New Minor Forcing

By Larry Matheny[i]

Here's a frequent bidding dilemma:

KQ954 A72 J5 K82 -- Partner opens 1, you respond 1, and partner rebids 1NT. You know you want to bid game, but which game? If partner has three spades, a 4 contract rates to play better. If partner has only two spades, you'd rather play 3NT. Many pairs solve this problem with a treatment called New Minor Forcing. This is a simple bidding agreement that specifies that after the first round of bidding, responder's rebid of 2 of the unbid ("new") minor is forcing for at least one round. (This is an artificial bid and must be alerted.) It asks opener for more information about his hand; first, his length in the suit responder has already bid, and second, the strength of his hand.

As responder, you use New Minor Forcing at your second turn to bid. You should have at least invitational strength (a good 10-11+ pts.) and some doubt about what the final contract should be. In most cases, you have a 5-card major and want to know whether or not partner has a fit.

With the example hand above, clubs is the new minor, so after 1-1-1NT, you would rebid 2 to force. Your bid doesn't promise club length or even a stopper -- it only asks opener to bid again and tell you more about his hand.

Opener's Rebids

After partner bids the new minor, your first obligation as opener is to show support for his major. You do this by making a "delayed raise" to two of his suit. In the example above, your auction would go 1 by you - 1 by partner - 1NT - 2 - 2. Your 2 rebid shows exactly 3 spades (you already denied 4-card spade support when you rebid 1NT). This uncovers your 8-card fit, so your partner will jump directly to 4 with the example hand. If you rebid anything else over partner's New Minor Forcing bid, you deny 3-card length in his major. Your second priority is to show an unbid 4-card major. In the example above, you would rebid 2 if you held 2 spades and 4 hearts.

If you don't have 3 spades or 4 hearts, you have to find another descriptive rebid. You can choose 2NT with a balanced hand, or 2 if you have a 5-card suit. In all of these cases, partner will now know that you have only a 7-card spade fit, so he can choose the 3NT game.

As opener, you should also show your point-count with your rebid. Since responder promises at least invitational strength, you should make a jump rebid if you have a maximum hand that will accept a game invitation. After partner bids 2 in the auction above, you would jump to 3 if you had strong 3-card support and a good 14 or 15 pts. If you had only a doubleton spade and a good 14-15 points, you would jump to 3NT.

Responder's Third Bid

After you use New Minor Forcing, opener's rebid will tell you whether or not you have an 8-card fit in your suit. Your next bid should tell opener whether you have forcing or invitational strength.

With the example hand above, you have forcing values (12-13+ pts.), so your next bid will be at game level. If opener rebids 2 to show 3-card support, you'll bid 4. If opener rebids anything else (2, 2, 2NT), you know you have only a 7-card spade fit, so you'll choose 3NT.

If you have only invitational values (10-11 pts.), you'll make your rebid at a lower level.

Here's an example:

983 QJ763 A5 KJ4 -- Partner opens 1, you bid 1, and he rebids 1NT. To start an invitational auction and check on partner's heart length, bid 2 (New Minor Forcing). Here are opener's possible rebids and the actions you should take at your next turn to bid.

If opener's second bid is:

2 (denying 3 hearts) -- Rebid 2NT to invite game.

2 (minimum opener with 3 hearts) -- Bid 3 to invite game.

2NT (minimum opener with 2 or fewer hearts) -- Pass.

3 (extra values with good 3-card heart support) -- Bid 4.

3NT (extra values with 2 or fewer hearts) -- Pass.

Other situations

You can (and should) use New Minor Forcing when you are 5-4 in the majors and have invitational-or-better strength.

AK1063 K1065 4 964 -- Partner opens 1, you respond 1, and partner bids 1NT. In this auction (after opener rebids 1NT), a bid of 2 by you should show a weak hand (6-9 pts.) with no interest in game -- it promises 5 spades and 4+ hearts and asks opener to pass or bid 2 if he prefers that suit.

To show an invitational or better hand, bid 2 (yes, even with a singleton!) to force. This will allow you to find an 8-card fit in either major. If partner has 3 spades, he'll bid 2 and you'll raise to 3 to invite. If he has 2 spades and 4 hearts, he'll bid 2 and you can invite a heart game with by raising to 3.

There are also hands where you have a four card major plus support for opener's minor suit.

KQ84 A97 AKJ95 7 -- Partner opens 1, you respond 1, and your partner rebids 1NT. A rebid by you of 2 would be weak, a jump to 3 would be invitational, and so your only recourse is to use New Minor Forcing. If partner now bids 2 or 2, you can bid 3 to show a forcing hand with 4+ diamonds. It is your third bid that explains why you used new minor.

This treatment can also be used when opener makes a jump rebid of 2NT.

KQ854 A82 J5 872 -- Partner opens 1, you respond 1, and partner rebids 2NT. You want to be in either 3NT or 4 depending upon opener's spade holding. A rebid of 3 would show 6+ spades so we use new minor. After your artificial 3 bid, opener will bid 3 with support, 3 holding four hearts and only two spades, and 3NT with all other holdings.

Another benefit occurs when you hold: KQ854 A982 J5 72 -- partner opens 1 you respond 1, and again he jumps to 2NT. If you now bid 3, partner will not know if you hold five hearts or only four. He will not know what to bid when his distribution is 2-3-4-4. The solution is to bid 3 when you are 5-5 (or greater) in the majors, and use new minor when you are 5-4.

There are different versions of New Minor Forcing so be sure and discuss this with your partner before adding it to your card.