Support Doubles

 

We open the bidding, Partner bids a suit, RHO does something.  In this situation, if we are playing Support Doubles, our Double would show 3-card support for Partner, and raising Partner's suit would show 4-card support.  Support Doubles are a valuable tool in competitive bidding, giving Partner useful information about the number of trumps our side possesses, and helping him gauge how high we should be competing.  Support Doubles are usually just in effect up to 2 of Partner's suit.
 

 

16th January, 2008           Board 13      Dealer North       Both Vul

 

 

This one is not so much a problem, more of a refresher course in Support Doubles.  Generally speaking, when Opener makes his rebid in the face of competition on his right, a Double (or Redouble) shows 3-card support for Responder’s suit, and a raise of Responder’s suit shows 4-card support.  Well, at least that is the method for those pairs that are playing Support Doubles.

 

However, are you quite sure that your partnership is on solid ground when RHO (in this case South) bids 1NT naturally?  There are two common approaches here:

-         Double shows extra values, and says nothing about Hearts (unless the 1NT was not natural, perhaps a Sandwich No Trump or some similar bid)

-         Double shows 3-card support for Partner.

 

We like to play that the Double still shows support.  We are not suggesting that this is theoretically superior, merely consistent and easier to remember.  And that’s never a bad thing.

 

 

31st May, 2006                 Board 31      Dealer South       N-S Vul

 

 

Yes, everybody will bid 2♠ here, this part of the Bidding Quiz is merely a plug for Support Doubles.  Playing that convention, South can raise immediately to 2♠ (as here) to show a minimum hand with 4-card Spade support … or, South can make a Support Double to show 3-card support (not necessarily a minimum hand).  Knowing the number of trumps the partnership has is valuable information in the part-score battle, especially when determining whether to compete at the 3-level.

 

 

7th June, 2006                  Board 23    Dealer South    Both Vul

 

 

This one is about conventions, not bidding judgment.  Do you play Support Doubles and Redoubles?  If you do, you will know that these are a useful device which allow Opener to distinguish between 3- and 4-card support for Partner.  Using this method, a Redouble here by South shows 3-card support, and a raise to 2♥ shows 4-card support.  Support Doubles (and Redoubles) are a convention well worth playing.  They are especially valuable in part-score battles where it often pays to know how many trumps our side has … if we can be sure that Partner has 4-card support, then we’ll more freely compete to the 3-level.

 

 

13th June, 2007                 Board 1      Dealer North       None Vul

 

 

South’s Double was a Support Double, showing 3-card support for North’s Hearts.  Now what?

 

We have a 9-count opposite an opening bid (albeit a third-seat one), and we hardly want to pass here.  We have but a 7-card Heart fit and there is no reason to think that Partner has 5 Clubs, although she might.  This hand looks rather No Trumpish to us.  We have Diamonds stopped, scattered values, and a 1NT bid here would describe our values perfectly.

 

Oh, you noticed one small defect, we don’t have a Spade stop.  True, but in the absence of a Weak Two by East, and with no Spade raise by West, it seems likely that Partner has something in the suit.  And even if she doesn’t, and if the opponents run 5 Spades against 1NT, we’re not down yet, and the opponents will doubtless be wondering why they are not declaring 2♠.

 

 

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