Articles by Romolo Napoletano

• The ASSIST 1NT and 2NT Opening Bids
  Pierre Albarran, one of the founders of French bridge, wrote, over half a century ago, "the sooner a bidding system gives the most information with the highest precision, the better it will be", adding that the key information was about shape, then about honor strength. His bidding systems, including the Canapé system...
  
  
• Hand Evaluation
  A tripleton AJ10 means that you will probably win two defensive tricks, while with a 7-card suit such as KQJxxxx you will probably win 6 tricks in attack, but none in defense. So, to say, in one instance, that we have 5 points, and in the other 6, means nothing; at the end of the play what really matters is...
  
  
• An absolute innovation: 5-5 and 6-5 two-color hands
  I want to take up again my two diagrams representing fundamental statistics for bridge bidding. When I say they are fundamental I mean that, were it possible, opening bids should always suitably indicate opener's point-count and shape so that his partner could reach a conclusive bid...
  
  
• A proposal for 3-level suit opening bids
  By using 2-level suit opening bids for all strong hands, the Culbertson system was able to introduce the obstructive use of 3-level opening bids, with the main purpose of making it more difficult for opponents to enter the bidding, while still carrying a good number of tricks...
  
  
• Point-count limits for opening bids of all kinds
  Nowadays, opening bids that have specific point-count limits (lower or higher) are generally only NT ones (including the rare 2NT). Only those who play "Strong Club" systems (such as the unforgettable "Neapolitan Club", created by Dr. Chiaradia, and its successor "Blue Team Club", two systems with which Italy...