The concept of a No Trump opening bid changed forever the game of bridge since the very first bid by a bridge player limited the holding not only to a certain pre-determined number of values, but also to a pre-determined and agreed upon distribution. The bridge player, who made such an opening bid, had with this one particular bid limited the holding and the partner of the No Trump bidder became the captain of the partnership.

The first response, even a call of pass, became the determining factor for the final contract. The imagination of the bridge community at large was without limit and many response methods were developed, devised, tested, fabricated, and formulated. As a result many ensuing concepts received justifiably a designation, and soon afterwards variations, variants, revised, and modified concepts were developed and authored.

This almost universal response method, the Stayman convention, has perhaps the most variations and covers most of the possible purposes of the partner of the No Trump bidder, but there are many conventional methods, approaches, and treatments to be considered and reviewed.

Afair Conventional Responses
The origin of this conventional method is unknown. These responses are employed by the responder after partner opens with a strong No Trump to show a certain distributional pattern.

Allen Conventional Responses
A convention allowing responder to explore for a 4-4 Minor suit fit.

August Two Diamonds - August 2 Diamonds
The August 2 Diamonds convention is designed to show a weak holding of a 4-card Major suit and a 5-card Minor suit. The No Trump range is not quantified and therefore the conventional method can be employed by any No Trump range and adapted to corresponding values.

Carrot Club 1 No Trump Opening
The opening of 1 No Trump shows a range between 14 and 16 high card points. Any holding with fewer or more high card points may not be opened with 1 No Trump. This limiting bid does not exclude the No Trump bidder from remaining an active participant in any continuing bidding sequences.

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. This particular method, origin unknown, has several variations, which have been included.

Four Suit Transfer Bids - 4 Suit Transfer Bids
This is an extended version of the Jacoby Transfer conventional method following an opening of 1 No Trump by partner and allowing the responder to transfer to all four suits.

Heeman Response Method
This online write-up is in a .pdf file format presented by Jack Bridge in English and in Dutch. This conventional defense method was devised by Mr. Wim Heemskerk of Bodegraven, The Netherlands, with the help of Mr. Magnus Lindkvist, Mr. Mats Nilsland, Mr. Anders Wirgren, and Mr. Leandro Burgay of Italy. It is possible with this response method to discover whether there exists any weaknesses, which may cause a final contract of No Trump to fail. The article will be automatically opened by your browser. This information has also only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.

Jacoby Transfers Bids - Jacoby Transfers
A conventional response method to show length in one of the Major suits.

Jacoby Super Accepts
Compiled by Mr. Chris Hasney and Mr. Jerry Pottier. This is a discussion about the possibility of super accepting a Jacoby Transfer bid by partner. Pros and cons are weighed and considered. The feature of the Ogust super accept is also discussed and explained. Mr. Chris Hasney and Mr. Jerry Pottier are co-authors of The American Bridge Series of bridge books. The link is to a .pdf file and will be automatically opened by your browser. This file has also only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for purposed of future reference.

Jacoby Transfers For The Minor Suits
This convention, originally devised by Mr. Oswald Jacoby, is used by the responder whose partner has opened the bidding with 1 No Trump, and is an extension of the Jacoby Transfer convention. The concept of this convention was created for the responder, whose holding includes a long Minor suit and, generally, very little values.

Joppen No Trump - Joppe's No Trump Continuances
Devised by Mr. Jukka Mattila of Finland. According to a rough translation this concept was devised based on the Jacoby-esque transfer bids, but which include a more enhanced method than the Two-Way Stayman conventional method. This presentation is the original as found on the website of Mr. Jukka Mattila. This information has also only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.

The first link is to the website and the second link is to Joppe's NT, which has been translated to English by Mr. Jari Böling (website). The original Finnish version, published online in the year 2004, can also be found online, which has also only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.

Kiri Convention
The origin of this conventional method is unknown. The concept allows the partnership, following a No Trump opening bid by partner to determine the strength of the No Trump opening as minimum, average, or maximum.

