October 2018 - 51

Intermediate Players

Mike's Bridge Lesson
BY MIKE LAWRENCE

michaelslawrence.com

What is partner doing?
With both sides vulnerable, you are
South holding:
♠K 10 4 ♥3 ♦J 10 8 3 2 ♣J 10 8 4,
and the auction is this:
West
1♣
3♣

North
2♣
Dbl

East
2♦
Pass

South
2♠
?

West opens 1♣, and North bids 2♣
showing the major suits. East bids
2♦, which is described as showing
6-8 points with a diamond suit. It isn't
forcing. You bid 2♠, and West bids
3♣. Your partner doubles. What does
that mean?
Before discussing what your partner's double means, consider if you
like your 2♠ bid. I rather like it myself.
Your partner usually has 5-5 shape
in the majors, and you have three OK
spades, which is a good start. If you
don't bid 2♠, the bidding might end
in 2♦ when your side has a playable
partscore in spades. 2♠ seems clear,
especially because your partner won't
have total dreck when vulnerable.
Now, about partner's double. The
first thing that should cross your mind
is that if your partner really has the
majors, he can't be terribly interested
in doubling 3♣ for penalty. His double
should say he has a good Michaels
hand. He's saying he would like to bid
3♠, but if you had wanted to double
3♣, you can pass his double. If you
have four spades, you would mostly

retreat to 3♠ or 4♠. If you have a hand
like this one, passing and hoping to set
3♣ doubled is a sane shot.
One thing in your favor is that your
partner shouldn't double with a void in
clubs. He is likely to have one. Rarely
he will have two. But he should never
have none.
Here's a possible layout for your side:
Partner
♠A9832
♥KQJ98
♦A4
♣3

You
♠ K 10 4
♥3
♦ J 10 8 3 2
♣ J 10 8 4

The big deal about this example is
that you understand partner's double.
He is not doubling because he has a lot
of trump tricks. That's almost impossible. His bid just tells you to make
an intelligent decision. This is better
than your partner bidding 3♠ all of the
time, which shuts your opinion out of
helping with this decision.
If you pass 3♣ doubled, your partner
will lead the ♥K. Either of his aces
would be poor choices.
Another situation where this idea
comes up is after your side makes an
unusual notrump bid. With no one vulnerable, you hold this hand as South:

If you gave this hand to 100 players,
a great many of them would bid 5♣.
It's not hard to imagine that this could
work, but many times the result is that
you get doubled and go down 100 or
300 only to discover that they can't
make 4♠.
On defense, you can see where your
tricks might come from. You have a
likely heart trick. You have two possible diamond tricks. You probably
have a club trick. You have a partner
who bid.
It's reasonable to double if your
partnership gives it the message that
you are asking partner to make a good
decision. If his hand has lots of shape
and not much defense, he is welcome
to bid 5♣. If he has a smidgeon of defense and only fair offensive values, he
can pass. The key is that the double is a
cooperative venture.
Keep in mind that you can't have a lot
of trump tricks. Most likely you have a
singleton. If you double, your partner
will know more about what to do than
you do.
Against 4♠ doubled, your opening
lead isn't obvious. All leads have issues.
I would choose the ♠3 hoping that it
doesn't cost much. Other leads are also
dangerous.
◾

♠3 ♥K 4 ♦A Q 7 6 4 ♣A J 10 8 4.
West

North

3♠

4♣

East
1♠
4♠

South
2NT
?

October 2018 Bridge Bulletin

51
http://www.michaelslawrence.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2018
