[blml] Live exam question [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

[Robert Geller]

I notice Steve's email address is at Harvard Univ. so I assume he plays
primarily in the U.S.   The asking of a question (e.g., "no spades pard?")
by one defender to the other is forbidden by Law 61B, 
http://web2.acbl.org/laws/play.htm
except that the zonal organization (ACBL in the case of the US,
Canada, Mexico and Bermuda) can authorize the asking of such a 
question.   As far as I know, it has been authorized only by the ACBL,
and is illegal everywhere else in the world.

Therefore when Steve says:
>but taking this reasonable principle as far as banning something that 
>the Laws explicitly permit... words fail me.
he is presumably talking about the U.S., but he should note that
such a question (defender -> defender) is explicitly banned everywhere
else, so it is entirely natural that (except in ACBL-land) 
the asking of such a question is UI.   Therefore an action (such as not
turning over one's card for 5 min) which is tantamount to asking a question
should also be treated as UI (outside ACBL-land).   

It would be desirable. IMO, to make the laws uniform world-wide, but 
this appears to be politically impossible.  I'm an American but have
lived in Japan since 1984 and IMO in the case of banning defender -> defender
questions the "rest of the world" position is preferable to the US one.

-Bob

Steve Willner writes:
>> From: Herman De Wael <herman at hdw.be>
>>  Even if the question is not asked
>> of partner, or even not asked at all (as in sitting still with the 
>> open card for five minutes), the EBL and WBF interpretation is that 
>> such manners of asking are treated as illegal asking of partner.
>
>This seems a very big extrapolation.  I understand the need to treat 
>questions asked in subtle or indirect form as equivalent to direct ones, 
>but taking this reasonable principle as far as banning something that 
>the Laws explicitly permit... words fail me.

-----------------------------------------------------
Robert (Bob) Geller,     Tokyo, Japan        geller at nifty.com