Carrotski Club

Variation of Carrotski Club – Carrot Club

This bidding system is a combination of Polish Club and the Swedish systems Svan and Skrot (“metal junk”) developed by Mr. Anders Morath and Mr. Sven-Ake Bjarregard in 1972. Svan/Skrot are five-card-Major versions of the Carrot Club.

The Carrot Club, originally Morotsklovern, (Swedish for Carrot Club), was invented by Mr. Sven-Olof Flodqvist and Mr. Anders Morath in 1972 for use in the European Championships in Athens, Greece. It was the system that won the European Championships in 1977, with two pairs playing Carrot. In the European Championships the Carrot team placed 1st in 1987, 3rd in 1989, 2nd in 1991, and 5th in 1993. In the World Championship they placed 3rd in 1987 and 1991, and in the Olympics 3rd in 1988 and 4th in 1992.

Other members of the team were Mr. Hans Gothe, Mr. P.O. Sundelin, and Mr. Tommy Gullberg. The rights of the Swedish name was bought by Mr. Eric Jannersten when he published a book written by Mr. Sven-Olof Flodqvist in 1978, and the later variants of the system have been called Carrot Club.

After playing SKalmar, (a Swedish weak/strong 1 Club system), for two seasons with Mr. Jorgen Lindqvist in the early eighties, Mr. Sven-Olof Flodqvist introduced a weak/strong 1 Club opening. It was first used in the strong pass system Carrotti that was also created at the same time. Mr. Sven-Olof Flodqvist and Mr. Hans Gothe qualified themselves to the European Championships in 1985 using Carrotti. They were not allowed to play it in the championships, so they used Carrot with a weak/strong 1 Club instead.

Mr. Anders Morath later developed a new version of the system, called Svan, with 5+ card Major openings. The latest Carrot Club version, O’Carrot, has kept the 4-card major openings, which are always unbalanced.

Opening Bids:

1 Club:

a) 11-13 HCPs, balanced or semibalanced (not 2-2 in majors) or 4414
b) 16+ HCPs, unbalanced
c) 17+ HCPs, balanced (except hands opened with 2 No Trump)

How to deal with Interference Over a 2-Way 1 Club Opening

1 Diamond: 10-15 HCPs, 4+ Diamonds (either 5+ Diamonds or Club canapé, or 4-4-4-1)

The only non-classic distribution is 4 Diamonds and 5 Clubs.
The responses to 1 Diamond are natural, with inverted raises. The only non-natural response is 3 Clubs which shows a semi-balanced raise with 4+ Diamonds and no 4-card Major and 10-12 HCPs (too weak for 2 Diamonds and too strong for 3 Diamonds).
Further auction is natural, with new suits over 2 Diamonds and 3 Clubs (below 3 Diamonds and 4 Diamonds) showing stoppers.
After 1 D – 1 H/S – 1 NT, 2 Clubs is a check-back, 3 Clubs shows Clubs and is a sign-off, and 2 No Trump shows Clubs and is invitational (balanced invitational hands go via checkback).
1 D – 1 H/S – 3 D promises 3-card support for responder’s Major (and, of course, a good hand with 6+ Diamonds), while 1 D – 1 H/S – 2 NT is a hand worth the 3 Diamond bid, but with less than 3-card support.
Similarly 1 D – 1 H/S – 4 D promises a 4-card support for responder’s Major.

1 Heart / Spade: 10-15 HCPs, 5+ cards

(Note: 14-15 HCPs and 5-3-3-2 hands are opened 1 No Trump).

1. 1 Spade: (after 1 Heart)

4+ Spades and 8+ HCPs. 1 H – 1 Spade – 1 NT shows 11-13 points; 2 Clubs is check-back.
1 H – 1 S – 2 NT shows 6+ Hearts with a hand worth a 3 H bid, but with less than 3 Spades. 1 H – 1 S -3 H promises a 3-card Spade support.
1 H – 1 S – 3 m shows 5-5 and 14-15 HCPs.

2. Semi-forcing 1NT

The 1 NT response is either classic (7-10 HCPs and less than 3 card support) or an invitational hand with 3 card support. Opener can pass with a balanced minimum.

