The Lightner double is a conventional double in

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, used to direct the opening lead against slam contracts. It was devised by

Theodore Lightner Theodore Alexander "Teddy" Lightner (14 September 1893 – November 1981) was an American bridge player. He developed the Lightner double, a bridge bidding convention. Lightner was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and moved to Chicago and later ...

. The Lightner double is a call made by the partner of the player who will make the opening lead. It asks for an "unusual" opening lead. The opening lead is often crucial to the play of the hand, and the right opening lead is often the only chance for the defenders to defeat the contract. The doubler will most often have a void in a side suit, or sometimes AQ or KQ in the suit bid by the dummy. The partner is expected to find the correct lead, which might be unusual from his viewpoint; in any case, he should not lead a trump. The most common interpretation is to lead the first suit (other than trumps) bid by the opponents. In his 1945 book ''

Why You Lose at Bridge ''Why You Lose at Bridge'' is a book about the game of contract bridge by the Russian-born English bridge player S. J. "Skid" Simon (190448), first published in 1945. It contains practical advice directed mainly towards rubber bridge players ...

'', S. J. "Skid" Simon called it "one of the most brilliant contributions to Contract Bridge yet made".

References

External links

Bridge Guys website.
{{WPCBIndex Bridge conventions