Appeal No. 1 - Bulgaria v Turkey

Appeals Committee:
Bill Pencharz (Chairman, England), Jean-Claude Beineix (France), Maria Erhart (Austria), Steen Møller (Denmark) , Herman De Wael (Scribe, Belgium)

Open Teams Round 1

Board 12. Dealer West. North/South Vulnerable.
	ª A Q 8 4 3 © Q 10 5 ¨ - § A Q 6 3 2
ª 10 7 © K 9 8 7 ¨ J 9 6 4 § J 10 9		ª K J 9 6 5 2 © 6 4 3 ¨ K 5 2 § 7
	ª - © A J 2 ¨ A Q 10 8 7 3 § K 8 5 4

West	North	East	South
Kolata	Zahariev	Atabey	Karakolev
Pass	1ª	Pass	2¨
Pass	3§	Pass	3©
Pass	3NT	Pass	4§
Pass	4ª	Pass	5§
Pass	6§	All Pass

Comments:
Precision bidding, 2¨ Game-Forcing

Contract: Six Clubs, played by North

Result: 12 tricks, NS +1370

The Facts:
East called the Director after the bid of 6§, complaining that there had been a break in tempo when the tray came back with 5§.

The Director:
Asked West how long the break in tempo had been, and found it was less than 15 seconds. All the players agreed with this timing.

The Director considered the Code of Practice, which contains:
It is considered there can be no implications if a tray returns after 15 seconds or less. This
period may be extended in the later stages of a complicated or competitive auction without
necessarily creating implications.

There was then no alternative but to consider that there had been no unauthorized information at all

Ruling:
Result Stands

Relevant Laws:
Law 16A

East/West appealed.

Present: All players except North and both Captains

The Players:
East explained he had called the Director because of the break in tempo. The bidding had been going on in a normal, quick tempo, until the bid of 5§. He had asked if 4ª had denied the © and ¨ cues, and this had been confirmed. Everybody now understood that the slow 5§ showed the heart control.

West was asked what had happened after the tray had come back with 4ª. He stated that South had thought for something like 9-10-11 seconds before bidding 5§. The rest of the bidding had gone more quickly. West said he had asked if North had shown 5-5 in the black suits, and that South had confirmed this.

South said that he had thought some time, but not more than 12 seconds, and that all the players had agreed to this. South stated that 3§ would have shown more than a 5-4 in the blacks, and he denied having told West it was 5-5.

North-South told the Committee, through their captain, that there were no written system notes that said that 3© was an advanced cue-bid, but it would be natural to assume that it was. South had three ways of showing a club fit: 3¨-4§, 3©-4§ and 4§ direct. The second must imply a heart control.
The North-South captain said it seems normal to bid 6§

The Committee:
Considered that the Director had been absolutely correct in deciding that a delay of less than 15 seconds carries no information, unauthorized or otherwise. Since the players confirmed once again the timing of the events, the appeal lacked all merit.

The Committee’s decision:
Director’s ruling upheld.

Deposit: Forfeited

Comment: There are good reasons why a delay of up to 15 seconds should carry no meaning. Nobody should try and guess, nor care, what happens at the other side of the screen. Players might be asking questions or just sipping at their drinks. Also it would be perfectly legitimate for an opponent to moderate the speed of return of the tray (whitin the 15 second time-frame obviously).