BRIDGE ETIQUETTE

Jan Yates has asked me whether I could provide some guidance on the etiquette side of bridge. I suggested the newsletter would be an appropriate means, so here goes. I am interpreting the subject in two senses: the avoidance of causing offence socially, and the avoidance of gaining advantage against opponents by inappropriate means.

So why do we play bridge? Perhaps for the social side, or for the intellectual challenge, or to win, or to gain master points. I think most people play for most of these reasons and that we come to the club to enjoy ourselves. Any action that spoils that enjoyment for other people therefore seems to be a breach of etiquette. Law 74 – Conduct and Etiquette – seems to be in agreement on this: “a player should maintain a courteous attitude at all times” and “a player should carefully avoid any remark or action that might cause annoyance or embarrassment to another player or might interfere with the enjoyment of the game”, and more that I have not room for.

Actually, I will only cover a fraction of the subject. For further reading, I would suggest the blue law book (in the cupboard or borrow mine) and the orange handbook of English Bridge Union (EBU) directives and conventions (issued to EBU members or borrow mine). The third vital book for directors, incidentally, is the maroon handbook of movements (in the cupboard or borrow mine).

Talking of directors, there is probably an etiquette for them too. One thing that is taught at EBU courses is that players can be in a bit of a state when the director arrives, and to be calming and helpful. I also try to be firm but without giving terse orders. I think that people like to chat, and I try to avoid asking for quiet. But it is necessary to gain quiet when giving announcements, and it is a discourtesy to directors to continue conversing through their announcements. On that latter point, there is room for improvement at the club, yet people are good at thanking directors at the end of play. “Directors must always apply the law, but where they are allowed to exercise discretion they may treat more gently the less experienced player who is unlikely to be aware of every technicality”, to quote the Orange Book.

“A player should refrain from summoning and addressing the director in a manner discourteous to him or to other contestants”, to quote Law 74 again. Requiring the director is quite routine and carries no disgrace. Slips such as insufficient bids, lead out of turn and revokes are quite commonplace and should not be sorted out by the players themselves. “The director must be summoned at once when attention is drawn to an irregularity”, to quote Law 9. Take care, however, not to reveal too much detail if the director has yet to play the hand: the director would then have to take special care to ensure he did not benefit from unauthorised information.

I usually think it is a good thing for experienced players to teach the less experienced, when they transgress, about the laws and etiquette. It is normally handled sensitively and will help them to avoid giving offence at the club or in wider competitions where offences may be treated more harshly.

One other thought I would like to squeeze in is that not everyone wants to know their current score or ranking from the big screen, and sometimes it is difficult not to, as was said at the AGM. Therefore I strongly suggest that we should ask people before revealing their ranking and certainly not assume they want to know it.

In one or more future articles I propose to write later, I will cover the areas of stop bids, alerting, asking questions and hesitations. If you have any further suggestions, please let me know.

David Lewis