special passes

I have been asked this question by a director and could not answer it either:

S opens 1NT (12-14) W "X" and N passes (forcing)(alerted and ex,plained as asking opener XX as N has a weak 5 Card suit) :

The question was: Since the Forcing Pass was alerted, can E now X the forcing Pass of N?

it would look like this:

S W N E

1NT X(16-18) P (alert) X ????

It seemed to me that this X would be illegal..and pointless as it does not prevent S from XX

So what are the options after a "forcing pass" ?

Tks for your advices

Helene Labreche, East Coast Bays Bridge Club

Started by HELENE LABRECHE on 17 Sep 2018 at 03:57PM

Latest Posts on this Thread

JOHN O'CONNOR18 Sep 2018 at 10:29AM
East may pass or make any bid that is higher than 1NT. East may not double and may not redouble.

If East does double, then they must correct that illegal bid to a pass or a bid that is higher than 1NT - I believe then that W will be barred from further participation in the auction and must pass whenever it is their turn to bid (unless East can convince the director that their double was an inadvertant action.)
RONA DRISCOLL18 Sep 2018 at 02:11PM
Hi Helene,

The pass is still a pass, regardless of its meaning, so the only options available are those that would follow any pass, ie make a bid or pass. East certainly can't double (see law 19A)

Hope this helps

Rona
Dougal WATSON07 Oct 2018 at 08:27PM
as the others have stated - no, you cannot double a pass.

Law 19A1 says that a double can only apply to a bid. A pass is not, in itself, a bid, whatever meaning it might have. so a pass cannot be legally doubled and of course you cannot double your partner's double.

The options after their forcing pass will depend on what you want to do. Your opponents, depending on their system, will be trying to either escape the 1NTX or to challenge you with the possibility of their making 1NTXX. That's a bidding system discussion, though, not a directing one.
HELENE LABRECHE27 Oct 2018 at 10:05AM
Thank you all for your helpful replies

Helene

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