gordontd

They aren't currently NGS rated, but that could be looked at again in the future, once the games are settled in, if technical limitations don't prevent it.

Well we're keeping them under review and will make changes as soon as it becomes clear what's popular. So far the Sunday afternoon game (which I would think would suit many who work regular jobs) has been the most popular, so it may be that we offer more of those. It might also be better for the late night game to be a bit earlier - like 11pm. I'd be very happy to hear from you and others what times would suit you, as long as you look for times that don't conflict with our clubs' main games.

Apparently it's just in the process of being set up, so shouldn't be long before they are displayed alongside the EBU ones.

There's an error in the original post - the text says 2♠ was alerted as showing spades, the diagram says it was alerted as showing clubs.

Appeals do not go to "Director-panels".

But that's not the process, is it?

It sounds as though you would prefer me to say that they are admitted but may be given zero weight.

There isn't a list: as usual we would make an assessment in consultation as to how much weight we would give them.

I don't think anyone has said that system notes are necessarily inadmissible - just that they aren't necessarily admissible. Cheating is not the only source of concern cited above.

My limited experience of Scotland, and what I've been told about Ireland & Wales, would lead me to believe that there are far more TD calls in England than in the rest of the British Isles.

Unfortunately we have just discovered that we do not have any BBO vu-graph operators for this weekend's EBU Premier League, and no preparation has been done (it hasn't been scheduled, and commentators haven't been arranged). We may well just have to give up on vu-graphing this weekend and limit it to the following two weekends, which have been properly organised, but this is a last desperate attempt to see if we could still manage to show this weekend's matches. We can provide computers, and could probably get some volunteers who don't have any experience, so do please reply if you think you might be able to help us.

We do have EBU Appeals Booklets that can be downloaded, but there won't be many from Brighton when the 2013 set comes to be published, because there were only three appeals from the ten days of the congress.

I wonder if there's some confusion between rebids & responses here. I know this system for opener's rebids, but not as responses.

I don't think he did.

Ah yes, that army of junior-directors & helpers we have wandering around looking for things to do.

But it's completely unrealistic to think that we can sift through the results to find contracts that are the same and have the same declarer, ask if the auctions were identical (taking care to wait till the tables are between boards so as not to interrupt them), check their systems were broadly the same, and only then ask players what they did, while all the time continuing to take other rulings, make score changes, chase up slow players, get the venue to fill up water jugs and adjust the room temperature, along with the other routine tasks that we do.

I think they have misinterpreted "the pass-out seat" to mean P - P - P - ? rather than 1♣ - P - P - ?

Although I would be happy to use that information if it came up, I wouldn't actively look for people in the same seat because their answers are more likely to be swayed by what worked. Players who sat in different seats are more likely not to recognise the hand, or else to avoid thinking through the consequences of what they do know about it. In any case, despite the impression given by some other posters (not you) in this and other threads, the practical limitations of time and other demands on TDs mean that we can't generally be so precise in who we choose. Mostly we're just glad to have been able to ask a few players of suitable standard.

Not so, in my experience. Both methods are played.

If you look at the original post you'll see that he's talking about the footnote to Law 25A.

That was the view of the Appeals Committee. Ironically, as they were deliberating, it was discovered that at the other table in the match the auction had been identical except that the South hand had passed rather than bidding 5♥.

Can you give us examples where this has been the case?

Then you can finesse the spades twice and clear them, using the H10 as an entry, before cashing DA and putting West in with DK as before. Now, although you don't have the squeeze against East, you've only lost one trick so far, so you can duck the CK if West tries that, and then you have the communications to cash all your diamonds.

Actually, I suppose East is then squeezed in the red suits.

I think you need to take care to unblock a top spade from hand at trick one, but even then I'm not sure you have an answer for every defence. If West exits a spade instead of a club, and then when in with the DK plays the CK, I don't think you can unravel all your tricks.