What Is 2/1?

Two Over One (2/1) Game Forcing is a natural, 5-card major bidding system. When the auction begins 1//, a simple 2-level response in a new suit is forcing to game.

Responder promises 13+ points in the following 6 sequences:

Opener 1

Responder 2

Opener 1

Responder 2

Opener 1

Responder 2

Opener 1

Responder 2

Opener 1

Responder 2

Opener 1

Responder 2

2/1 offers the psychological reassurance that you'll never be accidentally dropped in a partscore. Have you ever made a "forcing" rebid with 17 points and watched partner pull out the Pass card? If so, you might know what I mean.

As for actual science, 2/1 saves bidding space by curtailing the need for strong jump bids by either player. This extra space can be used to bid games and slams more precisely.

Here's a Standard American auction that's undermined by a strong jump shift:

	West AKQT65 4 A92 863		East J4 AKT972 Q85 AK
	West 1 3 Pass		East 3 4

East feels obligated to jump shift with a strong one-suiter. West, unfortunately, can do little but rebid spades. East then guesses to sign off, since West's spades could be as meager as Axxxxx. A good-looking small slam is consequently missed.

Playing 2/1, however, the auction can be much crisper:

West 1 3 4 52 64 Pass

East 2 4 4NT1 5NT3 6

¹ Roman Key Card Blackwood 1430
² 3 key cards
³ Asking for side kings
⁴ No side kings

East initially establishes a game force with 2. West then jump shifts in spades - a special rebid in 2/1 that shows a strong running suit. (With weaker spades, he could simply rebid 2.)

East then happily upgrades his spade holding and initiates a slam sequence.

The 1NT Forcing Convention

So invitational hands are excluded from 2/1 responses. What do you do with them?

When the auction begins with 1 or 1, invitational hands get funneled into the 1NT Forcing convention, showing 6-12 points instead of the standard 6-10.

This creates some potential challenges:

• 1NT Forcing may not adequately describe responder's shape
• You can no longer stop in 1NT when your side opens one of a major
• 1NT Forcing may require opener to make some awkward rebids, especially with balanced shape

Bill Root and Richard Pavlicek once wrote that 1NT Forcing is like a carburetor that helps power a car. It's not pretty but does its job. Well, Audrey Grant's book "2 Over One Game Force" dedicates 45 pages to 1NT Forcing. Imagine buying a new car with an Owner's Manual containing 45 pages about carburetor maintenance.

Take a look at these problematic hands:

	West KQT87 K94 53 A72				East A AQJ83 9742 T64
	West 1 Pass		North Pass Pass		East 1NT Pass		South 3

East initially responds with 1NT Forcing because his hand is too weak for a 2 game-force. But 1NT masks East's heart suit, and the partnership misses its 8-card fit.

Another example:

	West AK653 K62 Q74 84		East T7 Q9 532 KQJ52
	West 1 2 Pass		East 1NT 2

This time East bids 1NT Forcing with a lighter hand. West is stuck - he can't pass in case East has invitational values. Lacking a suitable rebid, West rebids his diamond fragment. The auction concludes in a less-than-ideal contract.

Partnership Agreements

The computer scientist Andrew Tanenbaum once quipped, "The nice thing about standards is that you have so many to choose from." This sentiment could easily be applied to 2/1. No two books about the system are exactly alike.

Some aspects of 2/1 that warrant partnership discussion:

• Is a 2/1 response 100% game-forcing? What are the exceptions?
• Do jump shift responses become weak or invitational?
• Does opener promise extra values if he reverses over a 2/1 response?
• What do opener's no-trump rebids mean?

An example of this last bullet:

AJ3 AQJ762 4 K85

Partner 1 3NT

You 2 ?

3NT normally shows a strong balanced hand in Standard American bidding. What does it promise if 2 is game-forcing, though? Some pairs treat it as 12-14 points, preferring to reserve the 2NT rebid for good hands that want to explore slam.

Memorization of such sequences can be taxing, especially given their infrequency. In short, thorough partnership conversations are necessary to make the most of 2/1.