Page 29 - ABF Newsletter October 2024

WORKSHOPS WITH WILL with Will Jenner-O’Shea
SUPPORT DOUBLES
Last month I delivered Work-
shops in Sydney and Canberra
to do with Doubles. We cov-
ered all the usual types of
Takeout Doubles, including the
specifics of the Negative Double
and the Responsive Double. One
very common problem that players face is when you respond a suit showing four or more cards, and you actually have five cards in that suit. If you repeat your own suit later in the auction, it tends to show six+ cards. One excellent convention that solves this problem is the Support Double.
The situation that a Support Double applies is that opener has opened a suit, and responder has re- sponded a major at the one-level showing four or more cards in that suit. When there is interference over responder, opener can double on their second bid to show precisely three card support for re- sponder’s major.
Here is an example auction:
1} (pass) 1[ (1])
Opener has opened 1}, and responder called 1[, which shows 4+ cards in hearts. There has been a 1] overcall.
If opener has four or more hearts, then can simply raise hearts. They can bid 2[ with a minimum hand, or jump to 3[ if they have around 16-18 points. Opener can jump to 4[ with 19+ points (or splinter, if you play them). Note that if opener jumps to game it is not a shut out, it is a strong bid, responder can bid on to slam if they have a good hand.
If opener has precisely three hearts, they often have a fit in hearts, but not always. Raising hearts might lead you to play in the wrong contract. They can double the 1] overcall to promise precisely three-
card support. They can use the Support Double with any number of points, since they will get another bid later. After the Support Double, if responder has five or more hearts, they have found a fit, and can bid straight to the right contract. If responder only has four hearts, they can try another option (often notrumps, or returning to opener’s suit). There is one other option: like with any other double, responder can pass the double and leave it in for penalties if they have three or four good cards in the opponent’s suit.
If opener does not have three- or four-card heart support, they can rebid anything else (notrumps, another suit, or their own suit), and responder will know that they don’t have three-card support. This means that if responder does bid again, they have more idea about if there is a heart fit or not.
Like any convention, there will be a little bit of a learning curve as you and your partner muddle your way through a few mistakes, but Support Doubles are a useful convention to help you find your best contract. I recommend that you play Support Dou- bles if the interference is below the two level of re- sponder’s major. If the interference is higher than that, then I recommend that double is simply take- out, but shows a few extra points.
Support Doubles don’t apply if responder bids 1}, only if they have responded 1[ or 1].
If responder has shown a five-card spade suit, over a 1[ overcall, then you don’t need to Support Double to show three-card support. You can use double to be takeout, and showing a few extra points.
Support Doubles only apply to opener, and only apply on their second bid. In all other situations, a double tends to deny a fit for partner. In other auc- tions, if you have a fit for partner, you can simply raise, or cue raise, or something else to show the fit.
Australian Bridge Federation Ltd. Newsletter: October 2024
Page: 29