History
A prototype of the weak two was used in auction bridge, and the principle was attested as early as 1910 by J.B. Elwell. It was incorporated into the Vanderbilt Club system. In early 1940s, Howard Schenken developed the modern weak two-bid along lines similar to Vanderbilt's.
In Charles Goren's original bidding system, when a player opened the bidding with two of a suit, this signified that the player held a very strong hand. (This later became known as the strong two bid.) Later players found it more effective to reserve only the conventional two clubs opening; to show a strong hand. That left the room for opening bids of 2♦, 2♥, or 2♠ to show a weak hand with a six-card suit. This became known as the weak two bid. In some systems, a bid of 2♣ shows a strong hand with a five-card suit, and a bid of 2♦ shows a hand that is similarly strong, but balanced. These alternate versions are less common.
Read more about this topic: Weak Two Bid
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