Friday, November 16th

With all these team games I don't seem to play very often when hand records are available. One auction from today seemed worth mentioning: 1S-(pass)-2NT-(3H); double. 2NT was the popular Jacoby game-forcing raise. What should opener's double mean? Larry Cohen gives a list of auctions in the November Bridge Bulletin where double should be for penalties; this qualifes under #5 and #7 : we've bid and raised a suit, and, we are in a game-forcing auction. Opener, despite the knowledge of a nine-card fit, can nevertheless anticipate a healthy penalty on a hand like AJxxx Q10xx x AKx. Responder is free to pull the double on a poor defensive hand such as KQxx xx KQxx QJx. (Note that a singleton in responder's hand is unlikely if you play splinter raises.)

On today's hand E/W had no clear agreement about the double, and opener actually had a singleton heart. I would suggest that opener pass with two or three hearts and bid something (4H or, really, any suit) with zero or one.

A possible layout:
E/W vulnerable, West deals:
            Q10x
            x
            xxxxx
            9xxx
AJxxx             Kxxx
Q10xx             xx
x                     AKxx
AKx                Qxx
            x
            AKJxxx
            QJx
            J10x

South has a pefectly reasonable lead-directing overcall, and the vulnerability is favorable. Yet a double nets +800 or +1100 for E/W, with no slam. The key is that, in a game-forcing auction, you don't need double to ask partner to "do something." Pass works just fine.