Bridge Glossary
CAB Responses
The C.A.B. responses to a strong, artfiicial 2 Clubs opening is a feature of the C.A.B. Bidding System devised by Mr. Leslie William Dodds of London, England. These responses are also part of the Acol Bidding System generally employed in England and Australia with minor differentiations.
CAC or CACBF
An abbreviation for Central American and Caribbean Bridge Federation
CBA
An abbreviation for Contract Bridge Association
CBA
An abbreviation for the Cypress Bridge Association
CBL
An abbreviation for Contract Bridge League
CAB
A British system built around an artificial Two-Club opening with Ace-Showing responses and Blackwood. CAB is an acronym for 2 Clubs, Ace responses, Blackwood, and although the system is no longer used, the system did have some popularity in England during the decade of the Fifties. The CAB system was the result of a mixture of popular conventions as the name strongly suggests, and the main promoter of this system was Leslie Dodds.
Cable Car Opening Bids
These opening bids were devised by Mr. Steve Altus of California, United States.
CACBF - Central American and Caribbean Bridge Federation
Central American and Caribbean Bridge Federation.
These contacts include the following:
Anguilla - Anguilla Bridge Association
Antigua - Antigua Contract Bridge Association
Aruba - Aruba Bridge Federation
Bahamas - Bahamas Bridge Association
Barbados - Barbados Bridge League
Bermuda - Bermuda Bridge Federation
Costa Rica - Asociacion Recreativa Nacional de Bridge
Commonwealth of Dominica - Commonwealth of Dominica Bridge Association
Dominican Republic - Bridge Club of Santo Domingo
French Guiana - French Guiana Bridge League
Grenada - Grenada Bridge Club
Guadeloupe - Comite de Bridge de Guadeloupe
Guatamala - Asociacion Guatemalteca de Bridge
Guyana - Guyana Bridge League
Haiti - Asociacion de Bridge de Haiti
Jamaica - Jamaica Bridge Association
Martinique - Comite de Bridge de la Martinique
Netherlands Antilles - Bridge Federation Netherlands Antilles
Panama - Asociacion Panamena de Bridge
St. Kitt and Nevis - St. Kitts Bridge Association
St.Lucia - St. Lucia Bridge Association
Suriname - Suriname Bridge Bond
Trinidad and Tobago - Trinidad and Tobago Contract Bridge Association
Venequela - Federacion Venezolana de Bridge
Virgin Islands - Virgin Islands Bridge Federation
Caddy
This designation describes an assistant at a bridge tournament, who is selected by the local tournament committee. The main function of a caddy is to collect the scoreslips following each round and deliver them to the scorekeepers, who then enter the data into the computer for faster presentation of results. The caddy may assume, upon direction of the tournament director, other responsibilities such as equipping the individual bridge tables with bidding boxes, assigned boards, and other required items and also transporting boards from one table to another table.
Hall of Fame (Caddy), or Caddy Hall of Fame
This is a means to introduce the many caddies, who serve at many bridge events, to assist bridge players, and to show appreciatiion and recognition for their many efforts. Caddies can be of any age and understand the movement. Their history has, for the most part, gone unwritten, and their deeds have, for the most part, gone unsung. This has changed with the introduction of the Caddy Hall of Fame.
Candidates for this honor must be at least 18 years of age. They must have worked at least for five North American Bridge Championships, and must exhibit leadership abilities. Following is a picture of the awarded caddies from the North American Bridge Championships of 1998 conducted in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
CA~IB Trophy
See European Champions Cup
Calcutta
A tournament in which a portion of bets on the outcome is used as prizes. This is a duplicate bridge tournament which has an additional element of gambling, allowing a possible financial gain to be achieved by any player or other participant. After the entries have been finalized, an auction is held at which the players, the spectators, and other interested parties bid for and buy the contesting pairs. The total of the money accumulated after the final bids for the bridge players is put into a pool which is then distributed to the purchasers of the winning entries. As an added feature, cash prizes or other incentives are provided so that the contestants themselves have a stake in the results. It is normally a proviso that a contestant may purchase from the buyer up to a 50% interest in his own partnership at the original price. The most famous Calcutta, which attracts many of the best bridge players in the world, is held each May by the New York's Cavendish Club, which closed its doors in 1991, but continued the Calcutta event. Since the ACBL has a strict policy against gambling, any Calcutta is neither sanctioned nor are masterpoints awarded.
California Cuebid
A bid of the opponents' suit asking partner to bid No Trump with a stopper. See: Western Cuebids
California Scoring - This is a method of computing or scoring the East-West pair's matchpoint score by assigning East-West the same score as their North-South opponents. Based on this scoring method, the East-West pair with the lowest score is then declared the winner. Alternatively, each East-West score may be subtracted from the maximum possible matchpoint total to produce the same score that would have been achieved using regular matchpoint scoring methods. California Scoring derived its name from its popularity primarily in California and other Western clubs. This method of scoring has now become obsolete due to the introduction of computer scoring.
Caliper Bidding System
This is a Relay Bidding System in English devised by Mr. Trond Odegard and Mr. Finn Ovstedal of Norway, which can be found on the Internet. The file has been dated as of August 15, 2003. This file has only been archived and preserved on this site, also in .pdf file format.
Call
Any expression of a bid, pass, double or redouble by a bridge player.
Calling A Card Or A Suit - This is the privilege of compelling an opponent to lead or play a certain card or a certain suit, to play his highest or lowest card, or to win or lose a trick, based on the Laws of Contract Duplicate Bridge 26, 27c, 30b, 31b, 32, 36a, 37, 38, 39b, 50, 52, 55b, 56, 57, and 73.
Cambridge Standard Opening Bids
A chart showing the significance of opening bids used by several bridge partnerships, especially in England.
Cambridge Two Bids or Cambridge 2 Bid
The origin of this concept is unknown and the method is catagorized as a Non-Standard Weak Two Bid. Compare with the Cambridge Standard Opening Bids above. Any opening of a suit on the two level, except the strong, artificial 2 Clubs opening, promises a range from 5 to 11 high card points and generally a 5-card plus suit, which some partnerships have reduced to a 4-card suit of any quality. This particular opening is preemptive in nature and is mainly employed to obstruct the auction of the opponents.
Camrose Trophy
The Home International series competed for annually among England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland under the auspices of the British Bridge League. The trophy was presented by Lord Camrose in 1936. Two series, 1937 and 1938, which included the Irish Free State, were completed before WW II curtailed the event. The series began again in 1946.
Canadian
This was a bridge tournament, conducted over six days, and held annually since 1949 in Alaska, British Columbia, or in the state of Washington, United States. Also prior to the year 1967 the tournament was conducted also in Oregon. From the beginning the tournament was conducted at a time that it coincided with the birthday of George Washington, the first President of the United States, but only until 1958. Starting in 1959 the tournament was conducted in the early fall, and starting in 1968 the tournament was conducted either in late May or early April.
During the years from 1963 and 1967 the tournament was conducted twice annually, once in the spring and once in the fall. The designation for the tournament conducted in the spring was not always identical or regular since it was also known as the Pacific Northwest Regional Championships, or Polar, Polar-Canadian Regional, British Columbia Centennial, and also as Vancouver, but the tournament was designated in 1968 as the Pacific Northwest Regional when the tournament, which was conducted in the fall, was replaced by the Canadian and Puget Sound Regionals.
Canadian and Puget Sound Regionals
See: Canadian
Canadian Bridge Federation
The history of organized bridge in Canada is linked inextricably with the evolution of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). After the invention of contract, players in Canada organized themselves into regional entities which eventually coalesced with larger organizations centered south of the border. Eastern-Central and Western Canada followed different paths. The former was always aligned with the ACBL, even before that organization became predominant in North America. Western Canada, on the other hand, was originally a part of the Pacific Bridge League which amalgamated with the ACBL fairly recently, in 1955. These two separate histories are reflected today in the size difference between eastern-central and western Canadian units: the latter usually are smaller geographically. By the 1960s Canadian membership in the ACBL had surpassed 10,000, due mainly to the stimulus provided by the Leagues club and tournament programs. As much as Canadians enjoyed ACBL bridge, they still lacked an organization that linked them directly. And so the Canadian Bridge Federation (CBF) came to fill this void.
Canadian 2 Diamonds
Contributed by Mr. Robert Hanly of Canada. This conventional method is a variation of the Mexican 2 Diamonds conventional method. This is a .pdf file and will automatically be opened by your browser.
Canapé
Canapé is a bidding method in which the long suit is normally bid on the second round. This bidding method was developed by Mr. Pierre Albarran, 1894 to 1960, in France, and which became quite popular. In comparison, standard methods are described in France as la longue d'abord, or long suit first. The Canapé bidding method has also influenced Italian bidding theory. It was incorporated into both the Roman and Blue Team Club systems, and also in derivative bidding systems such as the Orange Club, which was successfully played by Bob Hammon and Bobby Wolff, and the Simplified Club, which is a total canapé bidding system. The definition given by Mr. Pierre Albarran was that a two-suited hand of more than minimum strength, the higher-ranking suit must be bid on the first round if it has four cards, and on the second round if it has more than four cards.
