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An unlikely hold.

Holding a balanced 20 count would not seem to present too many problems in a low-level competitive auction though this particular one did. Where are you going with the following?

 

2 was a 2-way Multi, weak in a major or, what you can see in front of you, a 20-21hcp balanced hand. All was fine until West, a passed hand, overcalled 2. On enquiry, East said that had their partner opened 2, that would show a Weak 2. So, for now, you can draw your own conclusions as to what West held.

You are playing Swiss Pairs.

What is West likely to hold? They could have a two-suited hand with only 5 spades or maybe they did have a Weak Two but had a four-card heart suit as well, a shape that stops many from opening a Weak 2.

With penalties on his mind is:

Stephen Blackstock “Double: Ostensibly takeout but obviously shows 20-21 balanced rather than a three suiter. The auction has taken a very good turn for N/S, as North can pass for penalties quite freely without needing great trumps. We can also play no trumps from North now, in the event he has a positional spade stopper. Over 3 any from North, I will bid 3 and North will have a much better idea what I have (a spade problem) than if West had passed and I rebid 2NT. Thank you West!”

There is some support for the negative double:

Michael Cornell “Double: Decent problem and a situation that partners should sort out. I would play double as T/O which obviously I would do here. I would bid 2NT with a stopper. I miss out on the penalty X that was probably in vogue  50 years ago! However, partner knows I have 20/ 21 so may be able to pass quite often.

Our side-suit holdings do indicate that West would not fare too well in 2x though is our partner likely to have many spades to convert our double to penalties?

We welcome two new Panellists post Congress. First up is:

Anthony Ker “Double: It’s a clear cut double and I venture to suggest at least 80% of the panel will agree! Here’s why:

 

A 2 opener in 4th seat is 20-21 balanced. If you have the weak two option you either pass or open 1 of a major. So, partner knows we have 20-21 and did nothing. The modern style is that a double by her would be for take-out (If she could have doubled for penalty I will instead pass now). So partner either has a penalty double or very few points. My double caters for the first option and in the second case I will pass a response of 3/3/3. If my partner bids 2NT that is scrambling and I will go 3. 

 

Then there is that interesting initial pass by West, who is now entering the fray at the 2-level. Their bid may be a bit suspect and I don’t want to let them off the hook if it is!”

I would not accept that we have to be strong balanced in 4^th seat. A “Weak 2” in this position could be a 12 or 13 count, opening at a higher level to make it harder for the opposition to enter the auction. Certainly, our partner could have doubled, either negative, or to confirm what we have. We will return later to why they did not.

However, agreeing with Anthony is:

Andy Braithwaite “Double: to show 20-21 balanced probably with short spades but for sure no stop. I assume partner has already worked out I have 20-21 balanced from the first round so can respond as per a Lebensohl situation.”

Wayne Burrows “Double: I think that is what I have to do when I cannot rebid 2NT with a strong balanced hand. It is not ideal with this shape but pass is out of the question and 3 forces to game when partner might have nothing. 

I suppose you could play double is penalties but then you will not have a good bid when you are not well fixed in spades. You may well want partner to take a different action when you have AKJ9 compared to when you have two small with weakish distributional hands and as noted above you cannot sensibly force to game with 20 hcp just because the opponent overcalled.”

 

A “Multi hater” came up with an unusual response:

Leon Meier “Pass: I would not play a multi that can include a strong option, but since I have and this hand I would pass. Partner should know we have a strong balanced hand when we open this in fourth seat so the fact they didn't bid means we don't have game and we could easily go wrong with making a double and trying to compete to the 3 level.”

Maybe partner is weak and has a long suit of their own. If so, they may appreciate a double from our side to reach a making part-score.

However, the majority of the Panel are disregarding their lack of a spade stop:

Nigel Kearney “2NT: We have to do something as partner can have values, so the choices are double for takeout or 2NT. With good agreements double could allow us to stop in 3/ but 2NT is a better description of our hand and has the advantage of getting the auction back into familiar territory. A stopper is nice to have but not essential when under the bidder.”

Bruce Anderson “2NT: with some hesitation but West should not have a 6 card suit as he/she did not open a weak 2.

Even if West is as good as AKxxx,  a doubleton Queen with partner would amount to a stop. The advantage of bidding 2NT is that partner now knows my hand and 3NT will not be missed if he/she has a balanced or semi-balanced hand in the 6-10 point range, with something (or length) in spades.”

Peter Newell “2NT:  yes, it looked odd with no stopper. I would have expected partner to double 2 with almost any hand with short spades so it is likely that partner has 2 or 3" (or more!). "If partner is balanced, we may not have any 8- card fit. 

 

What of the 2 bid? Most likely hands are either close to an opening bid with 5 spades, and/or a hand with 5+ spades and 4 hearts. 

 

So while 2NT is an ugly bid, given partner is likely to have 3 spades (would often double with a doubleton spade unless doubleton heart too), I prefer it at Pairs at least slightly to double. Even if we lost 5 spade tricks and made the rest, it would be better than bidding and making 3 of a minor which may the limit of the hand.”

 

And finally, a warm welcome to our second new Panellist who admits to having some inside knowledge:

Steph Jacob “Double: So I'm at a slight advantage as I held this hand and I said double.  I was prepared to play 4 with my heart holding and obviously pretty happy if partner said 3NT.”  

More from Steph in a minute but first let’s look at all four hands and see why partner did not make a take-out double:

 

Yes, they had four little spades and “knew” that their partner would take some action (sorry, Leon) with a strong hand. Alas, when South did make a take-out double, North jumped to 4….but back to Steph:

 

 Steph Jacob “4 was the bid from partner and the defence erred by not overtaking their partner’s K lead - an oops from an experienced player - it now made.”

I followed Steph’s route and there was no mistake when the K hit the deck at trick 1. East overtook and West discarded 2 diamonds on high spades…down 1.

Perhaps I cornered myself by not doubling for take-out from the North seat. South’s best action would then be to take the money, +500. Those South players who did bid 2NT survived even if they had chosen to play 4 as West was not so likely to lead A.

It seems a stop in a suit need not be a high card but simply having too many of the key suit for the opponents to cash winners.

Richard Solomon

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