On May 12, 4:56 pm, Alan Malloy <alan.NO.S...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> There've been several posts recently mentioning Kaplan-Sheinwold and
> Roth-Stone. It sounds as if KS might be a system that would fit my
> style, but I'm not at all familiar with it. Can anyone point me to a
> good reference for KS, or summarize the general philosophy? I'm not as
> interested in RS, but since they seem to be mentioned together fairly
> often perhaps I should take a look at both anyway.
>
> Obviously I have tried to look around on Google, but there seem to be
> varying descriptions: perhaps "snapshots" from what KS was at a
> particular time? I am hoping for something I could read and absorb, then
> sit down with some RGBer and say "let's play KS", and be mostly on the
> same wavelength.
>
> --
> Thanks,
> Alan (San Jose, California, USA)
Alan, are you going to the Sac regional? I can share some stuff with
you there.
The basic resources are, in reverse chronological order:
(1) Edgar Kaplan, Bridge Master, the tribute book to Kaplan, published
by the BW, that contains several original articles on the KS
philosophy
(2) Kaplan-Sheinwold updated, a little booklet that Kaplan and the BW
made available sometime in the 1970s.
(3) The original (?) K-S book, How To Play Winning Bridge, from 1958.
I picked up a hard bound copy used for a couple of bucks, so I imagine
it is still available.
The basic system structure includes weak 1nts (all seats and colors),
light 5-card major opening bids, and sound minor suit opening bids.
KS insists on opening light in the majors, and correspondingly has a
lower threshold for opening 2c with a big hand in the majors. Here
are some example hands of their view of a 2c opener from the late
1950s:
AKQxxx
AKxxx
A
x
AKQxxx
AKx
Axx
x
Even a hand like
x
KQJxxx
AKxx
Ax
was called by Edgar a KS two club opening bid in his re****t of the US
vs Canada Bermuda Bowl champion****p (Kokish and Silver opened it 1H
instead).
The use of sound opening bids in the minors has three im****tant
corollaries;
first, 1m-1M-2M shows a hand worth the equivalent of a strong 1nt (so
opening 1d and raises to 1s on
Axx
x
AJxxx
Kxxx
is no longer possible. This is in my opinion one of the major weak
spots in the overall system). Consequently, 1m-1M-3M shows 18-19 and
1m-1M-4M shows 20+.
Second, reverses show strength in the second suit, not length. As
Kaplan himself writes in KS Updated, discussing the sequence 1m-1M-2r
(where r = reverse suit):
"forcing, but not necessarily a monster, promises rebid over anything
but 3m. Promises length in m and strength, not length, in reverse
suit (R). Could even be doubleton, with 2-1/2m rebid, or 2-1/2M with
three trumps, or game raise in M with singleton in fourth suit."
KS uses opener's rebid of the 4th suit to show "game force; a Roth-
Stone reverse; R suit likely natural; probably no stopper since then
3NT."
Although it is not a necessary part of the method, after the reverse
responder's WEAKEST bid is to return to 3m (most 2/1 styles play that
as GF), and a rebid of 2M is unlimited and shows a 5+ or longer suit.
The specific auction 1m-1S-2h-3h is the one exception since responder
must have 5+ spades and 4+ hearts on this auction.
Finally, as discussed elsewhere, KS treats 1d-1M-2c as a reverse, and
uses the sequence 1d-1M-3c to show a minimum two suiter with both
minors.
There is a KS newsgroup or mailing list run, I think, by Adam
Widavsky.
Hope this helps.
Henrysun909
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