Ruling question

[Thymallus]

Playing last night at the ftf club in the nationwide sim the opps bid thus

 

RHO 1♥ LHO 4♣(alerted

 

RHO then pulled out a bidding sheet, ran her finger down it to see what the right response was before bidding 4♥

 

despite p shaking his head to encourage me to do nothing I felt that we should call the TD who told us to play the hand, which ended up with them completing the sequence to 6 H which made.

 

TD then said she would adjust to an average plus for us.

 

I was just wondering if that was right?

 

John

[Free]

It's a club game, why do you call the TD for such thing? I mean, these LOLs play for fun, and sometimes can't remember agreements (or are learning the system). Just ignore it next time...

 

I guess it's quite logical that they get some penalty, but I don't know if you should get a good board out of this. ;)

[Thymallus]

Sorry I can't have made myself clear

 

The competition was a nationwide simultaneous event, not a simple club night.

If it had been a club night then I am sure I would have done exactly as you suggest.

But for a proper competition I felt it was not right to ignore what happened.

 

John

[Walddk]

The rules are clearly stated in Law 40.E.2.

 

During the auction and play, any player except dummy may refer to his opponents' convention card at his own turn to call or play, but not to his own.

 

The Laws also state what the director should do in a situation like this.

 

Law 73.B.1:

Whenever the Director deems that an offender could have known at the time of his irregularity that the irregularity would be likely to damage the non-offending side, he shall require the auction and play to continue, afterwards awarding an adjusted score if he considers that the offending side gained an advantage through the irregularity.

 

In your case the TD considered that your opponents gained an advantage through the irregularity, and then he must award an adjusted score. Since the Laws don't tell directors which, he/she is entitled to award the score he/she finds appropriate.

 

The conclusion is therefore: the director in your case did nothing wrong according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge.

 

Roland

[jillybean]

It's a club game, why do you call the TD for such thing?  I mean, these LOLs play for fun, and sometimes can't remember agreements (or are learning the system).  Just ignore it next time...

I am going to play in an intermediate 0-1500 mp club game this morning and now I'm worried that I may be breaking with club etiquette if I call the TD. Is there an unwritten rule in clubs that says the laws of duplicate contract bridge dont apply until X level game?

 

 

jb

[P_Marlowe]

<snip>

I am going to play in an intermediate 0-1500 mp club game this morning and now I'm worried that I may be breaking with club etiquette if I call the TD. Is there an unwritten rule in clubs that says the laws of duplicate contract bridge dont apply until X level game?

 

 

jb

<snip>

There is one, although there should not be.

As always it depends a lot, on how you act.

And what you want to achieve and how you

look at the results, if you take the tournament

serious, you should call the TD, if it is a training session

or a social event, ... who cares.

 

If you are reasonable well, you will win anyway,

... believe me, even if they "cheat", it does not

help them a lot. And you probably loose a lot more

through your own errors than through the cheating

of others.

 

With kind regards

Marlowe

 

PS: I act as a TD in a local club, pity the poor soulds,

but my main task is getting the tournament through

in time, cheating is no big issue.

[P_Marlowe]

Sorry I can't have made myself clear

 

The competition was a nationwide simultaneous event, not a simple club night.

If it had been a club night then I am sure I would have done exactly as you suggest.

But for a proper competition I felt it was not right to ignore what happened.

 

John

But the nation wide simultaneous event takes place

in the local club, i.e. it is a normal club event.

 

Of course it should be a little bit different, but if you

believ that, this is really the case, ... I would suggest

that you wake up, because in reality is not.

 

With kind regards

Marlowe

 

PS: I am not saying it was wrong to call the TD, just that there

is no difference to a normal night.

[jillybean]

PS: I act as a TD in a local club, pity the poor soulds,

but my main task is getting the tournament through

in time, cheating is no big issue.

I guess its not if you are not following the rules! ;)

[blackshoe]

In your case the TD considered that your opponents gained an advantage through the irregularity, and then he must award an adjusted score. Since the Laws don't tell directors which, he/she is entitled to award the score he/she finds appropriate.

 

The conclusion is therefore: the director in your case did nothing wrong according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge.

That's not entirely true. Law 12C1 starts "When, owing to an irregularity, no result can be obtained..." Law 12C2 starts "When the Director awards an assigned adjusted score in place of a result actually obtained after an irregularity..."

 

A result was obtained, therefore an artificial adjusted score is not appropriate. If I were adjusting, I would use Law 12C2. I would also consider a PP for OS.