[blml] Amnesia

[Eric Landau]

At 11:15 AM 6/13/06, Sven wrote:

> > On Behalf Of Ed Reppert
> > On Jun 13, 2006, at 8:46 AM, Sven Pran wrote:
> >
> > > Law 17E specifies that the auction period ends when ... the opening
> > > lead is
> > > faced.
> >
> > [snip]
> >
> > > What is needed to avoid discussions like this is a confirmation in
> > > law or
> > > footnote to the effect that presumed declarer or dummy's attempted
> > > opening
> > > lead out of turn does not terminate the auction period but shall be
> > > handled
> > > under Law 24B.
> >
> > Suggested wording: "the auction period ends when... the correct
> > opening leader faces his lead."
>
>I'm sorry Ed but I don't think this will work without more endless
>discussions. Shall the auction period (with your amendment to L17E) 
>end when
>Law 54 applies? (A faced opening lead from the wrong defender is 
>definitely
>not an opening lead from the correct opening leader.)

The usual case here is that the auction has completed, notwithstanding 
that the legal "auction period" has not ended, so L24B becomes a no-op: 
the auction penalties won't apply, because there will be no more 
bidding, and the play penalties won't apply, because the offender will 
subsequently become declarer.  So if we rule under L24B, nothing 
happens.  Since L53 does not get invoked, the defenders lose their 
seemingly "natural" right to accept the LOOT ("natural" because a LOOT 
can be accepted by the opposite side in all other cases, and there's no 
reason to believe that the lawmakers intended this particular odd 
exception).

L54 cannot apply; it requires not only that the OLOOT be faced, but 
also that the "offender's partner lead[] face down".  We have a wording 
problem only in the case where the presumed declarer and the presumed 
dummy simultaneously lead OOT, one face up, the other face down.  L54 
is clearly not intended to apply to this case, as all of the options 
for rectification are explicitly given to "declarer"; presumably we are 
intended to treat this rather odd case under L55.  Indeed, although L54 
obviously presumes that the auction period has ended, it does not make 
it clear whether it did so because the OLOOT was faced, or because the 
correct OL'er led face down -- to resolve that, we must look elsewhere 
in the laws.

This interpretation seems natural and sensible.  It means that if 
declarer or dummy faces an opening lead out of turn, either opponent 
may accept it; if they don't, it is restored to the player's hand 
without further penalty, and the NOS retains whatever small advantage 
it gets from the fact that the identity of the restored card is AI for 
them.


Eric Landau                     ehaa at starpower.net
1107 Dale Drive                 (301) 608-0347
Silver Spring MD 20910-1607