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

[David Barton]

>> On Behalf Of Herman De Wael
> ...............
>> > Do you want your players to play bridge or do you want to penalize 
>> > every
>> > irregularity even when no harm or damage is done?
>> >
>> > I know what I prefer and I no longer care what you prefer.
>> >
>>
>> No damage is done? Opponents will not agree with that assesment!
>
> "Damage" to a non-offending side due to an irregularity is the amount with
> which a result actually obtained by this side is less than their 
> reasonable
> expectation HAD THERE BEEN NO IRREGULARITY.
>
> (Sure you know this as well as I do?)
>
> 1: Declarer requests a trump from dummy or orders dummy to "ruff"
>
> 2: Either the contract is in notrump so there is no trump in the play, or
> somehow it becomes revealed that declarer for a moment was mistaken about
> which suit is named as trump in the contract.
>
> 3: What is the damage to the defending side when declarer is allowed to 
> play
> the card he wants to play from dummy now that his mistake is rectified? 
> That
> will be any card at his choice in a notrump contract and the named trump 
> in
> a trump contract.
>
> (The "irregularity" here is Declarer's mistake about the contract.)
>
> Sven

I believe the irregularity is the failure to comply with L45A.
(I do not believe a nomination of a trump or ruff complies)
Had declarer so complied he would have nominated the 3 of D (Herman's NT 
case)
or the 3 of H (Sven's 4S case).
The defence are (likely to be) damaged by allowing declarer to change his 
intention.

Since an instruction to ruff/trump does not contain a rank (and I believe a 
suit), the
card to be played is determined by L45B.
However the restrictions in L45B1 to L45B5 do not apply when Declarer's 
different
intention is incontrovertible.
ie L45B1 to L45B5 do NOT apply in these cases leaving Declarer obliged to 
play
the (specific) card he intended at the point he made his nomination.

*****************************************
  david.j.barton at lineone.net
*****************************************





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