This is the fourth in an occasional series where I will look at certain Laws based on incidents at the OBC, sometimes observed by me or otherwise reported to me.   The series is intended to help players improve their understanding of the Laws.

I am quite often told that “I was not hesitating, I was just thinking about what to bid” which makes it easy for me to rule that the speaker had, indeed, hesitated. If you think for any length of time about what to bid then you are hesitating. There is absolutely nothing wrong or illegal with thinking about what to bid – bridge is a cerebral game after all.  However, if you hesitate it places significant restrictions on what actions your partner can subsequently take.   

Your hesitation has given your partner unauthorised information (commonly referred to as UI) even if your partner does not actually know what you are thinking about. Law 16B(1) then comes into play: your partner may not choose a call that is demonstrably suggested over another by UI if the other call is a logical alternative. A logical alternative is an action that a significant proportion (say, more than 1 in 5) of equivalent players would seriously consider and some (more than the odd one) might select.  Partner therefore has to be very sure that their hand clearly justifies any bid that they subsequently choose to make after a hesitation by you.

Martin Illingworth, Chief TD
September 2019

Click for previous articles in this series

We invite all members to celebrate this opening by Andrew Robson on 26th October at 12.00 noon, refreshments will be available.

The juniors are invited to a bridge session in the morning at 10.00am.

There will be a duplicate bridge session starting at approx 1.30-2.00pm - £4 table money. It would help greatly if members who are interested could sign up on the list displayed on the notice board.

Oxfordshire County Council is conducting a consultation exercise about traffic management in the city of Oxford, with potential implications for travel to and from Oxford Bridge Club.  Briefly, the aims are to (a) improve air quality in the city and (b) speed up the flow of traffic and shorten journey times for public transport.   The proposals, if implemented, would involve the introduction of restrictions on access for private motor vehicles (similar to those in force in the High Street) in Oxpens Road, Worcester Street, South Parks Road, Marston Ferry Road and Hollow Way.  This would affect motorists travelling to and from OBC from the west, south and east of the city, requiring them to travel via the ring road and northern bypass, at as yet unspecified times of day.

They are seeking comments from the general public on the outline proposals with a deadline of 20 October; and will seek further consultation on a detailed proposal in May-June 2020.  The initial proposals are to be found online at http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/connectingoxford.

Each week there will be two opportunities to play a set of hands with supervision. The practice is related to specific topics being taught to the Bridge for All year 2 courses.  The sessions are on Wednesday evenings at 19.30 or on Friday mornings at 10.00.  All are welcome to attend.  See the calendar for topics.

Following the resignation of John Cooper as Club Secretary last month the Trustees agreed at their meeting on 30th September to accept the offer by Ursula Bowler to take on the role of Secretary and co-opted her as a Trustee.  They are very pleased to have her support and thank John for his service.

On Sunday August 4th, a very successful Charity Bridge Drive was held in our beautiful new premises. The weather was warm and bright, and fifty people enjoyed playing bridge together, while the Social Committee worked hard in the new sparklingly clean kitchen area to produce a delicious lunch. A raffle was held, and in all £1028 was raised for Autism Family Support Oxfordshire, AFSO.

This local charity supports over 3000 families with an autistic child living in Oxfordshire. In the first week of October AFSO moved into larger and more conveniently situated new premises in Abingdon. These monies will help provide more activities for young people or support to their parents.

Many thanks to Sue Smith who chairs the Social Committee and her willing team of volunteers who worked so hard to make the day a success in every way.

Congratulations to Matthew Covill & Diana Nettleton who won the club's pairs championship, which was held on Sunday 29 September. They receive the Beck Salver. Peter Litchfield & Annabel Wade were second, and Charles Gill & Irina Woods third, so very well done to them too. 

Full results are available here. 

We are running a set of six tutorials on Saturday mornings during the autumn term. They are designed to consolidate or build on knowledge of selected topics for students who have completed year 2 of the Bridge for All course but are open to all.  Each will comprise a short review of the key idea associated with the topic followed by supervised play of relevant hands.  Click here for details and booking.