Improve Your Play #28

IMPROVE YOUR PLAY #28 with Larry Matheny

The negative double has been around for over fifty years but some people still don't use it correctly. An important part of this tool is for opener to keep in mind the possibility of a penalty double. Take a look at his hand.

SCORING: Matchpoints

Hand #28
Dlr	S
Vul	E-W

	K2
	KQJ102
	Q653
	108

	J4
	A98653
	9
	AQ76

	A753
	74
	KJ42
	432

	Q10986

	A1087
	KJ97

West	North	East	South
			1
2	Pass	Pass	DBL
All Pass

BIDDING: I held the South hand and although I had only ten high card points, the void and good intermediates convinced me to open the bidding. West ignored the vulnerability and overcalled 2

. My partner passed and I reopened with a double which ended the auction. Holding a void in the opponents' bid suit is actually a liability since I won't be able to lead trumps, but I could not pass in case partner held a good hand with hearts.

PLAY: My partner led the

king and declarer was only able to come to six tricks. Needless to say +500 was a top score.

Two points of interest: First a vulnerable overcall with such a weak suit was extremely ill-advised. The second point is that since North cannot make a penalty double, South must not pass simply because he holds a weak hand. His holding in the overcaller's suit is the deciding factor. For example, if South held enough hearts to be sure his partner was not waiting for a re-opening double, he should pass with a minimum hand. As he left the table, I heard West say "But I had a six-card suit".

Copyright ©2007 Larry Matheny.