Bridge is exciting, whether at the club level or in a national championship. This month’s deal is from Nationals in Washington, D.C. Doubling your opponents or being doubled makes the hands even more intriguing. East/West made not one, but two too many doubles in this month’s hand. A veteran declarer took full advantage. Pay close attention to the bidding as well as the play.
« The bidding
S
4 ♣
6 ♣
6 ♦
6 NT
Pass
W
Pass
Pass
Dbl
Dbl
N
1 ♦
5 ♣
Pass
Pass
Pass
E
3 ♠
Pass
Dbl
Pass
Pass
« Opening lead: 9 ♠
NORTH
♠ 6 4 2
♥ K 9 4 3
♦ Q J 9 2
♣ A K
WEST
♠ 9
♥ j 10 5 2
♦ k 10 5 4 3
♣ 9 8 7
EAST
♠ K Q J 10 8 7 5
♥ 8 7 6
♦ Void
♣4 3 2
SOUTH
♠ A 3
♥ A Q
♦ A 8 7 6
♣ Q J 10 6 5
the play
1. West led the ♠ 9. East played the 10. Declarer the Ace.
2. If Declarer ducks, the contract is down.
3. Declarer crossed her fingers and banked on East having preempted with seven ♠s.
4. Declarer took care to make six No Trump doubled.
5. Declarer unblocked ♣s, then unblocked ♥s.
6. Declarer ran the ♣s.
7. The key play then was a low ♦ to the Queen.
8. The ♦ 2 back to the Ace. Declarer carefully did not play the Ace first.
9. If the ♦ Ace is played first, defender can lock Declarer in the Dummy and get two ♦ tricks.
10. One ♠, three ♥s, three ♦s, five ♣s, making six NT doubled. Wow!
bidding analysis
1. North opened one ♦.
2. East bid three ♠s weak jump (should have seven ♠s). Would have bid two ♠s with six.
3. South four ♣s is forcing, preparing to raise ♦s on next round of bidding.
4. North bids five ♣s, knowing his partner did not make a negative double showing ♥s.
5. South bids six ♣s with good controls.
6. East made a Lightener Double for a ♦ lead to trump.
7. South, wanting to avoid a ♦ ruff, bid six ♦s.
8. West made a critical mistake doubling six ♦s, revealing a bad ♦ split.
9. South decided to try six NT, since ♣s and ♦s were going down.
10. West doubled again, ending the auction.
tip of the day
Q| My partner and I bid and made six spades. Our opponent said his partner should have made a ‘Lightener Double.’ What is that?
A| A Lightener Double is a lead-directing double devised by Theodore Lightener, circa 1929, for defense against slams. Usually the Lightener Double asks for the first-bid suit of the Dummy.
