Those pesky 9 counts

[Doug Deacon]

My partner (a strong player but new to KS) is  concerned about responding to a 1m opening on certain balanced 9 counts. 

If opener is balanced and...

... opens 1C:

- when responder holds =3334, it begins 1C-2C-2N...

... opens 1D:

- when responder holds =3343, it begins 1D-2D-2N...

- when responder holds =3334 or =xxx5, it begins 1D-2C-2N...

Responder can't pass 2N, opener may have up to 19. With these flat shapes, there's no sensible m-suit rebid, so it appears we've endplayed ourselves into 3NT.  This may put us in 3N on a combined 24... against the field at matchpoints and pretty aggressive even at IMPs.

Has this been a problem for your KS partnerships? How do you manage this?

[Doug Deacon]

Thanks, Robert. 

> we bid 1D over 1C with as few as 3 diamonds when holding 9+ points it that seems better than 2C.

That's what my partner wants to do.

My question: what happens when it goes 1c-1d-2d or 1c-1d-3d? There we are, in a 7-card suit...

Of course this only addresses 1C openings. Do you have a "fix" for 1D openings when a 9-point responder has 4 (5) clubs and o other suit?

On Mon, Mar 9, 2026, 2:16 PM ROBERT PARK <bpa...@comcast.net> wrote:

Kinda hate to admit it, but my partner & I are deviant...by a point.

We require 10 points for those 2m bids. And we bid 1D over 1C with as few as 3 diamonds when holding 9+ points it that seems better than 2C.

This has not proved troublesome. 1D followed by 1N then shows 9-11 points.

  --Bob Park

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[ROBERT PARK]

Kinda hate to admit it, but my partner & I are deviant...by a point.

We require 10 points for those 2m bids. And we bid 1D over 1C with as few as 3 diamonds when holding 9+ points it that seems better than 2C.

This has not proved troublesome. 1D followed by 1N then shows 9-11 points.

  --Bob Park

On 03/09/2026 1:51 PM EDT Doug Deacon <doug...@gmail.com> wrote:

 

 

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[jerome keslin]

According to B1. 

The fix.

1d - 2c is 9-11/12

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[Doug Deacon]

Jerome,  that's not the fix. It's the problem.

9 + 15 ≠ 25

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[jerome keslin]

Sorry misunderstood.

So what does 1d - 2c show?

Kokish " fixes " by allowing a major response to be on a 3 carder.

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[Doug Deacon]

For us, 2C shows what B-19 says, except we eliminated the weak option (long clubs, 4 diamonds, 8 or less). 

Therefore, 2C shows 9+, including flat 9-11 counts with no 4cM (and promises GF values if holding a 4cM or 4-card D fit).  

The concern is a flat 9 count when opener has a balanced 15.  KSU endplays us into 3N.

Kokish's "fix" sounds almost KSU-ish.  If opener can rebid and even reverse into a 3cM, why shouldn't responder bid one too?!

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