Under the conditions set forth in the partnership agreement, both the Stayman convention and the Jacoby Transfer convention are used after partner has opened No Trump. If the responder realizes that he has enough points for game, but has a 5-4 distribution in both Major suits, he will use the Stayman convention.
But, if the response by the No Trump bidder is 2 Diamonds, then the responder will jump in his 5-card suit, which is game-forcing. By doing so, the responder will very often become the declarer. This is known as the Smolen Transfer and was devised by Mr. Michael Smolen.
Example:
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The No Trump bidder has no 4-card Major suit and bids 2 Diamonds.
According to these partnership agreements, the responder would jump in his 5-card Major suit, and bid 3 Spades, which is game-forcing for the No Trump bidder, who bids 4 Spades.
The responder ends up as the declarer, and the normally concealed strength goes down as the dummy for the opponents to see, possibly opening up an immediate line of defense communication. This has proven to be undesirable.
This is where the Smolen Transfer can be very helpful. Using this treatment, the No Trump bidder will always be the declarer, even after a negative 2 Diamond response to the Stayman bid.
After a negative 2 Diamond response by the No Trump bidder, the responder will jump to three of a Major suit in which he holds four cards. The No Trump bidder then knows that the responder holds at least five or more cards in the other Major suit.
In the above example, the bidding would go as follows:
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showing 4 Hearts and showing 5 Spades |
If the No Trump bidder has 3-card support in Spades, then he would bid 4 Spades. If the No Trump bidder has only 2-card support in Spades, then he would set the contract at 3 No Trump. The No Trump bidder would then become the declarer and the weaker hand would go down as the dummy.
However, if the responder actually holds six plus cards in Spades, and the No Trump bidder opts for 3 No Trump as the contract, then the responder would bid FOUR OF THE SUIT BELOW HIS LONG MAJOR, forcing the No Trump bidder to bid FOUR OF THE SUIT OF THE RESPONDER.
If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.