3. Major-Suit Raises

1 NT: 3-card support with 11-13 HCPs (invitational; 8-loser hand).
2 Major: 3-card support with 8-10 HCPs (9-loser hand).
3 Major: preemptive, at least 4-card support
4 Major: poor preemptive raise (5+ Hearts, less than 1 honor trick).
2 Major+1: mini-splinter raise with 4-card support, unknown singleton or void and either 6- or 8-loser hand.
2 Major+2: Jacoby – 14+ HCPs balanced or semi-balanced, with 4-card support.
2 Major+3: 4-card support, 8-10 HCPs (9-loser hand).
2 Major+4: 4-card limit raise.
3 NT: splinter in the suit below the Major opened (D after 1 H; H after 1 S).
3 S / 4 C after 1 H and 4 C / D after 1 S: splinters with either 5- or 7-loser hand.
4 Major-1: Exclusion RKCB with void in this suit.
4 Major+1: RKCB (Roman KeyCard Blackwood

Further Auction:

Over a Single Raise 1M-2M.

A new suit shows maximum and asks for help in this suit, except for 1 H – 2 H – 2 NT which asks for help in spades.

Opener’s cheapest bid (2 S and 2 NT) is a puppet to the next higher bid (2 NT or 3 C), after which the opener shows his shortness (with hearts agreed 3 H shows spade shortness; with spades agreed 3 S shows club shortness).

A re-raise is preemptive, not invitational.

Over a Mini-Splinter Raise

First step is a relay showing a non-minimum hand (less than 7 losers), over which responder shows his shortness. With a 6-loser hand responder continues even over a sign-off (with a singleton just above the Major opened and a 6-loser hand responder cannot bid 3 Major, e.g. 1 H – 2 S – 2 NT – 3 H shows a Spade singleton and an 8-loser hand, 1 H – 1 S – 2 NT – 3 S shows Spade singleton and a 6-loser hand).

Over the forcing Balanced Raise (Jacoby).

Opener shows shortness at 3-level. Without shortness opener shows a good second suit at 4-level. Without either of these he bids 3 Major with maximum and 3 NT with minimum.

4. Two-over-One Responses

These show 11+ HCPs and are forcing to 2 No Trump. A raise by opener of responder’s suit is game-forcing.

With minimum hand and no support for responder’s suit, opener rebids his Major; with minimum hand and support opener rebids 2 NT (Note: systemically open all 14-16 HCPs and 5-3-3-2 hands with 1 No Trump).

5. Further Rules

In a forcing auction with trumps agreed, 3NT denies a slam interest, while a free cue-bid at 4-level expresses such an interest.

1 No Trump: 14-16 HCPs

Additional Information about 1 No Trump Openings

2 Clubs: 10-15 HCPs, 6+ Clubs, or 5 Clubs and 4 of a Major

Responses:

2 Diamonds: relay; opener bids 2 Hearts/Spades with a 4-card Major and 10-12 points, 2 NT without a 4-card Major and 10-12 points, 3 Clubs without a 4-card Major and 13-15 points, 3 Hearts/Spades with a 4-card Major and 13-15 points.
2 Hearts/Spades: natural non-forcing.
2 No Trump: forcing with support, asks for shortness (3 Clubs no shortness).
3 Clubs: preemptive.
3 Hearts/Spades: game-forcing.

2 Diamonds: 4-9 HCPs, at least 5-4 in Majors (4-4 if allowed)

The 2 Diamond opening showing a weak hand with both Majors is known as Ekrens or Norwegian 2 Diamonds. It seems though that it was invented in Poland in the 1970’s (and later, independently, by Mr. Bjoern Ekren).

Responses to 2 Diamonds:

2 Hearts: To play.

2 Spades: To play.

2 No Trump: Forcing relay.

3 Clubs: To play.

3 Diamonds: Invitational with 3-3 in the Major suits.

3 Hearts: Preempt.

3 Spades: Preempt

Rebids after 2 Diamonds – 2 No Trump:

3 Clubs: Poor 5-4 (now 3 Diamonds asks for the longer suit).

3 Diamonds: Poor 5-5 (3 Hearts/Spades to play; 3 No Trump asks for shortness).

3 Hearts: Maximum with 5 Hearts and 4 Spades.

3 Spades: Maximum with 5 Spades and 4 Hearts.

3 No Trump: Good 5-5 and a void. Now 4 Clubs asks: 4 Diamonds = Club void, 4 Hearts = Diamond void.

4 Clubs/Diamonds: Good 5-5 and a singleton in the suit bid.

In competition, all doubles are for penalties; jumps in a minor are fit-jumps in support of a (unspecified) Major.

2 Hearts/Spades: Weak Two bids

2 No Trump: 23-25 HCPs, balanced, no 5-card Major

Note: the 4-4-1-4 hand with 14/15 points can be downgraded to 11-13 points or opened 1 Major if the Major is strong.

