The first mention of a bid of 1 Club being defined and played as completely artificial was in the Vanderbilt Club System, devised and developed by Mr. Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, who is credited with devising a new scoring method for the evolving game of Contract Bridge. The scoring method was readily adopted by the card-playing public as was also the concept of a strong, artificial 1 Club opening bid, which has become also the foundation of other bidding systems such as Precision.

Bridge players have also been seeking and searching for defense methods to this strong, artificial 1 Club opening bid ever since its conception. The object, the goal, the target was to compete as frequently as possible against such a strong opening bid. The attempt has been made to present such a list of defense methods devised, developed, and invented to combat this opening bid.

Mathe Bids
Mathe Bids against Artificial 1 Club Opening Bids/ This conventional defense method was developed by Mr. Lewis L. Mathe, also known as simply Lew, of Canoga Park, California, He was born in 1915 and died in 1986. He is also the originator of Mathe Asking Bids. The Mathe conventional bids are generally to be employed in the immediate seat following the strong, generally artificial 1 Club opening since the partner of the strong 1 Club bidder must respond with zero values. However, the Mathe conventional bids may also be employed in the fourth seat following a weak response by the partner of the opener.

Trap Defense Method
The actual origin of this conventional defense method is unknown. However, this defense method was popularized and promoted by Mr. Anthony (Tony) R. Forrester of Upton Bishop, England. It is a defensive bidding system employed after strong, artificial 1 Club openings.

Modified Trap Method
The origin of this conventional defense method is unknown. It is a modified version of the Trap Defense Method and contains in addition bids on the two level to show distribution not capable of being shown by the trap defense method. As with the original concept, the modified version is a defensive bidding system employed after strong, artificial 1 Club opening bids.

Defense to Strong Artificial Opening Bids
Devised and developed by Mr. Alan Fraser Truscott this is a method of defending against a strong, artificial opening bid, generally an opening of 1 Club, to show a one-suited or two-suited holding.

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.