jnichols

I would cancel the board and award A-/A-. It was both pairs fault that they could not play the board. I would also award a procedural penalty to both sides. Depending on the level of the players this would vary between 10% of a board and just having to listen to a short lecture about "Call the director when you have a problem. I could have fixed this!" To be honest, I can't imagine this happening with players who are experienced enough to get the 10% penalty. Of course, some of the players might prefer that to my lecture.

Perhaps the answer to the OP is that not every table on BBO is intended to be competitive Bridge. Sometimes people want to practice and learn. I occasionally play "kitchen" bridge with friends. Sometimes we follow the Laws closely. With other groups we are quite relaxed allowing a lot of table talk and undo's. It's all Bridge, just with different purposes. If you want strict adherence to the Laws then join a tournament with a TD who will enforce them. Otherwise, if you're not happy with the atmosphere at a table - politely excuse yourself and then find another table or start one yourself. Let's stop putting people down just because they sometimes have a different approach to the game!

Can't think I would ever annul the entire session. I would try to reconstruct the missing travellers from players personal score cards. If you can't complete that the TD may need to do make some phone calls to gather all the scores. If that is the case I would announce a preliminary result without the missing boards. I heard of a case where someone found the missing travellers in her purse a couple of days after the event.

Was this at a club game or at a National/Regional/Sectional tournament. If it is a club game I would be greatly surprised that the ACBL would do anything. They keep "hands off" of club games. You will need to speak with the club management -- they might do something (or not). If it is a tournament with directors paid by the ACBL you should speak to the Director In Charge at the tournament or contact the ACBL Tournament Department in Memphis. While they don't do much based on a single complaint they will do something if they see a pattern.

Not quite that specialized - There are "Laws and Rulings" and "Simple Rulings" toward the bottom of the lists of forums.

The director ruled that the 1♦ bid was a mechanical error and therefore unintended (inadvertant in the old Laws). It sounds like South attempted to correct it when he realized that the bid on the table was not what he attempted. Thus the bid is corrected and West does not get a chance to accept the original 1♦. South's blurted "Oh its a transfer" is unauthorized to information for North. But if, in fact, N/S play transfers then there really is no logical alternative for North except for completing the transfer, so I don't see a problem here. Yes, the director's ruling is correct.

I'm guessing here but I'm thinking "oops" means "No partner, that wasn't support for diamonds, it was a splinter in support of spades." That is UI to you. What did you think 4♦ meant when you bid 5♦. You must continue to think that. You can not use the UI to wake you up. So what would 5♠ be if 4♦ was in support of diamonds? A cue bid or some other sort of slam try? That is how you must proceede.

David - No - 4♠+1 does not seem like equity. Just making feels right. I like it. I expect that the players will be happy with it. But I am left with a defective trick that calls for a 1-trick "revoke" rectification. Do I just let Law 13 override that and award an adjusted score?

Law 13A allows the hand to be played when the director deems that it can be corrected and played. However, when it is corrected the 7♥ moves to the dummy and leaves us with a defective trick. Law 67B1 says that the defender has revoked. So a 1-trick rectification results in an overtrick. Personally not what I'd like - I prefer "result stands" when "the play could not possibly have been affected." But as a director I also prefer to follow the Laws.

The Duplimate machine can deal from a file produced by Dealmaster (and various other "dealing" programs). I haven't used it but I suspect it can also produce random deals and provide a file. I use the Dealer4 machine - It can deal from a file (Dealmaster, etc.) or generate the random deals and produce a file and print the hand records.

The great thing about Google (and the other search engines) is they give you lots of hits. The bad thing about Google (and the other search engines) is they give you lots of hits. I would really like a recomendation of an IE spellchecker that someone especially likes.

Best way to get them is to download ACBLScore from the ACBL website (www.acbl.org). There is a version online at http://www.bridgehands.com/Laws/ACBL/Duplicate/Tech_Files/ but I suspect it (or at least portions of it) is a few years out of date.

Would be usefull if someone were to say somenthing like "I use spell checker XYZ with IE and I like it and you can find it at www...."

My way of thinking: The mandatory 10-second pause is there to give everyone at the table a chance to absorb the meaning of the skip bid and adjust their plans for the auction. (Everyone excpet the skip bidder of course) So if LHO doesn't pause then partner of the skip bidder should be allowed the extra time.

I can't quote a Law or regulation, but my theory is that the 10-second pause is for the table, so if you make a skip bid and LHO doesn't pause then yes, your partner gets the extra think time without restricting you. Perhaps someone can give us a specific Law or Regulation.

Depends on where you are. In the ACBL (and perhaps other places as well) put out the STOP card put out your bid take back the STOP card opponent waits 10 seconds after your bid to take action Some other places (don't have a list) put out the STOP Card put out your bid wait 10 seconds, then take back the STOP card There may be places where the regulations are different from both of the above examples -- Tell us a location and we can probably find someone with the information.

Until the hand is completed -- Yes.

Does anyone know what spellchecker was used on our previous location. We were on an earlier version of the same forum software, so it might well work here also.

Don't see in the OP that the Director ever asked.

Two things to note: Law 25 says that a player "...MAY substitute...". It doesn't say "must" so I think the player really does have an option here. It also says "without pause for thought." Once the player has thought (s)he might prefer not to change the bid the "pause" has occured, so there is no longer an option.

To me the convention card being correct is not relevant. When East said "Strong" the opponents should not be required to check the convention card as well. It is clear from the auction that N/S didn't believe the explanation. Once South sees the dummy any reliance on the "Strong" explanation is, to put it mildly, ridiculous.

In the 2008 ACBL version of the Laws the ACBL has not elected to disallow reserving ones rights.

To start with realize that the double by your opponents of your partner's artificial bid gives you extra options -- you can pass or you can redouble. Discuss with your partner what those will mean. Realize as well that you might want the meaning of the double to affect the meaning of your subsequent calls. I'm not aware of any "prevailing methods" (except for DOPI/ROPI) for bidding after doubles of artificial bids. Perhaps others here will have some suggestions. Most important - Discuss with your partner. Better to ignore the double and keep the same meanings for your call than to make a bid that partner won't understand.

The convention chart was updated (or at least published on the website) in 2003. It was updated in 2008, but if I didn't follow the Board of Director's minutes I would never have realized it. I don't recall ever seeing anything resembling an announcement.

From the ACBL website - click Play, Then Charts, Rules and Regulations, then Convention Charts. Also in the ACBL Board of Director's Minutes from Detroit - Spring 2008