35 Terry’s Two Clubs after 1NT (part 2)

This time it’s Partner - 1NT – you  - 2C.  Of course this is normally Stayman, and your first worry is that another meaning will lose Stayman. Actually it won’t, because this is a two-way bid including a modified Stayman.  Let me explain.

After partner’s 1NT, 2D and 2H are transfers – virtually everybody plays them, and so do I.  (And 2S to show 11 points.) Although transfers can be used by strong hands seeking a game, their original purpose (still available) was for weak take-outs, to be passed out at the two level.  In other words, the red-suit transfers are two-way bids. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could do all this with the minor suits? Well, we can rule out transfer to clubs, can’t we? But 2C = transfer to diamonds is possible, and that’s what my 2C means over partner’s 1NT. And it’s 2-way in that if my hand really is just 5+ weak diamonds, I can pass the 2D transfer. Job done. But this is rare, and if I really mean Stayman then the bidding will carry on. The difference is that in this case responder isn’t asking, he is telling. Over the 2D he bids his 4-card major (hearts if both) and if opener also has four she will raise hearts. If not, but holding four spades she will bid 2S hoping that will do. Responder raises spades if holding four, or bids 2NT or 3NT just as we do in Stayman if there is no major suit fit. Everything is like Stayman except that the boot is on the other foot.

This bid was dreamed up here in Quorn a few years ago and is called Barton after my daughter Julia who helped to finalise the details I have just explained.  So every time we could have used Stayman, we use Barton. It is rarely that the 2D transfer gets passed out, but when it does, we have got the edge over the Stayman players! If you adopt this convention, you need to alert the 2C bid and, if asked for its meaning tell the opponenents it is a  “Transfer to diamonds.” The subsequent bids need no alerts because they are all natural.