The development of this conventional method originated with Mr. Jon Wittes of California, United States. He was a member of the Cavendish Teams winning Second Place in the year 2001. The picture below shows Mr. Jon Wittes with his team members.

Note: The following pictures shows Mr. Jon Wittes enjoying one of his several side-sport activities, namely softball, in the team uniform. The picture is courtesy of Mr. Jon Wittes, who contributed this picture, and to whom we express our appreciation.

Contributing Explanation of Mr. Jon Wittes

I originally devised the Wittes Adjunct to New Minor Forcing in an attempt to differentiate various partnership trump holdings for potential slam evaluation. At the time, it was extremely useful.

When employing the conventional method of New Minor Forcing the partnership may wish to show the quality of the opener's holding in the responder's Major suit.

Employing the Wittes Adjunct the opener responds to the New Minor Forcing bid as illustrated in the following schematic. For the sake of this presentation there is no competition from the opponents.

South	North	Meaning
J9 AJ82 75 AJ1097	A7632 K76 Q1096 K
1		Shows opening values.
	1	Promises sufficient values to respond, and only a 4-card suit.
1 NT		Denies sufficient support for partner's Major suit and the impossibility to find another suitable rebid besides No Trump.
	2	The responder initiates the concept of New Minor Forcing, and by agreement the Wittes Adjunct. This is a one-round forcing bid, which the partner may not pass. Following the bid of a Major suit this rebid strongly implies a 5-card suit in the bid Major suit.
The concept of the Wittes Adjunct to New Minor Forcing is to communicate information about the quality of the opener's holding in the responder's Major suit.
The responses are shown below for the opening bidder:
3		Shows either a holding of 3 small cards or a 2-card support headed by the Jack in the Major suit of the responder. (Note: this would be the proper response of the opening bidder for the example illustrated above.
3		Shows at least a 3-card suit headed by Queen-x-x the Major suit of the responder.
3		Shows at least a 3-card suit headed by King-x-x or A-x-x in the Major suit of the responder.
3		Shows a 3-card support including at least two of the top three honors in the Major suit of the responder.
3 NT		Shows either a 3-card support or a 2-card support headed by the Jack but with a strong preference for playing in a No Trump contract as opposed to a suit contract.

Examples Employing the Wittes Adjunct

Several examples should illustrate the employment of the Wittes Adjunct to a New Minor Forcing bid.

Example 1:
South	North	Meaning
K95 AJ82 75 AJ109	A7632 K76 Q1096 K
1		Shows opening values.
	1	Promises sufficient values to respond, and only a 4-card suit.
1 NT		Denies sufficient support for partner's Major suit and the impossibility to find another suitable rebid besides No Trump.
	2	New Minor Forcing.
3		Shows at least a 3-card suit headed by King-x-x or Ace-x-x in the Major suit of the responder.

Example 2: Example for a Small Slam-Try
South	North	Meaning
KQ9 AJ82 75 AJ109	A7632 KQ6 A1096 K
1		Shows opening values.
	1	Promises sufficient values to respond, and only a 4-card suit.
1 NT		Denies sufficient support for partner's Major suit and the impossibility to find another suitable rebid besides No Trump.
	2	New Minor Forcing
3		Shows a 3-card support including at least two of the top three honors in the Major suit of the responder.

All continuations are based upon the rebid of the opener, who is forced to clarify the holding following the initiation of New Minor Forcing by partner. Note that in the second example the partnership should, based on employment of the Wittes Adjunct, easily reach a small slam in Spades or No Trump.

 

 

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.