The undisputed bridge expert Marty Bergen
came to the conclusion that surrendering the 2 bid as being a natural bid would
be a small sacrifice to pay, then surrendering the 2
bid also would be a small sacrifice in order to allow the
responder to describe his hand more accurately. Marty Bergen
concluded that a 2
response by his partner, who is
already a passed hand, could show a 3-card support for the opening Major suit
with 10-12 points, and that a 2
response by his partner, who is already a passed hand, could
show a 4-card support for the opening Major suit with 10-12 points. Although
this seems immaterial at first, let us take two examples to show the difference
and importance of this form of auction.
You hold 74
AQ9
854
KJ875 and Partner opens 1
in 3rd/4th seat
You hold 74
AQ95
85
KJ875 and Partner opens 1
in 3rd/4th seat
With the first holding, Marty Bergen suggests bidding 2 to indicate 3-card support after the bid of 1
by the opener
With the second holding, Marty Bergen suggests bidding 2 to indicate 4-card support after the bid of 1
by the opener.
Upon examining the two hands, one concludes that Hand 1 has one more loser than Hand 2, which could mean the difference between a part-score and game. With this additional information, the opener has a better chance to reach game, knowing that there is a 9-card trump suit instead of an 8-card trump suit.