Responses to 1 Club:

1 Diamond: 0-7 points, any distribution (not an Ace and a King)

1 Heart/Spade: 8+ points, 4+ cards

1 No Trump: 8-11 points, no 4-card Major, balanced or semi-balanced

2 Clubs/Diamonds: 8-12 points, unbalanced, 5+ Minor, no 4+ Major

2 Hearts: game-forcing with both Minors (2 NT asks for the longer Minor)

2 Spades: puppet to 2 NT; either 14+ points, balanced with no 4-card Major or game-forcing Minor one-suiter

2 No Trump: 12-13 points, balanced, no 4-card Major

3 Clubs/Diamonds: 5-7 points, 6+ suit headed by KQ or AQ

3 Hearts/Spades: 7-card suit headed with 2 top honors and out

Development of the Auction:

Hand Type	11-13 HCPs; balanced or 4-4-1-4	17-19 HCPs; balanced, no 5+ Major suit	20-22 HCPs; balanced, no 5+ Major suit
Response
1D: 0-7 HCPs; any distribution	bid 1 Major (showing 3+). Pass on the next round.	Bid 1 NT. Further bidding as after 1 NT opening.	Bid 2 NT. Further bidding as after 2 NT opening.
1 Major: 8+ HCPs, 4+ Major	Bid 2 Major or 1 NT (even if opener holds 4 Spades after a 1 H response). Responder can now bid 2 C as check-back, 2x/3C as a weak takeout, 2 NT as invitational with Clubs or 3 D/H – invitational 5-5.	Bid 2 D (GF showing 17+ balanced or 4-card support).	Bid 2 D (GF showing 17+ balanced or 4-card support). Show extra strength later.
1 NT: 8-11 HCPs, no 4-card Major, balanced or semi-balanced.	Pass.	Bid 3 NT or 2 C (shape inquiry showing 17+ balanced or strong with a long Minor).	Bid 3 NT or 2 C (shape inquiry showing 17+ balanced or strong with a long Minor) or possibly 4 NT (quantitative).
2 Minor suit: 8-12 HCPs unbalanced, 5+ Minor suit, no 4 card + Major suit.	Pass or bid 2 NT / 3 Minor suit (invitational).	Bid 3 NT or 4 Minor suit (forcing).	Bid 4 NT or 4 Minor suit (forcing).
2 H: Game-Forcing with both Minors	Bid 3 NT or ask for longer Minor with 2 NT	Bid 4 NT or ask for longer Minor with 2 NT	Bid 5 NT or ask with 2 NT
2 NT: 12-13 HCPs, balanced, no 4-card+ Major suit	Pass or bid 3 NT	Bid 4 NT or 3 Minor suit (could be a 4-card suit)	Bid 4 NT or 3 Minor suit (could be a 4-card suit).
3 Minor: 5-7 HCPs, 6+ cards to KQ or AQ	Pass or bid 4 Minor suit (preemptive)	Bid 3 NT or 5 Minor suit.	Bid 3 NT, 5 Minor, or more.
3 Major suit: 7-card suit with 2 top honors and out	Pass or bid 3 NT / 4 Major suit	Do something clever	Do something clever

Hand Type	16+ HCPs, 5+ Minor	16+ HCPs, 5+ Major
Response
1 D: 0-7 HCPs, any distribution	With a 4-card Major bid 1 Major. With no 4-card Major, bid 2 Minor. With a game-forcing hand bid 3 Minor. After the 2 Minor rebid, responder can bid a new suit at 2-level (4-7 HCPs, 5-cards plus);	Bid 1 Major (NF) or 2 Major (Acol 2, forcing). Responder can bid naturally with 4-7 HCPs. If opener is raised to 2 Major, bidding goes as after 1 Major – 2 Major.
1 Major: 8+ HCPs, 4+ Major.	With a 1-suiter and 16-18 HCPs bid 3 Minor. With other hands without support bid 2 Clubs (GF relay). With support bid 2 Diamonds (GF) or splinter.	Bid 1/2 other Major. This sets up a game-force. With support bid 2 Diamonds (GF relay) or splinter.
1 NT: 8-11 HCPs, no 4-card Major, balanced or semi-balanced.	With Diamonds bid 2 Diamonds, with Clubs bid 2 NT. Alternatively bid 3 NT (to play), 3 Minor (powerful one-suiter; demand for cue-biding), 4 Minor (RKC Gerber), or 2 Clubs (shape inquiry showing 17+ HCPs balanced or strong with a long Minor).	Bid 2 Major, game-forcing or 3 Major (powerful one-suiter; demand for cue-biding).
2 Minor: 8-12 HCPs, 5+ Minor, unbalanced, no 4+ Major	Bid 2/3 other Minor (if responder has the wrong one) alternatively double-raise or splinter (after the right one).	Bid 2 Major
2 H: GF with both Minors	Bid 4 Minor (Roman KeyCard Gerber)	Bid 3 Major or 2 NT asking for longer Minor
2 NT: 12-13 HCPs, balanced, no 4+ Major	Bid 3 Minor or 4 Minor. Note that 3 Minor might be only a 4-card suit (with 17+ HCPs, balanced)	Bid 3 Major
3 Minor: 5-7 HCPs, 6+ Minor to KQ/AQ	Do something clever (like pass)	Pass or bid 3 Major
3 Major: 7-card suit with 2 top honors and out	Bid 4 Minor (forcing)	Do something clever

