Kokish Relay

Balanced hands that are too strong to open 1NT (15-17 HCP) are expected to use the following Standard American sequences. The 2 auctions waste a lot of space and are somewhat wide-ranging in nature.

Opener's strength	Opening Bid
20-21 HCP	Open 2NT
22-24 HCP	Open 2 and rebid 2NT
25-27 HCP	Open 2 and rebid 3NT
28-30 HCP	Open 2 and rebid 4NT
31-32 HCP	Open 2 and rebid 5NT

To improve on this, Canadian expert Eric Kokish proposed a more compact structure. After a 2 opening bid and a 2 negative response, opener should still rebid 2NT to show 22-24 balanced points, like so:

AKQ AK A765 K983

Opener 2 2NT Partner 2

However, a balanced hand with 25+ points should rebid an artificial 2 as a relay to 2. This shows either 1) a balanced hand with 25+ points, or 2) a genuine heart suit.

Opener’s rebids after the 2 relay:

Opener's Rebid	Meaning
2NT	25+ points, game-forcing1
3	5+ hearts and 4+ clubs
3	5+ hearts and 4+ diamonds
3	6+ hearts2
3	5+ hearts and 4+ spades

¹ If you prefer, 2NT can be eased to 24+ points. This makes it riskier to force game, but also allows the immediate 2NT rebid to be tightened to 22-23 points.

² Balanced hands with 5 hearts should rebid 2NT, either directly or indirectly.

Kokish originally called his contraption "Birthright", although it is more popularly known as the Kokish Relay.

In his Book "The Notrump Zone", American expert Danny Kleinman states, "The Kokish Relay loses responder's 'second negative' or delayd positive response when opener has a big heart hand, but gains by replacing awkward 3NT sequences with smooth 2NT auctions when opener has a big notrump hand. I'm not confident that the benefits outweight the drawbacks."

		Opener			Responder
		AK			J8732
		QJT			87642
		AKQ2			5
		AK86			54
		Opener 2 (1) 2 (3) 2NT (5) 3 4			Responder 2 (2) 2 (4) 3 (6) 3 (7) Pass

1. Strong and artificial
2. 0-7 points, negative or waiting
3. Kokish Relay
4. Completing the relay
5. 25+ points, balanced and game-forcing
6. Jacoby transfer
7. Showing 5 spades along with the 5 hearts

Note that the partnership would have lacked an extra level of bidding space if opener had rebid 3NT immediately.

		Opener			Responder
		AT3			K42
		AKJ872			95
		AKT			653
		A			T8765
		Opener 2 (1) 2 (3) 3 (5) Pass			Responder 2 (2) 2 (4) 4

1. Strong and artificial
2. 0-7 points, negative or waiting
3. Kokish Relay
4. Completing the relay
5. 6+ hearts, game-forcing

		Opener			Responder
		T6			Q7542
		AQT64			973
		AKJ			T765
		AKQ			7
		Opener 2 (1) 2NT(3) 3 (5)			Responder 2 (2) 3 (4) Pass

1. Strong and artificial
2. 0-7 points, negative or waiting
3. 22-24 balanced
4. Jacoby transfer
5. Completing the transfer

Employing the Kokish Relay means that opener can't rebid a natural 2 with an unguarded spade doubleton. In this case the partnership ends up in the inferior major suit.