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 No-Trump 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.