Fantunes

In the game of contract bridge Fantunes is a natural bidding system initially developed Carlos Mosca[1] and popularized by Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes, players ranked first and second World Grand Masters respectively according to the World Bridge Federation, as of October 2014.[2]

The Fantunes system differs in approach from other bidding systems used by world class bridge players. Opening bids of one and two of a suit are stronger than in most systems, with one level suit openings natural and forcing one round, and constructive 2-level openings. The one notrump opening denotes a balanced or semi-balanced hand with 12-14 HCP which can include a singleton or a 5-card major suit.

Opening one of a suit is natural but forcing, unlimited in strength that contains at least 14 high-card points (HCP).[3] An exception is made for opening 1♠ or 1♥ with as little as 11 HCP when holding five cards in the bid suit and four cards in the other major. For an example of such a "light" opening bid, holding ♠ AJ853 ♥ J10852 ♦ 9 ♣ KQ, second seat with both vulnerable, Nunes opened 1♠ and alerted it as 14+ HCP or 11+ with 4+♥ (along with the 5+♠ promised by the opening bid). The 14-HCP minimum for an opening one bid is only a guideline; a hand with a lot of "playing strength" (for example, a hand rich in aces and kings, long suits or a solid pattern of sequential cards) can be opened one of suit with fewer HCP. Here are three examples where they opened one of a suit without 14 HCP.

♠ 8 ♥ AQJ1082 ♦ AJ72 ♣ 64 was opened 1♥
♠ Q10982 ♥ 64 ♦ AKQJ107 ♣ — was opened 1♦
♠ A1076 ♥ 7 ♦ AKQ532 ♣ 103 was opened 1♦

Opening one notrump (1NT) means 12–14 HCP and a balanced or semi-balanced hand, possibly a singleton with three four-cards suits and can include a 5-card major.

Opening two in a suit is natural, showing a hand with unbalanced distribution and limited strength. In the first and second seat, two level opening bids denote a two-suited hand that includes at least a 5-card suit, or a 6-card or longer suit (if that hand is not adequate for a 1NT opening). Such 2-bids occur with a high frequency, and put a lot of pressure on the opponents. Unlike other 2-level openings in modern systems, which are usually limited to 6-10 HCP in strength, the 2-level opener can act more than once in a competitive auction either by bidding his other suit(s) or with a takeout double. In third seat the two level opening bids, particularly in the majors, have a much wider range, and can be as few as 6 HCP. On Bridge Base Online they are alerting such 3rd seat opening bids as 6-13 HCP.

Other features of the system are Gambling 3NT, Negative 3NT, TURBO 4NT/5NT and RKCB for slam bidding.

References

  1. ↑ Bridge Winners
  2. ↑ World Bridge Federation Open Rankings
  3. ↑ 2005 Bermuda Bowl Convention Card
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