New suit response to partner's weak 2

[Liversidge]

2♥ - 2♠ - forcing or non-forcing/constructive?

My partner and I are unsure about what our agreement should be.

NoFear and Andrew Robson recommend that it should be played as constructive non-forcing, showing no interest in hearts, around 11-15 points and a good 6 card spade suit. Other respected sources recommend playing it as forcing for one round. All of them acknowledge that both approaches are valid.

 

Comments much appreciated.

[Cyberyeti]

The less tightly defined your weak 2, the better constructive NF becomes, if it's a 5 point range and decent quality 6 card suit, either approach is valid, if you get any wider than that, I'd go with constructive NF.

[Winstonm]

One thing about this particular sequence is that there is room for a forcing 2H-3S bid. The question, and legitimate IMO, is do you want to play 2S-3H and 2H-2S the same as there is no room for a jump force in hearts or solve it by agreeing that 3-level bids are forcing but 2H-2S is not.

[rmnka447]

The first qualifier about whether a new suit is forcing responding to a weak 2 should be "by an unpassed hand".

 

I agree with cyberyeti that if you're going to bid weak 2's aggressively in 1st or 2nd seat, then non-forcing is probably better.

 

OTOH, if you decide to play reasonably disciplined weak 2's in 1st and 2nd seat, then maybe forcing should be considered. 2 ♥ - 2 ♠ forcing let's you explore for a possible ♠ fit without getting too high.

 

If new suits are non forcing, then the only way to force the weak 2 bidder is via a 2 NT response. Over weak 2 bidder's rebid, responder will have to decide whether or not to show their suit at the 3 level (or possibly at the 4 level).

[Cyberyeti]

The first qualifier about whether a new suit is forcing responding to a weak 2 should be "by an unpassed hand".

 

I agree with cyberyeti that if you're going to bid weak 2's aggressively in 1st or 2nd seat, then non-forcing is probably better.

 

OTOH, if you decide to play reasonably disciplined weak 2's in 1st and 2nd seat, then maybe forcing should be considered. 2 ♥ - 2 ♠ forcing let's you explore for a possible ♠ fit without getting too high.

 

If new suits are non forcing, then the only way to force the weak 2 bidder is via a 2 NT response. Over weak 2 bidder's rebid, responder will have to decide whether or not to show their suit at the 3 level (or possibly at the 4 level).

 

If you're going to play forcing, you can also invert the meanings of 2♠/2N.

[helene_t]

If your opening promises 6, play it as forcing. Especially if the opening promises a decent suit.

 

If you sometimes open on 5 cards, play it as nf.