Bridge - The Scotsman 05/09/2012

Each bidding box contains three blue cards labelled ‘Redouble’. Mostly they stay safely in the box, but we should not be afraid of them – they have their uses. The traditional meaning of redouble is to tell opponents that their penalty double is misjudged – you believe your contract is making. Say you are doubled in a making 3NT: you score 550 or 750. A redouble ups your score to 800 or 1000. But it also runs the risk of greater loss: one down becomes -200 or -400; two down -600 or -1000. For this reason the redouble of a high-level contract has become very rare.

More common is a redouble of a takeout double, as in this example. North’s redouble tells partner he has a good hand, but no fit for spades – with a fit he would raise partner.

It suggests that the best score his partnership can achieve may come from doubling an opponent who has chosen a bad moment to enter the auction. It makes the auction forcing to at least 2NT, so passes below that level are forcing, waiting to see if partner can double for penalties. Here East passes the redouble, hoping something good might happen. West bids his lower four-card suit, and North doubles for penalties. East now corrects to 2H, and South passes,

knowing that North must bid again.

2H is destined to lose the black ace-kings, one diamond and two hearts for -500. Quite a nice result on a deal where North-South have no making game.