Smolen Convention: Five-Four Majors After Stayman

Smolen is a jump by responder after 1NT - 2♣ - 2♦ that shows five cards in one major, four in the other, and game values. Responder jumps in the four-card major: 3♥ shows four hearts and five spades, 3♠ shows four spades and five hearts.

It solves a common problem after Stayman: opener has denied a four-card major, but responder still has a five-card major and wants to know whether opener holds three cards in it. Smolen asks that question and makes sure the 1NT opener, not responder, plays the major suit game. It is a standard part of the 2/1 Game Force bidding system, it is just as common in SAYC, and it fits into Acol notrump structures the same way.

The auction always starts the same way. Partner opens 1NT (15-17 in most American systems), you bid 2♣ Stayman, and partner bids 2♦ to deny a four-card major. Now:

You already know there is no 4-4 fit, because opener has no four-card major. The only fit left is a 5-3 fit in your long major, and opener is the one who knows whether he has three cards there. So he answers:

• With three or more cards in your five-card major, he bids game in it: 4♠ over 3♥, 4♥ over 3♠.
• With a doubleton in your five-card major, he bids 3NT.

Responder passes either answer unless he has slam interest. You can see what the 3♥ jump means in every system.

It looks backward, and new players often get it wrong. Why not simply jump in the five-card suit?

You could. A natural 3♠ over 2♦ (five spades, game forcing) would also find the 5-3 fit. But then responder would declare 4♠, and the 1NT opener would be dummy. Opener's hand is the strong one, full of tenaces like AQ and Kx. You want the opening lead to come up to those holdings, not through them, and you want the stronger hand to stay hidden.

Smolen fixes that. By bidding the four-card suit, responder leaves the five-card suit for opener to name. When opener bids 4♠, he becomes declarer. That swap is called right-siding the contract, and it is the same reason Jacoby transfers exist.

There is a second, quieter benefit. A jump in the five-card suit leaves the four-card suit unknown. Smolen tells opener your whole major-suit shape in one bid, which helps when he is thinking about slam.

The basic answers are 3NT and four of responder's long major. Many partnerships add a way for opener to show a fit with slam interest, because 4 of the major is a sign-off:

• After 3♥ (five spades): opener's 3♠ shows three-card spade support and a good hand for slam. It is forcing, since the auction is already game forcing. Responder then cue bids or signs off in 4♠.
• After 3♠ (five hearts): there is no room to bid hearts below game, so opener shows a fit with slam interest by cue bidding 4♣ or 4♦, his cheapest ace or king outside hearts.

With a plain fit and no interest in slam, opener just bids the game. With a doubleton, he bids 3NT, even with a maximum. Responder's game-forcing jump only promises about 10 HCP, so a doubleton and a 17-count still belong in 3NT unless responder shows more.

Example 1: the 5-3 fit. You are South with ♠KJ864, ♥AQ75, ♦72, ♣T3: 10 HCP, five spades and four hearts. Partner opens 1NT.

North has three spades, so the 5-3 fit exists and North declares 4♠. Declarer loses the ♠A and two clubs, and ruffs the third round of clubs in dummy.

Now see 3NT. East leads a club from ♣AQJ97. North's king takes one trick, but the defense sets up the rest of the suit, and West's ♠A is the entry to reach it. Four clubs plus the ♠A is five tricks for the defense. A Smolen auction gets you out of 3NT and into the game that makes.

Example 2: no fit. Change North's hand so he holds only two spades, for example ♠Q9, ♥K62, ♦AKJ4, ♣K982. After 1NT - 2♣ - 2♦ - 3♥, North bids 3NT: he has no fit for spades, and his 2-3-4-4 shape suits notrump. South passes. Without Smolen, South would have to guess between 3NT and a 5-2 spade game.

Example 3: six spades and four hearts. You hold ♠KQ8642, ♥AJ75, ♦6, ♣84 opposite a 1NT opening. You bid 2♣ in case partner has four hearts. If he bids 2♥, you have a 4-4 heart fit and at least an eight-card spade fit. Many experts prefer 4♥ here, with opener as declarer, because the long spades can then provide discards. If he bids 2♦, many pairs use Smolen with a six-card suit: a jump to 4♥ (after 2♦) shows six spades and four hearts and asks opener to bid 4♠, while 4♦ shows six hearts and four spades and asks for 4♥. These are transfers, like Texas, so opener still declares.

If you do not play that extension, simply use Texas at once over 1NT with any six-card major and forget the four-card suit.

Smolen is for five-four in the majors and game values: about 10 or more HCP opposite a 15-17 notrump. The other major-suit hands use different tools:

The 5-5 schemes vary between partnerships; the one in the table is a common standard. What matters is that you and partner use the same one.

Smolen also needs a 2♦ answer. If opener bids 2♥ or 2♠, you have either found your fit or you know where it is: with four spades and five hearts, raise 2♠; with five spades and four hearts over 2♥, raise hearts. Smolen only starts when opener has denied both four-card majors.

Over 2NT. If you play regular Stayman over a 2NT opening, Smolen works one level higher: 2NT - 3♣ - 3♦ - 3♥ shows four hearts and five spades; 3♠ shows four spades and five hearts. Opener bids 4 of responder's five-card major with three-card support, or 3NT without. Pairs that play Puppet Stayman over 2NT do not need Smolen there, because opener has already shown or denied a five-card major, and they handle five-four hands with their own follow-ups.

After interference. Smolen applies only after the uncontested sequence 1NT - 2♣ - 2♦. If an opponent doubles 2♣ or overcalls, the meanings change: responder bids naturally, and a cue bid of the opponents' suit becomes the forcing bid that asks partner to describe his hand. Agree with your partner whether a double of Stayman changes opener's answers, because many pairs use pass and redouble there to show a club stopper or no four-card major.

1. Jumping in the five-card suit. That is natural in some partnerships and Smolen in none. Bid the four-card major.
2. Using Smolen with an invitational hand. The jump is game forcing. With 8-9 HCP, bid two of the five-card major after 2♦ instead.
3. Opener bidding 3NT with three-card support. Opener must show the 5-3 fit. A 5-3 fit with a balanced opener usually plays a trick better than 3NT.
4. Opener bidding the four-card major. Opener has already denied four cards in it. The question is only about responder's five-card suit.
5. Treating opener's 4♠ as forcing. It is a sign-off. Responder needs real extras to move on.
6. Forgetting Smolen exists. The most common error is the simplest: responder bids 3NT over 2♦ and misses a 5-3 fit.

Smolen auctions come up often in real play, and the hard part is noticing them in time. The BridgeDummy Bidding Room gives you random deals bid with EPBot robots, so 1NT hands with five-four majors appear on their own and you see the full deal after each one. For close calls such as 3NT versus a 5-2 major game, a custom simulation lets you set the two hand types and compare both contracts over many dealt hands.

• Stayman convention: the 2♣ ask that every Smolen auction starts with.
• Jacoby transfers: the other half of your 1NT responses.
• Puppet Stayman: finding five-card majors over 2NT.
• Texas transfers: jumping to game with a six-card major.