M J Bridge

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Keri

The Keri system of responses to an opening bid of 1NT was introduced in 2001 by Ron Klinger in his book ‘Bid better, much better, after opening 1NT’.

I must apologise immediately that I have not been able to lay my hands on a copy of the book, although it is still available for sale.

There is also (or there was when I last looked) an extended discussion on Keri on the BBO site, although I haven’t kept up to date with it.

When I first came across the method I anticipated that it might catch on quite widely.  That is why I have included an extensive section on it on this site.

However, in my limited field of experience, the take-up has not been extensive.

It will not in general be encountered in club play and I have only come across it very occasionally in tournament play.

Keri draws on the ideas of Stayman and transfers but utilises them quite differently from standard methods.

(I have referenced it as in the context of Acol bidding at the head of the page.  It is not a part of Acol but it can be incorporated without affecting other parts of the system.)

By playing what is in effect a transfer method for four of the five immediate responses at the two-level and then identifying the hand-type further on the rebid the method is able to show shape and strength at a delightfully low level.

The flagship feature of the method is the immediate response of 2♣.

Some sources read as though this bid is in itself ‘The Keri convention’.  That may or may not be the case, but the bid only makes sense in the context of the meanings which can be given to other responses.  In the following I present this bid as part of a wider set of agreements.

This section is not authoritative.

I have drawn on a number of sources including the now defunct ‘Bridge Guys’ web-site.

My interpretation is probably close to the mainstream method, but the details are by no means universal and on occasion they are no more than my own attempts to fill a gap.

Feel free to make your own modifications, or to refer to some more authoritative source, but I am confident that the following will at least give you an idea of the method and set you off in the right direction.

The usual meanings associated with each immediate response will be found under

your first response

The logic of the bids might not be immediately apparent.

On the following pages I shall then look at the ways in which these bids and the associated ongoing sequences can be harnessed to handle a vast array of different hand-types, accompanied by a number of example hands.

Weak take-outs

Invitational hands

Game-going and slam-tries

Opener’s first bid

Opener’s rebid

Context  -  Acol bidding - responder - partner opened 1NT - RHO passed - intermediate and beyond.

This page last revised 3rd Sep 2020