Canapé-Take-Out-Multi
This is the official designation for Catomult, which is a concept contained in the System Notes of Mr. Mark Abraham and Mr. Michael Ware. These System Notes are located at: http://biocomp.anu.edu.au/~mark/systems/index.html. These Notes have been archived on this site and they are in .pdf file format. Clicking on this link, your browser will either automatically download the file to your computer and may be opened with Adobe Acrobat or your browser will automatically open the file.
Canary Club
An artificial bidding system, now obsolete, developed in 1964 by John Lowenthal and Paul Heitner. The name of the system is derived from its chief features: Canapé, Relay and 1 Club forcing.
Cannibal Squeeze
Through inaccurate defense, it is possible that one defender may put a squeeze on his partner. Although totally unintentional, this situation may under certain circumstances not be unavoidable. Also referred to as the Suicide Squeeze.
Cansino
A defense to 1 No Trump in which an overcall of 2 Clubs shows Clubs and two other suits, and 2 Diamonds shows both Majors.
Cant versus No Trump Defense Mechanism
This is a variation developed by Mr. Glen Ashton of Ottario, Canada, for defense against the opening of No Trump by the opponents. This information has only been preserved and archived on this site in the form of a .pdf file.
Cap Gemini Pandata World Top Tournament
Played annually in The Hague, Netherlands, the invitational event routinely has one of the strongest fields in international competition. The tournament debuted in 1987 as the Staten Bank Invitational. It underwent two name changes before Cap Gemini, a computer company, took on sponsorship in 1991.
Cappelletti
A defensive method against opposing 1 No Trump openings: double is penalty; two Clubs is one-suiter with suit unspecified; two Diamonds is both Majors; two of a Major is that Major and an unspecified Minor; sometimes called Hamilton.
Modified Cappelletti
This concept is variation to the Cappelletti Convention, which is a defense mechanism to an opening by an opponent of No Trump. The origin is unknown.Revised Cappelletti
This concept is variation of the Cappelletti Convention, which is a defense mechanism to an opening by an opponent of No Trump. The origin is unknown.
Captain
1. Partner with the responsibility of making the final decision in the bidding for his side;
4. Teams representing major bridge countries in international play normally have a non-playing captain. The captain’s chief function is to decide who shall play at each stage in the contest, taking into account such factors as the ability and stamina of the players at his command.
Capture
1. pertaining to a card trick win;
2. to prevent an opponent's card from taking a trick by winning the trick with a higher card of the same suit.
Card
1. One of the fifty-two elements of a deck;
2. Slang: to overpower, especially at rubber bridge, by being dealt superior;
3. To employ defensive-carding agreements.
Card Combination
A phrase to describe the suit combination.
Card Reading
Analysis of the lie of the unseen cards from the bidding and play.
Carding
The set of agreements between partners relating to the meanings of cards played on defense. There are several carding and signaling methods devised for the game of bridge by experts experimenting with different variations. Many methods have withstood the proof of time and have lasted from the days of the game of Whist in order to communicate to partner generally attitude, count, and preference.
See also: Signaling.
See also: Signal Defense Summary.
See also: Signals by Mary Hemenway (.pdf file).
See also: Carding Signals Summary (.pdf file) by BridgeSlam.com.
Card Showing Double
This double is a low-level competitive double showing values without being strictly a penalty or negative double in nature. This action occurs after one opponent opens the auction or under circumstances when one opponent intervenes. This form of double does not promise any particular distribution. The double promises only a generally agreed upon amount of values. The amount of values can be dependent on and vary to the circumstances in which the double is made and is by partnership agreement. However, the general guideline for this action is 5-8/9 points held by responder when an opponent overcalls after a Precision Club opening. This action is included on the Convention Card published by ACBL.
Carey Limousine Award
Mr. George Jacobs, representing the Carey Limousine Corporation, assumed the sponsorship of the Best Defense of the Year Award in the year 2000.
Caribbean Championships
Organized in 1964 as an informal international championship four countries in the Caribbean area. The first Caribbean Championship was held in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles.
Carioca Club
Mr. Armando Pires e Albuquerque of Brazil has posted on the Internet a bidding system based on bidding high with weak hands and low with strong hands. The artificial opening bids in Clubs and its answers show point counts, and rebids show playable suits. Weak 1 No Trump is used, and another artificial opening is used for strong balanced hands.
Carrot Club
This is the English version of the Carrotski Club or Carrot Club Bidding System. Included is Interference After a Two-Way Club Opening and responses after a 1 No Trump opening.
Carrot Club
This is a link to the Internet website for the Swedish version of the Carrotski Club in Swedish. A forcing club system devised 1988 by Mr. Hans Göthe, Mr. Sven-Olov Flodqvist, Mr. Per Olof Sundelin, Mr. Tommy Gullberg, Mr. Anders Morath and Mr. Sven-Åke Bjerregård of Sweden.
Version as of 1992 compiled by Mr. Sven-Olov Flodqvist is available at the above link. This information has only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for future reference only. This material is written in the Swedish language, and no translation is available.
Other designations, most likely in the evolution or development, include: Romklöver and also Bla Klöver.
Another version of the origins of the designation for this bidding system is that it was chosen for Mr. Anders Morath of Sweden, and it was named the Carrot Club because of the red hair, which he had at that time, especially when playing in the Bermuda Bowl Championships in Manila, Phillipines, in 1977. Mr. Anders Morath continues to be nicknamed the Carrot.
These web pages have been archived on this site so as to preserve them. They are in the original language of Sweden and are in .pdf file format.
1. Carrot Club - This version, 1992, of the Carrot Club is written in the language of Sweden. No translation is available.
2. Carrot Club - This version of the Carrot Club is written in the language of Poland. No translation is available.
3. Magisk Carotti - This version of the Magisk Carotti (Carrot Club) is written in the language of Sweden. No translation is available.
4. See also: Auby-rutern or Auby Diamond
This is a system that was designed for playing only when non-vulnerable and was developed by Mr. Daniel Auby.5. O'Carrot Club - This version of the O'Carrot Club is written in the language of Sweden. No translation is available.
O'Carrot Club Opening Bids
The O'Carrot Club opening bids is the newer version of the Carrot Club opening bids. This version was developed by Mr. Sven-Olof Flodqvist, who played it with Mr. Svante Ryman, Mr. Hans Gothe, and Mr. Lars Andersson in order to satisfy certain sponsoring bridge organizations, which declined to accept the original version under their Rules and Regulations policies.
Carryover Scores
The score from early sessions that applies to an overall tournament score.
Carson-Roberts Step Ladder System
This is the designation of a bidding system listed in the publication authored by Mr. Albert A. Ostrow, titled The Bridge Player's Bedside Companion, published 1955 in a list of numberous systems and conventions ..... proposed. The proliferation of bidding systems abounded during the early stages of the game of bridge and, disappointingly, many of such proposed bidding systems and conventional methods have been lost. And additional information would be greatly appreciated.
Carter System, The
This is a bidding system of Mr. John Thomas Carter, which he published in his authored work titled The Carter System: Contract in 1936, in Riverside, California. Additional information is not available.
Carve
Slang: to badly misplay, or butcher, a hand.
Cash
Slang: take a trick with a winning card.
Cash Out
Slang: cash all available immediate winners.
Catomult System
This designation originates from the defining terminology, which is CAnapé-Take-Out-MULTi. The following are the System Notes of Mr. Mark Abraham and Mr. Michael Ware. The original System Notes are located at: http://www.users.on.net/~mabraham/systems/index.html. These Notes have been archived on this site and they are in .pdf file format. Clicking on this link, your browser will either automatically download the file to your computer and may be opened with Adobe Acrobat or your browser will automatically open the file.
Caution, Complex Computer Count
Designed by Mr. Edgar Kaplan with Mr. Jeff Rubens, both Editors of The Bridge World magazine at the time, this valuation method was meant to also be a method of evaluating a holding. The method was developed with the assistance of computated calculations on an early computer and published in the October issue of The Bridge World in 1982. The valuation method also became known as the 4 C's, but the average and even expert bridge player could not mentally compete, employ, apply, or use the method effectively owing to the fact that they are computer calculations and the implementation thereof proved to be problematic at the bridge table. The valuation method, as a consequence, lost its popularity, especially also owing to the fact that the program itself was not mature and imprecise. The project was subsequently cancelled and/or postponed.
Cavalier
A fourth Coat Card, which is still maintained in some playing cards as an alternative to the Jack.
Cavendish Club In New York
The Cavendish Club was founded in 1925 by Mr. Wilbur C. Whitehead in association with Mr. Gratz M. Scott and Mr. Edwin A. Wetzler. The Cavendish Club was located for the first eight years at the Mayfair House, but then relocated to the Ambassador Hotel. After that the Cavendish Club moved to the Ritz Tower Hotel between 1950 and 1965. Later it moved to a location on Central Park South between 1965 and 1974. In 1974 it moved into the Carlton House where it remained until 1983, where it was located for only a brief time. Later it moved to a location on 48th Street and finally in a townhouse on 73rd Street. The Cavendish Club was disbanded and ceased operations on May 31, 1991. From 1941 the Cavendish Club was a not-for-profit membership corporation, managed by Mr. B. Jay Becker to 1947. From 1947 it was managed by Mr. Rudolf Muhsam to 1973. Mr. Thomas M. Smith managed the Cavendish Club from 1973 to 1987. Mr. Thomas L. Snow managed from 1987 to 1990, and the last manager was Mr. Richard Reisig until 1991. In 1974, the Cavendish Club inaugurated the Cavendish Invitational Pairs, which became one of the largest and most prestigious invitational bridge events in the world.
