Dear Mr. Rigal: The auction starts with two passes to your left-hand opponent, who opens four clubs. When this is passed to you, would you act with ? K-8-2, ? Q-J-6-5, ? K-9-4-3-2, ? 6, vulnerable against not?

Answer: Partner is marked with a fair hand, probably with some club length since he did not act. Even at this level, the onus is on the hand with shortness in the opponents’ suit to compete, so I double. We could have a game on. If my right-hand opponent were not a passed hand, I might chicken out.

Dear Mr. Rigal: Say you have agreed to play a new-suit advance to partner’s overcall as non-forcing. What would you say is the maximum for such a bid?

Answer: In general, these non-forcing bids deny a fit and cover any strength from weak to invitational. The exact range depends on the level. If you are responding to a one-level overcall on an auction such as one club on your left, one heart from partner, one spade from you, when he could be bidding for the lead, you could have as much as 14 HCP for a non-forcing advance — or as little as a decent weak two-bid. a non-forcing advance. After a two-level overcall, you would tend to bid game with that much strength, so the maximum is more like 12 or 13.

Dear Mr. Rigal: Is it acceptable ever to leave the table in the middle of a round?

Answer: It is important not to run behind time. Try to save such things for when you are dummy, or for the comfort break if you are playing a pairs event. It is a bit different when you are playing a long set, say of 15 boards in a teams match. Then you may need to stop play for a short time. It is best to agree to do so with the opposition first.

Dear Mr. Rigal: If partner opens, the next hand doubles and you redouble to show points, what are subsequent doubles?

Answer: Traditionally, after showing ownership of the hand via a value-showing double or redouble, your next double is for penalty and pass is forcing. I would say there are two exceptions to this. If the next hand jumps, implying a fit, or if they bid and support a suit, doubles now become takeout. It is rare to want to penalize the opponents when they voluntarily raise the level or find a good fit. Here, passes become non-forcing.

Dear Mr. Rigal: You open one club with ? 4, ? K-4, ? A-Q-10-3, ? A-Q-10-8-6-5 and hear the next player overcall one heart. Partner jumps to three no-trump. What now?

Answer: My partner should have a good heart stopper but is unlikely to have real length; otherwise, he might have made a trap pass. His failure to double means he will not hold four spades. We are likely to have a fit in one minor, so I can advance with a natural four-diamond call. Note that we could be missing the whole spade suit in three no-trump, but we might still have a slam on. If partner raises a minor, I will settle for game. If he does something more positive, I will go to slam.

Contact Barry Rigal, email him at barryrigal@hotmail.com