Don't Be That Way - by Ralph Fensterwald
In the past few
months, there have been numerous instances of conduct deleterious to Bridge in
Sarasota. In my twenty-six years in Sarasota, nothing approaching this outbreak
has occurred. Seven examples will follow.
There have been two cases of "flawed
claims" which were made by intermediate level players. When the Director
was called, and the flaw pointed out, the claimer protested the ruling made even
though it was obviously correct, thereby making the entire table and the
Director needlessly uncomfortable. This issue will disappear if only players
will be careful when making a claim.
On one deal, the North-South pair got an
exceptionally poor result on a board. Several rounds later, the hand was
described by North-South to the East-West pair who were then at the table, but
who had not yet played the hand in question. North-South should not have done it
in the first place, and East-West should have cut the discussion off if they
possibly could. All four were advanced players.
Extreme rudeness is exemplified by the following:
The Director arranged a last- minute partnership between an advanced player and
an intermediate. After a few rounds, the advanced player, dissatisfied with the
skill of the intermediate, got up and walked out on both game and partner. There
can be no possible justification for this kind of behavior.
In another situation, one player applied one or more very offensive epithets to
another. There was no apology offered or given. The offender is an advanced
player.
Finally, there have been two cases reported
involving improper conduct. One was the subject of a Player Memo, but the other
was not. Both are serious if they are correct. In one case, player A silently
mouthed the name of the suit B should choose for the opening lead, according to
reports. If the report is correct, this is intolerable conduct. Both A and B are
advanced players.
An advanced player, playing with an intermediate,
was defending. His holding in the suit led on his right was Kx. The Queen was in
the dummy, and it was obvious that declarer held the Ace. He ducked instead of
playing the King. He then grimaced very obviously when his partner did not play
the King, with the goal of persuading declarer to use the last entry to repeat
the play. Without the grimace, there is no problem. With it, there is.
The matters above have been the subject of one
Disciplinary Committee hearing and two Player Memos.
A reading of the Proprieties section of the Laws
of Duplicate Bridge will show that we are intended to behave like ladies and
gentlemen in the course of our play. This is absolutely necessary if we are
going to be able to enjoy the "Big Three" that Bridge offers. To spell
them out, they are Camaraderie, Intellectual Challenge, and Competition. Since
this package of benefits is so rare, we must value it accordingly. We must say
to all those who have been offenders in the ugly matters cited above, or those
who may be in danger of similar conduct in the future ...
DON'T BE THAT
WAY !!!
Addendum by WebMaster:
This is another plateful of food for thought. Please send us your
reflections, comments, rebuttals and the like. We would very much like to hear
from you, either on these subjects, or anything else, that may come to your
mind. Click the Mail-In tray to get the direct E-Mail connection.