[Hanoi5]

Scoring: IMP

WestNorthEastSouth
PassPass 1♠Pass 1NT 2♣Pass*2♦ Pass3♣DoublePass Pass Pass

---

Well, as usual North and East share the same side of the screen.

North/South play a Napolitan club (some sort of). They've been playing for years and evreybody sort of knows their system. So, 1 Spade is alerted as being 4 or more cards and possibly having another longer suit. After passing 2 Clubs, North alerts his pass as 'possibly' having clubs as the second suit (which, when playing canapè, which is what they play, is longer). On the other side of the screen the pass is not 'alerted'. Of course, West complains that she wouldn't have bid 3 Clubs if she had been 'alerted'; however, she did know that North had a longer suit.

So, how should the Director rule? N/S are good old players who've been playing this system for a long time, while E/W are very good players of international calibre.


The bonus question is the following:
When can a player change his/her bid when using screens? I have asked this before but I didn't quite understood the 'conclusion'. Again, something weird happened last night, this pair is bidding over a NT sequence and a player 'says' (she didn't even use the bidding box) pass to a clear cue-bid and after LHO quickly passes says, "Wait! I mean some other bid! i can change it if the tray hasn't gone to the other side!" but the truth is that the pass by her LHO ended the bidding.

[paulg]

Although there are plenty on this forum happy to provide an opinion, some of whom are Directors and regular Appeal Committee members (and chairpersons), it is better to post non-BBO problems to the bridgetalk forum. You will get find all of the best Laws folks there.

Just make sure you include the jurisdiction in your question, and any relevant alerting rules.

Cheers

Paul

[jdonn]

No adjustment. West knew north can have a longer suit, if he wants to know if that suit could be clubs he should have asked whoever was on his side of the screen. I don't even think north's alert to east was required, he was just being helpful. This is pitiful whining as far as I'm concerned.

[david_c]

cardsharp, on Apr 11 2007, 05:52 PM, said:

Although there are plenty on this forum happy to provide an opinion, some of whom are Directors and regular Appeal Committee members (and chairpersons), it is better to post non-BBO problems to the bridgetalk forum. You will get find all of the best Laws folks there.

He already did

And I agree that there should be no adjustment. The pass does not look like it should be alertable to me (even though North did in fact alert) so West has not been misinformed.

[skjaeran]

Hanoi5, on Apr 11 2007, 05:37 PM, said:

When can a player change his/her bid when using screens? I have asked this before but I didn't quite understood the 'conclusion'. Again, something weird happened last night, this pair is bidding over a NT sequence and a player 'says' (she didn't even use the bidding box) pass to a clear cue-bid and after LHO quickly passes says, "Wait! I mean some other bid! i can change it if the tray hasn't gone to the other side!" but the truth is that the pass by her LHO ended the bidding.

As long as the tray hasn't been passed through to the other side, she can change her bid. Whether LHO's pass ended the bidding or not doesn't matter.

[inquiry]

I agree with jdonn, pitiful whinning, no adjustment, and a slap on the wrist for wasting the directors time.

[Hanoi5]

I have again botched the bidding but this time it is not my fault. We had a committee yesterday where we found out the 'truths':

West North East South
Pass
Pass 1S Pass 1NT
2C Pass* Pass 2D!
3C X 3S! Pass
Pass Pass

Well, North considers her hand to be low for a 1S opening, 1NT was supposed to mean a positive hand with 9-11 HCP, and it was forcing. North says her Pass to 2C could have been made if the 5-card suit were Hearts or Diamonds, too, and also if she had 5 Spades, just because it shows a minimum hand.
East wasn't alerted the pass to 2C, she asked about it and got as an answer that her five-card suit was probably clubs. South was asked and said that opener might have another five card suit or 5 Spades; he says 2D was a 'natural' bid, he says he had too much to say just 2S and he didn't want to double negatively (which partner would have passed) because he had too few HCP and too many spades. West says she didn't think North's 5-carder could be Clubs for she was told that opener could have 5 Spades (although she sort of recognized she was also told North could have any other 5 card suit). After the double East bid 3S for she could never fathom South having 4 card spade support; East is pretty sure she was being 'hunted' (that's how we call it in Spanish when someone is waiting to drop the axe on us).
In the end, East ended up paying 500. At the other table, 3CX was the final contract and it also brought up 500 points to N/S. No points gained or lost.
The committe (which unfortunately got together 2 days after the incident) decided to let the Director's decision stand, i.e. no adjustment.