The Lightner double is a conventional double in bridge, used to direct the opening lead against slam contracts. It was devised by Theodore Lightner.
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.
Famous quotes containing the word double:
“Even in harmonious families there is this double life: the group life, which is the one we can observe in our neighbour’s household, and, underneath, another—secret and passionate and intense—which is the real life that stamps the faces and gives character to the voices of our friends. Always in his mind each member of these social units is escaping, running away, trying to break the net which circumstances and his own affections have woven about him.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)