mattias

I don't see what you bid with 21-23 bal and 4432 with 4♥ and fewer than 4♠.

It's available as a pdf from the publisher http://www.scaniabridge.com/eng/ebok.html

We open 2NT. I wouldn't put it in 1♦ since then the inference about either being balanced or having a 4card major disappears.

It is quite common in Sweden to include 20-21 balanced in 2♣ and play 2NT as 22-24. In this case 2 of a major or 3 of a minor are usually played as a signoff vs the "weak" balanced hand.

My point was that including 5+ clubs invitational in 2♠ with the given responding structure doesn't work, since you get too high after 3♦ rebid by opener.

What does responder bid with the invitational club hand over 3♦? It seems like you end up too high here if you can bid 2♠ with an invitational hand with clubs.

This is easy to get around. Ask for stoppers and show majors up the line. Opener bids 3S which shows a heart stopper and four spades. Without a heart stopper she would bid 3H which denies a heart stopper and might hold four spades. Responder can now bid 3S with four spades to check for a spade suit, over which opener bids 3NT without four spades. Sometimes the hand gets played from the wrong side, but you can always bid 3N with a positional heart stopper.

Yesterday a board arrived from the other table with a face up card. The other table had a normal score on the board. What's the correct ruling and applicable laws here? Best, Mattias

Fredin and Lindkvist put the whole 11-16 range in their 1C opener. You should be able to find a convention card on ecatsbridge. /Mattias

Check out Swan and Zebra at Dan's system page.

What's the rank of the club x?

Unless the forcing pass is strong (15+hcp) the responses to pass would count as opening bids and get dots, unless they are gameforcing. If you put your conventional responses to pass into 1D you wouldn't get any more dots though. It is easy to construct legal forcing pass systems without a fert though. Let pass be 0-7 or 16+, and have the 1C response be either 0-7 or 16+ as well. This gives you three dots and plenty of room to for further artificiality.

The rules for allowed systems in Sweden are here http://www.svenskbridge.se/e107_files/public/1165488128_prickar_2006.pdf An English version can be found in appendix 2 of this document http://www.svenskbridge.se/e107_files/public/1310797805_cocfestival2011.pdf They are based on dots. The more difficult to defend against the more dots an opening bid gets, and for each competition there's an upper limit to the number of dots allowed. Overcalls and doubles are not regulated.

If you play a semi forcing 1NT, so that you bid 2♣ with a strong hand or with real clubs it's a good idea to switch the weak meaning in 2♣ and 2M. This way 2♣ becomes either strong or a weak onesuiter in M, and 2M becomes 11-15 with 5M and 4C. Most of your problem hands go away like this, but 1543 becomes harder to bid over 2M. In total however, you have fewer problems. Over a forcing NT where 2♣ could be a 3-card (or even a 2-card) suit this might not work so well though.

We play 1♦ 0-7 1♥ 8-10 bal 1♠ 8-10 5+♥ 1NT 8-10 5+♠ 2m 8-10 5+ unbal 2♥ 8-9 4441, 2nt asks 2♠ 10-11 4441, 2nt asks 3x 5-7 good onesuiter Not really transfers, but clubs are already rightsided after 1♣. It also fits well with our responses by an unpassed hand.

There's Swan 4.0 and Zebra on Dan's page.

Double post.

Right, this only works with a semiforcing 1NT, so that 2M would show 4♣. Don't make this switch when playing a forcing 1NT.

This is why it's a good idea to change the weak options in 2♣ and 2M around and play 1M - 1X 2♣ strong or onesuited 2M major and clubs

http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/topic/18179-useful-abbreviations-wdp-etc/

Yes, opener needs to act now with the strong hand. This is a clear drawback compared with strong club systems. Opening the 8-10 point hands helps to make up for this though.

I've played pass as 0-7 or 16+ for a while. Our responses are like this: 1♣ 0-7(8 bal) or 16+ 1♦,♥,♠ 8-15 natural 1N 9-15 2♣ 8-15 5+, may have a 4 card major on the side 2♦,2♥,2♠ weak 2N weak both minors Over 1♣ opener bids 1♦ with 0-7 and otherwise bids as after 1♣-1♦ in your favorite strong club system. If opener is 16+ we assume responder is 0-7. If both hands are 16+ responder has to do something extraordinary at some point. Over p-1♣-1♦ responder passes with 0-7 and other bids show 16+. I know this isn't the moscito responses, but it adds a nice symmetry. The other interesting part is the wide ranging notrump response. This isn't really a problem since opener either wants to force to game or signoff. Over the other bids opener can make a single raise with 5-7 and all other bids show strong hands. I guess you would have a relay and break the relay with minimum unbalanced hands. I guess the main things I want to say are: Play 1♣ as 0-7 or 16+ Don't have small ranges for the other bids since opener can not really have an invite.

I don't think you are right. However, it is at least red because of the brown sticker 2C opening. Red Artificial: this category includes all artificial systems that do not fall under the definition of Highly Unusual Methods (HUM) systems [see definition below], other than Strong Club / Strong Diamond systems (see 'Blue'). Examples would be a system where one club shows one of three types - a natural club suit, a balanced hand of a specific range, or a Strong Club opener; or a system in which the basic methods (other than the no trump range) vary according to position, vulnerability and the like; or a system that uses conventional 'weak' or 'multi-meaning' bids (with or without some weak option) in potentially contestable auctions, other than those described in the main part of the WBF Convention Booklet 2.4 Brown Sticker Conventions and Treatments The following conventions or treatments are categorised as 'Brown Sticker': a) Any opening bid of two clubs through three spades that: i) could be weak (may by agreement be made with values below average strength) AND ii) does not promise at least four cards in a known suit. EXCEPTION: The bid always shows at least four cards in a known suit if it is weak. If the bid does not show a known four card suit it must show a hand a king or more over average strength. (Explanation: Where all the weak meanings show at least four cards in one known suit, and the strong meanings show a hand with a king or more above average strength, it is not a Brown Sticker Convention.) EXCEPTION: A two level opening bid in a minor showing a weak two in either major, whether with or without the option of strong hand types, as described in the WBF Conventions Booklet. Defensive measures are permitted for opponents as in 6 below. Note that weak means high card strength below that of an average hand.

2.1 General Average Hand a hand containing 10 high card points (Milton Work) with no distributional values Weak high card strength below that of an average hand Strong high card strength a king or more greater than that of an average hand Natural a call or play that is not a convention ['special partnership understanding' as defined in Law 40B1(a)] Length three cards or more Shortage two cards or less Long Match a match of 17 or more deals Short Match a match of less than 17 deals 2.2 HUM Systems For the purpose of this Policy, a Highly Unusual Method (HUM) means any System that ex­hib­its one or more of the following features, as a matter of partnership agreement: A Pass in the opening position shows at least the values generally accepted for an opening bid of one, even if there are alternative weak possibilities By partnership agreement an opening bid at the one level may be weaker than pass. By partnership agreement an opening bid at the one level may be made with values a king or more below average strength. By partnership agreement an opening bid at the one level shows either length or shortage in a specified suit By partnership agreement an opening bid at the one level shows either length in one specified suit or length in another. Seems pretty clear to me.

This is a cute one.