Playing traditional 5-card majors, a 1♣️ opening bid asks for natural responses “up the line”. Responder must bid 1♦️ with 4+ diamonds before showing a 4-card major. Simple, right?
This approach was commonplace until the 1970s, when American expert Richard Walsh popularized his Western Scientific bidding system. With less than game-forcing strength, Walsh espoused bypassing the 1♦️ response to show a 4-card major immediately.
Holding 4+ diamonds and a 4-card major, responder should bid the major first. It’s important to show the major first and foremost, because responder might not have the strength to bid again.
East: ♠️KQ87 ❤️1083 ♦️A9763 ♣️7
W N E S
1♣️ Pass ?Bid 1♠️
East: ♠️ KQ87 ❤️10832 ♦️A976 ♣️7
W N E S
1♣️ Pass ?Bid 1❤️. When holding 4-4 majors, show the hearts first. You can still locate a spade fit if partner rebids 1♠️
How “extreme” to take the Walsh philosophy is a matter of partnership agreement. For instance, some pairs might bypass 6 strong diamonds to bid 4 weak spades… and some might not.
East: ♠️7642 ❤️107 ♦️AKQ83 ♣️7
W N E S
1♣️ Pass ?Do you really want to bid 1♠️? Many if not most Walsh players would consider a descriptive 1♦️ bid instead.
East: ♠️K52 ❤️AK83 ♦️KJ1073 ♣️7
W N E S
1♣️ Pass ?Bid 1♦️. You are willing to reverse and show your hearts later.
Why play Walsh? First, you can find a major suit fit faster. This can be important when the opponents compete.
♠️ K 10 3
❤️ 8 5 2
♦️ 6 5 2
♣️ K 10 9 4
♠️ 8 2 ♠️ Q 6
❤️ A 10 6 4 N ❤️ K Q 9 7
♦️ A 4 W E ♦️ K J 10 9 3
♣️ A Q J 5 2 S ♣️ 7 6
♠️ A J 9 7 5 4
❤️ J 3
♦️ Q 8 7
♣️ 8 3
W N E S
1♣️ Pass 1❤️ 2♠️
3❤️ 3♠️ 4❤️ Pass
Pass PassEast bids 1❤️ holding fewer than 12 points. This helps West identify the heart fit after South’s preempt. Imagine what would happen if East initially responded 1♦️. West would have a tough time introducing hearts at the 3-level.
Another ironic benefit of Walsh is the occasional chance of jamming the opponents yourself. Check out this deal:
♠️ 4 3 2
❤️ J 7 6 4
♦️ A 6 5
♣️ Q J 9
♠️ Q J 6 ♠️ A 9 7 5
❤️ K 8 2 N ❤️ 5 3
♦️ 7 4 W E ♦️ Q J 9 3
♣️ A K 10 8 5 S ♣️ 7 6 2
♠️ K 10 8
❤️ A Q 10 9
♦️ K 10 8 2
♣️ 4 3
W N E S
1♣️ Pass 1♠️ Pass
1NT Pass Pass PassIf East bids 1♦️ first, South has a safe 1❤️ overcall (or double). Instead, the 1♠️ Walsh response makes it much riskier for South to compete at the 2-level.
Note that in ACBL games, Walsh responses are not alertable. However, the “Frequently bypass 4+♦️” checkbox should be marked under the Minor Opening section.
When the auction begins 1♣️-1♦️ opener is normally expected to rebid 1❤️ or 1♠️ with 4 cards. Playing Walsh, however, opener may choose to rebid 1NT with a 4-card major and a balanced hand. There are a couple reasons for this.
First - in his fine book “Modern Constructive Bidding”, Marshall Miles advocates against opening 1♣️ with a 3-card suit and rebidding a 4-card major. The risk is that partner might take a preference to clubs with only a 3- or 4-card holding.
Second, responder is guaranteed to bid again with a 4-card major and game-forcing values. Therefore, it’s more economical and preemptive for opener to bid 1NT directly with balanced shape.
Example:
♠️ A 5 4
❤️ K 3
♦️ 10 9 4 3
♣️ A 7 5 4
♠️ 10 7 3 ♠️ K 9 8
❤️ A 8 6 4 N ❤️ 9 7 2
♦️ A K W E ♦️ Q J 7 5 2
♣️ Q J 8 6 S ♣️ K 3
♠️ Q J 6 2
❤️ Q J 10 5
♦️ 8 6
♣️ 10 9 2
W N E S
1♣️ Pass 1♦️ Pass
1NT Pass Pass Pass1♦️ - The only way I can have a major suit is with 12+ points.
1NT - Okay, I’m balanced and may or may not have a 4-card major myself.
If you’re strong enough to hold four hearts, I know you’ll bid
again.
Pass by E - No, I’ve shown my strength.
Example:
♠️ 5 4
❤️ K 3 2
♦️ 10 9 4 3
♣️ A 7 5 4
♠️ 10 7 3 ♠️ A K 9 8
❤️ A 8 6 4 N ❤️ 9 7
♦️ A K W E ♦️ Q J 7 5 2
♣️ Q J 8 6 S ♣️ K 3
♠️ Q J 6 2
❤️ Q J 10 5
♦️ 8 6
♣️ 10 9 2
W N E S
1♣️ Pass 1♦️ Pass
1NT Pass 2♠️ Pass
2NT Pass 3NT Pass
Pass Pass1♦️ - The only way I can have a major suit is with 12+ points.
1NT - Okay, I’m balanced and may or may not have a 4-card major
myself.
2♠️ - I’ve got spades and the values for game.
In the two auctions above, 1NT is alertable because of
the ambiguity of opener’s major suit length.
Note also, that West could rebid 1❤️ or 1♠️ with an unbalanced hand and
no other suitable call.
Sources: bridgebum.com Gavin Wolpert’s webinar Larry Cohen’s article