Past Presidents of the Cavendish Club were:
1925-1935 Mr. Gratz M. Scott
1935-1947 Mr. Frank Crowninshield
1948-1958 Mr. Nate Spingold
1958-1961 Mr. Samuel Stayman
1961-1964 Mr. Howard Schenken
1964-1967 Mr. Harold Ogust
1967-1970 Mr. Leonard Hess
1970-1973 Mr. Edward Loewenthal
1973-1976 Mr. Roy V. Titus
1976-1979 Mr. Archie A. Brauer
1979-1980 Mr. Yehuda Koppel
1980-1981 Mr. Roy V. Titus
1981-1982 Mr. Samuel Stayman
1982-1985 Mr. William Roberts
1986-1987 Mr. Sidney Rosen
1987-1990 Mr. Claire Tornay
1990-1991 Mr. Thomas M. Smith
Cavendish Variation
A later version of four-deal bridge, with dealer's side non-vulnerable on the second and third deals.
CBIA - An abbreviation for Contract Bridge Association of Ireland.
CDH Buchanan
See: Clubs-Diamonds-Hearts Buchanan
Ceiling Concept - This is a .pdf file format. The Ceiling Concept is defined as the contract, which would be preferred not to pass unless an attempt is initiated for a slam, and is a fundamental feature of the Ekrens bidding system.
Center For Bridge Education
In June 2006 a group of players concerned about the state of bridge in San Francisco, including the average age or players and the limited locations for play, resolved to make a plan. Nearly a year later they formed the Center for Bridge Education. A group of San Francisco Bridge players has formed the Center for Bridge Education. The Center was formed for the purpose of teaching new players to play the game. The CBE hopes that by educating more players, there will be more people playing in San Francisco and that those who play will be from a wider age group. The CBE plans to promote bridge education in several ways. First, they plan to conduct classes for young players particularly in high schools and junior high schools. This has already started. Second, they hope to be able to sponsor teachers who reach out to adults who want to learn to play. Finally the Center’s most ambitious plan is to establish a place for the teaching and practice of bridge.
Chair
Slang: position at the bridge table.
Challenge
A declaration proposed by Sidney Lenz in 1929 to replace the Takeout Double. It was used experimentally in one New York Bridge Club, but received little support in the bridge community. In the 1950s, the term was revived with a different understanding. It was defined as an attempt to check artificial bidding practices. Whenever any player had made two bids, a positive bid could be challenged. The auction then ceased and the contract reached would be played redoubled. This concept, originated by Col. Cyril Rocke, received little support in the bridge community.
Champagne - District 8 Regional Championships - District Eight Regional Championships
This bridge tournament was contested over four days. The tournament was conducted annually in Illinois or Northern Indiana, United States, beginning in the year 1967, generally in the late summer months. The event consisted of Open Teams, Masters Pairs, Open Pairs, Men's Pairs, Women's Pairs, and Mixed Pairs. The reference Champagne is most likely to the city of Champaign in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The city is located 135 miles south of Chicago and 124 miles west of Indianapolis, Indiana. The District 8 was headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, and the similarity of the pronunciation of the name of the city was too difficult for the organizers to avoid in promoting this bridge tournament, and thus it became known as the Champagne, albeit spelled incorrectly.
Championship Player of the Year
The annual Championship Player of the Year is determined by the number of masterpoints won at NABCs while playing in unlimited national-rated events, including the North American Open Pairs and excluding the Grand National Team competitions.
Change of Pack
The two packs are used alternately, unless there is a redeal. A pack containing a card so damaged or marked that it may be identified from its back must be replaced if attention is drawn to the imperfection before the last card of the current deal has been dealt.
A pack originally belonging to a side must be restored on demand of any player before the last card of the current deal has been dealt.
Change Of Suit
A bid of a previously unbid suit. Using standard bidding methods, the general guideline is that a change of suit by the responder is forcing for one round, whereas a change of suit by the opener is not forcing. However, according to the bidding system used by the partnership, this guideline is subject to many exceptions.
Charity Game
This refers to a bridge tournament, whereby all net proceeds are donated to a specific and designated charity organization.
Charity Pairs
The Charity Pairs is a regular pair game, the only difference being that a minimum amount of the proceeds from the selling of entries is earmarked for a specified charity, such as the ACBL Charity Foundation.
Charles H. Goren Award
This Award is presented annually by the International Bridge Press Association and was known as The Charles H. Goren Award until 1989. Beginning in the year 1990, the award has been strictly an award presented by the International Bridge Press Association. The award is presented for the Personality of the Year.
Charles J. Solomon Award
This award is to the player, who is considered to have accomplished the Best Played Hand of the Year, chosen and selected by the International Bridge Press Association.
Charles Solomon Trophy
This trophy was first introduced in 1966 at the World Bridge Championships for the Pairs Olympiad and the World Knockout Teams held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and presented to an independent and self-governing country for best overall performance by representatives of one NCBO or National Contract Bridge Organization, in principle with at least 250 members. The first winner was named the United States.
Cheap Blackwood
The concept of Cheap Blackwood is to retain as much bidding space as possible for the partnership to exchange information about the length and strength, distributional singletons and/or voids, and about the number of Aces and Kings held by the partnership. This concept of Cheap Blackwood also incorporates the King of trump into the number of possible Key Cards, which are the four Aces and the King of trump. It is essential to understand that Cheap Blackwood can only then be initiated after a suit has been established, and then only with the cheapest, meaningless bid.
Cheaper Minor As A Second Negative
A rebid by the responder to show the lower range of a weak holding on the second bid.
Cheaper Minor Over the Blacks
This method uses an overcall of 3 Diamonds after a preempt of 3 Clubs, and a 4 Clubs bid over a preempt of 3 Clubs, for takeout. Any double over a preempt of 3 Clubs is for penalty. Any double over 3 Diamonds or 3 Hearts is considered a cooperative double.
Cheapest Bid
The lowest legal bid. Over 1 Club, 1 Diamond is the cheapest bid.
Check
1. Slang: an improper form of passing, which is not legal and represents an irregularity since information could possibly be communicated;
2. Slang: denotes or signifies a stopper. It is of Antipodean usage, meaning something that is the exact opposite or contrary of another; an antipode.
Checkback Stayman
A common conventional agreement applied after opener's rebid of 1 No Trump, or, less commonly, 2 No Trump, searching for an unbid major suit or a preference to responder’s major. The bidding sequence 1 Club - 1 Heart - 1 No Trump - 2 Clubs asks the opener to give preference to Hearts, or to show an unbid four-card Major Spade suit. If the opener can not support Hearts and has no four-card Spade suit, the opener rebids Diamonds. If the opener rebids either 2 Hearts or 2 Spades, this rebid is purely invitational and not forcing. Some partnerships use the 2 Diamonds rebid as a game-forcing Checkback Stayman, and 2 Clubs as a weak Stayman. If the rebid is 2 Clubs in this partnership agreement, then the responder shows invitational values if he bids again.
Checkback Stayman by the Responder
This .pdf file has been written and contributed by Mr. Marvin French of San Diego. It represents a thorough explanation of this conventional method and employs illustrative examples demonstrating auctions and situations, in which the conventional method is used. We are very grateful to Mr. Marvin French for his contribution. The .pdf file will be automatically opened by your browser and not automatically downloaded to your computer.New Minor Forcing vs Checkback Stayman
This is an article written and contributed by Mr. Marvin French of San Diego, California, and which was published in the book Marvin's Conventions and Treatments written by Mr. Marvin French. It addresses the problem encountered by bridge players when confronted with a certain bidding sequence. This is a .pdf file and will automatically be opened by your browser.
Chest Your Cards
To hold your cards close to your chest, so that they are not visible to another player. An alternative is to "lap your cards", meaning to hold them in your lap, where they are hidden from view.
Chicago
The original version of four-deal bridge, with dealer's side vulnerable on the second and third deals.
Chicago Convention
This convention is mostly used while playing Rubber Bridge. When a player picks up a Yarborough, he inquires of his partner, How's your aunt in Chicago? If the partner replies that She died last week, this means that he holds no values to compete in the auction. Then he will add, Hey, wait! I have only 12 cards! The other partner will then respond I have 14 cards! Thereupon both players will quickly throw their cards into the center of the table and shuffle them, so that the truthfulness of their statements can not be proven. This is also known as the 12-14 Convention.
However, if the partner does have some biddable values, after the initial question, the partner can reject the offer and answer, My aunt is doing fine, or Count again please.
Chicago Trophy
Awarded for the North American Open Team Championship, board-a-match scoring, until 1965 when it was replaced by the Reisinger Memorial Trophy. The Trophy was donated by the Auction Bridge Club of Chicago in 1929. In 1928, the Open Team Competition was for the Harold S. Vanderbilt Cup.
Chicane
A term from Bridge Whist referring to a hand that is void of trumps. It was scored the same as three honors.
