Wielding the Axe - Book Review 

By Jared Johnson  ScoreCard Editor 

Check out the provocatively titled Wielding the Axe, the Vanishing Art of the Penalty Double by Augie Boehm (HNB Publishing, New York, N.Y.). 


 In the early days of contract bridge, a double was always for penalty, but very quickly bidding theorists realized that was a waste, since rarely do you want to defend one and two level contracts doubled. The takeout double was invented, which as everyone knows isn’t for penalty, but simply asks partner to bid an unbid suit. 

Your opponent opens 1Í, and you have (ideally) something like 1-4-4-4 distribution and about an opening hand or better, and you double showing the unbid suits. Partner is supposed to pick one. Overcalling would show a five-card suit. 

Mike Lawrence wrote the definitive guide to takeout doubles in 1994. However, penalty doubles are still valuable. The higher the contract, the more likely a double is to be for penalties. 

In a competitive auction, if they outbid you at the part score level, you may want to double, increasing their reward for making it, but also increasing your side’s score if you set them. 

And of course, if they sacrifice over your game that rates to make, you will usually want to double for similar reasons. 

At team games, you don’t usually double part scores unless you have a trump stack and you are absolutely sure of setting them. But at matchpoint play, one can make more speculative doubles. Since every hand counts potentially the same you could lose as many matchpoints by letting the opponents play 3Ì undoubled, when you could have bid and made 3Ê, as you would by not bidding a cold game or slam on another hand. 

Think about those part scores battles where the points are fairly evenly divided and both sides have a fit. You bid to 3Ì and those stubborn opponents press on to 3Í. 

Again, at home rubber bridge or tournament team play you quietly subside. You don’t double them into game. Little to gain. Much to lose. 

Matchpoint play is different. You bid 3Ì. They bid 3Í. If they make it, you know you’re headed for a bad matchpoint score almost no matter what, whether three hearts was making or not. 

Since you are headed for a bad result anyway if it makes, there is little to lose and a lot to gain by doubling. Now, if versus your possible plus 140 for making three hearts, you get 200 (down one vulnerable) or 300 (down two, non-vulnerable), you rate to get a great matchpoint score. 

And if you develop a reputation for hair-trigger doubles, you might even gain a psychological advantage on future hands, where the opponents might be a bit less likely to bid on, and you can win some of those part score battles just on the auction. 

Wielding the Axe is the sequel to Boehm’s Demon Defense and Demon Doubling.  

Boehm still believes people don’t double for penalty often enough. His new book takes you through all the scenarios where you might want to bring down the ax. And even if the opponent’s contract is makeable, declarer may get rattled and misplay the hand. Keep your cool on defense. 

Statistically, if you set the opponents every time you double, you are not doubling enough. Especially for the partials, if the opponents make 25 to 30 percent of their doubled contracts, and you set the other 70 to 75 percent, you are still way ahead on matchpoints. 

You must steel yourself against the occasional minus 470 or minus 730. 

Of course, just doubling is only half the battle. Then you have to beat the contract. Boehm provides defense tips to help you wreak maximum damage on those opponents who had the audacity to bid so much.