Bidding after 1 Club – 1 Major – 2 Diamonds:

2 Clubs: shows either a two-suiter without support for responder’s Major or a Minor one-suiter with 19+ points (Minor one-suiter with 16-18 HCPs are bid 1 Club – 1 Major – 3 Minor). Now the suits are bid up the line, with the key point that the responder shows a 3-card Diamond support. Thus after 1 Club – 1 Major – 2 Clubs, responder’s rebids:
2 Diamonds: 3-card plus Diamonds; now opener bids 2 Major with 3-card support, 2 Other Major with 4 cards in that Major, 2 No Trump with Clubs (showing either a Minor 2-suiter with longer Clubs or 19+ points with Clubs; responder bids 3 Clubs with 3-card support), or 3 Diamonds showing Diamonds.
2 Hearts: (after 1 Club – 1 Spade): 4+ Hearts, less than 3 Diamonds.
2 Hearts: (after 1 Club – 1 Heart): 5+ Hearts, less than 3 Diamonds.
2 Spades: (after 1 Clubs – 1 Heart): exactly 4 Hearts, 4 Spades, less than 3 Diamonds (and so at least 3 Clubs).
2 Spades: (after 1 Club – 1 Spades): 5+ Spades, less than 3 Diamonds, less than 4 Hearts (and so either 6 Spades or at least 3 Clubs).
2 No Trump: 4 cards in the Major bid, less than 3 Diamonds, less than 4 cards in the other Major (and so at least 4 Clubs).
3 Minor suit: 5+ cards, denies 4 cards in the other Major and 3 of the other Minor.
After 1 Club – 1 Major – 2 Clubs – 2 H/S, 2 NT: by opener shows Clubs. Responder bids 3 Clubs with 3-card support.

Bidding after 1 Club – 1 NT – 2 Clubs (Doubleton Stayman):

2 diamonds: no Major doubleton; 2 Hearts is a further relay: 2 Spades – 3-3-3-4, 2 NT – 3-3-4-3, 3 Clubs – 3-3-2-5, 3 Diamonds – 3-3-5-2.
2 hearts: doubleton in the Major bid, 3 cards in the other Major; 2 NT by opener is a further relay. The responder bids 3 Minor with a 5-card suit (thus showing 5-3-3-2 shape) and otherwise (with 4-4 in Minors) bids: 3 NT with a stopper in the doubleton, 3 of the original doubleton without a stopper and 8-9 points, 3 of the other Major with 10-11 points (and no stopper in the doubleton).
2 spades: doubleton in the Major bid, 3 cards in the other Major; 2 NT by opener is a further relay. The responder bids 3 Minor with a 5-card suit (thus showing 5-3-3-2 shape) and otherwise (with 4-4 in Minors) bids: 3 NT with a stopper in the doubleton, 3 of the original doubleton without a stopper and 8-9 points, 3 of the other Major with 10-11 points (and no stopper in the doubleton).
2 No Trump: doubletons in both Majors, i.e. both Minors: 2-2-5-4 or 2-2-4-5.
3 Minor: 6-card suit.

Subsequent bids at the 3-level by opener show stoppers if in a Major; set trumps and begin cuebidding if in a Minor.

Bidding after 1 Club – 1 Heart – 1 Spade:

1 No Trump: 11+ points, balanced, doubleton Spade
2 No Trump: 11+ points, balanced with 4-card Spade support; opener bids as after 1 Spade – 2 NT
3 No Trump: 8-10 points, balanced; doubleton Spade
2 Spades: – 11+, 3-card spade support;
3 Spades: 8-10 points, 3-card Spade support
4 Spades: 8-10 points, 4-card Spade support
4 Minor: Splinter with 4-card Spade support
Strong 4-4-4-1 hands:
After 1 Club – 1 Major, 2 No Trump shows 4-4-4-1 with singleton in partner’s suit and 19+ points; 3 No Trump shows the same distribution and 16-18 points.