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Appeal No 2

Misinformation, Equity

Open Teams Round 2
Portugal v France

Board 17.
Dealer North .
Love All.

Please note: Screen runs from top left to bottom right.
			Q J 8 6
			J 9
			J 9 8 4
			8 3 2
	A 9 5 3	N W E S			-
	10 4				A K Q 8
	A K 7 3				Q 10 5 2
	K 10 7				A Q 9 6 4
			K 10 7 4 2
			7 6 5 3 2
			6
			J 5

West	North	East	South
Sa	Voldoire	Barbosa	Bitran
	Pass	1	1
Dble	Pass	2	Pass
2	Pass	3NT	All Pass

Contract: Three No-Trumps, played by East.
Result: 13 tricks, +520 to East/West.

The Facts:One Heart was a transfer to Spades, but North had not alerted this. West had received an alert, but had not asked about the meaning, and intended his double as negative, showing Spades.

The Director: Decided that after West had not inquired about the meaning of One Heart, East/West were unlikely to get to a better contract.

Ruling: Result Stands, official warning to North/South for their failure to alert.

East/West appealed.

The Players: West corrected the Director: it was not specifically true that he did not know the meaning, it was more a case of 'I did not care at the time'. He did intend his Double as showing 4 Spades and at least 5 points.
Under those circumstances, Two Diamonds is an ambiguous bid, not necessarily showing values.
North freely admitted he had forgotten the system at the time, and had not alerted as a consequence.
The French captain pointed out that under any circumstances the Pass over Three No-Trumps is not clear.

The Committee: Decided that North committed a very grave infraction. It is clear that this prevented East from making evident Spade cue-bids, and thus reaching a more rewarding contract. West's error in not inquiring about the meaning of an alerted call compounded the issue, but not enough in the opinion of the Committee.
Under normal circumstances, an adjustment to a grand slam, or some weighted average of grand and small slams would have been in order. After West's mistake, the adjustment to small slam seemed sufficient.

The Committee's decision: Adjusted Score, Six Diamonds, making 13 tricks, +940 to East/West.
Official Warning to North/South upheld.

Relevant Laws: Law 75A, Law 12C3

Deposit: Returned.