August 2

The August 2 Diamonds convention is a variation of the Two Way Stayman bid after an opening or overcall of 1 No Trump by partner and is designed to show a weak holding of a 4-card Major suit and a 5-card Minor suit. The No Trump range is not quantified and therefore the conventional method can be employed by any No Trump range and adapted to corresponding values.

If the No Trump bidder has equal length in both Major suits, then the No Trump bidder is expected to bid up the line, meaning Hearts first. The No Trump bidder does not guarantee a 4-card Major suit, since the No Trump bidder is required to bid only his longer Major suit.

Example

Opener AQ, AQ7, K984, Q985

Responder J1076, 93, J5, KJ763

1NT	Pass	2	Pass
2*	Pass	3**

* Longest or equal majors

** To play

Any new suit rebid by the responder is considered a sign-off. The opener is not required to bid again. Therefore, any rebid of another suit by the responder is not forcing, not for one round and not to game

First Response

A first response of 2 by the responder may promise a weak Minor two-suited holding and is often referred to as false Stayman. The No Trump bidder first assumes that this is the Stayman conventional method asking for a 4-card Major suit and bids accordingly. It is of the utmost importance to remember that only when the responder then rebids 3 does it becomes a certainty that the responder has a weak Minor two-suited holding. The No Trump bidder then can either accept Clubs as the final contract or correct to Diamonds when holding better Diamonds as shown in the following example

Opener AQ8, AQ7, K974, Q95

Responder 107, 9, Q10862, J10743

1NT	Pass	2	Pass
2*	Pass	3**	Pass
3

* Longest or equal majors

**I have the minors