Responder's Bids in Competition

By Larry Matheny

An opponent's overcall or double after your partner's opening bid can make it difficult for you to find an accurate response. Many partnerships run into trouble because they aren't sure of how -- or if -- the intervening overcall or double should change the meaning of responder's actions. If your partner opens the bidding and your right-hand opponent (RHO) makes an overcall, most of your responding bids carry the same general meaning as those you would have made if your RHO had passed. Some responses, however, should be shaded up or down somewhat. In general, your notrump bids should be near the top of your range. Your suit bids, however -- especially when you're raising partner's suit -- need not show anything extra. Here are some guidelines for choosing your response:

PARTNER OPENS AND YOUR RHO OVERCALLS A SUIT:

1NT = 8-11 pts with a stopper in the opponents’ suit.

2NT = 11-12 pts with stoppers in the opponents’ suit.

3NT = 13-15 pts with stoppers in the opponents’ suit.

Negative Double: At the one-level, this shows at least a fair responding hand (7-8+ playing pts) and 4-card length in the unbid major (or, if there is no unbid major, length in both minor suits). If opener has 4-card length in the suit you're showing, he bids it at the appropriate level. If not, he must find another descriptive bid. One sequence that requires partnership agreement is when your partner opens 1 and RHO overcalls 1. Many play that a negative double promises both majors suits so a simple 1 or 1 response can be made on a four-card suit. As there are other ways to handle this, it should be discussed with your partners.

PARD OPP YOU OPP

1 1 ??

KJ98 1083 QJ64 42 - DBL

If your RHO overcalls at the two-level or three-level, your negative double promises extra values. It only makes sense you need a better hand to force your partner to bid at a higher level. You should have at least 8-9 support points at the two-level and 10+ at the three-level.

PARD OPP YOU OPP

1 1 ??

1. 98 AJ98 J1042 Q76 - DBL

2. 98 AJ987 J1042 Q7 - DBL

PARD OPP YOU OPP

1 3 ??

3. 76 KQ87 KJ98 J102 - DBL

4. 76 KQJ98 KQJ8 42 - 3

5. 76 KQJ98 1098 J87 - Pass

Remember, partner will make his rebid at the appropriate level. For example:

PARD OPP YOU OPP

1 3 DBL P

??

6. AKQ52 A1062 A7 53

Opener has extras and will jump to 4 with this hand expecting you to have at least 10+ points along with 4+ hearts. If you hold hand #3 above and he bids only 3, you will pass and miss a good game. If you double with less, his jump to game may be too high. Either way, your partner is off to the partnership desk.

1-level bid in a new suit: 1 [1 ] 1 = 6+ pts, promising a 5+-card suit.

2-level bid in a new suit: 1 [1 ] 2 = 10+ pts, 5+-card suit.

Raise to 2 of partner's suit: 1 [2 ] 2 = 5-9 pts with 3+-card support if partner opened a major; 4+-card support if partner opened a minor. You should stretch to raise partner if you have trump support and playing strength, even if you have sub-minimum point-count.

Raise to 3 of partner's suit (invitational): 1 [1 ] 3 = 10-12 pts with 4-card support if partner opened a major; 5+-card support if partner opened a minor.

Note: Some pairs use the jump raise to show a weak hand (3-6 pts) with good trump support and playing strength. If you choose this meaning, you can use the cuebid (see below) to show a hand with invitational-or-better strength.

Direct cuebid after partner opens: 1 [1] 2 = 10+pts and support for partner’s suit. Partner will assume you have only limit strength (10-12) and bid accordingly.

Raise to 4 of partner's major 1 [1 ] 4 = 5-9 pts, long trumps and good distributional strength. With a stronger hand, you should start with a cuebid of the opponent's suit.

PARTNER OPENS AND YOUR RHO OVERCALLS 1NT:

Double = Penalty, showing a good 9+ high-card points. Do the math; LHO is broke.

2 of partner's suit: 1 [1NT] 2 = 5-8 high card points with good support and distributional strength. Length in the trump suit is more important than strength.

2 of a new suit: 1 [1NT] 2 = Weak (5-9 points), with a good 6+-card (or strong 5-card) suit.

3 of a new suit: 1 [1NT] 3 = Preemptive

2NT: 1 [1NT] 2NT = A two-suited hand (5-5 or longer) with great playing strength.

PARTNER OPENS AND YOUR RHO MAKES A TAKEOUT DOUBLE:

1NT = 8-10 pts with strength in the unbid suits.

Redouble = 10+ pts, often without support for partner's suit. A redouble suggests that you have good defensive strength in the unbid suits and may want to double the opponents’ final contract.

Jordan: This is a popular convention used over an opponent’s t/o double. A jump to 2NT shows 10+ support points for partner’s suit. Using this convention, your redouble now denies support and strongly recommends defending. For example, where are the poor opponents going to run after you redouble holding this:

Holding: 3 K1098 AK87 QJ109

PARD OPP YOU OPP

1 DBL RDBL Help!

1-level bid in a new suit: 1 [DBL] 1 = 6+ pts, 4+-card suit. If you have a bare 6 pts, you should have a good suit (RHO shows hearts). This is forcing for one round.

2-level bid in a new suit: 1 [DBL] 2 = 4-9 pts, 6+-card suit. This is a weak bid. If you have a stronger hand, redouble first, then show your suit later.

Raise to 2 of partner's suit: 1 [DBL] 2 = 5-9 pts with 3+-card support if partner opened a major; 4+-card support if partner opened a minor. You should stretch to raise partner if you have trump support and playing strength, even if you have a sub-minimum point-count.

Raise to 3 of partner's suit: 1 [DBL] 3 = Weak (4-6 pts) with 4+-card trump support and good playing strength. If you have an invitational raise or better (10+ pts), redouble first, then raise partner's suit to the appropriate level.

Raise to 4 of partner’s suit: 1 [DBL] 4 = Weak (4-9 pts) with 5+-card trump support.

SUMMARY

Today’s bridge players bid very aggressively and it’s important for you to be able to compete. As we’ve seen in this session, many bids retain their meaning after an intervening bid but some do not. It is essential you and your partners agree on these differences.