Checkback Stayman

By Marc Smith
EBU Grand Master, teacher, and author

Checkback is a variation of the Stayman convention after opener rebids 1NT. Irrespective of which two suits have been bid prior to opener’s 1NT rebid, Two Clubs is always an inquiry. Thus:

1 1NT

1 2*

1/ 1NT

1/ 2*

1 1NT

1 2*

You can use Checkback to locate 4-4 and 5-3 major-suit fits that may have been lost on the first round of the auction. Just as with regular Stayman, you give up the ability to play in Two Clubs, but the rewards make doing so equally worthwhile.

What Strength Do You Need to Use Checkback?

Advancing with a Checkback Two Clubs over partner’s 1NT rebid shows at least game invitational values. Thus, if partner’s rebid showed 11-14, then you need at least 11 HCP for Two Clubs. If his rebid showed 15-17, you need 8+ HCP.

The exact responses to Two Clubs depend on which two suits were bid in the first round of the auction. Let’s start at the bottom and work our way up.

Opener 1 1NT ?

Responder 1 2*

Two Clubs asks partner if he has a 4-card major. The responses are the same as regular Stayman:

2	No four-card major
2	Four hearts and maybe four spades
2	Four spades but not four hearts

Now, you may be wondering why partner would bypass a four-card major to rebid 1NT in the first place. Why is Checkback needed at all?

The answer lies in your first bid of the auction. Consider this hand after partner opens One Club:

Hand A K J 5 4 10 4 K 10 6 5 4 9 6

Partner 1

You ?

You should ignore your moderate diamond suit and respond One Spade. When you’re too weak to make a game try opposite a minimum opening, you should strain to introduce a major if you have one. This is sometimes called “Walsh.”

Suppose partner proceeds to rebid 1NT:

Partner 1 1NT

You 1 ?

You have a choice now. You can opt to pass 1NT or you can advance with Two Diamonds.

If you bypass Checkback to bid Two Diamonds, partner will know that you're too weak to invite game. He will either pass Two Diamonds or put you back to Two Spades, although he will be aware that your diamonds will often be the longer of your two suits.

Another example:

Hand B K J 5 4 A 10 3 A 10 6 5 Q 6

Partner 1

You ?

This hand warrants a One Diamond response. There is no need to distort your shape by skipping over suits when you are this strong. (How are you going to reach Six Diamonds when it is right if you skip over the suit now?)

Thus when the auction starts 1—1, partner can safely rebid 1NT with a balanced hand, even when he holds one or both four-card majors. This is beneficial when 1NT becomes the final contract, because the stronger hand gets to declare without disclosing any 4-card major to the opponents.

In rebidding 1NT, partner knows that:

• If you have Hand A, you would have strained to bid One Spade immediately. So there’s no risk of missing a 4-4 major suit fit if you're weak.
• If you have Hand B, you’re strong enough to use Checkback at your next turn. Again, there's no risk of missing a major suit fit.

Bidding a Major After Partner Bids 2

Partner 1 1NT 2*

You 1 2* ?

Over a Two Diamond response that denies a 4-card major, you can advance by bidding a major naturally. This would suggest concern about stoppers in the other major for notrump purposes.

With a stopper in the other major, partner can then either bid 2NT (non-forcing) with a minimum for his 1NT rebid, or 3NT with a maximum.

Take a look at these hands:

Partner K Q 5 10 6 J 9 2 A K 10 6 3

You A J 10 4 9 4 A Q 8 6 Q 7 4

Partner 1 1NT 2* ?

You 1 2* 2

Lacking a stopper in the suit that you have asked about, partner can make a descriptive bid. This may mean rebidding his clubs, showing support for your diamonds, or even showing three-card support for your major. Just occasionally, when partner has a suit with no stopper, the only game you can make will be in a 4-3 major-suit fit. When you bid confidently to Four Spades on the above pair of hands, you can bet that your opponents will treat you with respect henceforth.

Bidding 2NT or 3NT After Partner Bids 2

Most of the time, having failed to find a 4-4 fit for his major, you will rebid either 2NT (invitational) or 3NT over partner’s Two Diamond response. Note that this auction is the same as a regular Stayman situation.

For instance:

Opener K 9 6 5 A Q 9 2 5 4 A J 7

Responder A Q 8 3 J 7 5 K J 7 3 Q 4

Opener 1 1NT 2 4

Responder 1 2* 3NT Pass

In this auction, opener should be able to deduce that responder holds four spades. Why else would responder bid Two Clubs and then raise to 3NT after opener advertised four hearts? Therefore, opener corrects to the known 4-4 fit.

Balanced or Unbalanced?

By using Two Clubs and then bidding 3NT, responder implies a balanced hand. You should not use Checkback with a more distributional, unbalanced hand such as:

A Q 8 3 A 7 K J 8 7 4 3 4

With this hand type you should make a reverse at your second turn:

Partner 1 1NT

You 1 2

This shows the same values (at least game-invitational opposite your 11-14 or 15-17 range) as Checkback, but this sequence shows an unbalanced hand.

In both sequences, responder has spades and diamonds, but it is important to differentiate these two very different hand types.

Knowing when your shape is 4-3-4-2 versus 4-2-6-1 will leave opener much better placed if he must decide whether to bid 3NT or look, instead, for game in diamonds.

Investigating Minor-Suit Contracts

There are two other possible reasons why you can bid Checkback Two Clubs: because you are interested in game or slam in a minor.

If you advance with Two Clubs over partner’s 1NT rebid and then bid Three Clubs or Three Diamonds at your next turn, those bids are natural and game-forcing. (Remember, a jump to Three Clubs over 1NT would be weak and to play, whilst an immediate jump to Three Diamonds would be natural and invitational.)

Would you not want to reach Six Diamonds on this combination?

