[blml] Clubbed Queen

[Sven Pran]

> On Behalf Of Tim West-Meads
> Sven wrote:
> 
> > Law 46B4: If declarer calls a card that is not in dummy, the call is
> > void and declarer may designate any legal card.
> >
> > So east has actually "led" his Queen of clubs out of turn, declarer
> > may accept this "lead", or the Queen becomes a major penalty card.
> 
> There are other possibilities.  Did dummy (hearing the "clubs" part of
> the call) place a club in the played position?  The Q may be withdrawn
> without penalty (L45D).

If Dummy actually placed a card in the played position (it doesn't matter
which card!) then of course Law 45D applies and the QC can be withdrawn
without any penalty. This is however not how I understood the OP; the way he
wrote I understood that East played his QC in response to the call for 5C
from Dummy and that Dummy hadn't gotten around to "play" any card yet.

> Did declarer articulate carelessly such that his opponent might easily
> have heard 9/8/small/top rather than 5?  (afraid my Dutch isn't up to
> that one).

If Dummy hadn't responded by placing a card in the played position then I'm
afraid this doesn't matter so in that case my first ruling is correct: The
QC is prematurely led.

> Could declarer have known, at the time of his irregularity, that calling
> for a non-existent club would likely induce RHO to produce a penalty
> card?  Generally I'd expect a declarer who wasn't trying it on to
> request a waiver of the penalty card provisions.

This is a too far shot for me to believe in.
 
> In the latter two cases (and assuming no request for a penalty waiver)
> the CQ becomes an MPc but we adjust the result after the hand to that
> which would likely have been obtained had the irregularity not occurred
> (L72b1).
 
I don't accept this logic. The way we have been told the story I rule as a
fact that Declarer has simply provided a misnomer.
 
> There are also possibilities relating to the defender having exposed the
> CQ deliberately in an attempt to avoid his partner crashing it under the
> A/K next round but these are more remote.

And irrelevant as the QC becomes a major penalty card (unless as admitted if
Dummy actually had placed a card in the played position)

Regards Sven