[blml] claim

[Eric Landau]

On Dec 19, 2007, at 10:42 AM, Sven Pran wrote:

>> On Behalf Of Eric Landau
> .............
>> It does, because we've been told that it does.  But you wouldn't know
>> it just from reading the text.
>
> Sure I do. Reading the text is precisely how I know.
>
>> Note that the law does not refer to a "concession", but rather to an
>> "attempt[] to concede".  One could easily argue that a concession
>> spawned by an attempt to claim, per L68B1, is different from an
>> attempt to concede.
>
> Please explain how the difference can be relevant.
>
> To me a statement like "one trick to each of us" made by a defender to
> declarer is an attempt, in this case both to claim one trick and to  
> concede
> the other.

True.

> If he (with more than one trick left to play) says just "one
> trick to me" that is also an attempt to claim one trick and to  
> concede the
> rest.

False.

The difference is that in the first case the concession occurred  
because he has made "a statement to the effect that [he] will lose a  
specific number of tricks".  In the second case the concession  
occurred because he has made "a claim of some number of tricks".  If  
the latter language did not appear in TFLB, we would have a  
concession in the first case only, but not in the second.

> The attempt becomes a claim respectively a concession unless his  
> partner
> immediately objects.

The attempt to claim produces the claim.  The claim, respectively,  
produces the concession.  No "attempt to concede" there -- we do not  
know the claimer's mental state, and have no reason to presume that  
he has internalized the ramifications of L68B (or is even aware of it).

> When declarer concedes it is no "attempt" simply because he has no  
> partner
> that may object to the concession.

It's awfully hard to concede without "attempting" to do so.   
Declarer's attempt to concede always produces a concession because he  
has no partner who may object to his *attempt to concede*.  That's  
not the same as objecting to the "concession".  Indeed, L68B says  
that if a defender's partner objects to the *attempt*, "no concession  
has occured", and thus can hardly be objected to.


Eric Landau
1107 Dale Drive
Silver Spring MD 20910
ehaa at starpower.net