From: ted@sage0.gsfc.nasa.gov (Ted Ying)
Subject: Re: Appeals Committee ruling
Organization: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 21:50:45 GMT

bharat@cs.uiuc.edu (R. Bharat Rao) writes:

>prm@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu (Paul Raymond McMullin) writes:
>>In article <1992Aug17.162641.27054@linus.mitre.org> bs@gauss.mitre.org (Robert D. Silverman) writes:
>>>In article <ted.714063980@sage0> ted@sage0.gsfc.nasa.gov (Ted Ying) writes:
>>>...
>>When the 3S call was made, the auction was live, and I see no reason to
>>declare it to be dead for the EW pair just because W made an unusual call that
>>East can work out on bridge judgment alone... (as he apparently did)

>Paul, I think you have a misconception of the laws here.  The point is
>not whether West could work it out to pull the double by himself ---
>but whether his partner's explanation could have helped -- not "DID
>help him" but "could have helped" him.  Clearly, the explanation could
>have woken W up; it may well not have, but it is definitely within the
>realm of probable behavior.  Thats why, had the same auction taken
>place without any question or explanation, it would have been OK for W
>to pull.  And it is completely improper for you to assume that this
>ruling casts any aspersion on anyone's character.

	I don't really agree with you here.  The "COULD have helped" him
	rule is not so clear in the laws or in this case.  Remember, that
	as East, I stated before I started my explanation that we played
	infrequently.  I then stated what I assumed the hand showed/asked
	for.  N/S had opportunities to stop this explanation but chose to
	allow me to complete this which meant that they were interested
	in my assumptions.  This information was not just freely given
	out as a hint to partner.

	My partner, west, knew just as well as I did that this was an
	undiscussed auction and under the circumstances, had he had a
	bidding screen, would have panicked and bid 4D.  The problem that
	everyone who implied or stated that partner took inference from
	the explanation ignored the fact that we did *NOT* have an
	agreement.  West knew just as well as I did that we were on
	guessing ground.  Thus, he took the action to run.  Everyone here,
	including Bob who has disagreed said that "West thought that his
	bid showed...<blah, blah, blah>" and should have acted accordingly.
	This would be fine in an experience partnership or in a relatively
	common sequence, but not in an uncommon sequence with a relatively
	inexperienced partnership.  In that case, it is much more likely
	that West will assume there was a misunderstanding when the double
	comes down and will run.  Which he did.


>>Oh, really? What is the situation here?  That "presumed guilty" West is a liar
>>and a cheat?  Or that N/S are a pair of crybabies that got their average
>>stolen away from them by a West player that tried an imaginative bid, believed
>>the S player's double, and confused their auction enough to cause them to
>>settle for 4D* down 1 instead of the probable par result of 5D* down 2?

>Yes, had there been no explanation, West would have been able to do
>just that.  But now that West knows there has been a misunderstanding
>the onus is on him (as part of the offending pair) to not do anything
>that is remotely different from what their agreement states.  The laws
>are very clear as to this...

	But the problem is that as stated at the beginning, they don't
	have an explicit agreement.  Both West and I were making
	assumptions what it was, but neither of us was sure enough of
	the others hand to want to sit in 3NT doubled.

	Taking a flyer on a guess is alright in an undiscussed situation,
	except when you are doubled.  In which case, it is better to
	take a run and untangle the mess later.

	I do agree with Bob that the real problem was that partner
	decided to do this in an undiscussed situation and risked really
	confusing me as well as the opponents, but he paid he money and
	he took his chances.  We've now discussed this sequence more and
	hopefuly this shouldn't happen again.
	
	Ted Ying			ted@rosserv.gsfc.nasa.gov
	Hughes/STX			Goddard Space Flight Center