Finding a 5-3 major fit after a 2NT opening

Author

Paulo Brum

Picking up from where we last spoke on the subject (check it out). 
I suspect that some form of Puppet Stayman is the most popular system nowadays (2021) among experienced players. As with any convention, discussion of follow-ups is very important. Any bidding structure over 2NT (which swallows up a lot of important bidding space) should be able to solve the following problems:

• Finding 4-4 major fits
• Finding 5-3 major fits (whether the 5-card suit is with opener or responder)
• Dealing with the hands in which both possibilities are present (responder has 5-4 in a major, the Smolen case)
• Setting up a trump suit for slam purposes as early as possible
• Exploring possible minor-suit fits after checking on the major-suit possibilities, in the case of slam-going hands.
• Last, but not a minor consideration: it should do that divulging the least amount of gratuitous information. In other words, answers to questions that have not been asked should not be offered.

Puppet Stayman in some of its (many) variants does a good job with that list. But that comes at the expense of some serious complexity. For instance, the version played by some Italian partnerships includes the sequence 2NT-3C-3H to deny a major (leaving more room for this case), while 2NT-3C-3NT shows 5 hearts. 

My suggestion here is perhaps slightly less efficient than the best versions of Puppet Stayman, but it is much simpler and easier to manage. It must be remembered that this is a low-frequency issue; any budding partnership should devote their time to more pressing matters before trying to fine-tune this sequence, which is why a simple alternative is often best.

Here it is:

After 3C, opener bids:

3D: denies hearts. Can still have spades (but can also have no major)
3H: 4+ hearts. Denies 4 spades.
3S: 5 spades
3NT: both majors

Over 3D from opener, responder, if interested, asks with 3H. Opener bids 3S with 3 cards in spades (right-siding the hand when responder has a Smolen-type, 5S4H), 3NT with 2 spades, and something at the 4-level with 4 spades.

If responder bids 3S over 3D, he is showing 4 spades and 5 hearts. Notice how responder bids the Smolen hands just as he used to do with plain Stayman; he bids the 4-card suit after a 3D response.

After opener bids 3H, showing hearts and denying spades, responder can (if he feels like it) inquire about whether opener has 4 or 5 hearts by bidding 3S. Opener will only bypass 3NT when he has 5 hearts. Note that this also establishes hearts as the trump suit for slam investigation, if responder bids something forward-going in the next round. (Again, this is very much like expert bidding over plain, 70's style Stayman).

The other 2 responses to the 3C inquiry are easy to deal with. If opener bids 3S, showing 5 spades, responder bids 4H to establish spades as the trump suit for slam. Other bids are natural. After 3NT showing both majors, it is useful to play (at least) 4Red as a transfer to the next suit, to allow for setting the suit, right-siding the contract, and exploring for slam.

So there it is. An alternative to Puppet Stayman which is much easier to navigate than the most exotic varieties out there.