when a player doesn't know what his partner's bid it

[blackshoe]

Law 20F1 says, in part "Except on the instruction of the Director, replies should be given by the partner of the player who made the call in question." So the director has the authority to instruct you to explain your partnership's agreement as to your own call. If you refuse, he has the authority to penalize you, suspend you for the remainder of the session or any part of it, or with the concurrence of the Tournament Organizer disqualify you for cause. See Law 91. The director's instruction to your partner to leave the table is a courtesy to your partnership, since if he remains, whatever explanation you give is UI to him, and if he takes an action which could have been based on that UI, your partnership will be subject to score adjustment and possibly to penalty as well. Of course, if your partner refuses to leave the table when the director so instructs him, he is subject to the same disciplinary penalties mentioned above.

 

Note that players do not have the authority to ask an opponent to leave the table. The proper way to handle these situations is simply to call the director — and to do so before any arguments or refusals can occur.

 

Bottom line: if the director tells you to do something, do it.

 

Added: The laws say that if there is no TD, the players should appoint one of their number to take that mantle. The EBU has, as I recall, a slightly different procedure available: experienced TDs are available by telephone. Either way, "we don't have a TD, so we're just going to argue amongst ourselves until somebody gives up" is the wrong way to go.

[JoshuaR]

I played recently with a new partner and made a support double. When asked, my partner said that she didn't know what it meant. The auction continued, and I became declarer in another suit. Before play commenced, the opponents then asked me to explain the double, which I did figuring I had to pay the price for using a bid I couldn't be sure my partner would know. That is, as soon as my dummy revealed that we would have had an eight card fit in that suit and the opponents could count the number of cards in their hands, they would know exactly the number of cards in that suit for each player, and I would not.

 

That was still the correct procedure, right? I had to explain the bid?

[blackshoe]

Maybe, maybe not. Did you have an agreement that it was a support double or that it had some other meaning, or did you just hope partner would get it? If the former you have to tell your opponents the agreement. If the latter, you have to tell them you have no agreement. You don't have to tell them what's in your hand, or why you doubled.

[Vampyr]

In the case above the pair in question have been playing together for years and are two of the best players in the club. I am not for a minute suggesting they are cheating, just that they are not clear about the rules and considering the differences in opinion in this post that is a common problem.

 

Maybe this pair are not cheating. But they do need to be educated on what full disclosure means. Perhaps this club could send a few people to the EBU directors’ course so,you could play with a trained TD.

 

But in any case there are not differences of opinion on this thread. There are comments based on the Laws and comments that are complete nonsense.

You are entitled, when it is your turn to call, to ask the meaning of any bids made, or not made, by the opposition during the auction. The explanation should normally be given by the partner who made the bid. If his partner believes that a wrong explanation was given he must say nothing until the end of the auction at which point he should call the tournament director,

 

Unless of course the pair and up,defending, in which case they must disclose their possible incorrect explanation at the end of the play of the hand. However if it was you that gave an incorrect explanation and you realise it later in the auction, you must call the director, who will normally instruct you to give the correct explanation. This may end up with no damage to the opponent’s thus no need for an adjusted score.

[NemoJames]

This seems to contradict most of what is said in this thread and seems logical to me. A committee of judges say I have a right to ask a bidders partner to leave the table and ask what the bid meant.

 

Event: Life Master Pairs, 12 August, Second Semi-final Session

 

Board 3

Dealer: South

Vulnerability: East/West

 

The Facts: 2 made two, plus 110 for N/S. The Director was called after dummy was displayed. South believed she had made a Support Double. North did not believe that anyone played Support Doubles after 1 No Trump overcalls. North was unsure as to the meaning of the double. The Director allowed the table result to stand since neither East nor West had any clear action.

 

The Appeal: E/W appealed the Director's ruling. North and West were the only players to attend the hearing. West believed that had he known South was making a Support Double, he might have bid 2 No Trump. He believed that North should not have removed the double. North said that South was a relatively inexperienced player, a student of his, though a Life Master. He had explained at the table that his partner might have meant the double as Support Double, though he was not sure. He believed that removing the double was the right action with his hand.

 

The Committee's Decision: The Committee believed that North went out of his way to explain the possibilities for his partner's double, that it was possibly meant as a Support Double, and that she was relatively inexperienced. At this point E/W could have asked North to leave the table and had South explain the intent of the double . The Committee believed that the decision North had made to bid 2 could just as well have worked out badly for his side. The result was "rub of the green" for E/W.

 

The Committee allowed the table result to stand and believed the appeal just barely met the standard of having merit because N/S were not totally clear on their agreement.

[barmar]

There's nothing in the Laws that allows the players to ask North to leave the table.

 

Sometimes the Director will do this, but the players can't do it on their own.

[Vampyr]

A double necro!