This conventional defense method is credited to Mr. Piotr Gawrys (Piotr Gawryś), who was born in the year 1955 in Warsaw, Poland. The picture of Mr. Piotr Gawrys was published from the year 2008.

Biographical Data

World Teams Olympiad, in Seattle, Washington, United States, in the year 1984. In the year 2000 he won a second World Championship title winning the World Transnational Mixed Teams in Maastricht, The Netherlands, as a member of Team e-bridge in partnership with Migry Zur-Campanile. Mr. Piotr Gawrys also has two World Championship Silver medals, losing to Iceland in the final of the 1991 Bermuda Bowl in Yokohama and to the USA in the final of the 1994 Rosenblum Cup in Albuquerque.

Guidelines of the Concept

The foundation of the concept is a defense method against a strong No Trump opening bid by opponents, or with a No Trump range higher than 13 points, but the defense method can also be employed against a weaker No Trump opening bid per partnership agreement

Double:	Promises a single-suited holding with Clubs or Diamonds, or a two-suited holding with both Hearts and Spades.
2 :	Promises Clubs and a higher-ranking unspecified suit.
2 :	Promises Diamonds and a Major suit.
2 :	Natural bid in Hearts. (Note: this overcall may show also a weak suppressed side suit.)
2 :	Natural bid in Spades. (Note: this overcall may show also a weak suppressed side suit.)
2 NT:	Promises a strong two-suited holding.

All two suited holdings show at least a holding of 5-4 by either vulnerability. Losing Trick Count is also an important method of evaluation. This defense method is used either as an immediate overcall or in Fourth Seat following two passes. The general guideline for the player in the Fourth Seat is that if the opponents have employed the Stayman convention or any such conventional inquiry, then a double of the artificial asking suit (or response, as the case may be) either shows a good holding in that particular suit, or requests that particular suit as lead, and strongly suggests competing.

Note; If the opponents employ a conventional transfer system, then the general guideline is that a bid of the transfer suit shows exactly four cards in the other Major suit and an unspecified Minor suit. In this particular bidding sequence the advancer's pass shows acceptance. If the advancer holds no support in the known suit, then a response of 2 No Trump asks for the Minor suit.

Example of Gawrys Defense Method

East A985 KJ6 QJ10 AJ5

South K7 9 AK976 KQ987

East		South		West		North		Meaning
1 NT								The range is established as 15-17 points.
		2						Gawrys Defense to 1 No Trump. Promises Clubs and a higher-ranking unspecified suit.
				Pass				The responder has no bid.
						Pass		The advancer passes when holding at least 3-card support in Clubs, the known suit.
						2		With two or fewer cards support in Clubs, then the responder bids the next cheapest suit in order to discover the unspecified higher-ranking suit.
Pass		Pass						If Diamonds is the next high-ranking suit, then partner passes.
		2						If Diamonds is not the second unspecified suit, then the Gawrys bidder bids the second suit. With a rebid of 2 Hearts, the advancer knows that the Gawrys bidder has a 5-5 (or 5-4) distribution in Hearts and Clubs.
		2						If Diamonds is not the second unspecified suit, then the Gawrys bidder bids the second suit. With a rebid of 2 Hearts, the advancer knows that the Gawrys bidder has a 5-5 (or 5-4) distribution in Spades and Clubs.

Gawrys Defense Method in Competition

East A985 KJ6 QJ10 AJ5

South J43 7432 AK 6432

West 106 Q10985 75432 10

North KQ72 A 986 KQ987

East		South		West		North		Meaning
1 NT								The range is established as 15-17 points.
		Pass						South is unable to compete.
				2				The responder employs a Jacoby transfer bid to Hearts with the intention of passing following the acceptance of the transfer.
						2		The player in fourth seat competes with Gawrys Defense method by bidding the transfer suit Hearts showing Spades (the other Major suit) and an unspecified Minor suit.
Options of the No Trump Bidder
Pass								The No Trump opener can show 2 cards in Hearts by passing. The No Trump bidder shows neither minimum nor maximum values.
3								However, the No Trump bidder can also compete with a minimum of 3 cards in Heats and maximum values. Holding minimum values and 3 cards in Hearts the the No Trump bidder should preferably pass and wait for additional information from responder.
Continuations Following a Pass by the No Trump bidder.
		2						With a minimum of 4 Spades the advancer should bid Spades following a pass by the No Trump bidder.
		2 NT						With a 2 No Trump bid the advancer communicates the information of insufficient support in Spades. The 2 No Trump bid requests partner to bid the unspecified Minor suit.

Note: In the above intended example the advancer has a problem in deciding whether to support Spades or ask for the unspecified Minor suit, which raises the partnership to the three level. Since the agreed distributional pattern can be 5-4 by any state of vulnerability the advancer must first make a judgement call.

When the decision is not clear cut or text book as in the presented example, then the decision of the advancer is most important. The question is whether to bid Spades, or ask for the Minor suit. The advancer has a distribution of AK - 6432 in both Minor suits. If the advancer asks for the unspecified Minor suit, then the advancer has a 50% probability that partner will bid Diamonds. But, at the same time, the advancer has a 50% probability that partner will bid Clubs. However, the Ace-King combination acts as a positive influence since the two top honors (winners) may be counted as three card support, even opposite a 4-card Minor suit.

Note: Such judgment calls are left up to the player having to make that choice depending on whether there are working values in the suit, and whether or not a partscore on the two level in a possible Moysian Fit is preferable to a partscore on the three level.

 

 

If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.