Lebensohl is a contract bridge convention whose variants can be used in the following situations:
The origins of the convention are unknown and various views about its spelling have ensued.
The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge (OEB) first listed LEBENSOHL in its third edition published in 1976 and attributed its design to George Boehm; [3] the fourth OEB edition, under the entry LEBENSOLD, states that George Boehm first described the convention and that Boehm had wrongly attributed it to Ken Lebensold; [4] the fifth and sixth editions state likewise but under LEBENSOHL. In the seventh edition and for the first time, the OEB notes "Uniquely amongst bridge conventions, it should arguably be spelled with a lowercase first letter – lebensohl." [5]
In another account, [2] Lebensohl is said to have been observed in use in the late 1960s and...
...thought to be the brainchild of Kenneth Lebensold (whose name had been misspelled). However, Lebensold emphatically denied any part of the convention's development. For lack of a better name, George Boehm appropriated the misspelling and introduced "lebensohl" in The Bridge World , (November, 1970).
— Ron Andersen, The Lebensohl Convention Complete in Contract Bridge (1987) p. 7
The November 1970 Bridge World article by Boehm was the first published on Lebensohl [6] but he does not attribute the convention to Ken Lebensold in it. However, Boehm does recount that in preparation for a competition in New York in late 1969, his convention card had the entry "Lebensohl when you overcall our notrump opening". Ken Lebensold was also a competitor at the event and upon reviewing Boehm's convention card, "disowned the convention". Boehm goes on to state that therefore he and his playing partner (son, Augie) "have decided to designate it "lebensohl" and to continue to use it without fee or license". [6] Notwithstanding Boehm naming and spelling it uncapitalized, most bridge literature refers to the convention as Lebensohl with occasional post-1970 use of Lebensold going uncorrected.
Lebensohl can be initiated by Responder after partner has opened 1NT and right hand opponent (RHO) has overcalled 2♦ or 2♥ or 2♠:
| Responder holds | bid strain@2level | 2NT-3♣ relay, then bid strain@3level | bid strain@3level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5+cardSuit available at 2level (ladder allows 3 ways to show this suit): | To play | Invite | GameForce |
| 5+cardSuit NOT available at 2level (ladder allows only 2 ways to show this suit): | - | less than GameForce | GameForce |
| No 4+cardMajor GameForce strength | - | 3NT, slow shows† stopper | 3NT, fast denies† stopper |
| Responder's Bid | Meaning and Subsequent Bidding |
| 2 of a higher ranking suit than overcaller's | Natural and non-forcing. |
| 2NT | A puppet bid (sometimes incorrectly called a “relay bid”), requiring opener to bid 3♣. After opener's forced 3♣ bid:
|
| 3 of a suit other than overcaller’s | Natural, forcing to game. |
| 3 of overcaller’s suit | Artificial: like Stayman, it asks opener to bid a 4-card major, but it also denies† a stopper in overcaller's suit. |
| 3NT | Natural, to play, and denies† a stopper in overcaller's suit. |
Responder's double is not part of lebensohl. Historically a double in this spot indicated "penalty", however modern methods use it for a Negative double since a 4cardMajor hand with 4+p occurs far more frequently than a penalty double hand. This assignment also simplifies the lebensohl system by making its GameForceStayman cuebid unnecessary.
After a Weak2 opening is doubled for takeout, there's not enough ladder room for Advancer's natural bids to convey critical information to Doubler. lebensohl solves this problem by restoring all the necessary bid messages.
| Responder holds | bid strain@2level | 2NT-3♣ relay, then bid strain@3level | bid strain@3level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4+cardSuit available at 2level (ladder allows 3 ways to show this suit): | 0-7p | 8-11p and FOUR cards | 8-11p and FIVE+ cards |
| 4+cardSuit NOT available at 2level (ladder allows only 2 ways to show this suit): | - | 0-7p | 8-11p |
| 4card Major GameForce (Stayman) | - | CUE, slow shows† stopper | CUE, fast denies† stopper |
| No 4+cardMajor GameForce strength | - | 3NT, slow shows† stopper | 3NT, fast denies† stopper |
Example 1: After (2♠) – Dbl – (P):
Example 2: There is space to bid a suit at the 2 level; e.g. after (2♥) – Dbl – (P) and the suit held is spades:
With a very strong hand (typically 20+ points) the doubler can by-pass 3♣.
The same scheme can be played after the sequence: (1M) – P – (2M) – Dbl; (P) – ? or (1M) – Dbl – (2M) – ?
After the sequence 1♦– (P) – 1♠– (P); 2♥– (P) – ?:
This has the effect of saving space when responder wants to force game and show support. A disadvantage is that responder cannot stop in 2NT with a misfit.
Stayman is a bidding convention in the card game contract bridge. It is used by a partnership to find a 4-4 or 5-3 trump fit in a major suit after making a one notrump (1NT) opening bid and it has been adapted for use after a 2NT opening, a 1NT overcall, and many other natural notrump bids.
Precision Club is a bidding system in the game of contract bridge. It is a strong club system developed in 1969 for C. C. Wei by Alan Truscott, and used by Taiwan teams in 1969. Their success in placing second at the 1969 Bermuda Bowl launched the system's popularity.
