The Arno is a river flowing West from central Italy through the Tuscany and Florence to the Ligurian Sea and is roughly 140 miles long. And, presumably, Mr. Camillo Pabis-Ticci and Mr. Massimo D'Alelio lived somewhere along this river when they developed the Little Roman Club System, which is based on the original Roman System, in the early 1960s. They used their Arno System successfully at the Bermuda Bowl in 1965.

Arno, or Little Roman Club System, is a version of the Roman System, with a forcing 1 No Trump opening. The opening bids are designed to incorporate several different options for the responder, which are clarified during the auction. The original version has become history and the basics have been refined, and this ended in a transformation of the system itself. However, the basic opening bids have remained the same as in the original as much as possible.

1 :		12-16 high card points		balanced holding, forcing
or:		21-22 high card points		balanced holding, forcing
or:		25-26 high card points		balanced holding, forcing
or:		17-22 high card points		4 Clubs and a 5-card plus suit, forcing
or:		17-22 high card points		5-card plus Club suit, forcing
1 :		12-22 high card points		natural canapé
or:		17-22 high card points		balanced holding
1 :		12-22 high card points		natural canapé
1 :		12-22 high card points		natural canapé
1 NT:		23 plus high card points		any shape
2 :		12-16 high card points		4-4-4-1 or 5-4-4-0 distribution
2 :		17-20 high card points		4-4-4-1 or 5-4-4-0 distribution
2 :		12-16 high card points		5-card plus Heart suit and a 4-card Club suit
2 :		12-16 high card points		5-card Spade suit and a 4-card Club suit
2 NT:		23-24 high card points		balanced distribution

After a 1 Club opening, a 1 Diamond response is considered an artificial negative and shows less than 10 high card points. All other responses are positive and show 10 high card points plus. If the opener has a balanced minimum opening, then the opener rebids on the one level. A response of 1 No Trump is game forcing and promises 12 high card points or more. Any suit rebid by the opener after an initial 1 No Trump response shows 12-13 high card points and balanced distribution and a 2 No Trump rebid shows 14-16 high card points and balanced distribution.

Openings of 1 Diamond, 1 Heart and 1 Spade are forcing for one round and also natural according to the Canapé principle, showing 12-21/22 high card points. The next higher suit is used as the initial negative response by the responder. After a positive response, a normal rebid by the opener is forcing for one round. The responder can then create a game forcing bid if his second rebid is a reverse, or a jump in a new suit, or a jump raise of the first suit bid by the opener. If the initial response by the responder is 1 No Trump and does not signify a negative response, then this 1 No Trump response indicates a holding with 12 high card points or more and is game forcing.

If the opener rebids 1 No Trump, even after an initial negative response by the partner, then this rebid by the opener shows a balanced holding with 17-20 high card points.

If the opener opens with 1 No Trump, promising a powerful distributional holding of any shape and 23 plus high card points, or a balanced distribution and 21-24 high card points, then this opening is generally game forcing. The responder can show the number of the Aces held by Step Responses. If the opener rebids 2 No Trump, then the holding is balanced. Otherwise, the rebid of the opener to show a distributional holding is done with Canapé.

Note: As a bidding system, the Little Roman Club System has been integrated into other bidding systems devised in Italy. This bidding system should be studied in relation to the other bidding systems of Italy, which have originated in this country and have been devised and developed over the years. The student should also remember that such systems have also been changed and/or have evolved over the years as well as having been refined to include several discrepancies found in the original versions.

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.