[blml] Expectation [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

[David Burn]

[DALB]

>A few days ago I was playing at the EBU's Easter Festival, and someone at
the next table to mine made a (conventional) insufficient bid. The Director
who had to deal with the incident did so impeccably. It took ten minutes,
and afterwards I was approached by a member of the non-offending side who
said "Surely what happened can't be right?"

[TM]

I assume from this that the director was applying the 2008 Law

[DALB]

No, he wasn't. To the best of my knowledge and belief, England will adopt
the new Laws on August 1st 2008. The Director was attempting to impose the
1997 Law relating to insufficient bids. He read it out several times; he
said on several occasions "this means that you can do so-and-so without
penalty or so-and-so and then there will be a penalty". Nobody at the table
understood a word of it. 

Eventually, perhaps in part because the TD did not wish to "poison the deal
by giving UI", he said "I've told you the rules - you can exercise your
options." The IBer's side played in a ridiculous contract. One of the NOS
asked me afterwards whether the IBer's side had to play in that ridiculous
contract. "No", I said. "But I can see why they felt legally obliged to do
so."

David Burn
London, England