|
Board 2 West (Marc Zwerling) |
North (Ken Kranyak) K Q 5  A J 9 7  J 9 7 4  K 2 |
East (Mark Tolliver) |
| J 9 8 3 K Q 8 A Q J T 9 5 |
A 4 4 3 2 A K Q T 5 3 2 8 |
|
| South (Phil Becker) T 7 6 2 T 8 6 5 6 7 6 4 3 |
Bidding
N E S W
1
P 1
3
* P 3** P
3 P 3NT P
P P
Opening Lead: K
Declarer won the A and led a club to the Q and K.
North led the 7 of hearts to the 2, 10 and Q.
West claimed, stating that he was taking his 5 good clubs, then cashing the K of hearts.
North called the Tournament Director. The TD asked West to restate his claim and West again stated he was taking the 5 good clubs, the good K of hearts and the top diamonds.
Director's Ruling
The TD ruled -1, because if West played the King of hearts, North would have 3 good hearts and the Queen of spades in addition to the club he had already taken.
Appeals Committee Ruling
At the Committee hearing, West agreed that he had told the TD he was running the clubs and then cashing the King of hearts, but that he just misspoke. He stated that at the table he had motioned his hand, saying the clubs were good and then mumbled something about the K of hearts meaning he might have a squeeze.
North stated at the hearing that West had initially said he was taking the clubs and then cashing the K of hearts, as he repeated to the TD. Neither South nor East had heard what West said.
Initially, the committee considered what statement was made by declarer. The committee determined that West said he would run clubs and then cash the K of hearts, as evidenced by his statement to the TD and even his version of his original claim which referenced running the clubs and then cashing the K of hearts. He never corrected his statement to the TD or said that he had misspoken. Therefore the committee determined that declarer had forgotten that the K of hearts was not good and did in fact say that he would run clubs and then cash the K of hearts.
By a vote of 2 to 1, the committee then determined that declarer would be down 1 because when he played the K of hearts, N would be able to cash 3 hearts and the Q of spades, in addition to the club he had already taken. The committee considered the fact that on the run of the clubs, North would be squeezed and would have to discard his diamonds to hold 3 hearts and the spade Q. However after consulting with the TD regarding the rules, the committee concluded that North could well pitch his diamonds and then West would be down 1. The committee recognized and told the players that had West just said he was taking the clubs, or even faced his hand, the ruling might well have been different. However, West's statement that he was cashing the King of Hearts was fatal, and with that statement he was down 1 despite the fact that he had 9 top tricks.
Appeals Committee
Beth Palmer, Chairman
Peggy Kaplan, Member
Kerri Sanborn, Member