Handbook - International Bridge Press Association

Lebensohl
If the bidding starts,
Partner You
1NT (2♠) ?
Lebensohl lets you bid three clubs, three diamonds or
three hearts forcing when you have a good hand. If
you just want to compete at the three level, rather than
to defend two spades, you bid two notrump. This is a
"puppet" bid, which requires partner to bid three clubs;
you can then pass, or sign off by bidding three diamonds
or three hearts. If you want to get fancy, you
can also assign meaning to a cue-bid, or a threenotrump
bid, after first bidding two notrump.
Meanwhile, what happens if you want to bid a
natural two notrump? You just can't do it, so you may
have to overbid slightly, or underbid by passing. That
is the price you pay for the convention, but, after all, it
is unlikely that you can make exactly eight tricks in
notrump.
Rubens Advances
Like Lebensohl, Rubens Advances let you show your
suit with either forcing or nonforcing strength. The
method here is to use a transfer rather than a puppet
bid. If the bidding starts,
Partner You
(1♣) 1♠ (Pass) ?
you can bid two clubs or two diamonds, to transfer to
diamonds or hearts. Then, you pass with a competitive
hand, or bid on with a better hand. With a spade
raise, you can bid two hearts (transfer, good raise) or
two spades directly (weak raise). If you already use
the cue-bid to show a good raise, you give up virtually
nothing by using this convention, since it really works
just as well to bid two hearts to show this type of raise.
Now, let's roll up our sleeves and put these two
ideas together.
Rubensohl
In Rubensohl, like Lebensohl, we give up two notrump
as a natural bid, to gain more flexibility with strong and
distributional hands. The difference is that all bids
from two notrump to three spades are transfers to the
next strain.
To begin with, suppose that partner opens one
notrump, and RHO overcalls two of a major.
Partner You
1NT (2♠) ?
134 IBPA Handbook 2010
1. Two notrump is a transfer, showing at least five
clubs, plus enough strength to compete at the three
level. With no game interest, you can then Pass partner's
three-club bid, and play there; with extra
strength, you can bid on.
2. Three clubs and three diamonds also transfer, to
diamonds and hearts. Partner is entitled to expect a
reasonably good hand when you transfer, even if you
are simply intending to Pass when partner bids your
suit, since you would just defend two spades with a
bad hand. So, with a maximum and a good fit, partner
is allowed to super-accept the transfer by jumping, or
bidding some other suit.
Now, the more exotic side:
3. Three hearts is - wait for it - still a transfer! But,
since the opponents have already bid spades, this is
not a spade suit but a "transfer cue-bid." It is forcing to
game, and guarantees a four card heart suit.
By transferring, rather than bidding three spades
ourselves, we leave partner just enough room to
check back for a spade stopper if he does not have
one himself. His options over three hearts are:
a. Three notrump-natural; a spade stopper, fewer
than four hearts.
b. Four hearts – natural; four-card heart suit.
c. Three spades – check back: "No heart suit here,
partner. Have you got a spade stopper?"
Right! Have you got all of that? Then you will be
ready for this.
4. Three spades is also a transfer, to notrump! In
effect, it is a cry for help, showing a strong hand with
no four-card major, no five-card minor worth bidding,
and no stopper in the enemy suit.
There is one further option, which is - at last!completely
natural.
5. Three notrump is to play, showing a spade stopper
with no interest in finding a four-four heart fit.
When the opponents have bid a lower ranking suit, the
rules are:
1. Three spades is always the "Help!" bid, to preserve
useful space for other hand types.
2. The transfer cue-bid is always the bid below the
enemy suit-three diamonds over a two-heart overcall,
three clubs over two diamonds, two notrump over two
clubs.
3. All other bids from two notrump to three hearts
are standard transfers, showing a five-card suit.