Posted 2013-September-17, 07:28
Alertability: I am never the right person to ask about legal matters, but I find it hard to see how there could be damage by a non-alert. West declined to bid over 2♣, it seems highly unlikely that he would come in now if 3♣ were alerted as non-forcing. Further, it seems to me that there are many, many treatments involving minors by responder after a 1NT opening. So none is "standard". Of course it is also hard to see what harm would be done by alerting it if played weak, so probably it is best to do so.
Next, suppose I am playing pick-up, or semi-pick-up, on bbo. I treat it as forcing. Could be wrong, but I treat it as forcing.
Now suppose we want to work something out with a regular or semi-regular partner.Here is a hand from Better Bidding with Bergen volume 1 page 74:
KQ64 / 7 / 94 / AQ9653 Partner opens a strong NT.
Marty says (or sez) that you begin with 2♠, a transfer to clubs, and then you bid your clubs naturally.
Well, I don't do that nor do most people I know.
I begin with 2♣ and, if partner responds 2♦ or 2♥, I bid 3♣.
I treat the auction 1NT-2♠-3♣-3♠ as a club slam try with short spades rather than 4 spades.
I was trying to see if Marty says anything about your auction, and I don't see that he does, at least here. Which is pretty surprising, actually.
Obviously, how you approach the above hand has a bearing on your question. If, with a strong hand holding 4 in a major and 6 in a minor you first transfer to a minor and then bid your major, it becomes more appealing to play 2♣ followed by 3♣ as weak.
I do think it is not the way the majority play, however.
This next gets a bit hairy.
I seem to recall an article somewhere, I think by Bergen, that gets into some other related matters. Suppose after 1NT that 2♠ shows clubs, and 2NT shows diamonds. As is well known, this means that responder, if holding a balanced invitational hand, must start with 2♣ even if he has no four card major (there are various ways around this, but leave that aside). So he begins the invitation with 2♣, perhaps opener bids 2♥. Now responder bids his four card spade suit if he has one, and opener takes this as invitational with four spades. Pretty standard for those who play that an immediate raise of 1NT to 2NT shows diamonds. But now suppose responder actually has a weak hand with four spades and six clubs. He could just transfer to clubs and forget it, but here is an option. He starts with 2♣. If partner bids 2♦ he bids 3♣ as a weak bid! If partner bids 2♠ he is delighted in finding his fit. Only 2♥ poses a problem The suggestion that I saw still allows him to bid 2♠. This can be either an invit with a balanced hand or a weak 6/4. Opener, if he wishes to accept the hoped for invit, bids 3♣ If indeed the 2♠ was a balanced invit, responder knows the invitation has been accepted and converts to 3NT. If responder has, instead of a balanced invt, a minor major weak hand, he passes 3♣ or corrects to a weak 3♦.
Anyway, playing this approach, your auction as given is weak.
Upshot: There are modern players who play your example auction as weak. I do not believe they are at all in the majority.
Ken