Contract Bridge

When a small slam is bid, the difference between making it and losing it ranges roughly from 1,000 to 1,500 points, depending mostly on vulnerability. Slams are therefore deemed worthy of the closest possible attention by both sides.

Consistent with the importance of slam hands, several special defensive weapons have been developed through the years to increase the chance of defeating an enemy slam. One of the most important of these understandings is that when a defender not on lead doubles a slam voluntarily reached by the opposition, he is asking partner to lead, or sometimes not to lead, a specific suit.

The advantage of this convention can be seen in the accompanying deal. South makes the slam if West leads a heart, the suit East has bid. But East’s double forbids the normal heart lead and calls instead for an unusual lead.

In this case, it is not difficult for West, holding six cards in the suit North opened, to deduce that East’s reason for forbidding a heart lead is that he can ruff a club. So West leads a club, and East ruffs and cashes a heart to put the contract down one — 200 points. With a heart lead, South would score 1,660 points at Chicago or duplicate scoring.

It must be granted that on some occasions, declarer might make the doubled slam despite the opening lead (if North or South were void in hearts in the actual deal, for example). But this occasional small loss is a very cheap price to pay for bringing about the defeat of some slams that would otherwise succeed.