Note: One defintion, perhaps the oldest definition, is to be found in the publication located at the Bodleian Library at Oxford University in England, and which is titled Biritch, Or Russian Whist. This publication is dated October 23, 1886, and although there is no idication of the name of the author inside the publication, the book is attributed to a certain Mr. John Collinson. His definition, describing the scoring of honours, is:
If one hand has no trumps (trumps having been declared) his side, in the case of it scoring honours, adds the value of simple honours to its honour score, or, in the case of the other side scoring honours, the value of simple honours is deducted from the latter's score. This is called Chicane.
Chicken Squeeze
This is a colloquial designation and refers to a play strategy by bridge players, who sometimes risk via a line of play not the actual contract, but the more intuitively calculated than mathematical strategy of making that extra, that additional overtrick, which will result in the highest score. Some players reserve this line of strategy for those players, who have that abstract feature of card sense.
Chico Two Diamonds
A simplified version of the Multi Two Diamonds. An opening bid of 2 Diamonds shows either a weak Two-Bid in a major or a strong 20 plus HCPs and 4-4-4-1 distribution.
Chih-Kuang Two Bids or CK2 Bids
The origin of this method is unknown although is has been strongly suggested that the concept originated in Taiwan in the 1950s. The concept is that all bids on the two level, except an opening of 2 Clubs, are considered to be bids that are either weak Major Two Bids or weak distributional 5-5 types. The point range is generally the standard range of Weak Two openings between 5 and 11 high card points, but may be based also upon the number of Losing Tricks. Responses are per partnership agreement.
2 :
Promises a Weak Two bid in Hearts or a 5-card plus Spade suit and an unspecified 5-card Minor suit. 2 :
Promises a Weak Two bid in Spades or a 5-card plus Heart suit and an unspecified 5-card Minor suit. 2 :
Promises a Weak Two bid with a 5-5 distribution in 1. both Major suits or 2. both Minor suits.
Chile - Federacion Chilena de Bridge - Bridge Federation of Chile
Chilli Bidding System
Devised by Mr. Alan Williams. The link will bring the bridge student to the URL of Mr. Alan Williams. In his words: Chilli is an unusual bridge bidding system that places simplicity and universality of rules as its highest priority. Its intention is to shift the focus in practical bidding from memory to evaluation.
In the beginning, in 1997, Mr. Alan Williams, with partner Mr. Michael Booker, began developing The White Club System. Via many paths and external observations and influences both gentlemen completed their assignment and selected the designation of The Chilli Bidding System. The visitor can find additional information under History, which provides points of interest.
Note: Mr. Alan Williams has, as of April 2008, introduced the new version Chilli Bidding System, Version II, a revised system that is a little more artificial than Original, but that is even simpler, and yet functionally improved to meet the main deficiencies of Original Chilli that were identified by my partners and Chilli's small but enthusiastic international following. Mr. Alan Williams has also a Chilli Bidding Blog for discussion.
The following are the words of the developer: The cornerstones of Chilli are its three distinct and well-defined auction types, its universal forcing rules and that jumps show fit or distribution and not strength. The style of the system is constructive, and the priority is to find major suit fits.
I devised the Chilli bidding system in collaboration with my partner Michael Booker, and more recently with my old university pal Geoff Lacey. The first outline of the system, in September 1997, has evolved through many changes to something much more powerful and effective, and yet noticeably simpler.
Chilli is mainly natural. Many common bidding devices simply don't exist in Chilli. There are no transfers, no strength-showing reverses, no game-forcing bids, no fourth suit forcing and no high-level cue bids, for example. Lovers of conventions may be disappointed, but on the other hand, the application of natural bidding is often not as expected if you have been brought up on an orthodox system such as Acol or Standard American, and there are plenty of surprises.
Mr. Alan Williams also discloses the significance of the designation: I realised that the three most common forms of chilli were yellow, red and green, and that these could be used to represent the three auction types. The new name, backed up with some suitably colourful convention cards, was an immediate hit. Amongst other things, we quickly became 'the Peppers' at the club.
Chinese Bridge Association
Founded in 1980.
Chinese Bridge Association
Contact Address
9 Tiyuguan Road
100763 Beijing
China
Telephone: 8610-6504 4062
Facsimile: 8610-6504 3842
China - BridgeWorld in Chinese
Chinese Taipei Bridge Association
Contact Address
71 Kuan Chien Road
Taipei
Telephone: 886-2-2772 4510
Facsimile: 886-2-2771 4493
Chinese Finesse
The origin of this finesse technique is unknown. The concept of this particular finesse is an attempt to win a trick by leading an unsupported honor to the dummy where a higher honor is visibly located. If South is required to avoid a loser in the Heart suit as illustrated below, then the declarer or South, in this example, may / might dismiss the idea of dropping a possible singleton King and attempt the effect of leading the Queen from his/her hand. In this example West might decide to duck the Queen, assuming the Jack-10-9 behind it, thereby providing the declarer with an additional, possibly undeserved trick.
Dummy West East South
CHO
This term is an acronym used to describe the Center Hand Opponent and usually carries a negative reference to one's partner or to partners in general.
Choice-of-Games Cuebid
A cuebid asking partner to suggest a strain for game, as opposed to inviting slam.
Choice of Packs and Seats
The winner, or highest card, of the cut for first deal has the choice of which seat he will take and which of the two packs he wishes to deal. Presumably, unless the wrong player deals at some subsequent point, the cards will continue to be dealt by this player and his partner, the other pack by their opponents.
Chronological Order System, The
This is a designation for a bidding system or conventional method listed in the publication The Bridge Player's Bedside Companion, authored by Mr. Albert A. Ostrow, published 1955. During the early evolution of the game of bridge there occurred a proliferation of many such bidding systems. However, many have been forgotten and were discarded for the newest version of another bidding system. Any additional information would be greatly appreciated.
Chuck
Slang: this term means to throw away, as in a number of points or a contract, by means of an error, bad play, inattentiveness during play, etc.
Chukker
A unit of four deals at four-deal bridge played as Chicago. It is also used in a long team match for a group of boards followed by comparison with four-card suits. The term is borrowed from the game of polo.
Chunky
This term is applied to a sequence or semi-sequence of cards, which contains sufficient honors and/or intermediate cards to provide playing strength without regard to the position or assistance from the partner. An example would be: QJ109 or KQJ9.
Churchill Style
A method of bidding advocated by Mr. S. Garton Churchill of New York.
Cincinnati Carding and Leads
The method of Cincinnati carding provides the partnership with a method of signaling that generally allows the partner of the opening leader both to discourage continuation and to indicate which shift is desired.
Claim or Concession
Statement of intention to win or concede a certain number of tricks, suggesting that further play is unnecessary. The definition is the same for both duplicate and social bridge, but the procedure following a claim or concession is quite different depending upon which form of bridge is played.
Clarac Slam Try
A feature of the Pro System based principally on a 4 Clubs bid to ask about Aces and other controls, in order to attempt slam after the previous auction has indicated the possibility. The name CLARAC is an acronym for Club Asking, Respond Aces and Controls. The responses to a 4 Club bid will vary according to whether the responder has previously indicated a good holding.
If the hand has been limited in any way, then a 4 Heart response would show only one Ace and additionally a first or second round control in Hearts. On the other hand, if the responder has indicated a strong holding, then the responses to a 4 Clubs bid will show one more Ace than the normal responses for a limited hand. The response of 4 Diamonds to a 4 Clubs Ace asking bid denies an Ace or even a King-Queen combination. Following any response to a 4 Clubs Ace asking bid, except 4 Diamonds, any suit bid by the 4 Clubs bidder is an Asking Bid in that suit. The Clarac Slam Try includes additional control-asking bids during the ensuing auction.
The general first responses are listed below:
4 Shows no Aces and no honor combinations such as King-Queen. 4 Shows one Ace in any suit and a first or second round control in Hearts. 4 Shows one Ace in any suit and a first or second round control in Spades. 4 NT: Shows no Aces but an honor combination, specifically King-Queen. 5 :
Shows one Ace in any suit and a first or second round control in Clubs. 5 Shows two unspecified Aces and a second round control in Diamonds. 5 Shows two unspecified Aces and a second round control in Hearts. 5 Shows two unspecified Aces and a second round control in Spades. 5 NT: Shows three Aces and no additional controls. 6 Shows two Aces and a second round control in Clubs.
Clash Squeeze
A squeeze in three suits, distinguished by the presence of a special type of long menace called a clash menace, analyzed and named by Chien-Hwa Wang in the Bridge Magazine articles appearing 1956 and 1957.
Clear A Suit
Remove obstacles to a suit's being run. If the contract is No Trump, the Declarer has to clear a suit by forcing out adversely held high cards by continuing to lead that particular suit so that the remaining cards are winners.
Clement-Oliver Opening Bids
A partnership understanding for opening bids as devised by Mr. Bruce Clement and Mrs. Pam Oliver of Wellington, New Zealand.
Clementinklover
This is the Swedish designation for the translated Tangerine Club bidding system by Mr. Jan Eric Larsson.
Clocks
Devices used at tournaments to indicate to the players how much time is left in the round and when the round is ended. Clocks are also used to time pairs at Team events. Since there are penalties for slow play, it is necessary to determine which player or players are responsible for the slow play.
