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John Swanson's book Inside the Bermuda Bowl has some informative chapters and comments on both the Blue Team and the Italian Foot Soldiers. It does make you wonder why no further investigations have taken place.

One thing I sometimes forget to take into consideration is that I can see all 4 hands so what seems like a problem to the players not playing double dummy, is not so much for me so the tanks are understandable. But having played bridge for many years now, I have never felt the urge to play with quitted trick and indeed if I did this at my local club or tournaments I am sure it would raise the eyebrows of my opponents.

I just watched this board agaim and if it's the one where there is a good sacrifice of 5D against the 4H game, then I didn't see anything untoward in this. Perhaps when Hydes claimed 2 down he barely shows his cards and also Levin and Weinstock randomly splatter their played cards on the table with no sense of order.

Slightly OT but I caught a video on YT where there (ultimately proven) were allegations against a European pair who were using the way they positioned the board on the table after the tray had been removed, to indicate a lead preference. One could argue that playing with quitted tricks could be a signalling mechanism, but having never played with a screen, I don't know if you can see your partner hands to receive a signal.

I can just see what would happen in my local club if I claimed a contract with 6 or so tricks to play, saying I have a marked squeeze against LHO! Certainly watcing the Venderbilt and Spingold the top players just show their hand, wave their fingers back and forth to show their line of play and everybodyjust puts their cards back in the tray. Not once have I seen somebody dispute the claim.

Here is another anomaly. LAW 41 - COMMENCEMENT OF PLAY A. Face-down Opening Lead After a bid, double or redouble has been followed by three passes in rotation, the defender on presumed declarer’s left makes the opening lead face down(9) . The face-down lead may be withdrawn only upon instruction of the Director after an irregularity (see Laws 47E and 54); the withdrawn card must be returned to the defender’s hand. where footnote (9) says unless the regulatory body specifies the lead must be face up. I was taught that you lead face down so that your lead is committed and now partner can ask about a bid in the auction without influencing your lead or taking clues from your lead. Of course in top flight competition with screens and bidding boxes it doesn't matter so much now since partner cannot see your lead until the screen is lifted.

Not at all. Just having never seen this behaviour before from players I have been reading about so much in The Bridge World and other mags, I just found it strange.

I was also watching Woolsey/Bramley in the 2022 Spingold. Woolsey is pretty good in the way he places his cards and so Bramley. But their opponents are pretty slack. Declarer often plays with the played tricks. I guess in the top level rules are relaxed?

I meant make me play it out. Reading 68D it'a a bit murky but I guess call the director is the best way. Sometimes I get asked when the asker is an inexperiened player and can't see how it would play out.

Actually in all my years of playing bridge, I have never seen this behaviour before. But then I have never played in such top level tournaments before and this is the first time I have watched them. Apart from that I observed a couple of interesting items. - you can learn a lot from watching the top experts play - especially when confronted with problems that are obvious to you as you can see all 4 hands :-) - how often they claim quite early when it is obvious what the resut is going to be which speeds up the game considerably. I sometimes claim from about trick 9 or 10 when it's clear what the result is going to be but sometimes my opponents me play the hand out :-(

According to the laws of Duplicate Bridge B. Keeping Track of the Ownership of Tricks 1. If the player’s side has won the trick, the card is pointed lengthwise toward his partner. 2. If the opponents have won the trick, the card is pointed lengthwise toward the opponents. 3. A player may draw attention to a card pointed incorrectly, but this right expires when his side leads or plays to the following trick. If done later Law 16B may apply. I guess the directors provide more latitude to top players? Sets a bad example of players of lesser calibre watching them play

I have been watching the videos of the Vanderbit 2019 Final and found it very eductional - the minds of experts. But one thing puzzled me. Watching this session It seems that Levin and Weinstein (possibly others) just placed their played cards in front of them in any orientation, whether the trick is won or lost. The opponents seem to follow the standard where placing a card in portrait orientation means your side won the trick, and in landscape, you lost. Is this because, being a top top tournament, there is an official recorder recording the hand and so no matter how you place your cards, the official record of tricks won/lost is with the recorder? Perhaps these top players don't need to look down to see how many tricks they have won or lost - they know in their heads?