The Copenhagen convention in the game of

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions o ...

is a conventional

overcall In contract bridge, an overcall is a bid made after an opening bid has been made by an opponent; the term refers only to the first such bid. A ''direct'' overcall is such a bid made by the player seated immediately to the left of the opener, i.e ...

which shows a two-suited hand. It was first devised by Mr. John Trelde and Mr. Gert Lenk, both of Copenhagen, Denmark. While it is rarely used in North America (where

Michaels cuebid The Michaels cuebid is a conventional bid used in the card game contract bridge. First devised by Michael Michaels of Miami Beach, FL, it is an 's cuebid in opponent's opening suit and is normally used to show a two-suited hand with at least five ...

s are most popular), it is fairly popular in Europe, especially Denmark. The requirement for a bid in the Copenhagen convention is a two-suited hand with at least five cards in each

suit A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of tr ...

and typically an opening hand. Point count requirements vary, but it is commonly agreed that an overcall using this convention is constructive and should be made on hands that hold the prospect of winning the auction. When made on very weak hands, the chances are the opponents will win the auction and will have been warned about the unbalanced holding, leading to games that would not have been bid otherwise. Given that a bid using the Copenhagen convention is forcing for one round, most partnerships apply no upper limit to its high card strength. To use the convention, when the opponents make a one level opening, you make one of three bids. To show the bottom two unbid suits, bid 2 NT. To show the top and bottom unbid suits, bid 3. To show the top two unbid suits, bid 3. If the opponents have bid two suits, both at the one level, then the only overcall is 2 NT, which shows the two unbid suits. As opposed to

s, the 3 and 3 jump overcalls aren’t available as natural bids. Bids at the two level (barring 2 NT) are natural. The Copenhagen convention is more precise in terms of uniquely defining the specific suits denoted than standard

s. However, the lowest level the hand can be played at is the three level, and rarely will a nine card trump suit fit be found. This goes against the

Law of Total Tricks In contract bridge, the Law of total tricks (abbreviated here as LoTT) is a guideline used to help determine how high to bid in a competitive auction. It is not really a law (because counterexamples are easy to find) but a method of hand evalua ...

, which states the three level should have at least a nine card fit. The

Ghestem In the game of bridge, Ghestem is a conventional overcall structure, using 2NT, 3, and the (non-jump) cuebid over an opposing opening at the one level to denote two-suited hands in two of the remaining three suits. This convention was devised by ...

convention and its variants have similar advantages but also allow some fits to be found at the two level by using a cuebid at the 2 level rather than 3.

References

BridgeGuys.com description of the Copenhagen Convention
{{WPCBIndex Bridge conventions

See also

References