[blml] De mortuis nil nisi bonum [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

[richard.hills at immi.gov.au]

>>Imps
>>Dlr: South
>>Vul: East-West
>>
>>South holds:
>>
>>K64
>>82
>>AKT42
>>KQ2
>>
>>The bidding has gone:
>>
>>SOUTH     WEST      NORTH     EAST
>>1D        Dble      1S        2H
>>2S        3H        3S(1)     Pass
>>4S
>>
>>(1) Break in tempo

Wayne Burrows:

>What is the nature of the break in tempo?
>
>It could be argued that a slow 3S does
>not suggest bidding 4S over pass since
>the slow bidder maybe be slowly deciding
>between pass and 3S or 3S and 4S

[snip]

Richard Hills:

The question is not whether the slow
bidding North was actually thinking about
a Pass or about 4S.  The question is what
North's break in tempo _demonstrably
suggests_ to South.  In my extensive
experience of competitive auctions, more
breaks in tempo occur when the hesitator
has extra values than when the hesitator
holds sub-minimum values.  Therefore, in
my opinion, South's 4S was a demonstrably
suggested logical alternative.

>>What ruling do you make if:
>>
>>(a) the North-South agreement is to
>>open 1NT with 12-14 hcp?

David Grabiner:

[snip]

>South is minimum for the 2S raise, so
>she would not normally accept an
>invitation.  If N-S are playing maximal
>overcall doubles, I can't tell whether
>South is being actively ethical
>(thinking that North was considering a
>pass, and bending over backwards) or
>actively unethical (competing because
>he thinks North has extras), but I have
>to rule against him if I think that
>North was unlikely to be considering a
>pass.

>>(b) the North-South agreement is to
>>open 1NT with 16-18 hcp?

David Grabiner:

>South is medium for the 2S raise, with
>the maximum 15 HCP but only three spades
>and a doubleton heart which is likely to
>be a duplicated value.  If N-S are
>playing maximal overcall doubles,  I
>rule that pass is a logical alternative
>to 4S.

Richard Hills:

Good hand evaluation by David, with my
only quibble being that "maximal overcall
double" is a misnomer in this auction,
since nobody overcalled (South opened,
West doubled, North responded and East
advanced).

Roger Pewick:

>If you don't finish this auction fairly
>soon somebody is going to be penalized
>for slow play.  Oh, hold on, I haven't
>been called to the table, have I?

Richard Hills:

Yes, Roger correctedly noted that this
was a trick question.  The complete
auction and the complete deal ->

SOUTH     WEST      NORTH     EAST
Dorothy             Richard
1D        Dble      1S        2H
2S        3H        3S(1)     Pass
4S        Dble      Pass      Pass
Pass

(1) Break in tempo

              A973
              63
              J653
              965
QT52                          J8
AQT74                         KJ95
---                           Q987
A873                          JT4
              K64
              82
              AKT42
              KQ2

Result: Eight tricks, -300, a loss of
nine imps when team-mates went one off in
4H at the other table.

On the principle of "de mortuis nil nisi
bonum" I will not cast aspersions at my
partner's ethics, especially since ->

John (MadDog) Probst:

>In this case it makes no difference; The
>1D opener has a punchy 6 loser hand; any
>move by partner (thereby implying 5S)
>suggests game. I'd be unhappy about a
>pass here if it made exactly 9 tricks.

Richard Hills:

Obviously my competitive bidding as North
is madder than anything MadDog can
contemplate.

:-)

But this silly hand does demonstrate the
serious point that there is no need to
waste time by immediately summoning the
Director after a break in tempo when quite
frequently the non-offending side gains a
benefit, rather than suffers damage, if a
subsequent infraction of Law 16 occurs.


Best wishes

Richard James Hills, amicus curiae
National Training Branch, DIAC
02 6223 9052

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