Was this takeout double sound, or "borderline?"

Question

Neither vulnerable in duplicate, South opened 1 diamond. West doubled for takeout with

Spades	QJTx
Hearts	Kxxx
Diamonds	T
Clubs	K9xx

(All x's are seven or lower.) This was a tournament game so all players were experts or better.

I wouldn't have doubled with that holding. West counted 12 points, taking the singleton diamond as three points. I don't like to make takeout doubles with only 12 points, preferring 13-14 (after distribution), because 12 is the minimum South will likely have. Also, I deducted one point for an aceless hand, making it 11. N-S bid (and made) 5 diamonds, in part because the double located the King of clubs, that North's ace was behind.

Did West make a solid takeout double? Or am I right to consider it "light?" One consideration: this was a duplicate match, and I play mostly rubber. So could the takeout double be right for one type of game and wrong for the other?

Answer 1

For me (I'm an aggressive player *), this is automatic. Minimum, but automatic. Even though they're not protected by being declarer, I like my Kings "over" opener's Aces (yes, I know the key is that one of them isn't this time. It will be more often than not). If you're going to reduce this by a point for being aceless, I get to upgrade it by a point for perfect shape (especially including both 4-card majors).

Will it always work? No. Yes, you are pinpointing your strength and more importantly your shape, if it turns out that you don't win the auction. But remember, if we do win the auction, they've pinpointed their strength just as much. And, since we have majors and they have diamonds, in the competitive auction - and most of the auctions are competitive auctions, not game auctions - we're in control.

I am not worried about partner going nuts. Mostly because we've had this discussion about what a takeout double looks like, and after he bids 2D "12+", I don't have to encourage. But also because a working 12 with a major fit, especially with DJxx(x) or worse (and partner will downgrade diamond honours, especially Q or K), will have a good play for game if partner insists on it. Kxx AQxx Jxx xxx has a play (not a great play - opener needs both black aces and only two clubs (or not a club lead), and the hearts need to split - but a play) and a hand that forces to game will have another king or ace, or much better shape.

But 90% of the time, especially at matchpoints, this is a competitive hand, and I would much rather explain our fit to partner before, rather than after, the opponents have passed their information. In response to "1D could easily have a 4 card major, and it might be our fit"; if they do, they almost certainly have a minimum balanced hand (assuming standard strong NT). Frankly, I'd be more worried about 4-1 the other way, with the points on my right and the trumps on my left.

• Edit: As an example, today I held at favourable A92 7 T872 K9762 in second, and dealer opened 1H. I thought about doubling, but finally decided that without 4 spades I shouldn't. The hand in the OP is better than that, even if aceless and without the spots.

Answer 2

Yes, it's a bit light. Not crazy-insane, but a bit light. I would expect that W have an A instead of one of those K's to be "standard", or another Q or JT or something. It's not crazy-light though, and there's an argument to be made for making that double. I wouldn't make it in an unknown partnership, certainly; but if I had a partner who wanted to play takeout doubles of this strength, then I would consider it reasonable.

The issue with opps finding 5D seems irrelevant to me - don't make ends-based judgements, for one; and I don't see how this places the club King unless partner has a zero count. Any call can help opponents, and certainly one shouldn't make pointless calls that don't give any advice to partner or help find a contract, but 1D-X doesn't fall in that category; it's much more likely to help than hurt.

The concern in duplicate isn't that different from rubber, albeit duplicate being a bit more competitive probably encourages a bit more aggressive bidding.

Answer 3

I would not make this double even at favorable vulnerability, let alone with neither side vulnerable. With only 9 HCP, and with the only significant distribution being shortness in the opponent's opening minor, I think it is just not strong enough.

I am not so worried abut opponents reaching 3D or even 5D. My concern is that my partner may take me for a stronger hand, and we find ourselves in 3 or 4 of a major, going down. Opener may well, when opening 1D, have a decent 4-card major, so the chance of a bad trump split is somewhat higher than usual. Having 4 in each major is nice, but the aceless hand is not so nice.

In general i will not make a takeout double on a hand that I would be unwilling to open on in 1st or 2nd seat, and I surely would never open this hand except in 3rd seat.

If one is going to double on hands like this, that should be clearly understood by the partnership, and conventions and methods to check for hand quality before getting too high should be in place.

I would add that "This was a tournament game so all players were experts or better." may not follow. Unless this was an upper flight in a flighted event, or some other special event, one finds many promising novices, and some quite poor players in open events at bridge tournaments. It least that has been my experience in more than 35 years of tournament play in North America, mostly in the Midwest and Northeast of the US. I have played at many sectionals and regionals, and several NABCs, and this has been true at all of them.

Answer 4

Double 1D and be done with it; then pass all non-forcing calls from partner.

Barry Crane is still regarded by many as the best MatchPoint player ever; and was decades ahead of his time. Two outlines of his system are linked. For Crane, this is a 1 heart opening as the hand is 4-4 in the Majors and satisfies the criteria:

Open any 11 point hand containing a king. With good distributional hands open lighter.

In a competitive auction as here the hand is clearly strong enough to act, as it has perfect distribution and opening strength; the only decision is whether to Double now or later over 3D. For Barry that was easy: balancing was virtually unheard of:

Get in early, say your piece, then get out of the bidding. This means that there is virtually no balancing. An auction that goes 1S - P - 2S - P - P - Double is a penalty double. If we had a takeout double, it would have happened on the first round of bidding.

Since a Double of 3D later would be Penalty, a Double now is the last chance to make a Diamond Takeout.

This approach of course requires deep discussion with partner (and the ability to summon revokes from opponents, as Barry was sometimes jokingly thought capable of, won't hurt); but is increasingly being copied by top players around the globe. The premise that one is giving valuable information to the opponents really only holds water when the hand is theirs - but that's not the case here. Having excellent support for both majors and well placed cards in everywhere strongly suggests the possibility that this hand can be bought by our side.