NT with the 54xx hands and bids clubs or diamonds with a minor suit bust. After opener's club rebid responder passes or rebids diamonds with a bust, bids 3H with invitational 54xx, 3S with a game going or better 54xx. After 2NT-3S,4C (which promises a fit) responder rebids 4H to play game or 4S with slam interest to discover opener's keycards - afterwhich a heart bid by responder is a request to signoff in opener's fitting suit.
After a 2NT opening opener rebids 3NT, 4H or 4S depending on fit.
1NT-2NT is invitational.
The 3C and 3D responses to 1NT are invitational to 3NT showing a long broken suit and little outside strength.
The 3H response to 1NT shows slam interest and a minor two suiter that is less than 5-5. Opener rebids 3NT without interest, bids 4C or 4D to set the suit, or bids 3S to get more information, to which responder rebids 3NT with xx44, 4C with xx45 or 4D with xx54. In the latter two cases the bid sets the trump suit and initiates cue bidding.
The 3S response shows a 5-5 minor two suiter and slam interest. Opener rebids 3NT with no interest otherwise selects his favorite minor at the four level. Cue bidding then ensues.
This system is ON after a double, with the added element that redouble is a puppet to 2C intending to sign off in a minor suit -- opener must rebid 2C and responder corrects to diamonds if that is his suit.
The system is ON responding to a 1NT overcall.
This system is replaced by lebensohl after an overcall.