'The most interesting questions from visitors to the Dutch sister site (Bridgevaria.nl)'. 

Dear Ed & Peter,

I opened 2♦, Multicoloured. My partner bid 2SA and I rebid 3NT.
My partner said that my rebid showed 23 - 24 HCP. Is that true?

Thanks,
Etienne

 Answer Ed Hoogenkamp (South)

Dear Etienne,

A nice little problem! I can understand your partner's reasoning. Still, views vary widely on the answers to 2NT, and this 3NT bid is no exception. 2NT is an artificial, forcing bid, asking the Multicoloured-opening bidder to describe his hand.
Many play the 3NT reply as a weak two in a major where the six-card suit is solid: ♥AKQxxx or ♠AKQxxx (partner is almost certainly able to see which major suit).

Why this meaning and not 23 - 24 HCP, balanced? Well, if you have 23 - 24 HCP and your partner is strong enough to consider game opposite your supposed weak two in hearts or spades (!), you might as well jump to 7NT at once. (Right?)
Want to read more about the replies to 2NT over partner's Multicoloured? Then click here (this is only one of many possible sets of agreements).

By the way, Etienne, why did you bid 3NT, on what kind of hand?

Peter will not have a lot to say about this; he always bids 3NT, no matter what his hand is.

Un saludo desde Barcelona,

Answer Peter van der Linden (North)

Dear Etienne,

Well, this really is a matter of agreeing on the replies to 2NT (an artificial and forcing reply to the 2♦ opening, asking opener to describe his hand).
Perhaps you took 2NT as a natural bid, inviting to game (that's what I somehow read in your question)? If so, I don't recommend it.
Responder's 2NT bid asks the 2♦-opener what kind of hand he has: a weak two (and if so: in what major and whether this concerns a minimum or maximum) or a semi-forcing in a minor or a very strong balanced hand — to name the usual possibilities; perhaps your Multi consists of other or more possibilities.
Since most often opener will have a weak two in a major (about 6-9 HCP), responder has a strong hand. After all he considers game opposite such a weak hand. Approximately 15 HCP is usually considered the required minimum strength.
So Ed makes sense, when he says that if the 2♦ opener has 23 - 24 HCP, he may very well, upon hearing his partner respond 2NT, jump to 7NT.

And yes, I too am very curious about your and partner's hand. 

By the way: jumping to a slam is Ed's speciality. His raises, like for instance 1NT (partner) - 6NT (Ed) — down three — and openings at the six level — only down four, while the opponents can make as much as 2♣ — are legendary.
However, Ed's remarks making sense is new to me.

By the way Ed, there's nothing wrong with always bidding 3NT. On a club evening once, I and my partner played the '3NT-system'. An opponent asked: 'What's that, the 3NT-system?'
We replied: 'Well, I make a bid, partner makes a bid and this continues for some time; in the end one of us bids 3NT.'
We scored around 57%.

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