Inverted Minors

If someone asks you to play inverted minors, they do not mean that they expect you to bid diamonds when you hold clubs and clubs when you hold diamonds. Rather, they are referring to how you should raise when holding support for their opening bid of 1/.

Traditionally, when raising partner's suit, the more you bid the more strength you have. Playing inverted minor-suit raises, this is no longer the case. Over a 1/ opening, a simple raise to 2/ promises at least the values normally associated with a limit raise to the three level, and is forcing for one round, while a jump raise - 3/ - is pre-emptive, showing at most the high-card values normally associated with a limit raise to the two level, but often more in the way of distributional values and less high cards than is normal for such a raise.

Opposite a 1 opening:

(a)		J 5 4
		6
		J 6 4 3
		Q 8 7 5 3

might raise to 3, pre-emptive, while:

(b)		J 5 4
		A 6
		K J 5
		A 10 6 4 2

 

or:

(c)		K 5 4
		A 4 2
		7 4 3
		K J 8 4

 

would raise to 2, a one-round force.

(d)		K 5 4
		J 3 2
		8 6 4
		K J 7 2

 

 

is neither strong enough for a forcing raise to 2, nor suitable for a pre-emptive 3 bid. Instead, this hand should respond 1NT.

Having begun with an inverted raise to 2, hand (c) will settle for a partscore if partner shows a minimum opening hand, as it has nothing to spare for its initial response.
Conversely, hand (b) will bid again, planning to drive to game.

It is entirely possible to add complex artificial sequences to the bidding after the strong simple raise, but the basic method is perfectly playable without them. Just make natural rebids and you will not go far wrong.

Most people play that if opener rebids 2NT or three of his initial suit, that is a natural bid and can be passed, while any new suit would be stronger and, in principle, game-forcing. Similarly, if opener rebids 2NT, the only non-forcing continuation responder can make is to correct to 3/.

Inverted raises are particularly popular when played in conjunction with five-card majors. Because a 1/ opening is often based on only three cards, the idea that a 'two-over-one' bid should be just that, even in partner's suit, has a lot of merit. And that is basically what an inverted minor-suit raise is, natural but promising about the same minimum strength as a two-over-one response would have in a new suit playing standard methods.

There is one weakness which cannot be overcome easily without some artificiality. When playing a strong no trump system, the sequence 1/ - 2/(inverted) - 2NT(weak no trump), leaves responder guessing as to whether to pass or raise to 3NT. Either he can make a 'practical man's guess' and bid 3NT at IMPs but pass at matchpoints, the partnership can change their methods so that 2NT shows a minimum weak no trump and a maximum jumps to 3NT, or they can take on some artificiality.

Note that this problem does not arise when playing a weak no trump base because the 2NT rebid would be 15+ and that will always be sufficient for game opposite an inverted raise.

If you have a question for Brian, please contact anna@msoworld.com