The Baron convention method was developed by Mr. Leo Baron. Very little information is available for Mr. Leo Baron, who was born in the country of Poland. According to the literature he made many important contributions to the bidding theory of the game of bridge. During his residence in England his victories at the bridge table include winning the Gold Cup in the year 1946 and also in the year 1951.

In the year 1952 Mr. Leo Baron emigrated to the country of Zimbabwe and took up residence in the city of Salisbury. The city was founded by Mr. Cecil Rhodes on September 12, 1890, as a military fort, and named after and for the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil), who was at that time the British Prime Minister. The city of Salisbury was the capital of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland from 1953 to the year 1963. After 1963 the city was the capital of Southern Rhodesia.

Under the appointment of Mr. Ian Smith the move to declare the country of Rhodesia independent from the United Kingdom was successful on November 11, 1965. Mr. Leo Baron had lived in the country as a resident since 1951. On April 18, 1982 the name of the city Salisbury was changed permanently to Harare, which is a loan from the Shona Chieftain Neharawa.

Note: Review the bridge column of Mr. Alan Truscott of January 21, 1990, published in The New York Times. This article is only archived and preserved on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.

Note: As famous a bridge personality as Mr. Leo Baron was there exists very few photographs of him. We have been unable to discover any picture of this leading expert and author, and any assistance in finding a photograph would be greatly appreciated.

Baron Conventional Method

The developed conventional method is initiated only when partner opens the auction with a bid of 2 No Trump. In the Acol bidding system the range of this opening bid is generally 19-22 high card points.

Note: This conventional response method is also known under the designation of Baron Three Clubs. The two designations identify the same concept.

Note: The Baron conventional method can also be applied following an opening bid of a strong, artificial 2 Clubs followed by a 2 No Trump rebid, which generally shows 23 plus high card points.

Note: Several partnerships have extended the Baron conventional method to include an opening bid of 1 No Trump, but this feature was not part of the original version as developed by Mr. Leo Baron.

The responses to this particular opening bid are presented below. The partnership must devise an individual defense method of responses if there is an immediate overcall in a suit. If the overcall is a double, then the partnership can ignore the double by the immediate opponent and proceed normally since the double does not interfere with the normal response method.

Opener		Responder		Meaning
2 NT				Promises a balanced holding and a range of 19-22 high card points.
		Pass		The responder shows insufficient values for game.
		3		The Baron conventional method is initiated and requests partner to bid any 4-card plus suit in ascending order. (Note: This first response is not the Stayman inquiry.)
3				The opener promises a 4-card Diamond suit.
3				The opener promises a 4-card Heart suit.
3				The opener promises a 4-card Spade suit.
3 NT				The opener only bids 3 No Trump if the only held 4-card suit is Clubs.

Note: If the opener holds two 4-card suits and one of these two suits is the Club suit, then the opener first bids the 4-card suit in ascending order, and if and only if no fit is found, then the opener rebids 3 No Trump to show the 4-card Club suit.

Note: No illustrative examples are presented since the response method is self-explanatory.

Since the opener has limited the holding with the opening bid of 2 No Trump, then the responder must establish the final contract.

The Baron conventional responses can be only triggered with the first response of 3 Clubs. If the responder wishes to transfer the opener to a higher-ranking suit, either Hearts, Spades, and/or Clubs, then the responder will take this action. The first response of 3 Clubs is only reserved for the Baron conventional method.

 

 

If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.