Stop
bid
By Mike Amos
At last weekend's Harrogate Congress
in Yorkshire, one call to the table reminded me of a story from
the past told about the British player Joe Amsbury
who sadly is no longer with us.
What happened at Harrogate, was that
a lady obviously intending to make an opening bid at the two level
or higher, took her STOP card
out of the bidding box before realising that it was her Left
Hand Opponent and not she, who was the dealer.
Joe, in an international match before
screens and boxes, is alleged to have started to bid out of turn
in much the same manner having said, "Stop…."
Realising that it was not his turn
to call, Joe always quick-witted continued, "Stop….I
think I've only got twelve cards."
Much to everyone's amusement, Joe proved to in fact have 13 like
everyone else at the table.
In fact neither Joe nor my lady friend
at Harrogate had much to worry about. In Joe's case, a bid consists
of both a number and a denomination, so a spoken bid is not made
until it is completed; even 4…… would not constitute a bid out of
turn. With bidding boxes a bid or call is not made until it is removed
from the box. In both cases the "Stop" is Extraneous Information
for partner who must continue to bid as if he has not seen it.
|
