F or NF?

Due to (constant) student request, I have given in and written about this annoyingly tricky topic.

How hard can it be? "Just tell us Larry, which bids are forcing and which are not."

It is very hard. It requires study, memory and sometimes partnership agreement (PA).

F versus GF

In this series, it is important to recognize the difference between Forcing (F) and Game Forcing (GF). "Forcing" (F) means your partner "cannot" pass the bid. If he does pass, he does so at his own peril. I might pass a forcing bid once a decade. Suppose my partner opens 1 and I dredge up a response with a very weak shapely hand. Partner (opener) now makes a forcing rebid (like a jumpshift) but I decide to bail out with a pass. I'd better be right!

"Game Forcing" (GF) means neither partner can pass below game.

In this 5-part series, I plan to break it down as follows:

1. Our opening bid, response and opener's rebid (with no interference)
2. The fourth bid and beyond of our auction (with no interference)
3. After Overcalls (by us or the opponents)
4. Auctions with Doubles
5. Other/Conventions

In this article, we address #1:

1) Our opening bid, response and opener's rebid (with no interference)

OPENING BID

The obvious forcing opening bid (though not GF) is 2. Any other forcing opening bid would have to be conventional (such as Namyats or a special use for a 4NT opening).

RESPONSES TO PARTNER'S OPENING BID

I recommend a two-level response (in a new suit) to be played as GF. That ends any need to know what is forcing, because everything is forcing until game is reached.

But, even in "old-fashioned," a 2-level response (in a new suit) is forcing one round.

A jump-shift to the two-level (for example, 1-2) is a matter of partnership agreement (if it is played as weak, it is not forcing; if a strong jump-shift, then it is GF).

What about other responses? One-level responses (in a suit) are forcing (such as 1-1) and responses of 1NT are not (unless your partnership plays 1NT forcing after a major-suit opener). A response of 2NT or 3NT is a matter of partnership agreement.

A raise is certainly NF. Conventional raises (such as Bergen Raises or Splinter bids are forcing if they are artificial bids; the opener will have to return eventually to the real trump suit).

OPENER'S REBID

Opener's notrump rebid is NF (2NT after a one-level response is 18-19, but passable).

Opener's bid (non-jumps and non-reverses) in a new suit is NF. For example: 1-1-1 or 1-1-2. While not forcing, these rebids do have a fairly wide range (up to about 17 or even 18).

Opener's rebid of his own suit is NF (a jump rebid such as 1-1-3 is only invitational).

Opener's raise of responder's suit (such a 1-1-3) is NF (the higher the raise, the more the opener has).

Opener's artificial raises (such as a splinter bid like 1-1-4) would obviously be forcing.

Opener's reverse or jumpshift is forcing and covered in this article.

QUIZ

In each auction below, is the final bid shown F or NF?

1)

West	North	East	South
1	Pass	1

2)

West	North	East	South
1	Pass	2

3)

West	North	East	South
1	Pass	2NT

4)

West	North	East	South
1	Pass	1	Pass
2

5)

West	North	East	South
1	Pass	1	Pass
2

6)

West	North	East	South
1	Pass	1	Pass
2

7)

West	North	East	South
1	Pass	1	Pass
2NT

8)

West	North	East	South
1	Pass	1	Pass
3

Answers (which are all explained in the article):

1) F
2) PA
3) PA
4) NF
5) F
6) F
7) NF
8) NF

In the next article, we explore the auction after the first three bids (in auctions with no interference).