Doubling a slam

When is it right to double a slam? Only when it’s going down!

I'm not being facetious. It pays to be very conservative about doubling the opponents when they’ve bid a slam under their own power (e.g., without being pushed in a competitive auction). In general, only double a slam when you’re certain to defeat it with tricks in your own hand. 

BUT... there is one situation where doubling a slam has a very specific meaning…

♠  x x x    ♥ A J x x x   ♦ Q J 10 x x  ♣ --

South	West	North	East (you)
1 ♣ 2 ♠ 3 ♠ 7 ♠	Pass Pass Pass Pass	1 ♥ 2 NT 4 ♦ Pass	Pass Pass Pass ?

Yes, your left-hand opponent just jumped to 7♠. Yes, really. What do you do?

ANSWER: Double, requesting that partner make an unusual lead – a club in this case – so that you can ruff.

THE PRINCIPLE: This is called a Lightner double, named after Theodore Lightner who devised this way back in the 1930s. If the opponents freely bid a slam, a double by the third hand – the defender that is not on opening lead – requests an unusual lead in order to defeat the contract. The player on lead is expected to figure out which suit that would be.

Your partner’s hand

♠  x x   ♥  x x x x  ♦ x x x   ♣ 9 8 x x
From the auction, partner knows that declarer has a fistful of black cards -- at least a 6-5 in clubs and spades. North bid 2NT, promising at least 2 clubs. With partner's four clubs, at least 12 of the clubs are accounted for, so it appears to partner that you are likely void in clubs. Partner leads a club, and badda-bing badda-boom, down one.

Figuring out which suit to lead. The Lightner Double calls for an unusual lead, and there is a rough outline for figuring out which suit that might be:

1. If the defense has bid a suit, don't lead it. Leading our suit would not be unusual.
2. Don't lead trump.
3. If dummy or declarer has bid a side suit, that would be a likely choice.

But most importantly, the player on opening lead must think through the auction and her hand in order to reason out which suit partner wants led.

Note that against a six-level contract, only make a Lightner double when you have another sure trick in addition to the ruff.

The dog that didn't bark. If you are on lead against a slam, and partner did not double... Partner did not ask for an unusual lead, so by implication she's not looking for a ruff; you should make a normal lead, whatever that happens to be given the cards you hold.

The complete hand:

	North
	♠ Q x x ♥ K Q x x ♦ A x x  ♣ 10 x x
West		East (you)
♠ x x  ♥ x x x x ♦ x x x  ♣ 9 8 x x		♠ x x x ♥ A J 9 8 x ♦ Q J 10 x x  ♣ --
	South
	♠ A K J x x ♥ --  ♦ K x  ♣ A K Q J x x

Without the Lightner double, West might not find a club lead. 7♠ makes against any other lead. 

Tempo and ethics

We've all done it.

We've all seen it done.

At your turn in the auction, you look at your cards, count your points, mumble to yourself, look at the ceiling for guidance divine or otherwise, look at your cards again, drum your fingers, sigh and mumble some more, grit your teeth, and after maybe 15-20 seconds of this... Pass.

Tournament players call this "taking a huddle" or "going into the tank". Some hands do present hard problems. Bridge is not an exact science, and there are many hands where experts will disagree on what to do.

But here is the issue:

• "PASS" is a legal call
• "Partner-I-have-a-close-decision-whether-to-bid-something-or-PASS" is not a legal call. 

You didn't say so in words, but your behavior clearly indicated that there is some other possible call for your hand. We -- your partner, your opponents -- don't know exactly what you have, but we know you have some values and your hand is not a clear-cut decision to pass.

Your friendly lunchtime bridge game might accept some table talk, and that's fine when you all agree on it. But there's no place for table talk at the duplicate table; in the laws of duplicate bridge, that constitutes "unauthorized information". No matter how saintly partner might be, she can't help but be inadvertently influenced by the knowledge that you have "more than a plain Pass".

It's not that you are deliberately trying to cheat, but you have inadvertently given partner some extraneous information about your hand, and that's not fair to the opponents. In tournament play, or in a strict duplicate club, an undue hesitation will almost certainly result in a call for the Director. The Director's ruling might place some restrictions on partner's subsequent actions, because of the potential impact of unauthorized information.

WHAT TO DO? Yes, some hands present hard problems. But here are some suggestions for playing an ethical game as much as possible:

• When in doubt, bid. When you realize that you've taken a long time, bid something rather than passing. You might still reveal some unauthorized information, but the violation is usually not quite so egregious. (By the way, "when in doubt, bid" is generally good bridge strategy.)
• Strive for a consistent "Goldilocks" tempo -- not too fast, not too slow. An unusually fast call can be just as revealing as an unusually slow one. Try to develop the habit of a consistent, deliberate tempo even when your choice is clear-cut; three to five seconds seems about right to me.
• If you touch it, take it. Don't let your fingers do the walking in the bidding box. Keep the choices inside your head, make up your mind, and only then reach for the appropriate card from the box.

The implications of bidding tempo are the reason for the STOP card. But that's a separate article, I promise to cover it in the future. Until then, here is some fine print from the ACBL Laws of Duplicate Bridge.

16. B. Extraneous Information from Partner 
1. Any extraneous information from partner that might suggest a call or play is unauthorized. This includes remarks, questions, replies to questions, unexpected alerts or failures to alert, unmistakable hesitation, unwonted speed, special emphasis, tone, gesture, movement or mannerism.
(a) A player may not choose a call or play that is demonstrably suggested over another by unauthorized information if the other call or play is a logical alternative.

-- Ray 
Better Bridge in 5 Minutes. Guaranteed! (or the next one is free)

(updated June 2018 to incorporate 2017 changes in the wording of Law 16)