[giorgis_di]

Hello,

Recently I became aware of chilli bidding system (http://chillibidding.org/). Eventhough it seems interesting, it is quite difficult to find a partner to try it. Thus, I have two questions:

a) Does anyone play that system or does anyone has tried it before and so she/he can comment on whether its worth to spend time on it?
b) If anyone plays that system, I would be grateful if she/he plays with me

Thanks in advance

[rbforster]

This seems to be a strong club system, with canapé 4cM's and relatively light openers.

http://chillibidding.org/opening-bids

[Kungsgeten]

I have not played this system, but I have some experience of the majors first style the system has. So when they open 1♥ in Chilli they can have:

♠Kxx
♥Jxxx
♦KQJ
♣QJx

or

♠AKQJxx
♥xxxx
♦Kx
♣x

or

♠Kxxx
♥KQxxx
♦Ax
♣Qx

or any other hand with about (10)11--15(16) high card points and 4+ hearts, except some hands in the 15-17 range without a five card major.

When responding to this they use a very natural style. Opener's rebids are also natural, when having "standard" shape (balanced or 5+ hearts and a side suit or 6+ hearts). When having minor canapé shape though (4 hearts and a 5+ minor), responder is supposed to respond 1NT after 1♥-1♠, and I guess pass al 1NT response. If having 4 hearts and 5+ spades, opener rebids spades, but if holding 5+ hearts and 4 spades I guess you pass responder's 1NT response (the "Flannery hand" is problematic in many systems).

When I played a similar 1M style our 1M showed 10--14 hcp with 4+ cards, but were never 4432 nor 4333. When having both majors we bid our longest suit, so 1♠ did not deny a 4+ hearts. When responding to this responder used transfers (so 1NT showed clubs etc), but that is illegal in most USA events as far as I know. Even though our 1M openings contained less hand types than Chilli, and also a narrower point range, I found them pretty awkward many times. We then tried Moscito instead, where the 1M openings are the same but moved down one step (1♦ shows hearts, 1♥ shows spades). This is easier since responder can bid 1M as a relay to get more information (we played it as a negative NT or an artificial game force).

To med Chilli's 1♦ opening seems a bit rough too. It has a narrow point range but contains many shapes (any shape without a five card major). When the opponents enter the bidding opener has lost the initiative, the same way as if they disturb a strong club. I have some experience from this when I played a 1♣ opening showing 12-16 unbalanced or 15-17 NT. Now the 1♦ opening in Chilli is better defined since its point range is more narrow and the opening denies a 5+ major, but it will still lead to awkward situations.

Now Chilli can probably be a fun system to play (opening majors is fun, opening 2m with a 6+ suit is fun), but according to me it has 4 "bad" opening bids (1♣, 1♦, 1♥ and 1♠) compared to natural, and four "good" opening bids (1NT, 2♣, 2♦ and 2NT). The bad news is that the bad bids are more common than the good ones, except perhaps the 1NT opening (which in Chilli shows 12--14 without a 4+ major, a 6+ minor or 5-5 minors -- so balanced or 5431/5422 with both minors).

If you are interested in Chilli I would recommend that you look at the Magic Diamond system (or Magic D-light). I'm not saying you should play that instead, but at least compare the two.

[raoz]

Hi,
I also haven't played that particular system, though I do have some experience with similar systems. It seems quite interesting(and well documented) and I'd like to play it with you, if you so wish. PM me if you're interested.
-Rao Zvorovski