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or so I think!

The Right Occasion for…..

a bid that is rarely used, certainly rarely used at the right time. On this particular occasion, I rather wished it had not been used. More of that later. Let’s begin with a question. What would your next bid be in this sequence? 

 

Pairs is the game. Were you not holding so many hearts, you might sit back and wait for a re-opening double from your partner. On the other hand, with loads of trumps and first round control of three suits, you might have slam ambitions. Worse bids than a direct 6 have been made. Maybe 2NT Jacoby game-force or a technically correct 4 splinter bid?

However, this is the world of club bridge where such artificiality does not exist, usually. So, our South found something of an under-bid when she settled for game, 4. Very often, players over-stretch themselves with an over-optimistic bid and do not always end up smelling of success. Under-bids can sometimes produce interesting results.

So, let’s follow the auction through the eyes of Joan, a fair choice of name since Joan did hold the South cards. There would be nothing wrong with her dummy if and when she put it down with 4 being the final contract. Yet, it was not!

This was to be one of those auctions where there seemed to be way more than 40 points in the pack. West entered the fray with 4. Now, that bid aroused Joan’s interest. However, on such occasions, you wish you did not have a partner. You could do a swift calculation that Joan’s partner (we call her Shirley) did not have too many spades.

Joan’s joy was very short-lived as Shirley competed to 5 without much thought. Still a good dummy to put down especially a level higher. Yet, the bidding had not yet finished. East produced the “double” card.  

Now, were Joan a top Open player, I would not really comment about what happened next. Yet, she does not play tournaments and has very few master-points from over 20 years of playing. She did though produce a “masterful” bid at this point. She redoubled!

Sitting East, I guessed that was not for rescue! She certainly did not require rescuing. Such a bid is rarely seen in a tournament and even less common at a club session…. and certainly rarely used to such good effect as here.

Would both defenders stand this bid?                        Answer “no”.

Did Joan mind if they returned to the other major?    Answer “no”.

It was West who buckled, unhappy at the prospect of defending a redoubled contract. They were one of three players who held a void on this deal. They retreated to 5 which was passed around to Joan who thought she had a chance of defeating this contract! There matters rested.

 

They did not "rest" very well for the declarer. He ruffed the opening A lead and tried to get to hand via a diamond finesse. Successful finesse but it was Joan’s 5 which won the trick.
She “kindly” gave the declarer a second heart ruff though that was the end of her generosity. East was none-too-impressed when he tried a round of trumps. Joan made all five of her trumps and Shirley made the K and a club trick to take the contract 5 down for +1400. West was right to pull the redoubled opposition game as the only trick the defence could take against 5 xx was the A. One overtrick would have yielded a score of 1600 for North-South, better than an undoubled slam. A good result for East-West, you may then surmise? Not really in club bridge where no pair at the club ventured beyond the game level.

Not only is the redouble of a game contract not taught at beginner or even intermediate level of bridge but it should be used very sparingly in a competitive auction. That is because it gives the opposition a chance to escape to their own contract which may well be a better place for them than in defending a hopeless cause.

The above is of course a rare exception. South was in a “no lose” situation in that they suspected their partner could come very close to making 11 tricks in hearts (and that is a conservative prediction) but they would be delighted to see the opposition retreat to 5.

The right occasion for “redouble”. Well bid, Joan. Please, next time, choose a different opponent!

Richard Solomon

Back to a deal for our JIN Club members tomorrow.

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