Your LHO opens 1NT (12-14 points) and partner doubles, showing around 15+ high-card points, usually semi-balanced. Your RHO passes. What’s your call holding:
(1) ♠A62 ♥J4
♦K1065 ♣10743 ?
(2) ♠J65
♥Q84 ♦10853
♣1062 ?
The “right” call depends on the meaning of RHO’s pass. Most weak-notrump pairs have good methods for escaping from a penalty-oriented double, so you need to be ready to handle their runouts. Here are some simple guidelines:
Over a standard pass. If your opponents define responder’s pass as “to play”, you’ll pass and defend with Hand (1). With fewer than 5-6 points (Hand 2), you’ll want to pull the double. The standard escape is a scramble where you bid your cheapest 4-card suit (2D here). If partner has fewer than three diamonds, he’ll remove to his cheapest 4-card suit and you’ll pass.
There are better methods for pulling the double, but all require advance discussion. They include using 2C as a general scramble (other suit bids promise 5+ cards) or as a Stayman inquiry. With either agreement, you should be able to find at least a 7-card fit.
Over a forcing pass. You’re more likely to encounter opponents who play an “unpassable” pass that starts a runout sequence. Their pass of your partner’s double forces the 1NT opener to redouble or bid 2C. Responder then passes, bids a long suit, shows a two-suiter or starts a scramble to find a fit.
If they play this pass as forcing, you can safely pass with both (1) and (2). For now, this suggests weakness, but with (1), you’ll show strength later by doubling their runout. This double says you had enough to pass 1NT doubled. It doesn’t promise length or strength in their suit, but you should avoid doing it with a void.
Over a redouble. In some runout schemes, your RHO will redouble to force the 1NT opener to bid 2C. Responder then passes with clubs or bids another suit. Your actions are the same as over a forcing pass – pass with both hands for now and double later with (1).
If your opponents play a redouble as “business”, treat it the same as a standard pass. Pass with (1) to say you’re happy (or at least willing) to defend 1NT redoubled. Pull immediately with weakness (2).
Over a suit bid. There’s a wide range of possible meanings for RHO’s bid of a suit. Your opponents may play it as natural (5+ cards), a two-suiter, a “system-on” bid (Stayman or transfer) or the start of a scramble with a balanced hand. They will alert if it has a special meaning.
Whether RHO’s bid is natural or artificial, a pass by you shows weakness and a double promises values (6+ points). Like the belated double after a forcing pass or redouble, this double shows general strength, not a stack in that suit. It sets up a penalty situation where all subsequent doubles by you or partner are penalty.
For the more aggressive: The guidelines above are fairly conservative. They’ll give you a good idea of your combined strength, but won’t always tell you if you have enough combined trumps to double a suit runout. If you never want to miss out on a possible penalty, you need more complex agreements.
An expert method is that after the initial double of 1NT, the next double – by you or partner -- of a natural bid is takeout, showing shortness. A pass of an opponent’s suit bid promises 6+ points, suggests some length in their suit and invites partner to double.
For this to work, you have to treat almost all passes by fourth hand as forcing. This will help you penalize more contracts, but you’ll be making close doubles that won’t always be successful. On some deals, it can also put you at greater risk for a big minus score. With Hand (2), you can’t safely pass when RHO makes a forcing pass or redouble, and you have no way to show weakness if he bids a natural suit.
The theory is that this will rarely be a problem because on average, you’ll hold
6 points. Plus, if the opponents are “running”, it’s even more likely you have
the balance of power. If you want a more accurate way to assess your defense in
these auctions – and you can tolerate an occasional -670 or -500 -- this
agreement is worth a discussion for practiced partnerships.
Your RHO opens 1NT (12-14 points). What’s your call holding:
(1) ♠QJ1054
♥KQ106 ♦4
♣1072 ?
(2) ♠J6
♥KJ975 ♦A104
♣KQ3 ?
(3) ♠6
♥AKJ962 ♦KQJ
♣J74 ?
In previous issues, we looked at the use of a card-showing double over your opponent’s weak notrump. This double, which suggests penalizing 1NT, is usually a semi-balanced hand that’s better than opener’s. A double of a 12-14 1NT shows 15+ points or 14 with a good lead.
With other hand types, an overcall will be your best entry into the auction. Bidding over a weak 1NT shows the same type of hand as over a strong notrump – unbalanced, with at least 9 cards in two suits. An important difference is what you should promise in overall strength.
When the opponents open a strong 1NT, your goal is to interfere with their auction and find a safe partscore. You’ll rarely have a game contract available, so you can bid with a wide range of strengths and not worry about how many points you’re promising. Not vulnerable, you might have nothing more than a good 6-card suit or a two-suiter such as Hand (1) above.
A weak notrump opening calls for a different strategy. In these auctions, it’s more likely your side has game values, so your focus should be on constructive bidding. Even the higher weak-notrump range of 13-15 will be 13 points more often than 15. If you and partner have a good fit, you don’t need all the remaining high-card points to make a game.
