🧭 Club TD Cheat Sheet EBU · Matchpoints

1️⃣ When to Call the TD

• Insufficient bid; call or lead out of turn
• Revoke (failure to follow suit)
• Board played incorrectly / wrong direction
• Misinformation or failure to alert
• Claims & concessions; scoring errors
• Slow play / late boards

Say: “It’s not a big deal — we just need to sort it out properly.”

2️⃣ Insufficient Bid

Happened: A call below the level required.

• LHO may accept → auction continues, no penalty.
• If not accepted:
  • Offender replaces with a comparable call → no further restriction.
  • If not comparable → partner must pass for the rest of the auction.

Comparable call: similar meaning/purpose or shows a substantially similar hand type.

Example: 1♠ – (2♥) – 2♦ insufficient → replaced by 3♦ (similar meaning) → okay.

3️⃣ Call Out of Turn

Happened: Pass, bid, double, or redouble made when not your turn.

• Next player may accept → auction continues.
• If not accepted:
  • Pass out of turn: offender’s partner must pass for one round.
  • Bid / (re)double out of turn: replace with a comparable call, otherwise partner must pass for the rest of the auction.

Keep it calm: “We’ll just put the auction back in order.”

4️⃣ Opening Lead Out of Turn

Happened: Wrong hand leads to trick one.

Declarer (non‑offending side) chooses:

• Accept the lead → dummy goes down; or
• Require the correct leader to lead that suit; or
• Forbid that suit for one trick; or
• Pick up the wrong lead and require a legal lead (any suit).

If the wrong lead is accepted and dummy was faced, dummy remains on the table.

5️⃣ Revoke (Failure to Follow Suit)

• Before next trick: correct it — no penalty.
• After next trick:
  • Normally a 1‑trick transfer to the non‑offending side.
  • 2‑trick transfer if the revoke won a trick and the offending side also won the next trick.

Focus on restoring equity. Many revokes are innocent memory slips.

6️⃣ Misinformation / Failure to Alert

• Opponents call TD after the hand, not during play.
• TD establishes the correct meaning and whether damage occurred.
• If damaged by MI → adjust score to the likely outcome with correct information.

Don’t penalise forgets; adjust only if MI caused damage.

7️⃣ Claims & Concessions

• On a claim, play stops immediately.
• Claimer states a clear line of play.
• If dispute → TD awards the result under the most favourable normal line for opponents that is at all careless for claimer.

Encourage declarers to claim only when clear — and always state the line.

8️⃣ Boards Played Wrong / Wrong Direction

• Before play: correct it, no penalty.
• After play: cancel and award an artificial score (often 60% / 40% if responsibility shared).
• Never allow a board to be played twice by the same pair.

9️⃣ Scoring Errors

• Arithmetic/typing errors: correct when noticed.
• Wrong contract/declarer: adjust if evidenced by both sides or traveller/hand records.

Aim for the result that would have stood with accurate recording.

🔟 Slow Play / Late Boards

• Target pace ~ 7 minutes per board.
• Persistent lateness: warn politely; consider average minus for the slow pair (or both if responsibility shared).

Don’t rush rulings — fairness first. Keep the room moving gently.

🌟 General TD Advice

• Be calm, neutral, and friendly — never blame.
• State rulings briefly: “The law says X, so we’ll do that.”
• Use the Law Book or Stevenson’s Simplified Laws for detail.
• Keep a short TD log of irregularities.
• Remember: Bridge is meant to be enjoyable!