Acol is the bridge bidding system that, according to The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, is "standard in British tournament play and widely used in other parts of the world". It is a natural system using four-card majors and, most commonly, a weak no trump.
Polish Club is a bridge bidding system which was developed in Poland, where it is the most popular bidding system, and which is also used by players of other countries. It is a type of small club system.
Preempt is a bid in contract bridge whose primary objectives are (1) to thwart opponents' ability to bid to their best contract, with some safety, and (2) to fully describe one's hand to one's partner in a single bid. A preemptive bid is usually made by jumping, i.e. skipping one or more bidding levels. Since it deprives the opponents of the bidding space, it is expected that they will either find a wrong contract of their own, or fail to find any. A preemptive bid often has the aim of a save, where a partnership bids a contract knowing it cannot be made, but assumes that, the penalty will still be smaller than the value of opponents' bid and made contract.
In the card game contract bridge, a takeout double is a low-level conventional call of "Double" over an opponent's bid as a request for partner to bid his best of the unbid suits. The most common takeout double is after an opponent's opening bid of one of a suit where the double shows a hand with opening values, support for all three unbid suits and shortness in the suit doubled. Normally, the partner of the doubler must bid his best suit but may pass if (a) his right hand opponent intervenes or (b) on the more rare occasions when his hand is such that he wishes to convert the takeout double to a penalty double.
The negative double is a form of takeout double in bridge. It is made by the responder after their right-hand opponent overcalls on the first round of bidding, and is used to show shortness in overcall's suit, support for the unbid suits with emphasis on majors, as well as some values. It is treated as forcing, but not unconditionally so. In practice, the negative double is sometimes used as a sort of catch-all, made when no other call properly describes responder's hand. Therefore, a partnership might even treat the negative double as a wide-ranging call that merely shows some values.
In the card game contract bridge, DONT is a conventional overcall used to interfere with an opponent's one notrump (1NT) opening bid. DONT, an acronym for Disturb Opponents' Notrump, was designed by Marty Bergen, and is therefore also referred to as "Bergen over Notrump". Although the method is often criticized for being too nebulous, it remains fairly popular. The convention was first published in the September/October 1989 issue of Bridge Today.
Bridge bidding systems that incorporate a strong 2 clubs opening bid include modern Standard American, standard Acol, 2/1 game forcing and many others.
Rubinsohl is a bridge convention that can be used to counter an opponent's intervention over a 1NT opening bid. After opponent's two-level overcall, all bids starting from 2NT are transfer bids to the next strain.
Lionel is a contract bridge bidding convention used in defense against an opposing 1NT openings. Using Lionel, over a 1NT opening of the opponents:
In contract bridge, an overcall is a bid made after an opening bid has been made by an opponent; the term refers only to the first such bid. A direct overcall is such a bid made by the player seated immediately to the left of the opener, i.e. next in the bidding rotation; an overcall in the 'last seat', i.e. by the player to the right of opener, which is made after two intervening passes, is referred to as a balancing or protective overcall.
A reverse, in the card game contract bridge, is a bidding sequence designed to show additional strength without the need to make a jump bid; specifically two suits are bid in the reverse order to that expected by the basic bidding system. Precise methods and definitions vary with country, bidding system and partnership agreements.
EHAA is a highly natural bidding system in contract bridge characterized by four-card majors, sound opening bids, undisciplined weak two-bids in all four suits and a mini notrump, usually of 10–12 high card points.
The Useful Space Principle, or USP, in the game of contract bridge was first articulated in a series of six articles in The Bridge World, published from November 1980 through April 1981. The USP is expressed succinctly in The Bridge World glossary as "a partnership's assigning meanings to actions so that the remaining bidding space matches the needs of the auction."
New Minor Forcing (NMF), is a contract bridge bidding convention used to find a 5-3 or 4-4 major suit fit after a specific sequence of bids in which opener has rebid one notrump. The convention is triggered by responder at his second turn by an artificial bid of two in an unbid minor; it requires that he hold five cards in the major he has previously bid and an unlimited hand ranging in value from at least game invitational strength to that sufficient to have interest in slam; he may also hold four cards in the other major. Accordingly, there are six bidding sequences in which the New Minor Forcing bid may be applied:
In the card game bridge, CoCa or Comfy Canapé is a conventional defense against opposing 1NT openings. When playing CoCa, over a 1NT opening of the opponents, both a double as well as a 2♣ overcall are conventional and establish spades and hearts, respectively as anchor suits. Higher overcalls can be either natural, or conventional.
The Carrot 1NT is a contract bridge convention, in which a 1NT opening bid shows a balanced hand 13–17 HCP. With 13–14 HCP, the opener may not have a 4-card major. With 15–17 HCP, all balanced hands may be opened 1NT.
Astro is a contract bridge bidding convention used to intervene over an opponent's one notrump (1NT) opening bid. The name is derived from the initials of the surnames of its inventors - Paul Allinger, Roger Stern and Lawrence Rosler.
XYZ is a bidding convention in contract bridge.