[blml] AI or UI

[Gampas at aol.com]

>In a message dated 21/11/2007 06:34:35 GMT Standard Time,  agot at ulb.ac.be 
>writes:
>Gampas at aol.com a écrit :
>
>   
> >This reminds me of a somewhat different one, where my partner led a  club  
out 
> >of turn. The declarer, having been read his options,  chose that I led a  
>> club, but I was void. I therefore led  another suit, and the director  
seemed 
> >uncertain whether the  fact that I had a club void was now UI to my  
partner, as 
>> that  information was not gleaned from the "withdrawn action" but was  
gleaned  
>> from the failure to comply with the penalty, but I think that  it  was 
"arising" 
>> from the "withdrawn action" so is UI. Those  more familiar  with this than 
I 
> >will no doubt regard this as  trivial. 

>It was a question a friend of mine had at his exam, and the  expected 
>answer was : "sheer luck : apply last sentence of  L72B5".
>The exemple given by the teacher was the case of a player  dropping an 
>Ace during the play, thereby being compelled to execute the  Emperor's coup.
 
Hmm ... the version of the 1997 laws I possess only has a L72B4, not a  
L72B5, and the 2007 Laws appear to only have a L72B3. Could you clarify this,  
please.
 
Interestingly, I have had different opinions on whether the club void is,  as 
you suggest, sheer luck, or, as I think, governed by:
 
"16 C2 (and, identically, 16D2 in the new Laws): For the  offending side, 
information arising from its own withdrawn action and from  withdrawn actions of 
the non-offending side is unauthorised. <snip>"
 
It would seem to me that the club void with the correct opening leader is  UI 
to his partner, as this information was "*arising* from its own  withdrawn 
action" where "its" clearly refers to the offending side, and "arising  from" 
means, IMHO, "occurring as a consequence of".
 
The new laws have 50E3 (50E is new):"If the Director judges that the  exposed 
card conveyed such information as to damage the non-offending side he  shall 
award an adjusted score." However, it is the failure to comply with the  
penalty that conveys the information, not the exposed card itself, so under this  
law, I think the club void is AI under this clause.
 
I think, from 16C2 (16D2) however, that the club void is UI, and the  player 
leading out of turn will have the usual duties. But so far, four  directors I 
asked were split 2-2.
 
Paul