Four-Suit Transfers: 2♠ for Clubs, 2NT for Diamonds

Four-suit transfers (also called four-way transfers) let responder transfer to any suit over partner's 1NT: 2♦ shows hearts, 2♥ shows spades, 2♠ shows clubs and 2NT shows diamonds. With a weak hand and a long minor, responder can sign off at the three level; with a good hand, the transfer starts a game or slam auction. The cost is that 2NT is no longer a natural invitation, so you invite in notrump through 2♣ Stayman.

The major-suit transfers are the same Jacoby transfers you already know. What changes is the treatment of the minors. The ranges below assume a 15-17 1NT, as in 2/1 Game Force.

The minor transfers usually promise six cards, because a weak hand needs a long suit to be worth playing at the three level instead of in 1NT. With a good hand, five cards can be enough if you plan to bid on. You can see what 2NT means in every system: in most of them it is a natural invitation, which is why a new partner must be warned.

Over a major transfer opener just completes it, or super-accepts with four trumps and a maximum. Over a minor transfer there is a step in between, and the popular agreement uses it to describe opener's holding in responder's minor:

Some pairs play it the other way round, with the in-between step showing the poor holding. Either works; just agree which.

Why bother? Because responder with a six-card minor headed by one top honor and a few points can bid 3NT when opener shows a fit: the suit will likely run. Without the fit, he stops in three of the minor.

• Weak hand: sign off. Over the in-between step bid three of your minor; over a completed transfer, pass.
• Invitational hand with a good six-card suit: bid 3NT if opener showed a fit, otherwise pass three of the minor.
• Game force or slam interest: a common agreement is that a new suit at the three level shows a singleton or void with slam interest in the minor. Four of the minor invites slam, and 3NT offers a choice of games.

A typical weak hand: ♠84 ♥732 ♦QJ9864 ♣95. Over 1NT you bid 2NT, and whatever partner says, you play three diamonds.

With a balanced invitational hand (8-9 HCP), you start with 2♣ and bid 2NT at your next turn:

• 1NT - 2♣ - 2♦ - 2NT: invitational, no major fit.
• 1NT - 2♣ - 2♥ - 2NT: invitational. You may hold four spades, or no major at all.
• 1NT - 2♣ - 2♠ - 2NT: invitational, no spade fit.

Opener passes with a minimum and bids 3NT with a maximum. After 2♥ - 2NT, opener with four spades and a maximum bids 3♠, so that responder can pick 4♠ with four spades or 3NT without them.

The cost is that Stayman no longer promises a major. Opener must never assume responder has four spades just because he used 2♣. Garbage Stayman and normal Stayman with a major work as before.

The transfer also helps good hands, because it sets the suit at a low level and leaves room to describe the rest. Suppose you hold ♠A4 ♥7 ♦KQ5 ♣KQJ8743 opposite a 1NT opening. You bid 2♠ and partner completes with 3♣. Now 3♥ shows a singleton or void in hearts and slam interest in clubs.

Partner can judge his hand at once. With his honors in spades and diamonds, such as ♠K-Q ♦A-J and the ♣A, slam is close to cold: 6♣ loses at most one heart. With ♥K-Q-J and little else, his hearts are wasted opposite your singleton, and he signs off in 4♣ or 5♣. Without the transfer you would have to jump to 4♣ or guess, and partner would not know where your shortness is.

South has only 3 HCP, but six diamonds. Passing 1NT leaves North to play with a dummy that has no entry outside diamonds. South bids 2NT and North, with three diamonds to the ace, shows the fit with 3♣. South has no interest in game, so he bids 3♦.

Double dummy, 3♦ makes nine tricks, while 1NT by North takes only five. Not vulnerable, that is +110 instead of -100. Notice that South's ♦Q-J and the long suit are worth tricks only when diamonds are trumps: in notrump the suit is cut off from North's hand.

Pairs who miss the natural 2NT invitation sometimes give 2♠ a double meaning: either long clubs or a balanced invitation. Opener bids 2NT with a minimum and 3♣ with a maximum.

• With the invitation, responder passes 2NT or bids 3NT over 3♣.
• With weak clubs, responder bids 3♣ over 2NT, or passes 3♣.

This keeps the invite out of Stayman, so 2♣ promises a major again. The price is that opener can no longer show a club fit at once. A few pairs use 2♠ as Minor Suit Stayman instead and keep 2NT natural; you cannot have both at 2♠.

There is no right answer. Strong partnerships play both structures, and the 2/1 Game Force card has room for either. If you play online with many partners, the natural 2NT is less likely to cause an accident; with a regular partner, four-suit transfers handle long minors better.

If they double the 2♠ or 2NT transfer, a simple agreement is that opener completes the transfer with three or more cards in responder's minor and passes with fewer, so that responder can decide. If they overcall partner's 1NT before you respond, the transfers are usually off and you fall back on your methods over interference, such as Lebensohl. The bigger risk is that the opponents can double an artificial 2♠ to ask for a spade lead, so be ready for it.

To try the method, open the Bidding Room, where you can bid with the robots in 2/1, SAYC, Acol, Precision or Polish Club. For the rest of the 1NT structure, see Stayman, Texas transfers and the beginner lesson on Stayman and transfers.