Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Double Their Artificial Bids - Use Your Enemy! Part 2


You must be in the right position for this to work:

3. You
♠ 5 4                LHO           Partner          RHO           You
 8 7 5             2♣               Pass              2                Pass
 J 9 6                              
♣ A Q J 9 4
               
You want a club lead, but are in the wrong position to ask for it. If you double, you’d be indicating a diamond suit. And if you bid 3♣, you’re asking for trouble!


Don’t violate the strength and length requirement: 

4. You
♠ 5 4 3                LHO          Partner           RHO             You
 void               2 NT            Pass               3*               Pass
 K J 9 6               
♣ 9 7 6 4 3 2                *Jacoby transfer for spades

If they wind up in spades, you’d love a heart lead. And the 3 bid is certainly artificial, so why not double? Two reasons: partner will believe you have length and may sacrifice - that is, bid hearts at a high level to keep them out - or if they wind up in notrump, he’ll still think you want a heart lead.

But here is an exception to the length requirement:

The double of a 4-level or higher artificial bid requires strength, but not length. A strong 3-card holding (K Q 10) is enough.

5. You
♠ J 7 5 4            LHO            Partner           RHO          You
 9                    1                Pass               3               Pass
 K Q J             4 NT            Pass               5               Dbl
♣ 9 7 6 4 3

The opponents are headed for a heart slam. You would love partner to lead a diamond, and now you have a lucky opportunity to tell him.

When you do NOT double a Blackwood response, you indicate that you have no interest in that suit. 
How do you use this negative inference? 

6. You
♠ 5 4 3               LHO           Partner           RHO         You
 8 7 5               1               Pass               1               Pass
 J 9 6                3               Pass               4 NT           Pass
♣ 9 7 6 4            5♣              Pass               6               All Pass

You have two unbid suits to lead: spades and clubs. If partner wanted a club lead, he had an opportunity to double the 5♣ Blackwood response. So using negative inferences, try a spade lead. It’s just a guess, but an ‘intelligent’ guess!