dec.indd

English 54 Brian Zietman Well, that was a surprise! I wrote an article entitled 'Stayman or Transfer' and 3 people (Avi Rosenthal, George Leibowitz and Lea Cesarco) individually commented about Smolen. I did not realize that there was such a large number of readers of my articles  . Funnily enough, Ron Pachtman gave us a lecture in the 'Atlas Course' and he mentioned Smolen as well. I was very surprised that I had not heard of Smolen before, and wondered if he had heard of me. Anyway, after some research, it turns out that Michael Smolen died at the age of just 52 in 1992. Here is a brief outline of his convention. As I stated in my article when we have 5-4 or even 6-4 in the majors and game going values , we will respond to the 1NT opener with a transfer, and then bid our second major which is forcing. However, according to the Smolen Convention, instead of an immediate transfer we bid Stayman with a delayed transfer in these situations. If partner responds to our 2 ♣ with 2 ♥ or 2 ♠ , we will happily jump to game with a 4-4, 5-4 or even 6-4 fi t in that major. However, if partner's response is 2 ♦ , denying a 4-card major suit, then as I stated in my previous article, the responder must now bid the longer Major suit to show a major suit of at least 5 cards. The problem with this is that the transfer advantage is lost, and the weaker hand usually becomes the declarer. Instead of concealing strength like as King-Jack or Ace-Queen, these holdings are revealed to the defenders, providing them with additional defensive advantages. When a partnership employs Smolen Transfer bids, designed speci fi cally for this situation, then the responder will jump to the three level in his shorter Major suit. This initiates the Smolen convention, and the 1NT bidder now has the information that partner holds game values. This jump shows a 4-card suit in the suit bid and 5 or 6 cards in the other major. This convention allows the 1NT opener to become the declarer. Examples 1) ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ A42 A73 Q763 AK3 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ K7654 K964 K8 QJ West East 1NT 2 ♣ 2 ♦ 3 ♥ 3 ♠ 4 ♠ Pass West denies a 4 or 5 card major by bidding 2 ♦ . According to the Smolen convention, responder no longer bids his longest suit directly. Instead he bids his shorter major at the 3-level . This action initiates a delayed transfer. East shows exactly four hearts with longer spades, plus game values. Now West has at his disposal all the information to make the right decision. Holding three cards in partner's longer major, West completes the transfer and bids 3 ♠ . Thus the 1NT opener becomes the declarer. The responder, according to his values, will either bid game or attempt slam. The Smolen Convention