[blml] Turn but a stone

[Eric Landau]

At 12:48 AM 2/9/07, richard.hills wrote:

>Steve Willner:
>
> >There seems to be some confusion here.  Whether a penalty card is AI
> >or UI is controlled by L50D1 (major) or L50C (minor).  L16C2 is
> >irrelevant.
>
>Law 50C (Disposition of Minor Penalty Card):
>
>".....Offender's partner is not subject to lead penalty, but
>information gained through seeing the penalty card is extraneous,
>unauthorised (see Law 16A)."
>
>Law 50D1 (Disposition of Major Penalty Card - Offender to Play):
>
>".....(the requirement that offender must play the card is authorised
>information for his partner; however, other information arising from
>facing of the penalty card is unauthorised for partner)....."
>
>Richard Hills:
>
>Oops.  I overlooked Law 50D1.  However, it seems to me that there is
>a major problem here.  Firstly this bracketed phrase is grossly
>inconsistent with Law 16C2, secondly there is a gross inconsistency
>between the AI / UI status of minor and major penalty cards.
>
>Steve Willner:
>
> >The WBFLC minute in question was supposed to explain how to
> >interpret the rather confusing language of L50D1, but I don't think
> >it makes things crystal clear.
>
>[snip]
>
>Richard Hills:
>
>Yes and no.  The WBFLC minute purportedly clarified the status of all
>penalty cards, not merely major penalty cards.
>
>To me the above sentence in Law 50C is crystal clear.  But it seems
>to me that the WBFLC minute's redefinition of the phrase "information
>gained" for minor penalty cards is a muddy and unclear torturing of
>the English language.
>
>How is it possible to state that it is not "information gained" to
>lead the deuce from AKQJT2 to partner's known penalty card nine?

My reading is that the identity of the PC and the fact that it must be 
played at first opportunity are AI, whereas any information gained from 
the circumstances of its exposure is UI.  For example, partner leads a 
king out of turn, and you hold the ace and can figure out that partner 
must have the queen (UI).  Or pard makes an obvious fourth-best opening 
lead OOT against 3NT, and you can deduce that he is leading his longest 
suit (UI).  I'm not certain that's exactly what TPTB intended, but it 
seems sensible, consistent, and a relatively straightforward criterion 
for handling PC AI/UI situations.

I have feelings of deja vu here.  Didn't we discuss this at some length 
a while back?


Eric Landau                     ehaa at starpower.net
1107 Dale Drive                 (301) 608-0347
Silver Spring MD 20910-1607