Chicago Appeals Summer 1998
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Presents Looped in Chicago Appeals at the 1998 Summer NABC Plus cases from the 1998 ITT, CNTC and World Bridge Championships Edited by Rich Colker CONTENTS FOREWORD Foreword ii We continue our presentation of appeals from NABC tournaments. As always, our goals are to provide information and to stimulate change for the better. We hope The Expert Panel iii we have done this in a manner that is entertaining as well as instructive. As in previous casebooks, we’ve provided our panelists with the opportunity Cases from Chicago to comment on and rate each Director’s ruling and Committee’s decision. While not Tempo (Cases 1-10) 1 every panelist rated or commented on every case, many did. The two ratings Unauthorized Information (UI: Cases 11-12) 52 (averaged over the panelists) are presented after each write-up, expressed as Misinformation (MI: Cases 13-20) 62 percentages. These ratings also appear in a summary table near the end of the Claims (Case 21) 91 casebook, for handy reference. A few words about these numerical ratings are in order. They are intended to Cases from the 1998 International Team Trials (Cases 22-25) 93 give the reader a general idea of the panel’s assessment of the performance of the Director and Committee relative to the best possible resolution that could have been Case from the 1998 Canadian National Team Championship (Case 26) 110 achieved. They can be interpreted as percentages. They are not valid, nor should they be used, to compare the performance of Directors and Committees. Each group Cases from the 1998 World Bridge Championships (Cases 27-34) 118 is rated on a different set of criteria. Directors are rated on their handling of the Tempo (Cases 27-29) 119 situation at the table. They are expected to quickly determine the pertinent facts, Misinformation (MI: Cases 30-34) 137 apply the right laws and often, because of limited time and bridge-expertise, to make “provisional” rulings so the game may progress normally – expecting that Closing Remarks From the Expert Panelists 159 their rulings may be reviewed and overturned on appeal. For example, the laws in many situations require the Director to rule in favor of the non-offending side when Closing Remarks From the Editor 163 in doubt, allowing a Committee to sort things out later. Committees, on the other hand, are rated on all aspects of their decisions including their finding of facts, The Panel’s Director and Committee Ratings 170 application of the laws and use of bridge judgment appropriate to the event and the players involved. Committees’ ratings also depend on such things as a panelist’s NABC Appeals Committee 171 philosophy about the use of procedural and appeal-without-merit penalties. A Committee which issues such penalties could be down-graded by panelists who dislike the use of such penalties, even though they agree with the Committee’s assessment of the behavior involved. Once again, I wish to thank all of the hard-working people without whose efforts these casebooks would not be possible: The scribes and Committee chairs who labored to chronicle the details of each case; the panelists for their hard work and devotion to a truly arduous task for which they receive only our praise (and occasional abuse); and of course Linda Trent (formerly Weinstein, a Christmas bride – congratulations!), who manages the case write-ups at NABCs and is in charge of “quality control” for these casebooks. As always, she is truly indispensable. My sincere thanks to all of you. I hope that my work has not diminished any of yours. Rich Colker, January, 1999 Abbreviations used throughout this casebook: LA Logical Alternative MI Misinformation UI Unauthorized Information i ii THE EXPERT PANEL basketball and softball. While Bobby was a member of the original ACES from 1968 to 1974, he was a pioneer in writing computer programs that generate practice Henry Bethe, 54, was born in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He is a graduate of bridge hands and evaluate bidding probabilities. Bobby has won three Bermuda Columbia University and currently resides in Ithaca, New York. He has a son, Paul, Bowls, a World Mixed Teams and a World Swiss Teams as well as more than thirty who is 21. His other interests include stamp collecting, baseball statistics and other National Championships. mathematical recreations. He is a Vice-Chairman of the National Appeals Committee. He won the Life Master Men’s Pairs in 1969 but is proudest of winning Jeff Meckstroth, 42, was born in Springfield, Ohio. He currently resides in Tampa, the third bracket of a Regional Knockout partnered