Competitive Double of 1NT

One of the talks at the GBC, from John Matheson, was about doubling 1NT with any 14+ hand. I liked the idea so much we decided to adopt the convention. This is partly in preparation for the Peebles Summer Congress, which we're greatly looking forward to. Although we don't want to make things more complicated for ourselves, I think it might actually make things simpler for us to adopt a convention like this, because then we'll know exactly what we play. That's what I've told Anna anyway.

So here it is. For the doubler:

• You double a weak NT with any 14+, and a balanced hand (at least two cards in each suit).
• Either partner can make this double - it shows the same strength in immediate seat or pass out seat.
• If you're not balanced, you can still double if you have 17+.

For responder:

• With 0-6 bid a 5 card suit if you've got one, else pass.
• If the opponents bid again your double is takeout.
• If the opponents bid again, you can still bid if you have a good 5 card suit and 5-8 points. With a stronger hand just bid naturally. With a hand that wants to penalise, pass and hope partner doubles again.

Because the competitive double is primarily takeout, further doubles are also takeout, by either partner. This is true up until the third double by our side, which is always penalties. I like that as a general rule.

Here's some examples, which I hope cover all the main situations. I've just shown the West and East cards. In all the examples South opens 1NT, and West doubles.

Example 1. We double them and they end up playing 1NTx. In this example responder is very happy to pass the double, as he has 7 points, so added to his partner's 14+ has the majority.

♠ K 6 2 ♥ A J T 6 ♦ Q T 7 ♣ A T 8

♠ Q J T 5 ♥ 9 5 ♦ 9 8 3 ♣ K J 6 4

W N E S 1NT x(1) - -(2) - 1: 14+ balanced 2: Any 7+

Example 2. We double them and end up playing a suit contract. Here the responder is too weak to pass the double, but has a five card suit to escape into. He knows his partner has at least two of each suit.

♠ K 6 2 ♥ A J T 6 ♦ Q T 7 ♣ A T 8

♠ J T 5 ♥ 9 5 3 ♦ 8 3 ♣ K J 6 4 3

W N E S 1NT x(1) - 2♣(2) - - - 1: 14+ balanced 2: 0-6 with a five card suit

Example 3. We double them and end up in big trouble. The responder is too weak to pass, but has no five card suit to escape into so must pass anyway. On the upside sometimes the doubler will have a lot more than just a bare 14 points, so it might work out okay.

♠ K 6 2 ♥ A J T 6 ♦ Q T 7 ♣ A T 8

♠ J T 5 3 ♥ 9 7 5 ♦ 8 3 ♣ J 6 4 3

W N E S 1NT x(1) - -(2) - 1: 14+ balanced 2: 0-6 without a five card suit

Example 4. We double them, they bid and we overcall. Here responder has a good five card suit, and enough points to play a contract at the two level.

♠ K 6 2 ♥ A J T 6 ♦ Q T 7 ♣ A T 8

♠ A Q 8 6 4 ♥ 7 3 ♦ 8 5 3 ♣ J 5 4

W N E S 1NT x(1) 2♣ 2♠(2) - - - 1: 14+ balanced 2: 5-8 and a five card suit.

Example 5. We double them, they bid and we double for takeout. Here responder has a decent hand and is short in the opponent's suit, so doubles. If opener had lots of Clubs himself, he could pass the double, but here bids his four card suit. Responder then bids game.

♠ K 6 2 ♥ A J T 6 ♦ Q T 7 ♣ A T 8

♠ A 9 8 3 ♥ K 7 5 3 ♦ K 8 3 ♣ J 2

W N E S 1NT x(1) 2♣ x(2) - 2♥(3) - 4♥ - - - 1: 14+ balanced 2: Takeout 3: Natural

Example 6. We double them, they bid and we double again. If responder wants to penalise, he can't double straight away as that's penalties. Instead, he has to pass, and wait for partner to reopen. Responder knows opener has at least two Clubs, so is happy to penalise 2♣x here.

♠ K 6 2 ♥ A J T 6 ♦ Q J T 7 ♣ A 3

♠ 6 3 ♥ 5 3 ♦ A 5 4 ♣ Q J 9 2

W N E S 1NT x(1) 2♣ -(2) - x(3) - -(4) - 1: 14+ balanced 2: Double would be takeout, so has to pass. 3: Doubles for takeout. 4: Passes.

Example 7. Doubling them three times. As before the opponents run to 2♣, East passes for penalties and West doubles for takeout. This time when East passes South runs to 2♥. West now doubles again, and as it's the third double by our side, it's got to be penalties.

♠ K 6 2 ♥ A J T 6 ♦ Q J T 7 ♣ A 3

♠ 6 3 ♥ 5 3 ♦ A 5 4 ♣ Q J 9 2

W N E S 1NT x(1) 2♣ -(2) - x(3) - -(4) 2♥ x(5) - - 1: 14+ balanced 2: Double would be takeout, so has to pass. 3: Doubles for takeout. 4: Passes for penalty. 5: Penalties.

Example 8. Getting to game. After West doubles East has an unbalanced hand and enough for game, and just bids it. He knows his partner has 14+ and at least two Spades.

♠ K 6 ♥ A J T 6 ♦ Q J T 7 ♣ A 3 2

♠ A J T 8 7 3 ♥ 5 3 ♦ A 5 4 2 ♣ 7

W N E S 1NT x(1) 2♣ 4♠ - - - - 1: 14+ balanced

After speaking to Mr Matheson himself, I have two more examples. These show how responder should bid if he has a good hand, but doesn't want to make a penalty double or bid an immediate game. He begins with a takeout double, then bids again.

Example 9. Responder has a good hand, and doubles to look for a fit. With lots of Clubs opener could pass this, but instead bids his four card Hearts. Responder now bids 2♠. This must how five and be forcing, to game, as with a weaker hand he would have bid an immediate 2♠. The partnership should now reach 4♠.

♠ K 6 2 ♥ A J T 6 ♦ Q T 7 ♣ A T 8

♠ A Q 8 6 4 ♥ 7 3 ♦ A J 9 2 ♣ 8 6

W N E S 1NT x(1) 2♣ x(2) - 2♥ - 2♠(3) 1: 14+ balanced 2: Takeout. 3: Natural, game forcing.

Example 10. Responder has a good hand, but no clear direction. After an initial double he bids 3♣, the opponent's suit. This must be a general cuebid, because if responder had four Clubs he would have passed the first time to try and penalise 2♣x. Here, opener will rebid 3NT. On other hands he might rebid a five card major or suggest a minor game.

♠ K 6 2 ♥ A J T 6 ♦ Q T 7 ♣ A T 8

♠ A J T 2 ♥ K 7 3 ♦ K J 3 ♣ 9 6 3

W N E S 1NT x(1) 2♣ x(2) - 2♥ - 3♣(3) 1: 14+ balanced 2: Takeout. 3: General cue bid, asking opener to bid again.

That's all the examples. Me and Anna had a few hands practising this on Bridge Base, in the partnership bidding room. I'd set it up so an imaginary opponent opened 1NT, and the next hand had 14+. Unfortunately we didn't get much good practice, as for some reason we ended up with about 30 points between us, so every time we ended up defending 1NTx.

For slightly more detail, I've also scanned in John's notes from the day. The first page is general notes, the second page some example West-East hands, like my ones above. Click on a page then zoom in to read it.

Finally, I know that you don't need to alert the competitive double, as you don't need to alert any doubles in Scotland. Maybe you need to pre-alert it though? (John Faben will know).