Clone
This bidding system is a mixture between Carrot Club and the Tangerine Club. This is a bridge bidding system based on a weak/strong 1 Club opening, followed by natural sequences, light opening bids of one of a suit containing 9-16 high card points and at least 4 cards in the suit.
Clone Opening Bids
These are the opening bids of the Clone bidding system. The continuances are not presented.
Closed Hand
Declarer's hand. The term dates from Bridge Whist, which introduced the idea of an exposed hand visible to the other players.
Closed Room
In tournament play, a room from which spectators are barred.
Clothesline
An arrangement by which traveling scoreslips can be displayed for study by the players when the recapitulation sheet does not show information beyond the matchpoint score itself.
Cloudberry Club Opening Bids
These opening bids were devised and developed by Mr. Max Odlund from Sweden in the late 1970s. After an opening of 1 Club, a first response of 1 Diamond is considered to be negative, whereas a Major suit response shows at least a 5-card suit. A first response of 2 Clubs is game-forcing if the opening is weak, and slam-forcing if the opening is strong, which the opener must decide and direct to the correct contract.
Club
The place or building, where a group of players meet in order to play the game of bridge. The world bridge community is sub-chaptered in Zones, Districts, and Clubs. Any individual ACBL member or group of ACBL members or non-affiliated organization may apply for a sanction from ACBL to conduct a duplicate game at which masterpoints are awarded, which as a consequence permitting ACBL members and others to compete on a regular basis in their community.
Note: ACBL clubs are not governed by the General Convention Chart; they have the authority to set their own regulations on conventions, and this authority is officially delegated to them by the ACBL. However, if an ACBL club is the site of an official ACBL game such as a Sectional Tournament at Clubs, it is governed by the tournament rules and must allow the convention chart which was announced for the tournament.
Club Appreciation Games
These are special bridge games offered during the month of October at individual and participating bridge clubs. These games offer masterpoint awards calculated at 85% of sectional rating.
Club Bust - Diamond Bust
A colloquialism to describe a holding with a long Club suit, generally a 6-card suit, and insufficient values for game after a No Trump opening by partner. The second designation, a Diamond bust referring to the other Minor, is also a colloquialism used in the bridge community.
Club Championship
Each regularly scheduled weekly game is entitled to four club championship sessions each year. The overall awards for club championship games in open clubs are 65% of sectional rating.
Club Director
ACBL offers any member the opportunity to become an ACBL-rated Club Director in order to run a local club-level sanctioned game and award masterpoints. This title can be achieved through a self-study course or by attending a Club Director course and successfully completing a test.
Club Directors Handbook
This publication by ACBL, reformatted in 2003, is available as study material for members wishing to become ACBL Directors and for club directors to use in directing sanctioned games in individual bridge clubs.
Club Manager's Handbook
This is a publication by ACBL targeted for owners and presidents of sanctioned bridge clubs recommending certain guidelines for a successful bridge club and the requirements necessary in order to remain recognized by ACBL, the governing organization. This Handbook has also been archived and preserved only on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.
Club Game Classifications
There are five general classes of games at clubs:
1. Open club games, where all players are welcome.
2. Invitational club games may limit participation to members of a particular organization or to participants invited by the club manager. Guests are often accepted at invitational clubs.
3. Masterpoint limited club games are for players who are beyond Rookie level but not ready for open competition. These games may have any limitation that is determined to be best for the players in question, such as 49er, 99er, Non-Life Master, etc.
4. Newcomer club games may operate under different titles such as newplicate, novice, 0-5, 0-20, etc, but participation is limited to persons holding fewer than 20 masterpoints on record with the ACBL.
5. College or high school club games are special forms of invitational club games restricted to students, faculty members and their spouses.
Club Managers Newsletter
This is a publication and appears three times annually. The purpose of the publication is to provide information to club managers, club owners and club directors and to share tips for success at ACBL clubs.
Clubs
The lowest ranking suit of the four suits in a bridge deck. The term is from the French trefle, but the name also seems to be of Spanish or Italian origin as a translation of basto or bastone.
Club Bridge
See: Chicago
Club Conventions
There are many such conventional bidding systems which use the Club suit for opening the auction. The first known Club convention is the Vanderbilt Club. Other such Club conventions are the One Club System, the Two Club System. Other Club conventions which are applied at higher levels are Two Clubs Strong Artificial Opening, Stayman, Gerber, etc.
Club Master
A member who has at least 20 but fewer than 50 masterpoints recorded by ACBL.
Club Masterpoints
These are points earned at the club level in games with club rating. These are black points and are distributed in fractional amounts. One hundred fractional points equal one masterpoint.
Clubs
Organizations or groups of bridge players who form units acting as centers of interest for players in a particular community.
Clubs-Diamonds-Hearts Buchanan or CDH Buchanan
This is a defense method against a No Trump opening by an opponent. This conventional method was devised by Mr. David F. Buchanan, and was published in Bridge Magazine in January, 1980.
Clubs For Takeout
A variation of Cheaper Minor Takeout. The bid for takeout is always made in Clubs. Even when the preempt is in Clubs, the next higher Club bid shows a hand worth a takeout double.
Club Systems
Many bridge bidding systems have evolved over the years and many apply the 1 Club opening. It is not always clear as to the partnership understanding and the individual bridge player should acquaint himself with these bidding systems. As always, the list is incomplete and the terminology is sometimes vague.
Definitions of one of a Minor openings. Names for 1
Short (or Nebulous) Club: not forcing, possibly on two (or fewer) Clubs.
Prepared Club: not forcing, guaranteeing at least three Clubs.
Phoney Club: forcing, possibly on three (or fewer) Clubs.
Strong Club: forcing, showing 16 plus High Card Points.
Either/or Club: forcing showing a strong hand (like a Strong Club) or a weaker hand (such as a weak No Trump or a minimum opening with Clubs).
Note: Conventional openings: Short, Phoney, Strong, and Either/or Clubs are considered conventional: Prepared Clubs are considered natural (except for alerting).
Coat Cards
The original term in English for the three cards of each suit which represent costumed human figures: the King, the Queen and the Jack. In some countries a fourth coat card, variously the Valet of Courtier, is included in the deck. The term has been superseded by a corruption called Court Cards.
Cobra
Computer Oriented Bridge Analysis is the result of feeding a computer certain elements of the evaluation and distributional factors of card combinations by Mr. E.T. Lindelof.
Cobra Opening Bids
As a base for the entered data into the software application, Mr. E.T. Lindelof used the following opening bids, similar to the Schenken Club opening bids. They establish precise limits for each opening bid but the system was so set up that the software could establish and adjust the point value of a certain holding according to its individual hand evaluation method.
Coded 9s and 10s
Against No Trump contracts, this method of leading can communicate information to your partner. A lead of the 9 spot promises 0 or 2 higher cards, for example from the holding Q1098 or 987. A lead of the 10 spot promises 0 or 2 higher cards, for example from the holding KJ109 or 1098. These leads are generally against a No Trump contract, but can, by partnership agreement, be used against suit contracts.
Coded Splinter Bids
This origin of this treatment is unknown but has been mentioned in the publication called Bridge Sense by Mr. Bernie Chazen. The concept is such that the so-called Coded Splinter Bid provides less information to the opponents, although the location of the singleton is later revealed in the ensuing auction. Even though the concept itself has not been completely explored or defined, for example certain idle bids remaining available to specifically show a side suit void, the following illustrates the basic principle:
Opener Responder Meaning 1 3 Coded Splinter promising 10 plus points, 4 plus cards Heart support, and a side suit singleton. 3 NT This rebid by the opener asks for the side suit singleton. 4 Side suit singleton is Clubs. 4 Side suit singleton is Diamonds. 4 Side suit singleton is Spades. 1 3 NT Coded Splinter promising 10 plus points, 4 plus cards Spades support, and a side suit singleton. 4 This rebid by the opener asks for the side suit singleton. 4 Side suit singleton is Clubs. 4 Side suit singleton is Diamonds. 4 Side suit singleton is Hearts. Since the Coded Splinter Bids are variable from partnership to partnership, the understanding may also vary as to the significance of the idle bids. These basic guidelines can also be altered, modified, and/or reversed so that the cheapest possible bid or step may indicate the cheapest possible side suit as a singleton or definitely as a suit void. The inclusion of the standard Splinter Bid may also be part of the partnership agreement when seeking only a game contract and the Coded Splinter Bids only then introduced to indicate definite slam interest.
Code of Discipline Regulations
The ACBL has a Code of Discipline Regulations governing the jurisdiction of any irregularity caused either by the game of by the individual player. This is the revised version of 2001.
Coffeehousing
Slang: making gratuitous statements, often, and highly improperly, with the intention of misleading or confusing the opponents.
Cold
Slang: an easily makeable contract. Other terms are a laydown, frigid and icy, or colder than a creek rock, or crick rock.
Cole Convention
The origin of this conventional method is attributed to the suggestion of Mr. William (Bill) Cole to the the Woolsey-Manfield partnership, which consisted of Mr. Christopher R. (Kit) Woolsey and Mr. Edward (Ed) A. Mansfield. Mr. Kit Woolsey published a two-part series on the Cole convention in The Bridge World magazine March 1991, pages 16-18 and April 1991, pages 16-20. It is basically a rebidding system permitting the partnership to accurately describe certain distributional holdings plus showing the range of values.
