august2014

English 55 In July, the Jerusalem Bridge Center held the annual tournament in memory of Emile Vizner. Prizes and refreshments were generously donated by Ilana Khalif, Emile' s longtime partner. Many strong players participated including new European champion and Spingold winner Ron Schwartz and 2014 Israeli Champion Micha Mark . Participants marveled at the use of Bridgemates for the two sections, reducing the mistakes to an absolute minimum and providing immediate online results . One hand was of particular interest from a Tournament Director' s perspective and involved many different views on the correct ruling. Firstly a few words about the " Stop " card. Here is what the EBU has to say about it: Before making a jump bid (i.e. a bid at a higher level than the minimum required) a player must place the Stop card in front of him , then place his call as usual , and eventually remove the Stop card. His left-hand opponent should not call until the Stop card has been removed. The Stop card should be left on the table for about ten seconds , to give the next player time to reflect . It should not be removed prematurely. After a jump bid ; the next player must pause for about ten seconds before calling. It is an offense either not to pause or to show indifference when pausing. If the Stop card has been removed prematurely or has not been used , an opponent should pause as though the Stop card had been used correctly. Now consider this section of Law 16: After a player makes available to his partner extraneous information that may suggest a call or play , as for example by a remark , a question , a reply to a question , an unexpected alert or failure to alert , or by unmistakable hesitation *, unwonted speed, special emphasis, tone, gesture, movement, or mannerism, the partner may not choose from among logical alternatives one that could demonstrably have been suggested over another by the extraneous information. (*my underline). A logical alternative action is one that, among the class of players in question and using the methods of the partnership, would be given serious consideration by a significant proportion of such players, of whom it is judged some might select it. Below is the full hand. Both pairs were competent players. Dealer East, Vul N/S ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 7 J843 QJT8765 6 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ T83 T976 K93 T72 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ AK54 AQ5 A42 K43 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ QJ962 K2 - AQJ985 Stop Think – Bid! Brian Zietman