| These articles may be used without alteration and with acknowledgement to Jan Peach. Requests for articles on particular topics may be sent to janpeach8@bigpond.com |
| A BEGINNER’S SURVIVAL LIST a. Call the Director when an infringement occurs or if you don’t understand what is going on. Feel comfortable about calling the Director. Directors are there to make the game run smoothly and to undo the damage caused by mistakes. Don’t be hoodwinked into allowing more experienced players to make rulings. b. Count your cards (face down) before looking at them. c. Circle partner’s call and say “alert” when he makes a non-self-alerting call that doesn’t mean what it might appear to say or use the alert card as detailed in regulations or house rules. d. Make the opening lead face down so that partner may ask questions if he wishes to do so and also so that the presumed declarer may ask questions. Making the opening lead face down is (a) a requirement of the Laws and (b) acts as a safeguard against making the opening lead when it is not your turn. e. Opening leader’s partner and the presumed declarer may ask questions before the opening lead is faced. Questions may also be asked at declarer’s and either defender’s turn to call or to play a card. It is perfectly all right to ask questions at these times just because you want to know what is going on even though you intend to pass however, problems do arise. Consider asking questions only when information is needed there and then for the purpose of deciding what to call or play. f. Each defender and declarer may review the auction until each plays to the first trick. The closest we get to observance of this law with written biding is for dummy to turn over or hide the bidding slip after third hand has played to the first trick. Follow the local regulations for bidding boxes. g. Place the dummy about 10cm in from the edge of the table to allow room for quitted tricks. Do not move the position of the suits should one become void. h. Do not play any card from dummy until told to do so by declarer. This includes singletons and apparently obvious plays. i. Declarer says, “Thank you, partner,” when dummy is tabled. Pretending to be overjoyed when dummy is a great disappointment is unethical. Showing genuine dismay helps the defence. j. The board stays in the centre of the table until play is finished. Jan Peach |
| LAW 46 A DESIGNATING DUMMY’S CARD Various bridge laws set out correct procedure and these laws are the grease that makes our great game run smoothly. Law 46A: When calling for a card to be played from dummy declarer should clearly state both the suit and the rank of the desired card. Notice this is a “should do” so failure to do so is an infraction jeopardizing the offender’s rights but is rarely penalised. Obviously, the writers of the Bridge Laws know players well, because an entire page is devoted to fixing up problems after incomplete or erroneous calls have been made. Many disputes have occurred around the world because declarer said “small” instead of the suit and rank. Calling for “anything” also has traps for the unwary. Either defender may designate the play from dummy. There are some qualifying words at the beginning of Law 46B, “except when declarer’s different intention is incontrovertible,” however a declarer who has uncaringly said, “play anything” may find it difficult to show that he knew some cards were worth keeping more than others – and dummy may not take part in play. Jan Peach |
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