Colonial Acol
A version of Acol popular in Canada. Its basic elements were used by all three Canadian pairs in the 1972 World Team Olympiad.
Colons
A designation used in the game of Bridgette, a form of bridge for two players, devised by Mr. Joli Quentin Kansil. With the standard pack, the colon cards can be made by using two Jokers and the display card that is often included with the deck. The more ornate Joker serves as the Grand Colon, the second Joker as the Royal Colon, and the display card as the Little Colon. An indelible felt pen can be used to ink in colon designs on the three extra cards as follows: All of the colons are designed with two circles placed vertically, similar to the colon used in punctuation. The Grand Colon has both circles filled in plus an A in the center; the Royal Colon has one circle filled in and the other open, like a ring, plus JQK in the center; the Little Colon has both circles open plus 2-10 in the center.
Color
1. a method of referring to suits: Spades and Clubs are the black suits, Hearts and Diamonds are the red suits.
2. Slang: any one of the four suits.
Colorful Cuebid
A direct Cuebid over a major suit opening. For example: 1 Spade - 2 Spades to show a two-suiter in the other color. As in the example, 2 Spades to show the red suits. This cuebid was devised by Dorothy Hayden Truscott.
Colons
In the game of Bridgette a deck of cards consists of 55 cards instead of the usual 52 cards. The three additional cards are knows as colons. With the standard pack, the colon cards can be made by using two jokers and the display card that is often included with the deck. The more ornate joker serves as the Grand Colon, the second joker as the Royal Colon, and the display card as the Little Colon. An indelible felt pen can be used to ink in colon designs on the three extra cards as follows: All of the colons are designed with two circles placed vertically, similar to the colon used in punctuation. The Grand Colon has both circles filled in plus an A in the center; the Royal Colon has one circle filled in and the other open, like a ring, plus JQK in the center; the Little Colon has both circles open plus 2-10 in the center.
Columbia: Federacion Colombiana de Bridge
La Federacion ha sido creada con el objeto de organizar administrativa y tecnicamente el deporte del Bridge en el territorio nacional, reglamentar su practica y competencias en las diversas ramas y categorías, sea que se trate de campeonatos nacionales, seccionales, municipales, zonales, Interclubes de clubes o de confrontaciones e intercambios amistosos, establecer un codigo de faltas deportivas y disciplinarias y de las sanciones correspondientes, participar en competencias o eventos deportivos internacionales.
Combinations
The idea of a combination is elemental to bridge calculations. Examples where this conception is applied is in calculating the probability of a specified hand pattern or the division of a suit among the four players.
Combination Count
The Combination Count was devised in England, and was developed by bridge players over time. This method uses lengths and shortages immediately. Using the Karpin Count, Karpin length points are supplemented by 2 for a Void and 1 for a Singleton. This treatment applies to both the opener and the responder in all situations and stages of the auction.
Combination Finesse
1. a finesse against more than one card;
2. a simple finesse preliminary to another finesse in the same suit.
Combination Shot
Slang: a line of play or defense that offers more than one possible way to succeed.
Come Down To
This phrase is used when keeping the last remaining cards, generally two or more, as in the phrase: It comes down to one trick for you and one trick for me.
Come-On Signal
A defensive card-play signal encouraging partner to lead or continue leading a particular suit. The usual come-on is a High-Low signal, also called an Echo, and in England it is called a Peter. An alternative is the Upside-Down signal.
Comic No Trump Overcall
An overcall of 1 No Trump to show a weak hand with a long suit. The responder bids 2 Clubs to locate the suit. See also Gardener No Trump Overcall. If the overcall is always weak, the French refer to it as the Sans Atout Comique.
Command Bid
A term suggested by George Rosenkranz to describe a bid that commands partner to make a specific response. The alternative term to describe this action is Puppet Bid.
Commandments for Bridge Players
This is rather a personal and humorous list of Shalls and Shall Nots. It is not supposed to be taken seriously but in the spirit, in which it is presented:
1. When thy partner makes a mistake, thou shalt not kill !
2. Thou shalt not call a misdeal just because thou hast been dealt no picture cards.
3. Thou shalt not covet thy opponent's Aces, nor their Kings, nor their success at 7 No Trump, doubled and redoubled.
If any visitor would like to add to this list, please feel free to do so.
Commit To
1. A phrase meaning to drive to or force to, for example a given bidding level;
2. A phrase meaning to decide on, for example an overall course of action in the bidding process.
Common Room Bidding Conventions
This is a summary of bidding conventions devised by Mr. D. Goldberg, Mr. M. Devos, and Mr. A. Banner. As self-described at the URL: http://www.princeton.edu/~gcbridge/, it is an incomplete work still in progress. This is a .pdf file and, depending on your browser, will be automatically downloaded to your computer and opened with Adobe Acrobat or automatically opened by your browser. This material is only archived here for future purposes.
Common Sense System
See: Crane System
Communication Between Partners
The act of conveying information within a partnership. It is a breach of ethics when information is conveyed intentionally by a remark, gesture or mannerism.
Communication Play
A play intended to preserve or establish communication, or transfer the lead, between partnership hands to make it possible at a strategic time to lead from a certain hand. It refers also to a play which is intended to disrupt or destroy such means of communication between the opponents.
Communications
The ability to transfer the lead from one hand to the opposite hand.
Compact Knockout Teams or Compact KO Teams
This is a designation to describe a two-session bracketed KO designed to be completed in one day. The can be a gold-point event bit is limited to four-person teams. The format of Compact Knockouts are twelve (12) board rounds, two (2) per session. It a team loses the first round, then this team plays another team that lost either for match awards or as the beginning of a consolation. Whether there is a consolation or not depends on the number of entries and what the result is. If the team loses the second match, this team is out, whether the team is in the real event or the consolation. If the team wins the second match, the team continues (advances) to the next session. If the team loses the first match of the second session, this team plays the other team that lost.
Comparing Scores
Discussion of results already achieved by contestants in a duplicate competition. Making such comparisons with other contestants playing the same board in tournament play before the session’s play has been completed has long been held to be unethical. Since 1963, these comparisons have been declared illegal, and the director is authorized to assess penalties for such actions.
Comparisons
At duplicate bridge, comparisons are made between pairs or players who have played a board in the same direction, and consequently under similar conditions of dealer, vulnerability, and holding.
Compass Points or Directions
In discussing bridge hands, columnists describe the four players by using the points of the compass to distinguish the players.
Compensation
A method of playing a one-table game with the luck of the deal virtually eliminated. It was devised in Kharkov in the Ukraine and was developed by players in Moscow. After analyzing thousands of deals with the aid of the computer, they calculated the scoring expectation with a given number of high card points in the partnership hands. This established a table so that players can measure at the end of a deal whether they have met, fallen short, or surpassed expectations.
Their table is: 20 point, 0: 21, 50; 22, 70; 23, 23, 110. For higher point counts the expectation varies with vulnerability: 24 points, 200 not vulnerable, 290 vulnerable; 25, 399, 440; 26, 350, 520; 27, 400, 630; 28, 430, 630; 29, 460, 660; 30 490,690; 31, 600, 900; 32, 700, 1050; 33, 900, 1350; 34, 1000, 1500; 35, 1100, 1650; 36 1200, 1800; 37+, 1300, 1950.
An example of how this scoring compensation table works is if a vulnerable partnership that bids and makes a contract of 3 No Trump for 600 with 24 points collects 600 minus 290, which equals 310.
Competition
1. any duplicate bridge contest;
2. a bidding situation in which both sides are active.
Competitive Auction or Bidding
1. an auction in which both sides are attempting to name the contract;
2. bidding from the point of view of the opening side when the other side enters the auction.
Competitive Double
1. a double showing general values rather than directly suggesting either takeout or penalty;
2. a double in a competitive auction which invites partner to bid game but gives him the option of signing off in a partscore or passing for penalties.
Complementary Scores
When two contestants play against each other in a matchpoint contest, their combined matchpoint scores add up to the matchpoint top available on that board, and the two scores are complements of each other.
Compound Guard Squeeze
A squeeze in three suits, in which two suits are stopped by both opponents and third suit holding requires a defender to retain certain cards to prevent declarer from taking a winning finesse.
Compound Squeeze
A preparatory triple squeeze, followed by a double squeeze, analyzed by Clyde E. Love. This ending requires two double menaces, guarded by both opponents, and a one-card menace. The one-card menace must be placed to the left of the opponent threatened.
Compound Trump Guard Squeeze
This is a Compound Guard Squeeze with a trump element.
Compound Trump Squeeze
A Compound squeeze in which at least one opponent is subject to a trump squeeze.
Computer Bridge
The Internet has brought the game of bridge into the house. Offered is a list of several options for the interested bridge player, who would like to stay at home and play against the software.
Computer Bridge on the Internet - World Computer Bridge Championships
The links to the following are all .pdf files and are excerpted from web pages and especially the Coordinator for ACBL, Mr. Al Levy, among others. This information is only archived and preserved on this website for reference and future reference. The source for all information is included in all files. The visitor, seeking additional information, should consult the original web pages.
History and Summary of the Results of the ACBL's Annual World Computer Bridge Championship.
