World Championship Conventions

Are you interested in the systems and conventions being played by some of the top players in the world.  Convention cards have now  been filed for this year’s world championships.  Its a big job to go through all the conventions cards for the 22 teams playing in the Bermuda Bowl.  Since there are generally three pairs that adds up to 66 cards.

But I am going to at least get a start.   I am just going to look for the highlights and interesting ideas.  The two USA teams seemed like a good starting point.  Their systems should be mostly familiar to me.

Starting with USA 1 the first card I look at is Fleisher-Kamil.  Their WBF convention card is a mere 6 pages.  They are playing 2/1 with 5 card majors.  If you try this I find that starting with the second page is easiest.  It includes all of the opening bids, what they mean and the main responses.  I have noticed over the years a great increase in transfer advances/responses.  Fleisher-Kamil play transfer responses to 1♣ , with 1♦ and 1♥ as transfers showing the nest up major and 1S denying a major.   They keep the spirit of this approach in competition.  They also play transfers over 1♦ -1M.

I note with interest that they have added a version of multi using 2♦ as a bad weak 2 (a version of multi) in a major in 2♥ /2♠ as a sound weak two.  I like 2♥ /2♠ to show 5 in the major and 5 in the minor and I would miss that but I can see the value of this approach too.  They play multi-Landy against notrump.  This seems have become the most popular approach among many experts in the last few years.

They play third and fifth as their opening leads against suit contracts and fourth against notrump.  That does seem to be a popular approach at least in North America.

Levin and Weinstein also play 2/1 with a strong notrump but they use 2♦ as Flannery.  They also use Namyats with 3NT as a single suited minor preempt.  They have what they call reverse Flannery responses to one of a minor where jump shit responses show five spades (in one case six) and four hearts and worse than a 2/1.  I have played a variant of that and I think it works quite well.  Good-bad notrump, transfer advances of overcalls and over one of a major double.  Okay here is a convention I have never seen: “Thrump Doubles”.  Here is how they describe them:

In auctions where there is no room below 3NT (for example after a 3♠ overcall), DBL says “bid 3NT with a stopper.” Auctions where this applies include:

• Good/Bad 2NT auctions where opponents bid at the 3 level
• Following a T/O DBL, when partner has made a free bid and the opponents
• bid at the 3-level
• 1m-(1M)-2m/om-(3M)-DBL
• 1m-(1M)-DBL-(3M)-DBL
• 1m-(1M)-any-(2M)-3m-(3M)-DB

Stansby and Martel play 2/1 with weak notrump (12-14) and Flannery and hey, unlike the other two pairs they lead fourth highest.