Maximal Doubles

Maximal Doubles

Suppose that the auction starts like this:

West North East South

1♠ 2♦ 2♠ 3♦

Let’s further suppose that, as West, we hold these one or other of these two hands:

Hand A: Hand B:

♠ AQJ853 ♠ AQJ853

♥ 872 ♥ K853

♦ 72 ♦ 7

♣ AQ ♣ A7

With Hand A, opposite a simple raise, we have no aspirations for game. But we do have an extra trump and a respectable hand and our instincts should be telling us to compete to the 3-level. With Hand B, opposite the same simple raise, we have aspirations for game.

In this auction the solution is quite simple. With Hand A we’ll compete by bidding 3♠. How does Partner know that we are not inviting game? Because, with that invitational type of hand, we would bid 3♥. The 3♥ bid would say nothing about Hearts, it merely says “I am too good to compete with a 3♠ bid, and if you have a good 2♠ bid then please bid game”.

Now, we’ll reconfigure the hands and the bidding to the following:

Hand C: Hand D:

♠ AQJ853 ♠ AQJ853

♥ 72 ♥ 7

♦ 872 ♦ K853

♣ AQ ♣ A7

West North East South

1♠ 2♥ 2♠ 3♥

With Hand A we would be quite comfortable bidding 3♠ if that were competitive, just as we were on the previous auction. But whatever happened to our invitational sequence? There is no intermediate suit to use as a game try. The solution is the Maximal Double. When our suit outranks them, but is touching their suit, the Maximal Double is used to make the game try. So, playing Maximal Doubles, the Double here is most certainly not a penalty Double.

Other Applications

The Maximal Double is not only on by Opener, here’s an example when the Overcaller can use the convention:

West North East South

1♥

1♠ 2♥ 2♠ 3♥

Yes, it’s the same basic situation!

Here’s another sequence from the Wednesday Game, Nov 1, 2006, Board 5:

West North East South

Pass Pass 1♥

Dbl 2♥ 2♠ 3♥

Yes, a similar type of auction. West has introduced Spades into the auction, albeit indirectly, East has raised, and West can now make a game try via the same Maximal Double.

Prerequisites

For a Maximal Double to be in effect, these conditions are necessary:

- They have bid and raised to the 3-level

- We have bid and raised

- Our suit outranks them by one (Spades over Hearts, Hearts over Diamonds)

- We have not established a game force

- The doubling hand can logically be in a position to try for game

The last condition is important, perhaps we should be more precise and say that the Maximal Doubler must be the one who originally opened, overcalled, or made a take-out Double. In other words, it’s the player who originally introduced the suit into the auction (even if it was indirectly through a takeout Double).