The Composite Club

By Bill Hodgkiss (with foreword by Bob Rowlands)

Dissatisfied with your bridge bidding system? Looking for something more exact than Acol? Want to try a Strong Club system? Or just interested in reading about bridge? The Composite Club may be the book for you! Presented in two parts – the basic system for initial learning with a minimum of conventional bids, and the advanced system with more complexity but the same core method – this book is targeted at all regular players.

For a flavour, some broad details are as follows. The Composite Club is a strong club system based on 4 card majors. Natural bidding style is followed, so in general long suits are bid first. Apart from the 1C opening, which shows any hand with 18 or more points or else 17 points and a 5+ card suit, all basic opening bids show limited hands with the suit bid usually the longest or equal longest suit. The limited hands, from 11 to 17 points, are opened with 1D, 1H, 1S, 1NT(weak), or 2C(natural). Excepting the need to express a balanced hand of 23-24 points, bids of 2D and above are free for pre-emptive hands of sub-opening strength. In the basic system, 2D to 2S are "weak 2s" with 2NT showing 23-24 points. In the advanced system, two of the 2-bids are made "multis" to include more pre-emptive hands. The pre-empt bids though are not integral to the system; partnerships can easily devise their own methods here.

Responses to the strong 1C opening feature 1D as a negative with the remaining bids as positives and game-forcing. The positives 1H, 1S, 2C, 2D show 5 card suits; 1NT, 2NT etc. show balanced hands of various ranges; 2H, 2S, 3C, 3D are 4441-shaped hands. Over the 1D negative, the 1C opener can make simple non-forcing bids in a suit or in no-trumps. With a very powerful hand, opener can jump-rebid in a suit as forcing. After a positive response, in the basic system opener and responder can bid naturally to unearth fits and investigate for slam. Alternatively, with the advanced system opener can utilise powerful asking bids as in this example:

A grand slam in 7 bids on a combined 28 count which can be claimed before dummy is tabled!

Continuations after the limited 1D, 1H, 1S openings follow natural practice. Responder's change of suit is forcing for 1 round only, and a 1NT response is limited and non-forcing. The merits of the Club system really come forward in the subsequent bidding. Because opener is limited to a 6 point range or so, his rebid defines his hand very tightly. This allows games to be bid with confidence or the bidding to stop abruptly in low-level part-scores. Over the natural 2C opener, in the basic system responder can use a Stayman-like 2D bid to find 4-card major fits. In the advanced book section a better but more complex response scheme based on transfers is detailed.

The Composite Club book is stocked in Foyles in London, UK, price £9.99. Alternatively it can be purchased via mail from the address below:

Algotron Bridge Books
25 Clarendon Drive,
London SW15 1AW
United Kingdom

Please add £1.00 (UK) or £2.50 (overseas) for post & packing. Cheques (sterling) should be made payable to "W. Hodgkiss".

Contact: The Composite Club email

Bill Hodgkiss has been a player at regional and national level in the UK for many years. He is a Tollemache Cup and Crockfords Cup winner, and regularly represents Surrey in inter-county competitions.