[blml] Illegal convention [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

[richard.hills at immi.gov.au]

Steve Willner:

>Anybody know what the ACBL rules are when an illegal convention is
>used?
>
>Yesterday, we opened 1NT and heard a 2D overcall, which turned out
>to have an illegal meaning.  This was in a team match, and the
>board had not yet been played at the other table.  What should the
>ruling have been? (The TD had us redeal, which was fine with us,
>but I have no idea whether it was technically correct.)

Richard Hills:

It would have been technically correct under the 1975 Laws (which
prescribed a redeal as the solution for most bidding infractions
whenever a team's board had not yet been played at the other table).

But the TD's ruling seems to me to be overly generous to the OS
under the 1997 Laws.

The EBU has this Law 40D regulation:

"If a contestant uses a method that is not permitted, or is
adjudged to have fielded a psyche, deviation or misbid then the
deal should be completed.  If he attains a score of Ave- or less
then the score stands.  Otherwise he gets Ave- and his opponents
get Ave+."

If the ACBL has a similar regulation to the EBU, it is well-hidden,
as when I searched the ACBL website I could not find it.  If the
ACBL has not created such a Law 40D ACBL regulation, then it seems
to me that Steve's NOS team deserved +3 imps under Law 12A2 and/or
Law 12C1, then Law 86A.


Best wishes

Richard James Hills, amicus curiae
National Training Branch
02 6225 6285