Out-of-the-Blue Double

You are West and you are on opening lead after an auction of 1NT-3NT. What do you lead? Probably a diamond. But what if partner surprisingly doubles?

North  7 5 3  6 3 2  Q J  A K 9 4 3
West  Q 9 8  10 5 4  K 9 6 5 4  10 7	East  10 6 4  K Q J 8 7  8 2  Q 8 2
South  A K J 2  A 9  A 10 7 3  J 6 5

Some players agree that the doubler is asking for a specific suit, whereas others want their partner to find a short-suit lead or some exotic lead.

Paaksoy reasoned that partner didn’t figure to hold a good spade suit since he was looking at Q-9-8. And the opponents had not tried to find a major suit fit. So he decided that his partner’s double was based on a good heart holding. Once a heart is led the contract has no play because the Q does not fall doubleton and the spade suit does not behave.

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The following hand was submitted by Easy Sells from a daily MP Mini. He was very happy to see his student and partner BS3NT (Beve Smith)bring home 4 despite getting the worst possible lead — a diamond.

North  A 10 8  A  A 8 7  A K 10 7 5 4
West  K 9 6 3 2  J 2  K 10 5  J 9 6	East  J 7 4  10 9 8 6  Q J 3  Q 8 3
South  Q 5  K Q 7 5 4 3  9 6 4 2  2

West	North	East	South
—	—	—	2
pass	4	all pass

Beve was the only declarer to get a diamond lead and make the game. After winning the A, he led the 2 to the ace and ruffed a club low. A heart to the ace was followed by another club ruff. He breathed a sigh of relief when West had to follow.

Next he drew two rounds of trump, discovering that East had four. Beve led his last trump to East, and East was helpless. The key was that the opening lead was a small diamond, so East had to have either the K or the Q or both. That meant that declarer could not lose more than two diamonds unless West had started precisely with the doubleton 5-3 or the singleton 5. 4 making.