Fluffy, on 2014-November-01, 17:48, said:
This has an easy solution: change your partner to someone who has studied bridge during this century.
Sorry, Gonzalo, but this is not the way.
Simply put: 1NT is a bad bid. It may be that all other actions are even worse and that 1NT is the least of evils. But you cannot tell me that you are going to be proud when you bid 1NT, LHO bids 3
♠, and partner bids 3NT when they cash the first 5 tricks. You cannot act as if this hand is an example hand in a 21st century bridge book of a perfect 1NT rebid when it isn't.
I agree with you that a 1NT rebid does not promise a spade stop. Nevertheless, partner is allowed to expect one, since without a spade stop you should be considering alternative rebids. Sometimes you hold a 3343 and there is no alternative. In this case, there are two possible alternatives for 1NT (2
♣ and 2
♦). Neither of these is flawless, but acting as if 1NT is flawless with the argument that "it is the 21st century bid" is not very helpful.
Rik
I want my opponents to leave my table with a smile on their face and without matchpoints on their score card - in that order.
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the new discoveries, is not “Eureka!” (I found it!), but “That’s funny…” – Isaac Asimov
The only reason God did not put "Thou shalt mind thine own business" in the Ten Commandments was that He thought that it was too obvious to need stating. - Kenberg