ASKING QUESTIONS

Continuing my series on laws and etiquette, writes David Lewis, we turn to the subject of asking questions about opponents’ system.

The most important principles are that you may ask only at your turn to call or play, and you ask the partner of the player who made a call. Law 20 F is as follows. “During the auction and before the final pass, any player, at his own turn to call, may request a full explanation of the opponents’ auction (questions may be asked about calls actually made or about other relevant calls available but not made); replies should normally be given by the partner of a player who made a call in question. After the final pass and throughout the play period, either defender at his own turn to play may request an explanation of the opposing auction. At his or dummy’s turn to play, the declarer may request an explanation of a defender’s call or card play conventions.” In the interests of speed, however, it is usual practice to bend this law and only to ask for and give explanations of calls that are not understood or obvious, rather than asking about the entire auction.

You should not volunteer an explanation unless someone asks: to do so could amount to reminding partner! If someone asks and you have no agreement, simply state that you have no agreement and do not say how you intend to interpret partner’s call. From the Orange Book: “Explanations must not be given unless asked for. Following a question legitimately asked, the questioner may ask a supplementary question to find out if the call has any conditional meanings. The questioning, however, must not amount to harassment. If you are asked for an explanation of a call on which you and your partner have no agreement, either explicit or implicit, you should say so. When you know your partner’s call is alertable, but cannot remember its meaning, you should alert. If asked for its meaning ... you may refer your opponents to your convention card.”

If you do not need to have a question answered immediately, it is best to defer the question to the end of the auction. Ask before the lead if you are declarer or the defender making the lead, or when partner has chosen his lead if you are the other defender. This prevents a number of problems if opponents have forgotten their system, and prevents misconduct: one player asks what the heart bid means and the other promptly leads a heart! From the Orange Book again: “The right to ask questions is not a licence to do so without consequence: if you ask about an unalerted call and then pass, you have shown an interest which may influence your partner. Asking about an alerted call and then bidding reduces this possibility, but in either case if your partner acts in a way that suggests he has taken advantage of your question, then unauthorised information may be deemed to have been given. Similarly, if you ask a question and then pass, thus ending the auction, your partner’s choice of lead, from the logical alternatives available, must not be one that could have been suggested by your question. If, at your turn to call, you do not need to have a call explained, it is in your interest to defer all questions until either you are about to make the opening lead or your partner’s lead is face-down on the table.”

If partner gives an incorrect or incomplete explanation, it is your duty to say so at the end of the auction if you are declarer or dummy, or after the play of the cards if you are a defender. From the Orange Book again: “If you become declarer or dummy and your partner has given an incorrect or incomplete explanation, or one of your alertable calls has not been alerted, you must rectify the situation before the opening lead is selected; you must not do this as a defender until the hand is over, at which point you are required to do so. In both cases, however, you must first call the director.” The rule about calling the director is one we normally bend, however: to save time, to avoid giving unauthorised information to a director who has yet to play the hand, or because the slip was trivial, such as not alerting Stayman. I would suggest we call the director only if the non-offending side is, or may have been, damaged.