KIVI Convention - Tarp 4 Diamonds
This conventional method was originated by Mr. Kaj Tarp, (also written Kai), of Denmark. This conventional method is also known under the designation of Tarp 4 Diamonds after the name of the person, who devised it. This method was published in the Dansk Bridge magazine, (The Danish Bridge magazine) in the year 1958, written by the author.

McKendrick Convention
The origin of this conventional method is unknown. The concept of the McKendrick conventional method is defined by its requirements for the responder following a No Trump opening bid by partner. The multiple two-response method, which is the basic principle behind the concept, is the basic definition of the concept.

Miles Responses to Two No Trump Openings
A method of responding to opening bids of 2 No Trump devised by Mr. Marshall Miles to assist in the safe exploration for slams, games, or partscores in any suit.

Smolen Convention
A convention allowing the weaker hand to force the No Trump bidder to become the declarer. This conventional method was originated by Mr. Michael Smolen. The responder holds a 4-5 distribution in both Major suits, but employs first the Stayman conventional method, and by a 2 Diamonds denial bid, employs Smolen to find a Major suit fit.

Three-Level Response Methods To A 1 No Trump Opening
Following an opening bid of 1 No Trump of practically any range the three level has been idle, unused, unemployed, and in general inactive as a possible response bid by the responder. Over time and during the evolution of the game of bridge many bridge players within the bridge community have devised and developed methods for bids on the three level, thereby unlocking many new creative and innovative means to describe the holding to partner.

Tolleson Transfer Bids
Tolleson Transfer bids, a new way of 4-way transfers after 1 No Trump opening. They have been devised and invented in the year 2004 by American-born German player Jeanine Greifswald-Tolleson, and contributed by Mr. Frank Göbel to this website on May 19, 2004. The following bids are all based on the assumption that partner opened with 1 No Trump, the range being between 15-18 high card points and a possible 5-card Major suit.

Two No Trump Response as a Relay to Three Clubs
This treatment is used by many partnerships, which utilize the response of 2 Spades as a slam try in a Minor suit. The concept is easy since, after a 1 No Trump opening by the partner, a 2 No Trump first response is a Relay to Clubs.

Venezuelan Transfers
This style of responding to a No Trump opening by partner was developed by and originated with Mr. Roberto Beniam of Venezuela. The systemized method was employed when responding to and also continuances (rebidding) following a strong No Trump opening. This response method was first approved for official application by the Venezuelan Team participating in the Bermuda Bowl in the year 1966. This method has become obsolete and is no longer practiced. No additional information is presently available and any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Note: Mr. Roberto Benaim was born in the year 1924 and is of Caracas, Venezuela, and was officially ranked among the most expert bridge players during the 1960s. He was a South American Champion in the years 1965 and 1966. He represented the country of Venezuela in the World Team Olympiad in the year 1968, placed third in the Bermuda Bowl in the year 1966 with team mates Mr. David Berah, Mr. Robbie de Leeuw, Mr. Mario Onorati, Mr. Roger Rossignol, and Mr. Françis Vernon. He also participated in the Bermuda Bowl in the year 1967. He won the South American Championships seven times and he accumulated eleven victories in national tournaments including wins in Open Teams.

Note: Mr. Alan Truscott, in his bridge column for The New York Times relates, as published in his column dated April 15, 2000, a board played In the 1964 South American Championships, played in Punta del Este, Uruguay. The player sitting East and who defeated the No Trump game contract by six tricks was Mr. Roberto Benaim partnering with Mr. David Berah, also of Venezuela.

Weissberger Convention
The Weissberger method is a conventional variation of the Stayman convention. The concept behind this variation evolved within the Acol bidding system and was devised by Mr. Alan Truscott, Mr. John Pressburger, and Mr. Maurice Weissberger, after whom the conventional variation was named.

If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.

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