Ken Allan 
Bridge Table
The K-Club
A Version of Precision Played by a Dozen Bridge Players in Kingston, Ont
Paddy and I first played Precision in 1978. We started with a simplified form of Goren Precision and then, as we became comfortable with the basic system, experimented with treatments and conventions from Goren, Reese and Matchpoint Precision. As new books and articles appeared, many more treatments and conventions were tried. Some were kept intact, others modified and the rest discarded. System changes have been made as a result of suggestions by Harry Wilmshurst, Jack Cooper, Bill Cruden, Don Kersey and Rick Clarke.
A few bids in the present form of the K-Club are original, but for the most part it is a collection of published treatments and conventions. There are two major differences between the K-Club and most of the other versions of Precision.
First is the bid of 1NT, in first or second seat, showing 10 to 12 balanced. This is the pivotal bid in the Kamikaze Notrump, but that system has not caught on, so it is rare to find anyone using the 10 to 12 point range (though less rare now than when we started using this NT range in 1985 - there are, for example, Ottawa players who use the 10 to 12 NT within a Standard American framework).
Second is the use of transfer positive responses to a 1
opening bid - a 1
response shows a spade positive. All responding bids from
1 to 2
are transfer positives. These bids of one under the
usual Precision positive response save a level of bidding for all suits except
hearts. Details in the 1 chapter.
A 1 artificial opening
bid showing 16+ HCP is the pivotal bid in Precision. The K-Club and
other versions of Precision have advantages and disadvantages when compared with
systems like Standard American and Two Over One which use a 2 opening bid for big hands. Some of those
advantages and disadvantages come from that main difference; others come from
specific bids within the respective systems. Some of the arguments for and
against the K-Club require a detailed knowledge of the systems being
compared. But a few general comments are possible.
A weakness first. The low level of the 1 artificial opening bid makes it easy for
our opponents to make a nuisance of themselves. Clear agreements about
competitive bidding are imperative. This weakness has one small virtue - we have
to contend with interference so often that we are prepared and have had lots of
practice. Standard bidders don't get much practice dealing with
interference over their 2 opening bid
so they are more likely to go astray when their opponents interfere.
If the opponents stay out of our auction then the low level of the
1 artificial opening bid gives us an
extra round of bidding and this can be a huge advantage. Also, the low level of
the 1 artificial opening bid makes it
possible to use the bid for hands in the 16 to 21 HCP range which can be awkward
for Standard.
Consider the following opening bid opposite three possible holdings:
|
Opener
|
Responder 1
|
Responder 2
|
Responder 3
|
A Q 4 2The trick is to get to slam on the first and to game on the other
two. K-Club bidders will do this. Standard bidders are unlikely to bid the
slam on hand #1 (no guarantees, but if you have blood in your veins you want to
be there) and a few of them will play hand #3 in a contract of 1 (most opponents will save them from this
ignimony by competing in hearts).
We get to slam on hand #1 because we have the bidding room and bidding agreements to find out about specific cards. Even though we lack the high card strength for slam, we can investigate 25 HCP slams like this without going beyond game.
Asking about specific cards is a strength of this system but can also be a weakness if the opponents should happen to be listening. While detailed information about the example hand above does the defenders no good, there will be other hands where they will learn enough, before the opening lead, to find the best defence and take more tricks than anyone else defending the same hand.
The narrow range for all openings other than 1 is, for the most part, an advantage.
Bidding is generally much more comfortable, especially when competing for part
score contracts. We get into the auction on slightly weaker hands than Standard
and the upper limit of 15 HCP allows opener to compete vigorously without
misleading partner as to defensive srtength.
Our natural 2 opening
bid (11-15 HCP, 5+ clubs) is different than any bid in Standard and it has
both advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side it gives the club suit its
full due - we play more club contracts than Standard. This plus can turn
into a minus, at matchpoints, if we are in a superior club contract and a bad NT
or major suit contract scores better (due to inferior defense or lucky lie of
cards or both). Another plus for the 2 opening bid is that, even though it is a constructive bid, it is also
preemptive. A small minus is that, as with all preemptive bids, sometimes it is
partner who is inconvenienced - occasionally we miss a good major suit partscore
that is reached easily by Standard bidders. Despite the minor disadvantages,
Precision players tend to regard the 2 opening bid as one of the best features of the system.