august2014

English 54 This was the bid: West North East South 2NT* Pass** Pass 3 ♦ Pass Pass Dbl Pass 3♠ Dbl Pass Pass Pass *no stop ** long pause for thought Down Two. After North's 3♦ bid I was called to the table by the East/West pair who claimed that South thought for a long time before his bid. Unlike a football referee who can see whether an infraction occurred or not, a bridge Tournament Director has first of all to be a detective to determine the facts. My first question was to North, whether his partner did in fact take a long time before Pass ing or not. The answer was affirmative. Then I asked the East/West pair "Was the Stop card used?" and the answer was negative. Hmm. I told the players that the absence of the Stop card seriously reduced their rights, but play should continue and if East-West were damaged then they should call again. As you can see, 3♦ would have probably gone down one or two (North must lose a spade, two trumps and 2-3 hearts), while 3♠ doubled went down two. Here are the important points to consider: 1. East did not use the Stop card and South was faced with a difficult decision with his 13 HCP and 5-2-0-6. 2. North/South were vulnerable and East/ West were non-vulnerable. 3. North has only 3 HCP points, but a 1-4-7- 1 distribution. In addition, after 2NT (max 22 HCP) and West's Pass (max 3 HCP), he knows that his partner has at least an opening. So, was his bid of 3♦ justified? Was there a logical alternative? 4. Was North's bid affected by his partner's long pause for thought? What would have happened if East would have used the Stop card and South would have paused as he was supposed to do and then Pass ed? If you were the Tournament Director what would your ruling be? Please e-mail me at bzietman @ gmail.com with your decision and comments and I will publish them in a future article. היחידה בישראל ‘ חנות הברידג מ “ חברה לקלפים בע , אריה ( אילון ליד קניון ) ברק - בני 16 הקישון 03-6186722 08:00-17:00 ה - פתוח ימים א מזמינים אתכם להנות מחווית הקניה אנו החדש שלנו באתר אונליין , משחקים ומתנות ,‘ ברידג של מוצרי www.lioncard.co.il סט קופסאות הכרזה קלאב הכרזה כולל קלפי מפלסטיק סימטריים ח “ ש 180 ח “ ש 240 במקום ח למשלוח “ ש 35 תוספת