August 2022 - 56

Intermediate Players
Boehm on Bridge
Remedies for double trouble - part 2
L
ast month, we worked on recognizing
some of the common
nonconventional doubles.
This time, let's study how to react
to these doubles.
Neither vulnerable, LHO opens 1l,
partner doubles, RHO passes, and it's
up to you.
1 8 7 5 4 k9 8 3 lJ 8 6 4 2 '7
2 K 9 2 k8 7 2 lK J 6 3 '7 4 3
3 J 7 k10 9 8 l6 5 'A K J 5 4 2
4 8 4 kK Q J 7 6 2 lA J 4 '9 6
Answers
1 1. Do not pass out of fright.
Defending 1l doubled with partner
marked short in diamonds will yield
a much larger minus than bidding.
Even if partner raises spades and you
go down, that's 50 per trick. 1l doubled
making three, for example, is minus
340: 20 is the trick score for 1l,
doubled is 40, 50 for making a partial,
50 for making a doubled contract, and
200 points in overtricks at 100 per
trick. Vulnerable doubled overtricks
are 200 apiece.
2 1NT. Shows diamonds stopped, a
balanced hand and about 7-10 HCP.
Don't concern yourself with heart
and club stoppers; that's the doubler's
job.
3 3'. Jumps are invitational, about
10-12 total points (includes length
and shortness with a known fit, the
case here).
4 4k. Do not stop short of game. 2k
is a large underbid. To see why, assign
partner:
56 | Bridge Bulletin | August 2022
5 Grit your teeth and bid 2'; don't
pass, a sure and heavy minus. Of
course, there's no guarantee that
you'll avoid trouble with 2', but
you're aiming at survival, which is a
good reason to bid your lower fourcard
suit. It leaves the opponents
maximum bidding space to take you
off the hook and allows you or partner
to run to 2l if doubled. At least you
have a chance to avoid the disaster
of defending 1k doubled while the
overtricks mount.
A Q x x kA x x lx x 'K x x x,
a minimum range double with only
three-card heart support. He'll pass
the invitational 2k in a flash. If
opener holds the K and 'A, with
both finesses working you make 11
tricks (remember to ruff a diamond).
If one black honor is offside, you still
score 10 tricks. To call your hand 11
points is a travesty. Add two long suit
points for length - trumps win tricks
- and a point for each doubleton - they
limit losers - and you have 15 reevaluated
points. If you're a zealous point
counter, at least count them sensibly
by including distributional values.
In the next set, you hold:
8 6 k7 5 3 l9 7 5 2 '6 5 4 2.
How can this ever develop into a
bidding problem? Both sides vulnerable,
imagine yourself in fourth seat
in each of the following sequences;
what's your call?
5 1k Dbl
6 2 Dbl
7 4k Dbl
Pass
Pass
Pass
8 1NT Dbl (1) Pass
(1) Penalty
?
?
?
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BY AUGUST BOEHM
6 3'. All the above arguments still
apply, but here if you pass and defend
2 doubled, you have doubled the
opponents into game. Let's say they
win nine tricks; they score 60 doubled
for 120, 500 point game bonus, 50 for
making a doubled contract, and a 200
point overtrick, a total of minus 870.
Surely you can hope to do better by
taking out partner's takeout double.
Like a good poker player, keep your
composure and don't radiate apprehension.
7
Pass. The level changes everything.
For one, partner promises a
stronger hand for entry at such a high
level. For another, if you take out to
the five level and they double, it's
likely to be bloody.
Down three, doubled and vulnerable,
is minus 800. If they make 4k
doubled, you lose 790, at matchpoint
scoring, a meaningful difference.
And there's always the chance that
partner holds four cashing defensive
tricks.
8 Pass. The time to take out partner's
penalty double of 1NT is when
you are weak and distributional.
When weak and balanced, pass and
take your medicine. At least you haven't
doubled them into game. Once
in a while, partner has them beaten
in his own hand with a long running
suit and some side suit tricks.
August 2022

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