In the mid-90s, my bridge journey began with Ron Klinger’s Basic Bridge, which drilled into me like a sergeant-major:
A Strong Two shows 22+ points or 8.5+ playing tricks
. That’s how we played in those early kitchen-table days with friends.
Fast forward thirty years. A cruise from Southampton to the Adriatic—with ten sea days and an Irish bridge director with a gift for teaching—rekindled our desire to master the game. Back home, we joined a London club and found ourselves immersed in a world of Weak Two openers.
By the 1990s, Weak Twos weren’t just a fad—they were near-universal.
Open 2♠ with 6–10 points and a decent six-card suit,
people urged. It’s disruptive and effective.
But we had missed all that, only returning to the game in 2023. Confronted with weak twos, we wondered: what about the distributional monsters? Too many sub-23 point freak hands risked dying at 1♣. So we studied, practiced, and absorbed Stayman and transfers, then found in Klinger’s Guide to Better Bridge an elegant compromise: the Benjamin 2♣/2♦ System.
This system lets you keep strong twos while embracing modern weak twos. Note: Playing tricks measure how many tricks a hand is likely to win given its shape and high cards, while game-forcing bids commit the partnership to a game contract (e.g., 3NT, 4♥, or 4♠).
| Opening | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2♣ | A forcing bid - usually unbalanced see below 23-24 HCP and a balanced hand 21-22 HCP and a 5+ card suit 19-20 HCP and a 6+ card suit 17-18 HCP and a 7+ card suit | Responder may bid naturally or give a waiting reply (2♦) with 0 to 7 points |
| 2♦ | Very strong (23+ balanced or 10 playing tricks) | Old-style 2♣ shifted to 2♦ so I am assuming I dont need to rlk about it here |
| 2♥ / 2♠ | Weak two (6–10 HCP, decent 6-card suit) | Classic preempt |
The beauty: Strong twos aren’t lost—they’re simply repackaged.
Responder chooses either a natural strong bid or the waiting (negative) response.
Example: With ♠AKQJxx ♥Ax ♦Kx ♣Axx, opener bids 2♣. A waiting 2♦ reply allows opener to rebid 2♠, showing a strong spade hand with about 8.5 playing tricks.
When responder bids 2♦, opener clarifies by showing quick tricks:
| Opener’s rebid | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 2♥ / 2♠ | 5+ suit, ~8.5 playing tricks |
| 3♥ / 3♠ | 6+ suit, exactly 9 tricks |
| 4♥ / 4♠ | 6+ suit, ~9.5 tricks |
| 3♣ / 3♦ | 6+ suit, 8.5–9.5 tricks |
| 4♣ / 4♦ | 9.5–10 tricks, not suitable for 3NT |
| 5♣ / 5♦ | 10.5 tricks, 7+ suit, unsuitable for 3NT |
| 3NT | Solid long minor, stoppers in two other suits |
Example 1: Natural strong response track
Opener Responder
2♣ 2♠ (natural, strong, 5+ spades)
3♠ 4♠ (fit confirmed, game/slam ambitions)
Example 2: Waiting response, strong major
Opener Responder
2♣ 2♦ (waiting, negative)
2♥ 3♥ (fit found with 8.5-trick opener)
4♥ (game bid)
Practice file: ⤓ Download Benji 10 deals (.pbn) Right-click and choose Save Link As… if the file opens instead of downloading.
Ready to try Benjamin 2♣/2♦? Download the practice deals and use it at your next bridge session. Share in the comments how it works for you!
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