This week’s bridge news sheet No. 291 has 6 articles. First of all you hold ♠AK86 ♥AK10964 ♦QJ4 ♣- and RHO opens 1♦. Do you double, overcall 1♥ or bid 2♦ – a Michaels cue bid showing both majors? Next you hold ♠5 ♥K4 ♦QJ10952 ♣AQ96; partner opens 1♠ and you bid 2♦, partner then bids 3♣, do you bid 3NT or 4♣? Next there is a hand where the opponrents freely bid to 3NT and you double for a lead (of dummy’s suit). Then we have the usual two Dave columns on the play of the hand followed by an article about restricted choice which everybody got wrong.
June 13, 2008 at 4:04 am |
Hi Terry,
I was quite interested in your last news sheet where you actually described a hand that you would NOT automatically re-open with a double but bid a new suit.
Would you kindly change the hand as slightly as you can whereby you WOULD re-open with double.
Just so I can spot the subtle (OR NOT ) differences.
I have played a few times since I was last in Pattaya (18 months already) and, maybe I am now too influenced by you, but these are my three pet hates.
People that:
1. Never re-open bidding with a double and fail to even understand the concept behind it.
They even proudly admit to playing negative doubles and then rebid a suit rather than double but dont understand their partners (me) inference of them doing so.
They have no idea of the concept of this one. I try and explain it and again they still don’t get it.
2, Redouble after P has opened and opp doubles.
For example 1h (x) xx (p) p (1s) 2h ?? What does it mean ?
They normally have support for partners suit and good or weak hands, but they never have what they are generally supposed to, which is No support for P and 9+ points.
Or this one 1h (x) xx (p) 1nt ?? Opener bidding again when it comes back round to him. meaningless !
3. Lead a KING when holding AKxx or KQxx This one really irritates me.
They say when holding the former that I must know that they hold the ace when Opp doesn’t take the ace.
I reply “but opp may duck the ace”. When I state “lead the ace to GUARANTEE the King, then there is NO doubt at all !” they still don’t get it.
Can you give a reason for leading the King when holding AKxx ?
When I played with Kenneth we would lead KA if holding doubleton only.
June 14, 2008 at 3:22 am |
Hi John
1) The non-reopening double. Move a small club and a small diamond into the spade suit and it’s an automatic double. The thing about the actual hand is that it has so much playing strength (in a minor) and little defence (diamonds are unlikely to get more than one trick). If you look at the negative doubles page on the website I have listed a number of hand types where you should not re-open with a double, but they do not come up that often. It is a fact that the vast majority of bridge players do not understand the re-opening double. My regular Wednesday partner (Lewis) plays at expert level on the internet and told me that the majority of people he plays with/against do nor understand it. Dave did not play it in the UK. It is only so well known at our club because I write about it so often.
2) I totally agree with your first two pet hates – and I generally write them up when they occur. As to leads, I like top from everything but that is a personal choice and many play differently. But of course you should agree it with your partner. One popular expert treatment when holding AKx(x)(x)(x) is to lead ace for attitude and king for count. I have this in a book somewhere but it’s not on the website . Leading K from AK doubleton against a suit contract is standard of course.