LH2650

[hv=d=s&v=0&b=11&a=2sp3s5cpp6sdpp(Originally%206C%2C%20changed%20to%20pass)p]133|100[/hv] The Director is called after the insufficient bid, which is not accepted, and is changed to Pass. Offender’s partner quickly wins the Ace of spades, and the Director now states that Declarer can require or prohibit the lead of any one suit. Declarer requires a club lead, allowing the contract to make, as would prohibiting a heart lead. Unfortunately, the selected option was allowed under the previous Laws, but not the current ones, so there is an appeal, and you are the Head Director….

The chance of any pair in the event having an agreement on this is remote. Therefore, the Pro must rely on what is standard.

The TD was called after the hand was over. The director felt that an adjustment was appropriate, but could not get a consensus, so he allowed the score to stand. I was one of those consulted, but was not at the table, and do not know who was playing there.

How does the world play this sequence? I would play it as forcing over either a weak or an intermediate jump, but that might be the subject of another poll. If it is not forcing for this partnership, then 2 spades was an incorrect bid, since getting to game seems appropriate.

He thought that the 2 heart bid was intermediate, having checked the convention card.

No

A weak jump overcall does not require an Alert, so the table did not know that there was no agreement. Only East knew there was a problem.

That he would have bid 3 diamonds (which makes 4 on reasonable play), if he had been properly informed. There is also the issue of whether a new suit by advancer is commonly played as forcing.

An Alert is required if the jump overcall is intermediate. To clarify, a Pro is a Life Master, and an Amateur is not.

Did you consider whether 2 spades was forcing?

Pros sit North and East. The East Pro did not check their convention card, which is marked "Intermediate", and thought his bid was weak. An Alert is required, but was not given. South looked at the card, and it came to the attention of the table that the "agreement" was Intermediate. South then passed, but later stated that he would have bid 3 diamonds if the 2 heart bid had been weak. The table result was making 2 Spades. NS appeal. [hv=pc=n&s=s43hj4d7532caqt73&w=sakqj65h87dqjck42&n=s872ha96dakt984c5&e=st9hkqt532d6cj986&d=n&v=n&b=5&a=1d2hp2sppp]399|300[/hv]

Does Law 12C2d empower the ACBL (in my case) to allow clubs to award NPs here?

Opening leader places a card face down on the table, changes his mind, and puts a second card face up on the table. At that point, you are called...

Dealing with the 13 penalty cards is easy - the director should tell the player to pick them up. The director has unlimited authority to do this, and the situation was caused by an irregularity by declarer. Offer the defenders the option to accept or reject the lead. Who has unauthorized information is less clear to me, but I think I would say it is declarer.

I decided that it would be inappropriate to ask the person who held the North hand, but tried 6 others, stating that there was no agreement as to the meaning of 3♥. All passed.

North claims that he would have made a takeout double if he had known the raise was preemptive. I would want a little more for that, but as South, I would certainly bid 4♠ after the double. I do not know what North would have done over "no agreement", but will ask him.

ACBL The East convention card had the jump raise marked as limit, and the West card had it marked as preemptive. A preemptive raise is alertable, but no alert was given because of East's understanding of the agreement. NS claimed that they would have played 4♠, had they known about the preemptive raise. 4♥ was down 2. 4♠ makes if the ♠ Jack is captured. There was no announcement of a failure to alert, and the director was called at the end of the hand. How would you rule? [hv=pc=n&s=sqt974hdkj82ct975&w=sj63ht8532d73cq64&n=sk85hk4dq9654cak8&e=sa2haqj976datcj32&d=e&v=b&b=10&a=1hp3hp4hppp]399|300[/hv]

[hv=pc=n&w=s2ha9754d3ckq7543&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=p1c]133|200[/hv] ACBL General Convention Chart, so psyching of artificial opening bids is prohibited. Playing a strong, forcing club, the hand shown is opened with 1C. When asked, opener stated that he was afraid they would miss 4 hearts if he chose one of the other possible initial actions. Do you allow this?

An opening lead out of turn is made, and the prospective dummy starts to table his hand, exposing several cards before an objection is made. Does Law 54C cover this situation, so that the lead must be accepted? If so, can the prospective declarer still choose to become dummy?

What is the UI here? West also has UI that East did not understand his bid, and I believe it suggests bidding 3♠ over the logical alternative of Pass, so 3♠ should not be allowed. Does anyone agree? Where does that leave us?

From the ACBL Alert Procedures: Players who, by experience or expertise, recognize that their opponents have neglected to Alert a special agreement will be expected to protect themselves.

I do not play Good/Bad 2 Notrump, but is this the place for it? Presumably North could show a minimum hand with 6 diamonds. Would this help South in his evaluation?

Is there something in the local Alert regulations that causes East to think that 2N is invitational? If not, no adjustment. Move a few NS cards around and this auction could come right out of my old Goren book. In fact, NS could be a bit stronger.

If I look under Charts Rules and Regulations > Alert Procedures on the ACBL website, I find: "Definition of expected length for natural bids for the Alert Procedure are: ◦Suit bids: ◾3+ in a minor and 4+ in a major for opening bids, rebids and responses." That includes rebids.

This is covered by Law 40B2(a). In the ACBL version of the Laws, under Elections by the ACBL Board of Directors (at the back of the book), it requires that both sides present a system. The only changes allowed thereafter are defenses to opponents' "special understandings and preemptive bids".