Last month, we looked at ways to direct the defense with lead-directing doubles during the auction. Most of these doubles are relatively safe because you have enough length and strength in the suit that the opponents won’t be able to redouble for penalty.
Lead-directing bids can also have an impact on the play of the hand, but they come with a bit more risk. A bid is more intrusive than a double and it’s easier for the opponents to extract a penalty. Still, many experienced players would overcall 1S with as little as ♠AK1032 ♥654 ♦543 ♣654 . It’s possible you’ll catch a worthless dummy and a trump stack on your left, but more often, your aggressive action will pay off by using up the opponents’ bidding space and getting partner off to a good lead.
The other potential problem is that partner won’t know you’re stretching with just a good suit and nothing else. You’d make the same 1S overcall with more than twice as many high-card points. If partner has a fit and some values, he may take the auction too high before you can quell his enthusiasm.
It can be helpful for you and partner to discuss your bidding style for one-level overcalls and other lead-directing bids. More important, though, is to develop good individual judgment about when to take advantage of these opportunities.
The best situations are those where your bid is risk-free:
You LHO
Partner RHO
1H 1S 2H 3S
4H 4S Pass Pass
5C
If you decide you want to compete to 5H, you can send a free message on the way with a new-suit bid. You were willing to stop in 4H at your last turn, so 5C can’t be a slam try. It’s a request for a lead, just in case the opponents bid 5S. If your LHO passes, partner will always return to 5H, so you can ask for a club lead with any holding, even a void.
You’ll sometimes find lead-directing opportunities in auctions where you would normally never consider bidding. Suppose you hold ♠Q3 ♥AK82 ♦92 ♣108754 . LHO opens 1S, partner passes and RHO bids 2NT (Jacoby forcing raise).
If you were to predict the rest of the auction, your best guess is that LHO will make the common bid of 4S to show a minimum opener. If that happens, the only aspect of the play you can predict is that partner will be on lead with very little information to guide his choice. Both opponents usually have semi-balanced hands on this auction, so partner will tend to choose a passive lead – a trump, perhaps -- unless you can help him with a 3H overcall.
Bidding with this hand may seem foolish, even crazy, at first. In practice, though, the risk is minimal and the rewards can be great. With a 9-card fit and game values, the opponents will be reluctant to make a speculative penalty double. Even if they have more trumps than you do, it can be difficult for them to penalize your bid unless they have clear agreements about how to show length in your suit.
Safety is not guaranteed, though, so you’ll want to choose your battles wisely. This tactic is most valuable in pairs play, where preventing overtricks can earn a big matchpoint score. At IMPs, it’s worth the risk only if the lead will beat the contract, which is unlikely after a Jacoby 2NT raise.
Interfering in Jacoby 2NT auctions is becoming more
widespread because players are learning how easy it is to get away with it.
Whether or not you’re willing to try it, you should be ready if your opponents
do. Talk with your partner about the meanings of all your follow-up bids after
an overcall – and be sure to include a way to make a penalty double.
© 2015 Karen Walker