(short description of image)APPEAL no. 27

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Appeals Committee
Chairman (short description of image)Bobby Wolff USA
Members (short description of image)Virgil Anderson
(short description of image)Rich Colker
(short description of image)John Lenart
(short description of image)Dan Morse
USA
USA
NZD
USA

Scribe (short description of image)Rich Colker USA

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Event
1998 World Championships
Ladies Pairs Qualifying
   
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Countries
Ireland v France
   
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Players
NS (short description of image)O'Neill (short description of image)Meehan
EW (short description of image)D'Elbee (short description of image)Roth
   
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Board
Board 10. Dealer East. Game All
ª K 6 3
© 10 8 5 2
¨ J 10 4
§ 10 6 2
ª A 7 (short description of image) ª J 10 9 8 5 2
© 6 © A J 4
¨ Q 9 8 6 3 ¨ 7
§ J 9 8 5 4 § A K Q
ª Q 4
© K Q 9 7 3
¨ A K 5 2
§ 7 3

West
North
East
South

1ª 2©¹
Dble² 3© Dble 4©
4NT Pass³ 5§ All Pass

¹ Alerted by North to East; explained as a weak-two overcall
² Negative double
³ Explanation in ¹ corrected by North: 2© was normal
   
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Result
5§-1: +100
   
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Facts
North alerted South's 2© bid and explained it as a weak-two because she believed at the time that East had opened 1§. She realized her mistake after West's 4NT bid and corrected her previous explanation, saying that 2© was a normal overcall. The TD was called by East at that point because, after the original explanation, her system forced her to double to show a good hand (3ª would have just been competitive). She said that had she been given the correct explanation she would have bid 3ª, which in this case is a good hand.
   
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TD's
Decision
The TD ruled that, had East been properly alerted she would have bid 3ª, and West would have competed to 4ª over South's 4©. It was then likely that N/S might have allowed the contract to make either by South leading the ©K or leading a top diamond but then not finding the low trump switch. (In point of fact, 4ª making by East/West was a normal score in the event.) Thus, according to Laws 75C, 40C and 12C2 the TD adjusted the score for both sides to 4ª by East, plus 620 for E/W.

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Appellants
N/S
   
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Players'
Comments
Only N/S attended the hearing. South stated that she would have led a high diamond (after all, why else was she dealt the ¨AK?) and then would have made the obvious shift to a low trump. Thus, 4ª would have been defeated. North added that East should have realized from the original description of 2© that something was wrong: no one plays a non-jump two-level overcall as specifically weak. When asked by the Committee, N/S could not remember how West had gone down in 5§. South led the ¨A and shifted to the ©K. East then played a spade to dummy's ace and a second spade as North rose with the king felling South's queen. North thought that she then led a second heart, but somehow declarer had managed to lose another trick and neither North nor South could explain how.

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Committee's
Comments
The Committee believed that East would have bid 3ªover 3© had she not been misinformed and that E/W would most likely have played 4ª. Based in part on results which were typical of the board and in part on N/S's defense of 5§, the Committee decided that it was 'at all probable' that 4ª would be made. However, the Committee was not convinced that E/W deserved full protection to 4ª making.
   
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Committee's
Decision
The Committee decided to adjust the score for N/S (the offending pair) to 4ª making, -620. Since it was not clear that E/W would have made 4ª 100% of the time, the Committee decided to protect E/W to Average Plus or +620, whichever was less.
   
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Relevant
Laws
Law 75C, Law 40C, Law 12C2
   
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Deposit
Returned X
Forfeited  


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