[blml] L17E2 questions

[David Burn]

[RG]

Let's consider as simple example.

West opens 1C; North did not act because East, South and West all passed.

[DALB]

Random thoughts occurs to me: what information if any is authorised to the
players at the table? What methods are North-South permitted to play?

Suppose the hands look like this (game all, dealer West):

West (playing a strong no trump)

xxx  KQx  Axx  KJxx

North (the victim)

KQxxx  Axx  xx  Axx

East (absent-minded) AJ10x  J109xx  Kxxx  None

South (das Weltkind unterdessen)

x  xx  QJ10x  Q109xxx

West opens 1C. East, thinking that it was his deal, passes before North has
a chance to act. South, not displeased to accept 1C as a final contract,
passes also.

Now the auction reverts to North. Should he overcall 1S in sixth position
(as he would have done in second position without East's manque de présence
à la table? Is he allowed to know why East passed West's 1C? Clearly if he
does bid, he is going to get a worse score than if he had passed out 1C. Is
he supposed to work this out?

Suppose he bids 1S anyway, as players will. Is he then allowed to pass
South's 2C? Should South's 2C be natural or a cue bid in this position? Are
North-South allowed to have any understanding on the matter? 

Can you see now why I think East-West should just get average minus (or be
fined two tops or 24 IMPs if I had my way) rather than have North-South
sweating out this kind of position under their own steam? If you want equity
(as the 2007 Lawmakers wish to implement it), you will find it in the
dictionary between "equine" and "excrement", and that is where it richly
deserves to be.

David Burn
London, England