Vienna System

{{other uses|Congress of Vienna}}

The Vienna System or Austrian System was one of the earliest conventional bidding systems in the game of contract bridge. It was devised in 1935 by Austrian player Paul Stern.{{cite book |title=The Stern Austrian System |first=Dr. Paul |last=Stern |authorlink=Paul Stern |translator=Margery Belsey |date=1938 |publisher=George G. Harrap & Co.}}{{cite book |title=The Vienna System of Bidding |first=A. J. |last=Smith |others=Foreword by Paul Stern |date=1942 |publisher=Faber & Faber}}{{OEB|IE|567-568}}

The Vienna System used the Bamberger point count to evaluate bridge hands: A=7, K=5, Q=3, J=1.Said to be an adjustment of the Robertson point count. {{OEB|IE|424}} and OEB 4th ed p367. That method has been generally supplanted by the Work count (HCP) (A=4, K=3, Q=2, J=1).

The characteristic features of the Vienna System were not in its methods of hand evaluation, but in its bidding structure:

• 1{{Clubs}} - minimum opener (up to about 17 HCP in modern terms), no 5-card suit except perhaps {{Clubs}}. Forcing: responder is not allowed to pass. Responder's possible bids include:
• 1{{Diamonds}} - a bad hand
• 1{{Hearts}}{{Spades}}2{{Clubs}}{{Diamonds}} - natural and forcing
• 1NoTrump - artificial, forcing to game
• 2{{Hearts}} and higher jump bids - signoff, a so-called "negative jump response"
• 1{{Diamonds}}{{Hearts}}{{Spades}} - minimum opener, 5-card suit. Responder's bids include:
• 1NoTrump - no fit for opener's suit; encouraging but not forcing
• 1NoTrump - maximum opener (at least about 18 HCP in modern terms), undefined hand, forcing; responder may not pass. Responder's possible bids include:
• 2{{Clubs}} - a bad hand
• 2{{Diamonds}}{{Hearts}}{{Spades}}3{{Clubs}} - 5-card suit, game-forcing
• 2NoTrump - no 5-card suit, game-forcing

Austrian teams captained by Stern, playing the Vienna System, won the European championships (Open category) in 1936 and 1937, and defeated Ely Culbertson's American team in a challenge match in 1937 (see: Bermuda Bowl#Predecessors).