[blml] Protecting yourself after failure to alert

[David Grabiner]

The ACBL Alert chart has the following condition: "Players who, by 
experience or expertise, recognize that their opponents have neglected to 
Alert a special agreement will be expected to protect themselves."

I have never seen an adjustment for MI denied because of this; what should 
the standard be?

For example, here are some common auctions on which a call is Alertable (or 
Announceable).  Suppose East makes the call with the indicated meaning, West 
fails to Alert or Announce, neither North nor South asks, and N-S claim 
damage.  On which of these auctions are N-S entitled to an adjusted score?

S   W   N   E
        1C! X   (1C=Precision, X=majors)

        1NT 2C  (one-suited hand, any suit)

            1C
P   1S  2H  X   (support double)

1C  P   1S  1NT (unusual sandwich NT by an unpassed hand)

    1NT X   2D  (X=penalty, 2D=transfer)

1S  1NT P   2D  (transfer)

    1D  P   1S
P   2C  P   2H  (fourth suit forcing)

            2H
P   2NT P   3D  (Ogust, good suit, weak hand)

    1NT P   2C
P   2D  P   3H  (Smolen, four hearts and five spades)

1C  X   1S  X   (shows four hearts)

My suggestion: if the missing Alert is very common, and the player can ask 
without causing a UI problem, he must ask to protect himself.

I would say that this applies to the first four sequences.  Precision 
players know that few players use a double of 1C to show clubs, and there is 
no UI problem in finding out what the double means, even though you need to 
ask because it is not on the convention card.  Conventional defenses to 1NT 
are also very common, and will be expected even if the Alert is missing. 
The unalerted support double and sandwich NT are also situations in which an 
expected Alert is missing, and checking about it is unlikely to create UI. 
In these four situations, an experienced player must ask (or look at the 
convention card), or he cannot get an adjustment for MI.

A player who would pass over a natural bid but double an artificial bid to 
show the suit will create UI if he asks, is told the bid is natural, and 
passes.  Thus a player cannot be expected to protect himself against an 
unalerted transfer or fourth suit forcing.  (The three example sequences are 
ones on which many people do play the call as natural.)

Smolen and Ogust are not universal meanings for these calls, so N-S may not 
suspect that anything is wrong and should not lose a right to an MI 
adjustment.  If N-S wanted to do something during the auction, they are 
entitled to an adjustment.  And if the auction ends and E-W are the 
declaring side, East should correct the MI, and N-S are entitled to an 
adjustment for that infraction if the MI is not corrected and they are 
damaged in the play.

And the final example is a clear case for an MI adjustment if the alert is 
missing, because the natural meaning (a penalty double) is normal.  I 
mentioned it only because it is one on which I know to protect myself.  Many 
intermediate players don't quite understand the concept of negative doubles 
and have no idea that this is not a standard negative double situation. 
(Some experts also play this, but they know to Alert.)