When do you need to answer a takeout double?
Greenwich area players who placed in the overall rankings in a duplicate game at one of the local bridge clubs during the past week were: Bridge Deck, White Plains, N.Y.: Jan. 26, Linda Otness, third in A; Faye Marino, fourth in A. Jan. 30, Faye Marino, fourth in A. Jan. 31, Linda Otness, first in A; Faye Marino, second in A. Harte’s Club, White Plains: Jan. 25, Faye Marino, first in A; Ruth Chizzini, first in C. Jan. 26, Kathryn Payne, first in A; Ruth Chizzini, first in B. Jan. 29, Christina Powers-Greg Woods, fourth in A. Jan. 30, Ruth Chizzini, first in C. Come Play Bridge, Darien: Cyndy Lyall-Rich De Martino, third in A.
Today’s quiz: Here is another in the current series of introductory quizzes on overcalls and takeout doubles. Simply decide whether each of the following statements is true or false.1. It is possible not to be able to open the bidding and to then make a takeout double subsequently.2. An overcaller with two five-card suits should bid the stronger one first.3. A takeout doubler expects his partner to bid even if he has no points at all.
Answers:1. True. This is the ideal way to describe a hand not quite good enough for an opening bid, but with shortness in the opponents’ suit (or suits) and support for the unbid suits.2. False. With two suits of the same length, the higherranking one is almost always bid first, even if the lower one contains more high cards. It may also be possible to show the two suits by employing a special convention such as the Michaels Cuebid or the Unusual Notrump.3. True. In fact, the less the partner of the doubler has, the more reason there is to bid, as he cannot afford to leave the opponents in a doubled contract that they are virtually certain to make, possibly with overtricks.