April 2020 - 52

Newer Players

Ask Jerry
BY JERRY HELMS

In my March column, I answered a
question from Clara about responsive
doubles. Shockingly, I got a little bit
wordy and ran out of column space.
This is a continuation.
To jog my readers' memories, I will
review a little bit of last month's column.
When the opponents bid and raise
the same suit, sandwiching a takeout
double by your partner, a double by advancer is best defined as responsive. It
shows a desire to compete, indicating
advancer holds at least two suits, each
of which might be our best combined
fit. A classic example:
1♠

Dbl

2♠

Advancer holds:
♠7 6 2 ♥Q 5 ♦A K 6 5 ♣J 10 4 3.
With 10 working high-card points,
action is called for ... a responsive
double to the rescue! Double asks the
takeout doubler to name his cheapest
four-card or longer suit. In the past, if
I had opted to bid my best suit (in this
case, diamonds), partner's shape would
always have been: 1=4=3=5!
Responsive doubles can pay dividends in a couple of comparable auctions. You hold:
♠J 6 ♥A J 7 3 ♦7 4 ♣K J 8 4 3.
1♦

Partner
1♠
2♦

52 Bridge Bulletin April 2020

You
?

askjerry@jerryhelms.com

jerryhelms.com

After partner overcalls 1♠, it seems
we should be competitively involved
with these values because we very possibly hold half the deck or more. Rather
than supporting with a doubleton,
which is a possibility, a better choice is
a responsive double.
It's a good idea to use a double by
advancer the same way when partner's
simple overcall is sandwiched by a bid
and raise of the same suit. On this auction, your double should suggest tolerance for the overcaller's suit, values to
compete, and at least four cards in the
other two suits. The overcaller is encouraged to bid a second four-card suit
if he holds one, otherwise retreat to
his own suit, hoping for tolerance from
your hand, but at least secure with the
knowledge that you have values.
The level to which you define these
doubles to be responsive depends on
partnership agreement. For simplicity, I suggest you play them through
the same level as you play negative
doubles.
Thus far, the central element common to responsive doubles is the
opponents must bid and raise the same
suit, which sandwiches either a takeout double or an overcall. Each time,
advancer's double is a tool seeking to
find the best fit and guaranteeing in
his hand there are at least two viable
candidates.

Another auction where many partnerships may choose to play responsive doubles:
1♦

1♥

1NT

Holding:
♠K Q 8 5 ♥J 3 ♦7 4 ♣K J 8 4 3,
what should advancer do? He could
pass and hope 1NT ends the auction,
and that perhaps you can defeat them.
In my experience, if I pass, the opponents reel off five diamond tricks and
another couple of random tricks to
score 1NT!
In this situation, I prefer finding a
reason to bid before settling for an excuse to pass. It is entirely possible that
intervener (the overcaller), in addition
to his heart suit, holds four spades or
clubs. If that's the case, we need to be
bidding. I suggest that in this specific
auction, where partner has overcalled,
and RHO has bid 1NT, that a responsive double should be an option. Reserving a double here for penalties just
does not meet the test of frequency of
occurrence as much as the frequency
of the desire to compete. If advancer
holds a fit for the intervener, he should
raise: either a simple raise or a cuebid
to show a limit raise or better.
◾

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April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2020