Hard To Resist

27th July – Board 4: Game All. Dealer West.

It’s not often that hands played at the one-level provoke any interest but the hand shown below did just that – or at least it might have done!

	North: S K J 3 2 H 9 8 3 2 D 9 C A Q 6 4
West: S Q 10 6 4 H 10 4 D 8 7 2 C J 10 7 3		East: S A 9 7 H A K Q D A 10 6 3 C 9 5 2
	South: S 8 5 H J 7 6 5 D K Q J 5 4 C K 8

West	North	East	South
No	No	1D	No
No	Dbl	End

North could hardly have a more text-book protective double when East’s opening 1D bid is passed round to him and I would have thought that it would be hard to resist converting that take-out double into a penalty one with the South hand. Indeed with 2H a make it is essential to get that magic +200, nearly always a good score at pairs. Sadly nobody played in 1D* and one East played mysteriously in 1C. 

Borrowed King

17th Jan – Board 22: East/ West Vul. Dealer East. Doubles in the pass-out or protective position can be about a king lighter than an immediate double because partner might have a reasonable hand but be unable to find a bid. That was the case on the hand shown below.

There is nothing South can reasonably do after 1♣ is opened on his right but North is happy to double when the bidding comes round to him. With a chunky 13 points South might be tempted to bid 3NT but this would be an overbid as his partner could have as few as ten or eleven points. So 2NT it is which North should be happy to raise to game as he has a hand much better than he might have. Note that with such a flat hand it would be a mistake for South to introduce hearts with such a poor holding. That would inevitably lead to the major suit game which would certainly fail if West gets his club ruff.

Heaven And Earth

1st March – Board 20: Game All. Dealer West.

Doubling in the protective or ‘pass out’ position in bridge can be made on a variety of hands ranging in strength from about nine points upwards. If this may seem strange you just have to remember that partner, who has passed over the opening bid, may still have quite a lot of points but unable to contest. Maybe he has the wrong shape hand to double or nor quite enough points to bid 1NT or no five card suit in which to overcall. For this reason the hand in the protective position must move Heaven and Earth to breathe life back into the auction and ‘double’ is usually the most flexible.

West	North	East	South
1H	No	No	Dbl
3H	3S	No	4S
End

I could live with the above auction. South must not be afraid to double because he can always remove a club response to diamonds thereby showing that suit and spades. That could not be done if the double was second in hand of course because ignoring partner’s response in that situation shows a much stronger hand. Then you would already have shown an opening hand by the double, here you haven’t.

Those people who overcalled 1H with 1S will have got lucky, but they didn’t deserve to!

Not Going Quietly

23rd February – Board 9: East/West Vul. Dealer North.

There is a tendency sometimes to just shut up shop when partner has limited his hand, but it is not usually a winning policy to go quietly. Certainly South could have been a little more pro-active on the hand shown below.

West	North	East	South
	1NT	No	No
2H	No	No	Dbl
No	2S	???

The bidding as far as 2H is totally reasonable, the latter bid showing as it does about 11-14 points with a six-card suit or a very good five-card suit. However when the auction comes round to South in the protective position he should certainly re-open with a take-out double. All low level doubles, especially when you are sitting before the overcaller, are for take-out so there should be no confusion in North’s mind, and consequently he has an easy 2S bid. Even with the mirror distribution of the North/South hands 2S will prove an easy make, and while East might compete to the making 3H, he might not. At the very least you should always try to put pressure on the opponents and not go easily.

Protection Racket

3rd November – Board 14: Love All. Dealer East.

It’s all to easy to go quietly at times when really one should be more pro-active, and if you are in the ‘pass out’ or protective position you should be really sure that you are not being bludgeoned into submission. That was the case for North on the featured hand when in fact he had a sound alternative to staying quiet.

West	North	East	South
		1H	No
4H	Dbl	No	4S
5H	5S	Dbl	End

West might have considered a splinter bid of 3S at his first go but it does tend to give a blue-print of the hand if you are not the declaring side and maybe a simple raise to game is enough. (Not showing many points of course because there are so many other options available if that is the case.) Instead of going quietly North should double, essentially for take-out but with high-card points should his partner choose to pass for penalties. South would be charmed to bid 4S and I dare say but West would surely up the ante. At equal vulnerability North is also likely to have one more go and East would close proceedings with a double. OK, I know that E/W can make 6H if they are in it but it is anti-percentage and they won’t bid it anyway! 5S will go one or two off depending how declarer views the club suit, but even two down doubled would show a profit.

Protection Racket

23rd June – Board 17: Love All. Dealer North.

Sometimes the most instructive boards are not the most exciting and the hand shown below is a case in point. After East opens the bidding South has no call – he has no five-card suit, not the right shape for a double and not enough points for 1NT. But when the opening bid drifts round to North he should be well aware that his partner will have some values but be unable to bid. After all what are the opponents doing playing in 1D if they have game values? For this reason it is mandatory for North to re-open with a double and it is not even close. Should East choose to pass South will bid 1NT (after all his partner does not have opening points) and the likelihood is that this contract will be defeated by a trick. The reality of course is that East will press on with 2D and that should be defeated by a trick.

West	North	East	South
	No	1D	No
No	Dbl	2D	End

North is in the so-called ‘protection seat’ in that if he passes the auction is over. Very rarely should you allow the opponents to play at the one-level in a suit contract. It is losing bridge.

Perfect Timing

19th August – Board 17: Love All. Dealer North.

	North: S K Q 10 4 3 H 6 D K Q J 10 C A J 5
West: S 6 H A Q 8 4 D A 7 4 3 C Q 9 8 4		East: S A J 8 7 H K 10 9 5 3 D 9 C 10 3 2
	South: S 9 5 2 H J 7 3 D 8 6 5 2 C K 7 6

Everyone likes to crossruff but sometimes you have to be a bit careful about what to ruff first, because danger might come from an unexpected source.

West	North	East	South
	1S	No	No
Dbl	2D	3H	No
4H	End

The above sequence would seem to be about right, with West having a reasonable fourth in hand double. (Remember in this ‘protective’ position you need only have about nine points or so.) South is likely to lead a low spade and at a couple of tables at least declarer ruffed a spade in dummy before ruffing diamonds in hand. The upshot of all this was that when declarer ruffed the fourth spade South had a chance to discard a diamond and could overruff the next diamond. However if declarer plays the ace of diamonds followed by a diamond ruff immediately then game will be easy with three ruffs in each hand, the ace of spades and the ace of diamonds and the top two trumps.