[blml] L9A vs L73B1

[Konrad Ciborowski]

> Konrad Ciborowski wrote:
> >> East (dealer) opens 1C, not alerted. This may be a doubleton in a
> >> 5crd-major system and is alertable in the NL. Against this opening, NS
> >> play an artificial defence, based on transfers.
> >>
> >> South, who knows about the possible doubleton C, holds:
> >>
> >> K9
> >> 62
> >> QJ8
> >> AKQ942
> >>
> >> He would like to bid 1S (=transfer to clubs OR showing diamonds and
> >> hearts). 
> >> Over a 'natural' 1C (min. 3crd)  he would have bid 1NT.
> >>
> >> South does not know what will happen: 
> >> a) If he bids 1S, partner may not alert and jump to 3S. 
> >> b) If he bids 1NT, partner may alert, explain spades and diamonds OR
> >> hearts and clubs, and jump to 3H.
> >>
> >> Is south allowed to ask the meaning, or draw attention to the
> >> alertability of 1C?
> > 
> > NO!!! Emphatically NO!!! That would be like telling partner
> > "watch out: my next bid is going to be artificial!".
> > That would be blatant transmission of the UI to partner.
> > 
> 
> See how different the replies could be?
> In reaction to Conrad I would offer the following:
> Don't you believe that they know that they are playing different 
> systems over different 1Cl? 

I believe that this is a very legitimate possibility. Recently
I had a very similar experience with my own regular partner.
And I have seen situations like that that many times at the table.
This happens especially when they adopted this new defense
recently or when one partner forced the other to
play something the other doesn't like - the latter scenario is the most 
frequent.
This is even more probable when they don't face "short club"
pairs very often and don't get to test their artificial defense very often. 
People forget their artificial treatments quite frequently. 

> I see where Conrad is coming from. I prefer to correct my opponents' 
> small mistakes 

The problem is that you are practically guaranteeing that partner
will wake up if he doesn't remember that defense.

Consider this scenario:

- 1C
- ALERT!
- What does it mean?
- Just can be short with 4=4=3=2, otherwise normal
- OK, thank you, 1S

It is quite possible for North to fail to remember (inquiry about 
an alerted call is pretty much automatic)

Now take this:

- 1C
Pause.
- What does it mean?
- Oh, sorry, I should have alerted, can be short with 4=4=3=2, otherwise normal.
- 1S

The second scenario (partner asking about the meaning of an unalerted
call when he failed to do so on the previous 25 deals)
would wake up a dead man.

Of course after the hand they will claim that "obviously we know
our system" but my experience tells me that weird treatments
and defenses are _often_ forgotten. When you ask a player away
from the table he will tell you "ah, this sequence means
..." but at the table it too easy to lose concentration for
a while and simply let your thoughts wander. People do it all
the time. It is the "hand was faster than mind" case.

    As an indirect proof how all this unauthorized information
transmitted by alerts and questions is, in effect, used by
players you just check what happens when you make people
play with screens. The number of bidding accidents in simple
sequences increases by a truely big margin. Just because
players lose all this non-verbal information they get -
they don't have confirmation whether partner alerted their
bids, they can't see their partners ask questions about
meanings of certain bids etc. 

    When you put people behind screens you'll realize
how big the impact of those "wake-up questions" is.
That's why I believe players should go out of their way
to avoid trasmitting UI when playing without screens.





-- 
Konrad Ciborowski
Kraków, Poland

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