Conventions in Acol

I suppose it is a prejudice of the majority to believe that the minority are prey to perversions of one sort or another. Thus, in this country, the system known as 'Acol' is regarded as wholesome and pure, and the choices made by those who do not follow the one true way are, well, unfortunate. Therefore when one hears 'Acol with weak twos' or 'Acol with five card majors', it is as a token of re-assurance - an attempt to persuade you that the speaker is far from the wilder shores – even though they are not 'Acol' at all.

But sometimes it is close. S. J. Simon, one of the original architects considered long and hard about whether to adopt what we now regard as the Acol Two in favour of the weak two – he thought the matter a very close call (not so, five card majors however). Of course, had he realised what a blight the 'eight playing tricks' mantra would cast over the proceedings, I tentatively suggest he may have reconsidered. Moreover, this using of 'Acol' as a synonym for 'natural' is misguided too. Acol has its fair share of conventions, they may not have names, but conventions they are for all that:

  • AKQ109832
  • 8
  • K
  • A105
N
W
E
S
  • 4
  • AK1097
  • Q542
  • K87
2♣2♥
3♠4♥
6♠

West, at his second turn leaps to three spades showing a solid suit. Indeed, this is the only excuse here for opening with two clubs in the first place. The conventional call demands partner name an ace if he has one. If you doubt the quality of your positive responses, you could bid four spades over four hearts but East would surely progress. That was from the last county match against Northants, delving further back, to 1952 in fact, my trusty copy of Modern Bidding and the Acol System by Terence Reese, examples these hands:

  • AKQJ97
  • AK86
  • Q
  • AK
N
W
E
S
  • 1052
  • 105
  • A83
  • J9742
2♣2♦
3♠4♦
4♥5♠
6♠

We understand the first four bids but four hearts is, "An artificial bid, enquiring about control in this suit" and the response, "As East has shown an ace, yet responded two diamonds to two clubs, he cannot have a king as well. Therefore the best he can have is a void, singleton or the queen. With any of these holdings, together with one or two spades, he would respond five hearts. (Remember that any such bid is artificial, because spades have been established as the trump suit.) Holding doubleton in hearts and ten-five-deuce of trumps, East makes the imaginative bid of five spades".

I wonder how many of today's players, with whatever aids would bid as well.

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Published Saturday 17.Mar.2007