To involve partner in these decisions, you need to agree on a higher minimum for overcalls and forego those whose main purpose is disrupting the opponents' bidding. If it's your deal, the 1NT bid was the real disruption. Like the old advice “never preempt the preempter”, there’s no point in trying to interfere with their auction if they’ve already interfered with yours.
It’s tempting to show a major two-suiter with Hand (1) and it’s true that you could have a good partscore available. Your best course, though, is to pass. This is not the constructive hand partner will expect, so if he has enough to make 2H or 2S, he'll probably bid higher. You can't count on partner to accurately assess game prospects if you’ll make the same bid with 8 points or 14.
Hand (2) has more than enough strength for an overcall, but the balanced pattern should talk you into passing. Although it’s 14 points, it has the same number of losers as the 8 points in Hand (1). It's closer to a double than a suit overcall, but KJ975 isn't a strong enough suit to justify stretching.
Hand (3) has the points for a double, but with such good offensive values, an overcall rates to be better. If you double and partner is broke, he may run to 2S and you’ll have to bid an uncomfortable 3H. If partner has enough to pass the double, the opponents are likely to run to a safer spot.
With a hand similar to (3) but with more playing tricks – a seventh heart, for example -- you can jump to 3H to show a stronger overcall. This should not be played as preempt over a weak 1NT. It's highly invitational and asks partner to bid on to game if he has a few tricks.
Here’s a summary of your actions over an opponent’s weak 1NT opener:
Double = At least 1-2 points more than opener's range or the top of that range with a good 5-card suit to lead.
Overcall = An unbalanced hand – a 6+-card suit or at least 5-4 in two suits – with a good 10 up to 16 points. A typical overcall has six losers.
Jump overcall = Long, strong suit and no more than five losers.
Pass =
All other hands,
including balanced hands of up to 14 points.
Contest their notrump? Part
15 (March 2020)
Partner opens 1C and your RHO overcalls 1NT. What’s your call holding:
(1) ♠J104
♥KQ5 ♦K10865
♣83 ?
(2) ♠Q109864
♥6 ♦K75
♣1032 ?
(3) ♠K10874
♥K10965 ♦4
♣85 ?
In previous articles, we’ve discussed safe ways to interfere over your opponents’ 1NT opening bids. You have similar decisions when partner opens and your opponent makes a strong 1NT overcall. In these auctions, partner and your RHO have advertised close to three-quarters of the high-card points, so you’ll often be so broke that you’re happy to pass.
There will be many hands, though – including the
three above – where you’ll want to compete for the contract. Here are the
standard meanings of your actions:
Double = 9+ high-card points.
2 of partner’s suit = 5-8 points, 3+ cards in a major, 5+ cards in a minor.
2 of a new suit = 4-8 points, 6+-card suit.
3 of a new suit = 4-8 points, 7+-card suit
2NT = Big two-suiter (any two suits)
These definitions are adequate when you have the strength for a penalty double (Hand 1) or hold a one-suiter (2). If you want to show a two-suiter, though, (3), you need additional agreements.
Any adjustment to the standard meanings will require you to give up something. Most expendable are bids that show minors and two-suited bids that might force the auction to the 3-level. Most necessary are penalty doubles and ways to bid majors.
One approach is to use the same structure as your standard notrump defense. If you play Cappelletti (also called Hamilton) over a 1NT opener, for example, those meanings would apply to responder’s calls after a 1NT overcall. Double is penalty (Hand 1), 2C is an unspecified one-suiter (2) and 2D is both majors (3). A bid of 2H or 2S shows that suit and a minor (at least 5-5).
These conventional responses work best when partner opens a minor. After a major opener, some meanings should be modified. If partner opens 1S and you use Cappelletti, your 2S bid should promise just a spade raise, not a two-suiter. If you play Multi-Landy, there’s no need for its definition of 2D (one major). You can change it to show diamonds plus the other major or a constructive raise (2 of partner’s suit would be the weaker raise).
Applying the same meanings in both types of auctions will make your system easier to remember, but it has to include a penalty double. If your defense over an opening 1NT uses a double to show shape instead of strength – DONT, Meckwell or Woolsey, for example -- you’ll need a different convention over a 1NT overcall.
A simple and effective alternative is defining a 2C response as both majors and other suits as natural. This offers the advantage of finding your better fit when you’re 5-4 or 4-5. If partner has equal length, he has room to bid 2D to ask you to choose your longer major.
Another option is using a bid of the other minor to show both majors – 2C if partner opened 1D, 2D if he opened 1C. This allows you to make a natural raise of partner’s minor, but since your opponents are likely to have a major-suit fit, you won’t often be allowed to play there.
Whatever method you choose, successful decisions in these auctions will depend more on good judgment than on system. Vulnerability, suit quality and playing strength are critical considerations, and you have to be alert to possible exceptions to your rules.
Consider a hand such as ♠J83
♥KQJ1075
♦QJ65 ♣Void .
It has more than enough to penalize a 1NT overcall, but rates
to take more tricks on offense than defense. With no quick entry to your hearts,
1NT doubled could make or go down only one, which will be a poor score if the
opponents are not vulnerable. Even with 10 points, your best shot at a good plus
score is bidding 2H.
Copyright © 2020 Karen Walker