[blml] Law 45D - Was card misplayed by Dummy?

[Brian]

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On Sun, 19 Aug 2007 21:54:43 +0200
Herman De Wael <hermandw at skynet.be> wrote:

> 
> Well, apparently this declarer also thought "ruff" meant "play a 
> diamond". He told you so. But of course, you prefer to disregard the 
> wishes of the player at fault.
> 

You're putting words into the declarer's mouth (or mind), Herman. I'd
expect that if you asked declarer what "ruff" meant, a substantial
majority would say "Play a trump". If you accept that as the definition
of "ruff", which (IMO, at least) the vast majority of bridge players
would do, then declarer has indicated a card, even though he
**thinks** he named a different one. It's your insistence on the idea of
"ruff" being defined as "Play a card of the suit I *thought* was trumps"
which is causing the problem. 

Or maybe you expect every Dummy, when instructed to ruff, to ask
declarer "Which suit do you currently think is trumps"? After all, most
players won't claim to be mind readers, and if your definition of
"ruff" is the correct one, declarer has NOT unambiguously indicated a
card. 

How far do we take this? What would your reaction be if called
to a table and defender (who called you) tells you that declarer asked
dummy to ruff, but that declarer doesn't look as if he's giving the
game his full attention, so would you please quiz him to confirm what
suit he thought was trumps at the moment he said "ruff"? 


Brian. 


- -- 

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