[blml] A strory with a conclusion

[Konrad Ciborowski]

> That's a nice story, but, read carefully, it shows a fatal flaw in  
> the "dWS" argument.
> 
> You know your system (or think you do).  You make a bid which has a  
> definite meaning in your system.  But partner's alert (or lack of  
> alert) tells you that he thinks it means something else, something  
> different, something which is not covered by your agreements.  The  
> dWS would have you alert and explain, from that point forward, in  
> accordance with what partner thought your bid actually meant.
> 
> But the dWS does not explain how you're supposed to know what that is.
> 
> It's all well and good to imagine a player, who has just bid 2S  
> thinking it was the correct systemic call on a 5-count with 4-4 in  
> the majors, hearing partner's alert and immediately saying to  
> himself, "Oh my goodness, he must think I have a balanced 16+ HCP  
> with no four-card major," but in real life he is saying to himself,  
> "What the hell?!"

I assume that you wrote your post in haste. Because
I just cannot believe you can be so comepletely off base
when it comes to describing reality. Come on.

If you and your partner agree to some artificial treatment and
you forget then an unexpected alert is more than enough for you
to remind you of the convention you have agreed to.

Think about the pair in question. Opener bid 3D with a diamond
doubleton holding 4=4=2=3. Do you think he invented this bid
at the table? Of course not - this pair agreed to play
the artificial relay Stayman, agreed on the step responses,
agreed on the method of suit setting and everything. 
This time responder remembered this very well but even if
he forgot and bid 2S naturally it is obvious that
the alert of this bid would immediately remind him that
he has just bid the relay.

This is the scenario that occurs almost every single time 
with unexpected alerts. Whenever a pair agrees to play
a convention or some treatment and one of the players forgets
then an alert is more that enough to remind him
immediately about everything. If you reluctantly
agree to play Ghestem and then you overcall the 1S opening with
3C holding long clubs and partner alerts - do you need anything
more? Do you really want to convince
me that you say to yourself ""What the hell?!" and have
no clue about what partner expects you to have for 3C?
Nonsense - you realize in half a second that you 
agreed to play Ghestem. 

This applies to irrgeular partnerships just the same. Even
if you play with someone you have never played with before 
then in 95% of cases there are some local habits, schools
or the like. If I sit down with a Polish partner and the bidding
goes

1C   1S
2D

and if he suddenly alerts my reverse then I immediately
know that he plays for a strong hand (19+) with 3+S
("odwrotka") because it is the only other option. And I know
this even if I have never played with him before.

Situations when one player's unexpected alert comes
as a true shock to his partner who has no clue why his
bid has been alerted are truely rare - maybe 5% or even less
often. Almost every time partner can immediately deduce
what his bid means according to his partner.

In those very rare cases when you really have no clue
you can always explain "I don't know" just as you
do playing traditional school. 

Where is the fatal flaw?




-- 
Konrad Ciborowski
Kraków, Poland

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