by his son Paul at the Chicago Florida with his wife Shirlee and his two sons, Matt, 13, and Rob, 15. He is a Bridge NABC. Professional who enjoys golf and movies in his spare time. Every year his name can be found near the top of the Barry Crane Top 500 list. Jeff is a Grand Life Master Bart Bramley, 51, was born in Poughkeepsie, New York. He grew up in in both the WBF and ACBL. He has won four world titles (his first at age 25 in Connecticut and Boston and graduated MIT, where Ken Lebensold was an essential 1981) and numerous National Championships including eight Spingolds, four of influence in his bridge development. He currently resides in Chicago with his which were won consecutively from 1993 to 1996. longtime companion Judy Wadas. He is a stock options trader at the CBOE. Bart is a sports fan (especially baseball and specifically the NY Yankees), a golf Barry Rigal, 40, was born in London, England. He is married to Sue Picus and enthusiast, enjoys word games and has been a Deadhead for many years. He was currently resides in New York City where he is a bridge writer and analyst who 1997 ACBL Player of the Year. His NABC wins include the 1989 Vanderbilt and contributes to many periodicals worldwide. He enjoys theater, music, arts and the 1997 Reisinger. In the 1998 World Championships he was second in the World travel. Barry is also an outstanding Vugraph commentator, demonstrating an Par Contest and third in the Rosenblum Teams. He also played in the 1991 Bermuda extensive knowledge of the many bidding systems played by pairs all over the Bowl and was captain of the 1996 U.S. Olympiad team. world. He coached the USA I team to the Venice Cup in 1997. He is proudest of his fourth-place finish in the 1990 Geneva World Mixed Pairs, winning the Common Jon Brissman, 54, was born in Abilene, Texas. He attended Purdue University and Market Mixed Teams in 1987 and winning the Gold Cup in 1991. earned a B.A. from Parsons College, an M.A. from Northeast Missouri State University, and a J.D. from Western State University College of Law. He operates Michael Rosenberg, 44, was born in New York where he has resided since 1978. a small law office in San Bernardino, California, teaches at the Los Angeles College He is a stock options trader. His mother, father and sister reside in Scotland where of Chiropractic, and serves as a judge pro tem in small claims and municipal court. he grew up. His hobbies include music. Widely regarded as the expert’s expert, He served as Co-Chair of the National Appeals Committee from 1982-88 and was Michael won the Rosenblum KO and was second in the Open Pairs in the 1994 reappointed in 1997. A Good Will Committee member, he believes that a pleasant Albuquerque World Bridge Championships. At the 1998 World Championships he demeanor coaxes forth his partnership's best efforts. won the World Par Contest. He was the 1994 ACBL Player of the Year. He believes the bridge accomplishment he will be proudest of is still in the future. Michael is Larry Cohen, 39, was born in New York. He is a graduate of SUNY at Albany. He also a leading spokesman for ethical bridge play and for policies that encourage currently resides in Boca Raton, Florida. He is a Bridge Professional and author of higher standards. four books that include the best sellers To Bid or Not To Bid and Following the Law. Larry is a Co-Director of the Bridge World Master Solver’s Club. He enjoys Dave Treadwell, 86, was born in Belleville, New Jersey and currently resides in golf in his spare time. He has won sixteen National Championships and was second Wilmington, Delaware. He is a retired Chemical Engineer, a graduate of MIT and in the 1998 World Open Pairs. was employed by DuPont for more than 40 years where his responsibilities included the initial production of Teflon for introduction to the marketplace. He has three Ron Gerard, 55, was born in New York. He is a graduate of Harvard and Michigan grown children, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His hobbies Law School (JD). He currently resides in White Plains, NY with his wife Joan include blackjack and magic squares. The bridge accomplishment he is proudest of (District 3 Director) where he is an attorney. Ron is a college basketball fan and is breaking the 20,000 masterpoint barrier. He believes bridge can be competitive enjoys classical music and tennis. He is proudest of winning both the Spingold and and intellectual but above all can be and must be fun. Blue Ribbon Pairs in 1981. Each year from 1990 to 1995 he made it to at least the round of eight in the Vanderbilt; he played in three finals (winning in Fort Worth, Howard Weinstein, 45, was born in Minneapolis.