Computer Olympiad - Predecessor to the World Computer Bridge Championship
World Computer Bridge Championship Trophy
Short Summary and History of Participants and Their Software Programs
In 1996 the American Contract Bridge League established an official World Computer-Bridge Championship, to be run annually at a major bridge activity.
The 1st Annual World Computer Bridge Championship, sponsored by Baron Barclay Bridge Supplies, was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the ACBL's 1997 summer North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The organizer of this event was Mr. Alvin Levy. The inaugural World Computer-Bridge Championship was won by Bridge Baron, with Q-plus Bridge second.
The 2nd Annual World Computer Bridge Championship, sponsored by Baron Barclay Bridge Supplies and OKbridge, was held in Chicago, Illinois, at the ACBL's 1998 summer NABC, July 23 through August 2, 1998. The organizer of this event was Mr. Alvin Levy. The champion was won by GIB, with Q-Plus Bridge second.
The 3rd Annual World Computer Bridge Championship, sponsored by Orbis Investments, was held in Bermuda at the World Bridge Federation's (WBF) 1999 Bermuda Bowl/Venice Cup (January 2000). GIB repeated as champion, with Wbridge5 second. The organizer of this event was Mr. Alvin Levy.
The 4th Annual World Computer Bridge Championship, sponsored by Microsoft Network Gaming Zone, was help in Maastricht, The Netherlands, at the WBF's 2000 Bridge Olympiad. Meadowlark Bridge was crowned champion, defeating Q-Plus by 2 IMPs in the finals. The organizer of this event was Mr. Alvin Levy.
The 5th Annual World Computer Bridge Championship, sponsored by FunBridge.com, was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the ACBL's 2001 summer NABC. The championship was won by Jack, defeating Micro Bridge in the finals. The organizer of this event was Mr. Alvin Levy.
Conditions of Contest for 2001
Story of Jeremy Claptrap or Hoogli Bridge Player
Response of Developer of Hoogli and Closure
The 6th Annual World Computer Bridge Championship, was held in Montreal, Canada, at the WBF's 2002 World Bridge Championships. Jack repeated as champion, defeating Wbridge5 by 1 IMP in the finals. The organizer of this event was Mr. Alvin Levy.
The 7th Annual World Computer Bridge Championship, was held in Menton, 2003, at the European Bridge League's first Open Championship. Jack was crowned champion for the third year in a row, defeating Bridge Baron in the finals. Jack defeated Bridge Baron in the 64-board final, 188-117, to retain the title of World Computer-Bridge Champion. After nine round robin segments, with each program sitting out one round, Wbridge5 topped all competitors with 165 VPs. Closely behind were two-time defending champion, Jack, with 162 VPs, and Micro Bridge with 161 VPs. Fourth place was decided in the final round robin segment, in which Bridge Baron defeated Wbridge5 46-45 to narrowly take fourth place over Q-Plus Bridge. Wbridge5, finishing first and played fourth place Bridge Baron, while second place Jack was matched against third place Micro Bridge. The competition was so close that there were no carryovers in either semifinal match. In their semifinal match, Jack defeated Micro Bridge 167-81. In one of the strongest comebacks in computer-bridge history Bridge Baron came back from a 47 Imp deficit, with 16 boards to play, to defeat Wbridge5 143-139. The organizer of this event was Mr. Alvin Levy.
Conditions of Contest for 2003
Results of the World Computer Bridge Championship
The 8th Annual World Computer Bridge Championship, was held in New York City, New York, at the ACBL's 2004 summer NABC. Jack was crowned for the forth year in a row, defeating Bridge Baron in the finals for the second year in a row. The organizer of this event was Mr. Alvin Levy.
Computer Hands
Computer-generated hands were first used at the Eastern States Regional Tournament in 1963. This is largely owing to the efforts of Mr. Martin Scheinberg. Since then, it has become common practice to have computer-generated hands at many bridge tournaments. Included in the realm of the computer are the many offered computer bridge software programs which allow the user to play at his/her computer. There are presently many varieties of online Internet Web sites will allow the user to play bridge live with many other bridge players from around the world. The computer has also been programmed to complete the scoring of almost all bridge tournaments. With the aid of the computer, the game of bridge has made giant steps in creating a medium which assists the organizers of bridge events immensely and effectively.
Computer Scoring
Since the introduction of the computer, the scoring of any bridge event has become an easier task and has replaced the manual scoring by hand records. Mathematicians and computer software programmers in the early 1960s combined their efforts and the result was a software program, which could achieve in minutes what used to take days or even weeks, depending on the number of bridge participants and the manner of the bridge movement. This is especially true of larger tournaments. Computer scoring made its first debut at the Worlds Pairs Championships held in Cannes, France, in 1962 under the guidance and initiative of Mr. Baron Robert de Nexon, who was President of the French Bridge Federation, the European Bridge League and the World Bridge Federation.
Concede
To give some or all of the remaining tricks to the opponents without contest.
Concentration
Perhaps as much as 50% of your success at bridge depends on your ability to keep your mind on the game. If you are not paying attention at all time, crucial details may escape your notice, like how many trump cards have been played. Most of the mistakes an expert player makes are lapses in concentration, which he knows to avoid. The difference between the expert and the average player, however, is that the expert keeps his avoidable errors to a minimum. There are several guidelines to assist the bridge player to maintain his best concentration.
Concept Preempts or Concept Preemptive Openings
The origin of this method is unknown. The basic guidelines for such an opening on the two level, except an opening of the strong, artificial 2 Clubs opening, are shown below. All openings on the two level are weak without exception. The range of the weakness is determined by partnership agreement. The responses are per partnership agreement and may be varied and/or modified to meet the needs of the partnership. The main concept is deemed obstructive for the opponents.
2 Promises either 1. a 6-card (plus) Diamond suit or 2. a 5-card (plus) Heart suit. 2 Promises either 1. a 6-card (plus) Heart suit or 2. a 5-card (plus) Spade suit. 2 Promises either 1. a 6-card (plus) Spade suit or 2. both Minor suits of at least 5-5 distribution. (Optional)
Condone
An act after an irregularity without requiring any penalty, thus forfeiting the right to penalize.
Conduct
A player should maintain at all times a courteous attitude toward his Partner and his Opponents. He should carefully avoid any remark or action that might cause annoyance or embarrassment to another player or his partner, or any remark or action that might interfere with the enjoyment of another player of the game.
Conglomerate Major Raise
This extension of the Swiss convention was designed to allow the responder to make a forcing raise of a Major suit opening, showing either a singleton, above average high card strength, above average trump support, and/or general strength.
Congress
An organized competitive duplicate bridge event, which has been sponsored, publicized, promoted, organized, and directed to completion, meaning that a winner has been determined after the scoring has been totaled. During the earlier days of Whist and Auction Bridge, such an event was referred to as a Congress. Today such a competition is referred to as a Tournament.
Consolation Pairs
Some multi-session pair games have qualifying sessions instead of being play-through. A certain number of pairs in each group qualify to play in the final session or sessions. Usually a special game for non-qualifiers is run alongside the final. This game, a regular pair game as far as movement and scoring are concerned, is called a consolation.
Constructive
A description applied to a bid that suggests game prospects but is not forcing. The partner will take further action more often than not.
Constructive Bidding
Auctions in which one side attempts to locate the best contract without interference from the opponents.
Constructive Free Bid or CBF
The origin of this designation is unknown. The concept is that after an overcall below 3NT, a new suit bid by the responder below game is non-forcing but constructive, about 6 to 12 high card points at the one level, about 8 to 12 high card points at the two level, about 10 to 13 high card points at the three level, and about 11 to 14 high card points at the four level. The Constructive Free Bid is not the same as or identical to the Negative Free Bid played by some partnerships whereby the hand can be quite weak. To the contrary, a Constructive Free Bids does show values but insufficient values to force opposite an opener, who could have opened with rather light values, for example in third seat. The responder can have fewer points than is needed if holding a good long suit with playing value.
Constructive Raise
The immediate single raise of a Major suit opening to show more than normal strength, or, sometimes, maximum values for a normal single raise. Instead of, what has generally become standard, interpreting the single raise as having a range from 6 to 9 points, the Constructive Raise is limited to 8 to 10 points. To show weaker values, the general consensus is for the partnership to agree to employ other conventional methods, such as the 1 No Trump Forcing Convention and then show the weaker values with the second response. This method is not employed if the opening is a Minor suit.
Consultation
This practice between partners regarding a penalty is forbidden under Law 10C2 of the Laws of Duplicate, and any such discussion cancels the right to penalize.
Content
A highly improper form of the call pass.
Contestant
A contestant is one of more players competing for a combined score. This pertains to individual players, pairs, and as a team of four or more, changing partners among their own teammates.
Contested Auction
Competitive bidding, meaning an overcall.
Continuous Pairs
The Continuous Pairs game is always a multi-session event. Each session is a regular pair game, and awards are given for each individual session. In addition, there are overall awards for those who perform best during the various sessions. Each individual receives credit for his best two scores, and the overall ranking is done from these figures. Each player may play with as many different partners as there are sessions since the overall standings are determined on an individual basis. Continuous Pairs must consist of three or more sessions. At North American Championships, session awards are paid in reds, but overall awards incorporating the scores from all sessions are paid in gold points. Masterpoint awards are based on the formula for a two-session open event.
Contract
1. a bet that a certain number of tricks will be taken;
2. to make such a bet.
