What does 'show' mean?
Alertable doubles
(d) Suit bids that do not show the suit bid: Alert, unless the double shows the suit bid.
Doubles are also alertable if they convey a potentially unexpected meaning in addition to take-out or penalties (see 3H2 and 3H3).
Bearing this in mind, the auction goes
1NT - P - 2D - X - 2H .... The double of the 2D bid is not alerted.
It turns out that the double actually shows values (but not necessarily length) in diamonds - eg. AKX - does this come under 'show' (not alertable) or is it a potentially unexpected meaning (alertable)?
Comments
I think that's OK. If the bid shows (or suggests) any other suit then I think it needs alerting. If not, then you're just showing diamond strength and suggesting them as a lead.
In my view, if the partnership can't reasonably raise the suit with three or four opposite then a lack of alert could be misleading, thus a "potentially unexpected meaning".
Of course, in any particular instance, the doubler could believe that partner is highly unlikely to come in and has doubled tactically for the lead, risking misleading his partner as to length in the suit. You can have a similar situation at high level when a double of a Blackwood response is made purely for a lead. Then again, doubling for a lead in that situation is not at all unexpected.
From a pedantic wording point of view, the double of 2!d is neither take-out nor penalty (it shows diamonds, which is not the same thing as "penalty"), and thus the "potentially unexpected meaning in addition to take-out or penalties" doesn't apply regardless of how unexpected the meaning is, because the "take-out or penalties" part of the requirement isn't met. It's obvious what the section was meant to mean, though.
I think the dividing line here is whether the bid is purely lead-directing, or whether it has some purpose in addition to directing leads. If partnership style is that "values in the suit are why you direct a lead" then I don't think the style issue is alertable. If the purpose of the double is something specific like showing the position of the K!d, though, or showing some specific range of HCP within diamonds for potential slam judgement purposes, that's unusual enough that (based on what the regulations are meant to mean, not what they actually say) I think an alert would make sense.
Whether by agreement it shows diamonds might be judged on what the response would be to a redouble.
I've changed my mind, albeit reluctantly.
BB 4B2 defines "show" as "‘it is natural, or shows willingness, in the context of the auction, to play in the suit, or it has been followed by two passes." "Show" appears twice in 4B2d, so the definition applies to both occurrences.
I'm not sure this was what was intended though. The definition as applied to the first "show" seems logical, the second less so. Does anyone know?
Oh, I see what you mean. However, I think the definition is harmless as applied to the second "show" in 4B2d: at the time the decision about alerting the bid is being made, the bid has only just been made, so it hasn't been followed by two passes. As such, there's an extra complication in the definition that turns out not to matter at all. (Meanwhile, the "two passes" is important for the "show" in 4B2a and first "show" in 4B2d are important to handle cases where an artificial suit bid is converted to natural by the doubler's partner by passing it.)