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An Imperfect Double.

As with yesterday’s deal, today’s came from last Friday’s Trans- Tasman Challenge. There was an immediate “challenge” for many of the 18 West players.

 

 

Should you pass and await developments including the possibility of penalising one’s opponents if North too passed South’s opening bid and East obliged with a take-out double? If you decide to bid, what should your bid be with a glaring problem occurring if you doubled and your partner chose clubs?

We should not double if we cannot handle partner’s bid and that does seem to be the case here. It would be ideal if our partner bid a major though we are not that strong to bid again if partner chose 2. Nevertheless, this time, the doublers, and there were four of them, all survived as their partner chose spades:

 

There were varying degrees of enthusiasm from those in the East seat but they all made it to 4, a very happy destination for the declarers.

Yet, under half the field reached the spade game though +800 was more than adequate compensation at one table where North got to bid clubs before East could.

Pass was the most common choice on the West cards and at 5 tables, the West players could not find a bid after North bid 1NT. No doubt they were still afraid of their partner bidding clubs though 1NT surely indicated that North had a number of cards in that suit and that East would be wary about bidding clubs.

Double of 1NT after a failure to take any action over 1 is an interesting bid and often, as here, will show a decent holding in opener’s original suit. Yet, only at two of the 8 tables where West did originally pass, was there any further action over 1NT.

There was one other choice after 1 and that was a 4-card 1 overcall. Where the bidder has a hand with a decent 4-card suit but is unsuitable for a take-out double, then calling that suit at the 1-level seems a good choice and, literally, turned up trumps here. Indeed, East bid a very quick 4 and what West lacked in spade length, their high-card strength and shape proved very adequate compensation.

If 4 above seems a little fortunate make, it is certainly where East-West want to be, apart from taking a penalty off their opponents in a minor suit. The fortunate spade break provided the overtrick rather than the 10th trick.

While it seems correct for West to pass (or bid 1) over South’s 1 opening, West just has to find a bid (presumably double) over North’s subsequent 1NT. Yet, only 8 of the 18 East-West pairs either reached game or took a decent penalty off their opponents.

Richard Solomon

 

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