[JustinS]

This is a system I learned many moons ago when I hooked up with some enterprising types in grad school. It is fun, action-oriented, probably more suited to MP than IMP. I play it occasionally at BBO with a pard who helped develop it.

The gist of the system:

No 5 card suit? no problem, just open your highest ranking 4-card suit at the 2 level (except of course, 2♣, which is strong and artificial). Ergo, almost always when you open 1 of a suit, you will have 5 of them.

We open hands with 10-15HCP. We overcall with 10-15HCP. If you are a passed hand, that means you do not have 10pts. Takeout dbl= 16+

If pard opens 2♦/♥/♠, single raise = forcing, new suit = "pass me pard", 2nt = show me other 4-card suit (or bid 3♣ if no other)

1NT = 16-18, may be unbalanced (even with a void!); if your pard tries to transfer to a suit where you have a singleton or void, you just refuse the transfer.

Preempts = 10-15HCP with 6 or 7 length

Reverses do NOT show extras.

Hmm, that is the Cliff's notes version.

[Double !]

Will wonders never cease? !!!!!!!

I played this system (except for the 10-15 pre-empts) at matchpoints/ local club with one partner eons (30 years) ago. He referred to the 2-bid openings as Tornado Two bids (11-15) with a 4-card suit, no higher ranking 4-card suit, and what sounds like the same 1NT opener as you've described. It was very "interesting", to say the least. It often led to some, shall one say, unexpected and different results. It was sort of what I call a "fix system": we had very good games when the force was with us, and some less-than-optimal games when we fixed ourselves. Funny thing is, I thought that this was some homegrown system that this friend or someone he knew had come up with, he was a good friend, and it was fun to play something different. You have no idea how interesting it is to see someone post this in the forum. I had seen some BBO player have "Tornado Twos" written on his profile. This caused me to wonder if this was a real convention or system, but I was totally unsuccessful in terms of finding anything related to it on the internet. Thank you for posting this. Yes, I definitely remember playing this although I'm not sure that the any-shape-goes 1NT is acbl legal (back then we didn't care!) I would be very interested in knowing more about the origin and development of this system. Thanks

Don

[JustinS]

Well, I first saw it played around 1976 at UMass/Amherst. I play it at BBO with Tim Mann (aztinman) and have taught to a few others. Have had many requests to publish it, and maybe I will do a full writeup on it. It is fun to play it.

Note: I believe we first started playing it 11-15 and soon after tweaked it to 10-15 :-)

[JustinS]

I should also mention couple other points:

1nt overcalls = 10-15HCP, no 5 card suit except possibly opps suit; doesn't necessarily promise stopper

In a bidding sequence with pard such as 1♥ 1♠, a rebid of 2♥ shows 3 card support for pard's suit.

[Double !]

LOLOLOLOL:

1976 sounds just about right.
Is that UMass or ZooMass? (LOLOLOLOL A true alumnus will understand the question.) We were playing tornados at a good sized local club in one of the Boston suburbs. Interestingly, I don't recall the opps objecting to the methods, either. However, I remember having some discomfort with the idea of opening wildly off-shape 15-18s with 1NT because I kept forgetting the responses. This brings back a lot of memories, Thanks!.
Yeah, Write it up. Why not?

ps: I would be very curious to find out who you saw playing this system.

Enjoy

DHL

[aztinman]

This is definitely a home-grown system, my home as a matter of fact. if I'd only had a garage instead I could have inveneted personal computers and been rich now.
Anyway I began playing it with Steve Quist and Charles Haley prior to coming to UMass. We had good success with it at tournaments (2nd at Hyannis regional Swiss comes to mind) as well as at Joe Vaas' Westwood DBC where we usually played.
I'd like to add that 4th seat openings are Std American (16-18 1NT) and single-raises of 2-bids are forcing

[Double !]

oh, lordy

the name Steve Quist definitely rings a bell!!!!
and, yes, it was at westwood where I learned about/ played these 2-bids a few times/ maybe it was with you! It has been so long. BTW: Joe Vaas hasn't been there for years now, from what I hear, but the club still very much endures with different owners.

Small world!

DHL


BTW: I, too, have developed my own homegrown system based on 13-16 1NT openers. Played it for several years way back when with good success including a 2nd overall in a flight B regional open pairs. Then moved away from the area. Have revived it and have been playing it online with one fine player with fine success, and am working on tweeking it. Where is it written that we, as reasonably intelligent bridge players, can't try to be a little creative once in a while. That is one reason I encouraged bestguru to go with it and develop his own system as described in another thread...
P.S.: and I had a garage at the time and am still not rich or anything close to it.