How about some examples of principles discussed in recent articles?
Correct bidding after a takeout double when opener bids a second time.
Incorrect bidding in the same setting.
Here are some examples of takeout doubles followed by raises of partner. Can you tell which are correct and which are wrong?
| West | North | East | South |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♥ | Dbl | ||
| Pass | 1♠ | 2♥ | Pass |
| Pass | 2♠ | Pass | Pass |
| 3♥ | Pass | Pass | 3♠ |
| All Pass |
I won’t give you a result because that might bias your opinions. Comment on the bidding.
South’s double was fine, as was North’s 1♠ bid. South’s pass over 2♥ was correct. He has a little extra in high cards but he has only three spades, albeit good ones. North’s 2♠ bid is excellent. He has five spades and he has a good hand given he bid only 1♠ earlier.
South’s pass to 2♠ was correct. He knew that North did not have enough to jump to 2♠ on the first round. North’s pass over 3♥ was correct. He had bid a second time, which pretty much showed his values.
South’s 3♠ bid at the end was a big error. North’s 2♠ bid promised a few points but it did not guarantee five spades. North is allowed to bid this way with only four spades because he knows South has at least three and possibly four.
| West | North | East | South |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♥ | Dbl | ||
| Pass | 1♠ | Pass | 3♠ |
| Pass | 4♠ | Pass | Pass |
| Dbl | All Pass |
South’s double was correct. This is better than bidding 1NT because of the distribution and concern for stoppers in hearts. North’s 1♠ was clear. South might have raised to 2♠. This bid would show 16–17 support points. When you double and make a jump raise of partner’s simple response you show more than when you open and jump raise partner’s simple response. 3♠ was a serious overbid. The best hand North can have, remember, is a decent 8 support points. He should not have more. North’s 4♠ bid was correct. He has four good spades and his ♣J could turn out to be useful. Even with such dull shape, he does have a better than average 1♠ response.
On this deal, 4♠, doubled, went down two. West had a spade trick and he also had the ♣A, which was unexpected bad luck.
| West | North | East | South |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♥ | Dbl | ||
| Pass | 1♠ | 2♥ | 4♠ |
| All Pass |
The bidding was okay. South’s double was routine. North’s 1♠ bid was also routine. He has a bad hand but he is expected to bid, so he shows his four-card suit. South’s 4♠ bid is a sane effort. North needs very little to make game. It was a very acceptable gamble.
4♠ went down two, but the result is not important. What is important is that North and South bid correctly. The fate of the hand is out of your control. Given that East opened the bidding, the chances are excellent that the spade and diamond finesses will win. It is good bridge to take things like this into consideration. You can see that North has little enough but his ♣10 9 mean that he can work his way to the North hand to take finesses. In truth, North is a small favorite to make game, and South’s bidding will be successful more often than not.