REBECCA ROOD'S MAILBAG...................

Dear Rebecca ,

Am I destined to be the victim of yet more blatant acts of gamesmanship ? And what's worse is that on the rare occasions I make a few pointed remarks to the offenders, my unpopularity rating goes up another notch,  and then I become  the subject of venomous complaint letters , lambasting me as the naughty boy. Now where's the justice in that !

Anyway back to the bridge table antics......which never seem to stop...........

First off , there was an incident involving Bigot-Johnson, when he told his partner that he had quartered a trick incorrectly. On being informed of his transgression , he promptly replied    " Hey, we're all friends here " , and continued to play on as though nothing had happened. Such brazen arrogance !

Several boards later another shameful incident occurred , from which I was unable to obtain either sympathy or redress . At risk again of being unfairly damaged , I began to wonder what this game was coming to. When I asked an opponent " how many times are you going to glance at partner to gauge the reaction of your bid/lead ? ", he replied " I never did that...but what if I had ?......try proving it ? " . I could hardly restrain my annoyance, and not surprisingly I found myself the subject of a complaint letter.

Am I in the right or what ?

Yours drowning in despair Neil Peck

Dear Neil,

It seems to me that you would be better off calling over a TD to do the job of protecting you from any damage that flows from these shameful antics.

The first incident isn't such a big deal but the second is a shocker. No opponent should look intently at any other player during the auction and play. Looking with intention at an opponent usually has intimidation in mind, or the desire to extract information from their quirky behavioural traits and mannerisms. Looking intently at partner could well be with a view to encourage or inhibit partner, or to perceive a negative or positive response by partner to your bid/lead. 

Mind you it is very difficult for you to prove, and a TD to confirm , the case against an offending player, because only he/she knows what was in their mind at the time. The point of doing it is to register the allegation, which if followed by others in later incidents , adds up to a prima facie case of cheating. Moreover, the offender can't claim ignorance once informed of the rules.

So please be careful......by all means load the gun with bullets.....but let the TD do the firing. Otherwise your own misconduct will overtake you...... and then it's you who becomes the next headline in Bridge Table Antics.   

Yours it pays you not to be too rude,  Rood