International Match Points
Scoring system in contract bridge
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International match points (IMP) within the card game of contract bridge is a measurement for conversion of absolute contract bridge scores. The total point difference between two scores is compared to a scale ranging from 0 to 24 to obtain an IMP score.[1][2]
| Point difference | IMPs | Point difference | IMPs | Point difference | IMPs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| from | to | from | to | from | to | |||||
| 0 | 10 | 0 | 370 | 420 | 9 | 1750 | 1990 | 18 | ||
| 20 | 40 | 1 | 430 | 490 | 10 | 2000 | 2240 | 19 | ||
| 50 | 80 | 2 | 500 | 590 | 11 | 2250 | 2490 | 20 | ||
| 90 | 120 | 3 | 600 | 740 | 12 | 2500 | 2990 | 21 | ||
| 130 | 160 | 4 | 750 | 890 | 13 | 3000 | 3490 | 22 | ||
| 170 | 210 | 5 | 900 | 1090 | 14 | 3500 | 3990 | 23 | ||
| 220 | 260 | 6 | 1100 | 1290 | 15 | 4000 or more | 24 | |||
| 270 | 310 | 7 | 1300 | 1490 | 16 | |||||
| 320 | 360 | 8 | 1500 | 1740 | 17 | |||||
IMP scoring is used in competitive bridge, including duplicate bridge (including on some online bridge websites),[4] but rarely in any kind of companion bridge, and never when playing rubber bridge.[5]
Optimal tactics at IMPs differ from those of matchpoints and are similar to those for rubber bridge. When playing for IMPs the declarer's primary objective is to make the contract without jeopardizing it in a quest for overtricks; for the defense it is to defeat the contract without worrying about surrendering overtricks.[6]