Old rules say bid 2 spades; new rules say ‘double’
Greenwich area players who placed in the overall rankings in a duplicate game at one of the two local clubs in the past two weeks were: Bridge Deck, White Plains, N.Y.: April 15, Linda Otness, third in A. April 16, Lois Spagna, first in C. April 17, Helen Donohue-Rich De Martino, third in A. April 19, Linda Otness, third in A. April 22, Linda Otness, third in A. April 23, Faye Marino, second in A; Sandy De Martino-Linda Otness, fourth in A. Harte’s Club, White Plains: April 11, Kathryn Payne, third in A. April 12, Faye Marino, second in A. April 18, Terry Lubman-Vivian Wu, first in A. April 22, Cathy Dann-Lindsay Ormsby, first in A; Ruth Chizzini-Lois Spagna, second in A.
Today's quiz: Here is another in the current series of quizzes on takeout doubles and overcalls. In the following problem, what action would you take with the hand shown after your right-hand opponent opens the bidding with one diamond at equal vulnerability? You hold: S AKJ952 H 6 D J2 C AKJ3
Answer: Double. In ancient bridge times, the proper bid with this hand would have been two spades, showing a hand too strong for an ordinary one spade overcall. But nowadays, such a bid would indicate a weak hand with a strong sixcard suit, similar to an opening weak two-bid. As this hand is much too strong for a simple one spade overcall, which would denote a hand of approximately 8 to 16 points with a good five- or sixcard suit, the only option here is to make a takeout double, planning to bid spades at your next turn after partner responds (or the opponents intervene). Doubling and then bidding your long suit tells partner that your hand was too strong for an ordinary overcall, and after learning this, partner can then take whatever action seems appropriate with his hand.