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for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players...and others! It's Fri day. 

Give it a Go, Joe..or Paddy ...today or any day!

When your partner doubles 1 of a suit on the first round of bidding, it is for take-out. Leave the double in at your peril or only when you have oodles and oodles of trumps. However, what about when partner doubles 1NT? Take a look.

 

1NT showed 12-14 hcp. What did your partner’s double mean and what should you do now?

Well, it’s different. The double of 1NT is a penalty double and says they have 15+ hcp (perhaps a point or two less in what we call “the pass-out position”) but says normally let’s have a go and see if we can beat this contract. The only time you should bid is when you are very weak (at most 5 hcp) and have a 5+ card suit. Otherwise, pass and hope your defence is good!
So, here, you have 5 hcp more than you might! Pass happily and let’s see if we can beat their contract. They are vulnerable, too. So, even 1 down, +200, should be a very good result as normally we will not be able to make game ourselves.
So, pass and lead? How about 4^th highest of your longest and strongest…4.

 

4 went to our partner’s A and they played back 10. South inserted J but you won Q and exited a third round of clubs. South was not happy. They tried a small spade to dummy's 7(nothing else was better for them) and as long as you played low, all would be well. East won this trick with Q and then made the fine play of K, which let you know they had good cards in that suit.

South did well to duck that trick and East exited with K. South won and played a third round of spades which West took with J. At this point, the defence had taken 5 tricks and declarer 2 tricks and these cards remained:

West cashed 8 with the other 3 players throwing a diamond and then played 9 taken by dummy’s A. The best South could do would be to take A and a winning spade for down 2….-500.

Passing 1NTx does not guarantee success but is a better option than West bidding either 4-card black suit. 2 may make for +90 but 2 certainly will not.
So, in such a situation where your partner doubles 1NT, recognise that only if you are really weak with a long suit should you bid. Otherwise defend….and enjoy it! That's true on any day...and not just Paddy's Day!

 

Richard Solomon

 

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