Partner RHO You LHO
1C Pass 1S 2D
Pass Pass ?
None vulnerable at matchpoints, what’s your call holding ♠AK1083 ♥KJ743 ♦3 ♣Q6 ?
This should be easy. A basic tenet of constructive bidding is that a new suit by responder is forcing, so 2H seems perfect. What could go wrong?
When this problem was posted on Bridgewinners.com, 2H was chosen by less than 20 percent of the respondents, most of whom were experienced players. Among the other 80 percent, some were adamant that 2H was passable. Others thought it should be forcing, but weren’t sure their partners would agree so they voted for other calls, just to be safe.
This is a misunderstanding that only experts could engineer. It may seem that those who treat 2H as non-forcing are rewriting Standard American, but what’s happening is that they’re making inferences based on the modern meanings of other calls, most notably a double.
A double in this auction is widely played as “Do Something Intelligent” (DSI), a type of takeout that shows at least invitational values and asks partner to decide how to proceed. One school of thought is that since a DSI double is available to show strength, 2H should be treated as just competitive. If you can’t bid a non-forcing 2H with ♠J10832 ♥QJ954 ♦3 ♣K6 , for example, you’d have to pass out 2D or risk getting too high.
The other view is that the DSI double is supposed to be used when you have no alternative way to describe your values and suit lengths. That’s not the case with a hand that has two long suits that could be bid naturally. If you instead make a DSI double with a 5-5 hand, it will force partner to do something, but it hides important information about your length in both suits.
Another consideration is that partner always has the option of passing a DSI double. He may do that if he believes your side has no good fit, so there’s a risk in doubling with a two-suiter that has so much offensive potential. The typical hand for a DSI double has defensive tricks, but usually no side suit and no stopper in the opponent’s suit. If you double in the auction above, partner will expect something like ♠K9832 ♥K107 ♦73 ♣KQ6 .
The use of a DSI double with this hand type is so common that expert Danny Kleinman calls it the “Stopperless Artificial Notrump Double” (SAND). This is based on his observation that almost every correct use of a DSI double is with a hand that’s suitable for a minimum notrump bid except for the lack of a stopper in a suit bid by an opponent. That’s a good description to keep in mind when you’re considering a more “creative” use of a DSI double and wondering how partner will interpret it.
There are good arguments for both meanings of 2H and for the top choice in the bidding poll, which was a jump to 3H. Some 3H bidders said it showed at least 5-5 and was “surely” forcing. Others agreed it promised five hearts, but said it was obvious that it was invitational.
There are several conclusions you might draw from these differences of
opinion:
* It’s dangerous to treat a DSI double as a panacea that
passes the buck to partner and absolves you of the responsibility of describing
your hand.
* New gadgets can be liabilities if you haven’t defined when
they’re “on” and “off”.
* Without clear agreements, it’s easy to overthink a problem and
erroneously assume that partner is analyzing it the same way you are.
Or maybe you’re thinking that even if adopting more modern methods might get you to better contracts, there are benefits in sticking with the standard meanings. That's a valid reaction, too.
Whether you play DSI doubles or not, it's important to be aware that even relatively simple additions to your bidding system can affect the meanings of auctions where they're not used. You can’t plan for every possible variation, so you need general default agreements to cover unfamiliar situations.
For DSI doubles, you might define your default by the level of the auction or whether the opponents have confirmed a fit. For total safety, though, there’s only one reliable guideline for avoiding a misread double: “If it’s undiscussed, don’t try it.”
© 2023 Karen Walker