The Brozel Convention
Situation: RHO opens 1NT and you want to compete, but have no long suit.
There are several popular conventions in use to overcall an opponent's 1NT opener, all based on showing two suits, usually 2 five card suits. We use Brozel.
It pivots around the Heart suit:
1NT 2§ . . . Shows Clubs and Hearts
1NT 2¨ . . . Shows Diamonds and Hearts
1NT 2© . . . Shows Hearts and Spades
1NT 2ª . . . Shows Spades and a minor suit
With a single, long, solid suit, (6+ cards) a Double is bid (alerted).
Strength: 8 to 14 HCP, concentrated in the two five card suits. Usage: Some form of two suited convention is fairly common. There are several of them. Alertable.1NT Dbl . . . Shows an unidentified long suit.
The Brozel overcaller has made a limited bid, meaning he is not expected to bid again, except in some favorable vulnerability situations. Bid What's Right. Responder, then, should take whatever action seems right. If third hand bids, then responder is off the hook, but may come in later as a sacrifice or competitive balance.
Responses to Brozel Overcalls
N E S W
1NT 2§* 2ª P
West doesn't have to bid now that South has bid. Otherwise, East should choose between Clubs and Hearts.
©* P 2ª1NT 2
Being Forced. If third hand passes, responder must either bid the other suit implied or pass or raise the actual bid suit. With a 3 card fit in one or both, there is a powerful trick taking potential, even with modest high card values.West picks the suit, choosing between Hearts and Spades.
With a poor fit, perhaps only 2 cards, responder nevertheless must bid or pass, favoring the major if they're even.
Find the Minor. To identify the minor implied with a 2ª overcall, responder bids 2NT - alerted, of course.1NT 2ª P 2NT*
¨ . . . Overcaller has shown his minor.P 3§ or 3
Responder can pass, bid 3NT (!), prefer to the major, etc.
Unlike many other conventions of this type, overcaller has bid a real suit, so responder can pass, thus not revealing his hand. This is useful if circumstances later suggest a sacrifice, assuming the opponents bid game. (This is the reason we use Brozel rather than similar conventions.)
Leave it In. If overcaller has doubled, responder may leave the double in, expecting to take several tricks as a long, solid suit was promised and that hand is on lead against Notrump. If responder is too weak to support the double, or prefers a possible plus score his way, he bids 2 Clubs and overcaller passes or corrects to the right (long) suit.
N
E
S
W
1NT
2¨*
3§
P
(Stayman by third hand)
3©
P
4©
5¨
South takes the sacrifice when N/S reach an apparently comfortable game contract.
© . . . East corrects to his long suit.N E S W
1NT Dbl* P 2§ West bails.
P 2
1NT Dbl* P P West feels like penalizing North.
Redbl P 2¨ . . . North forces South to pick a suit to get out of a bad situation.