Partner J 6 3 A 6 K 7 2 A 9 8 6 3

You A 7 K 7 5 A Q 8 6 5 4 K 5

Partner 1 1NT 2 3 3NT 5 Pass

You 1 2 3 3 4 6

Similarly, when you have a club fit, you should rebid Three Clubs at your third turn. Your objective may be just to reach the best game, or you may have slam aspirations.

Precisely how important Checkback is to you will depend on your partnership style. If, as in my own partnership, you freely raise responder’s major with three-card support, then a 1NT rebid strongly implies precisely 1-2 cards in responder’s suit.

If your partnership raises only rarely with three cards, though, then Checkback will enable you to find a 5-3 fit.

Opener 1 1NT ?

Responder 1 2*

Opener can respond as follows:

2	Denies as many as three hearts or four spades
2	Shows three hearts and may or may not hold four spades
2	Shows four spades but denies three hearts

Note that when opener responds Two Spades, he virtually guarantees 4-2-3-4 shape (or 4-2-4-3 if his opening bid was One Diamond). Why? Because he rebid 1NT to show a balanced hand. With 4-1-3-5 or 4-1-4-4 shape he would have rebid One Spade to show an unbalanced hand.

Note that if opener would raise One Heart to Two Hearts freely with three-card support, then the implication of a Two Heart response to the Checkback inquiry is that he has 4-3-3-3 shape.

After a Two Diamond response, responder will usually invite with 2NT or bid 3NT. He can, though, investigate minor-suit contracts further — a bid of either minor at the three-level would be forcing.

Suppose you hold this hand as responder:

K Q 7 4 A 9 4 3 K 7 4 Q 8

Partner 1 1NT 2*

You 1 2* ?

Partner’s Two Heart bid shows three hearts and does not deny four spades. (If you play 5-card majors then he can have 4-3-3-3 shape). You can still find a 4-4 spade fit, though, because Two Spades from you is forcing. Note that this sequence shows precisely 4-4 in the majors. With 4-5 you would bid Two Spades (forcing and promising invitational or better values) directly over 1NT.

If the auction proceeds...

Partner 1 1NT 2* ?

You 1 2* 2

...then partner can make one of the following bids:

3	Four spades and a minimum
4	Four spades and a maximum
2NT	A balanced minimum, non-forcing
3NT	A balanced maximum

Similarly, when responder has initially bid spades instead of hearts:

Opener 1 1NT ?

Responder 1 2*

...then opener has the following bids available:

2	Denies as many as four hearts or three spades
2	Shows four hearts and may or may not hold three spades
2	Shows three spades but denies four hearts

Again, opener shows his major suits up-the-line. Note that it is quite possible for you to have a 4-4 heart fit in this auction: opener can be 2-4-3-4 and responder any hand with 5-4 in the majors. By showing four hearts in preference to three spades, opener also ensures that your side will usually find your best fit. (With a 4-4 fit and a 5-3 fit, you usually prefer to play in the 4-4.)

As above, responder can advance with a forcing Two Spades over a Two Heart response. This shows a hand not interested in finding a heart fit but just looking for a 5-3 spade fit.

The Loss of the Natural 2 Rebid

If you play Checkback, you do lose the ability to make a natural Two Clubs response in these sequences. For instance:

K Q 7 3 8 5 4 J 9 8 5 4 3

Partner 1 1NT

You 1 ?

This time, partner has shown 12-14 HCP and a balanced hand without four spades. You bid One Spade in case your side had a 4-4 fit but, now that partner has not raised spades, what do you think will be the best contract?

It is about possible that 1NT is your best spot, but the odds are surely high that a club partscore is where you want to play. Since Two Clubs would be Checkback showing at least game-invitational values, you cannot bid that. On this hand, you jump directly to Three Clubs. This is non-forcing and non-invitational: you have chosen the contract and partner must pass.

Opener 1 1NT ?

Responder 1 2*

Both the meanings and implications of bids in this auction will be affected by whether your basic system uses 5-card or 4-card majors.

Irrespective of that distinction, though, note that responder should NOT hold a weak hand with three hearts and only four spades. With that hand, he should raise One Heart to the two-level rather than introducing his spades. There are two primary reasons for this.

• First, an important principle of sound bidding: when you have found a fit and can limit your hand, do so.
• Second, opener could hypothetically raise One Spade with three-card support, which will then leave you in a 4-3 spade fit rather than a 5-3 heart fit.

Don’t worry that you might reach the wrong game by raising. With 4-5 in the majors and game invitational or better values, opener should advance with Two Spades (promising a four-card suit) after One Heart is raised to Two Hearts.

The responses to the Checkback Two Clubs will depend on your system. If you play 4-card majors, then opener bids as follows:

2	Denies three spades or five hearts
2	Shows a fifth heart, and may or may not hold three spades
2	Shows precisely 3-4 in the majors

If you play 5-card majors, opener will always have a fifth heart in this auction. That does not mean that the Two Diamond bid will never be used, though. Instead, you can use the two red-suit responses either to differentiate between minimum and maximum hands or to show the quality of your hearts. An example of the latter approach:

2	Denies three spades or two of the top three hearts
2	Denies three spades but promises two of the top three hearts, e.g. KQxxx or better
2	Shows precisely 3-5 in the majors

Most of the time, responder starts with the Checkback Two Clubs because he is looking for an eight-card major-suit fit. That is not always the case, though, and we saw above how it may also be the first move in investigating a minor-suit slam.

If, having found a major-suit fit, responder simply raises a major to the three-level, that limits his hand to invitational values. Opener can pass with a minimum, like so:

Opener 1 1NT 2 Pass

Responder 1 2* 3

If responder makes any other bid at the three-level after first using Checkback, he creates a game-forcing auction.