Contract Bridge Association of Ireland
Also known as the CBAI. The Contract Bridge Association was founded in 1932. It is the official regulator for the recognized game of Contract Duplicate Bridge in this part of the island. As such, any changes to the worldwide rules are passed to us and then to our members. The CBAI structure divides the country into twelve geographical Regions. The CBAI Regions are: North Eastern, South Midland, Dublin North, Western, Northern, South Munster, Dublin South, North Western, North Midland, North Munster, South Eastern, Eastern.
Contract Bridge
1. Bridge in which only tricks bid for and made count towards game, as opposed to auction bridge, an earlier form, in which all tricks made, bid for or not, count towards game;
2. Bridge as usually played since the 1930's, when auction bridge began to die out. Contract Bridge was invented in 1925.
3. The fourth type of game in the succession of partnership cards games. The first was Whist, the second was Bridge Whist, the third was Auction Bridge.
Contracting
A term which signifies the act of agreeing to take a certain number of tricks in a deal of bridge.
Contracting Side
The contracting side is the declarer and his partner. The opponents are the defending side.
Contract Whist
A cross between Whist and Contract Bridge. The four players bid in turn for the contract, but the play is that of whist, with all four hands concealed. The principles of the game were set forth in Contract Whist by Hubert Phillips, published in 1932.
Control
1. ability to prevent the opponents from winning immediate tricks in a suit such as first-round control is an Ace or Void, and second-round control is a King or singleton;
2. command of the play at a trump contract;
3. a unit of evaluation in which Aces count two and Kings count one. For example, a hand with two Aces and one King has five controls.
4. stopper.
Control Bid
1. Any bid that indicates a control in a specific suit, generally employed when attempting slam;
2. the act of making a bid satisfactory.
Controlled Psychic
A psychic call between two partners supported by an agreement about how it can be revealed later.
Control Maintenance
This is a strategy with the goal of preventing a defender from gaining the mastery of a certain suit.
Controls
1. In general, controls are holdings that prevent the opponents winning 1, 2, or even 3 immediate tricks in a specified suit.
First-round control is an Ace or a void in a trump contract.
Second-round control is a King or a singleton in a trump contract.
Third-round control is a Queen or a doubleton in a trump contract.
These controls can be revealed or disclosed during the auction by means of Asking Bids or Cuebids.
2. Specifically, controls are Aces and Kings. In the standard counting system, an Ace is counted as 2 controls, and a King is counted as 1 control.
Control-Showing Matrix
This is a feature of the Blue Team Club bidding system and of the Ultimate Club bidding system. It is generally initiated after a strong, artificial 1 Club opening by one partner. The object of the responder is to show first the number of controls held instead of the shape of the holding. The controls are considered to be Aces, Kings and Queens. However, the following considerations are to be integrated in counting the number of controls:
1. Jacks are not counted, but 3 Jacks may be converted into 1 Queen in balanced hands.
2. An isolated (no controls) Q-Q-Q is equal to an Ace.
3. An isolated Q-Q is equal to a King.
4. Treat 4 Queens with at least one control as A-Q.
5. Treat 4 Queens in isolation as A-A.
6. In a distributional freak (11+ cards in two suits), do not count singleton honors less than an Ace.For additional information about this particular bidding system feature, review the .pdf files especially for the 1 Club opening employed in the Ultimate Club bidding system.
Control System, The
This is the designation given to the bidding system presented in the publication titled The Control Syste: Contrac Bridge, authored by Mr. Harry L. Levy in the year 1932, and published by the Weiss Printing Company in San Francisco, California, United States,Library of Congress code is LC: 32035630. Additional information is not available and any such information would be greatly appreciated.
Convention
An understanding between partners that would not ordinarily be understood by the opponents in the absence of an explanation. A convention, in contrast to a treatment, is a bid that gives or requests information unrelated to the denomination named. A convention is also a call or play with a defined meaning, which may be artificial. The oldest convention is the fourth-best lead, which dates back to Hoyle in 1740. The oldest bidding convention is the Takeout Double conceived in 1912, but which has undergone several changes.
Note: Other definitions of the noun convention have been expressed and worded. One example is the explanation / definition of an anonymous English writer as found in the publication Complete Auction Bridge for 1922, written by Mr. Bryant McCampbell, which is excerpted here:
Rules in bridge which have emerged by degrees from the welter of all sorts of conflicting ideas, in the course of which the pros and cons of each of them have been anxiously considered and warmly debated by persons best qualified to judge their merits.
Convention Card
A printed card listing commonly used conventions. It is used by bridge players in duplicate bridge to indicate to the opponents the conventions and special understandings of a bridge partnership. A partnership must fill out a set of convention cards before beginning play that lists offensive style and conventions, defensive conventions and understandings, and lead agreements.
Limited Convention Chart - This Convention Chart may be used in games with an upper limit of 20 or fewer masterpoints. Club management shall determine the conventions permitted in club games with an upper limit of 20 or fewer masterpoints. The sponsoring organization of local and higher rated tournaments may determine the conventions permitted in games with an upper limit of 20 or fewer masterpoints.
General Convention Chart - The conventions listed on this General Convention Chart must be allowed in all ACBL sanctioned tournament play (other than in events with an upper restriction of 20 or fewer masterpoints and events for which the ACBL conditions of contest state otherwise) and at club-level events with multiple-site overall masterpoint awards. However, clubs have full authority to regulate conventions in games conducted solely at their clubs.
Mid-Chart - This chart applies to:
All NABC+ events with no upper masterpoint restrictions played at an NABC.
All unrestricted Flight A regionally rated events at an NABC.
Any bracket of a bracketed KO at an NABC which contains no team with a bracket designator (average masterpoints of the entire team or top two players) of less than 1000 points.
This chart (or any part) may apply to any sectionally or regionally rated event or tournament at sponsor's option provided that this has been included in tournament advertising. (The requirement for advertising does not extend to use in Flt. A or high brackets of KOs.)
When using a method permitted by the Mid-Chart but not by the General Convention Chart a pair is required to:
1. Pre-Alert the method(s)
2. Have a written description of the method(s) available for the opponents.
3. Except for those methods authorized by sections below with an asterisk (numbers 2, 3 and 9 under ALLOWED), have a copy of the approved suggested defense available for opponents. Approved defenses are available in the ACBL defense database at www.acbl.org.
A defense to a method which requires the above pre-Alert may be referred to during the auction by both pairs. To get a defense approved, a complete written explanation of the method and a complete written defense must be submitted to ACBL in Memphis, attention Chief Tournament Director by regular mail or e-mail to: chief.tournament.director@acbl.org.
In addition, a method may be approved experimentally for Mid-Chart events. In order to have a method approved experimentally, a complete description and suggested defense must be submitted to ACBL, attention Chief Tournament Director, as above.
Super Chart - This chart applies to all NABC+ events with no upper masterpoint limit played at an NABC in which contestants play segments (no change of opponents) of 12 or more boards. This chart (or any part) may be used at a sectionally or regionally rated event or tournament at sponsor's option in any event with 12-board or longer segments provided this has been included in tournament advertising.
Pre-Alerts are required for all conventional methods not permitted on the ACBL General Convention Chart. Description of, and suggested defenses to, such methods must be made in writing. A defense to a method which requires the above pre-Alert may be referred to during the auction by opponents of the convention user.
For NABC+ events in which this chart is permitted, pairs playing SuperChart methods must furnish the above descriptions of their methods to the Director-in-Charge of the event the day prior to the session in which they choose to play them.
Convention Card Collection
This is a list of bridge players, pairs and teams, who have graciously offered and posted their completed Convention Cards to the Internet. These have only been archived here on this site. The appropriate URLs change often and therefore these Convention Cards are only archived for future reference on this site and for the interest of other bridge players. We thank the individual Webmasters for presenting this information and also the bridge players for allowing their Convention Cards to be placed and presented on the Internet. They are written in a .pdf file format, and, depending on your browser, will either be automatically opened by your browser or automatically downloaded to your computer and opened with Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Convention Card New
Clicking on this link will cause your computer to automatically download a .pdf file. Acrobat Reader 4.x is required to view this .pdf file. Internet Explorer may have some difficulty in opening the file. If this is the case, then Netscape Navigator should have the capability to open it.
Convention Card Picture
This is a diagram of the Convention Card and may take some time to load.
Convention Card Instructions - Filling Out The Convention Card
These are .pdf files provided by the ACBL, which are only archived and preserved on this site. These articles appeared in the Bridge Bulletin beginning in August 2004 in consecutive and monthly order and provide instructions to the beginning bridge player as to how to complete and fill out a Convention Card, which is required at a certain level of tournament level. For the original articles please visit ACBL.com by clicking on the above link. The following .pdf files are only archived for future reference on this site and will be automatically opened by your browser.
Part 19: Over Opponent's Takeout Double Part 20: Over Opponent's Takeout Double II Part 21: Penalty Part 22: Leads Part 23: Defensive Carding Part 24: Summary
Convention Card - Filling Out The Convention Card
These articles appeared in the Bridge Bulletin and were written by Mr. David Lindop. The reader can find them by clicking on the link in the title. These articles have only been archived and preserved on this site as .pdf files. For the original articles please visit Better Bridge Articles.
