Responding to an Opening 2NT

Puppet Stayman

Puppet Stayman uses a 3♣ response to enquire about opener's major-suit holdings. Opener rebids 3♥/♠ to show a five-card major suit, and 3♦ to show one or both four-card majors. With neither a four- or five-card major, opener rebids 3NT.

Over opener's 3♦ rebid, if responder also has a 4-card major he/she bids the other [hence Puppet] to ensure the opener plays the contract. If responder has both four-card majors, he/she bids 4♣ with slam interest, 4♦ to sign off in opener's major.

Note that responder should bid 3♣ with three-card holdings in either major, to cater for opener having a five-card major with 4-major being the best contract.

Other Responses

• the 3♠ response to 2NT is used to show both minors, at least 5-4. Opener rebid options are:
  -   rebid 3NT to show no particular enthusiasm for a minor-suit contract
  -   bid 4♣/♦ as RKCB in that suit. Whether a slam is possible will depend on responder's key-cards, and signing off in 5-minor is still possible
• responding four of any suit is RKCB in that suit. The stepped responses are just the same as for 4NT, except starting at a lower point.

Breaking Transfers

We're following Article 8 in Andrew Robson's Modern Bidding Developments. The essence of this is that where responder bids either 3♦/♥ as a transfer, opener breaks the transfer with at least three-card support.

If the auction starts 2NT - 3♦:

• 3♥ denies a fit, just two hearts
• 3♠ shows five spades and two hearts
• 3NT typically shows a 4333 hand with three hearts, offering a choice of game
• 4♣ is the best break, usually with four-card support [nothing to do with clubs]
• 4♥ is not the best break, usually with three-card support.

Over the 3NT and 4♣ rebids, responder can now bid 4♦ as a re-transfer back to 4♥ to right-side the contract.

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