Your LHO opens 1NT (15-17 points), partner passes and your RHO bids 2C (Stayman). What’s your call holding ♠Q5 ♥1065 ♦Q103 ♣KJ954 ?
I had been playing duplicate bridge for only a few months when I held a hand similar to this one. It was my first attempt at making what I was told later was called a “lead-directing double”. I wasn’t familiar with that term, but doubling seemed like a “free” way to show partner my suit, so that’s what I did.
This was also my first experience with the score of 1160. The 1NT opener held ♣AQ107 and redoubled. His partner passed with ♣863 and they easily took 9 tricks.
It was another of the many lessons that are typically learned through playing experience. If I had been taught in advance how to use this type of double, I would have known that a ♣KJ954 suit wasn’t strong enough – and that entering the auction wasn’t as free or as safe as I had assumed.
There was one benefit of discovering this at the table instead of from a book or bridge teacher. Seeing the opponents’ glee – and partner’s eye rolls – was painful enough that it was unlikely I would make the same mistake again.
Lead-directing doubles are valuable tools for communicating with partner, but they can also backfire. To use them successfully, you need to be sure you have the right suit quality and that you’re asking for the right lead.
Some of the most common uses are over Stayman and transfer responses to 1NT and 2NT. Here are some guidelines for making lead-directing doubles of artificial bids in these and other low-level auctions:
Suit quality. A double of a 2-level Stayman or transfer bid should promise 5+ cards and at least three of the top five honors or 6+ cards and two of the top four honors. With the hand above, I should have had at least ♣KJ1054 to double 2C, although even that holding wouldn’t have saved me (with ♣AQ97, my RHO would still redouble and make 8 tricks for +760).
The same honor requirements should apply to doubles of responses to 2NT, although there’s a bit less risk if you stretch at the 3-level.
Top honors. Ideally, at least one of your three (or more) honors will be the ace or king. Asking partner to lead your QJ10xx suit is fine if the final contract is notrump, but if the opponents play in a trump suit and partner happens to have the ace, he won’t know he shouldn’t lead it.
Outside honors. In borderline cases, look at your other suits and ask yourself what might happen if you pass and allow partner to make his normal lead from his longest suit. With the hand I held, even if a club lead would have helped to eventually set up my suit, my entries (if any) were so slow that it’s unlikely I would have been able to run the suit. My outside cards, though, could be helpful fillers in setting up partner’s suit.
If partner makes a lead-directing double:
Keep in mind that it’s a suggestion, not a command. You should always use your judgment. If you have a strong holding in another suit, you’re free to overrule partner and make a different lead.
The purpose of this type of double is to help you find a good opening lead, not to compete for the contract. Don’t assume partner is encouraging you to bid.
If, for example, your RHO opens 1NT and LHO responds 2H (transfer to spades), a double by your partner doesn't necessarily say "I would have bid 2H" or "Let's try to buy the contract". It merely suggests that you lead hearts, which means partner could have ♥AQ109x and nothing else. You can compete if you have a fit, but you have to be ready for that dummy.
Other types of auctions also offer opportunities to help partner find good opening leads. At higher levels, a double of an artificial bid won’t always require such a strong suit, but there are other considerations that will affect your decision. More about these in the next issue.
© 2025 Karen Walker