Hi Paul:

Your latest blog caption caught my immediate attention because (though probably not known by many), it was Bobby who coined the expression Convention Disruption or the abbreviated form (CD). However, his displeasure (and contempt) was not for the beginner, but rather the experienced, not well-intended performers who plied their trade at the perfect opportunity to influence and bring about bad decisions by their opponents — especially with favorable vulnerability.

I understand what you are alluding to is quite different with newbies and does present a problem. There is no simple answer as the last thing we want to do is discourage interest in our wonderful game.

However, it is not only new players who suffer confusion or ‘forgets.” On rare occasion, I must plead guilty when an unusual treatment arises which I have played for years (and know and understand), but its infrequency caused me to not remember its use. Nobody’s perfect .. not even bridge players.

HBJ : Forgetting isn’t all about confusion or lapse of focus/concentration over what conventions are down on the card. I’ve come across even players who forget what contract there are in , which cards have been played, who is on lead , and what the bidding had been.
If players forgets , usually gifts are handed out to the opponents. However, if the opponents end up being damaged by a convention disruption, then a TD must step in to resolve the situation.
Providing the all at the table can laugh or smile about the apparent loss of memory or absent mindedness, the consequence of zero match points should stiffen their minds in future to log and remember information.
The best way of adapting to compete at the higher level is to QUICKLY learn from your mistakes , and use the bitter experience to move on wards and upwards.
I first learned to swim when an exasperated instructor threw me in at the deep end. I t worked.

Hi Paul,

No distraught rant, just both a bridge history lesson together with a state of the union update.

Tournament bridge is perhaps the only team sport (and I actually think it should be classified a sport, mind, that is) where both top level fishing players and pairs compete with others who could be compared with bottom of the barrel fishing. This vast difference and, if you agree with my last sentence, causes concern in the conditions of contest and, more importantly, its application.

Yes, I agree with not wanting to run novice type wannabe bridge players from experimenting with home brew bridge conventions. It not only adds zest to their newly found hobby, but gets them started into understanding bridge conventions, both for the reasons they are played and also the advantages and disadvantages (100% ever present) of playing them.

However, since all these widely varied fishermen are competing against one another, what can be done to solve the obvious problem? In spite of the irreparable damage CD reeks at the table, it is bound to happen at the beginner level and is terribly annoying to both their opponents trying to just play decent bridge and to themselves having to suffer their despair from not succeeding in improving their bridge games.

Try subjective reasoning in giving wide latitude to new players so that they will learn the necessity of understanding their new toys, but treading lightly in going overboard trying to punish them to the extent they probably deserve.

By doing the above (with gentility), everyone (and especially bridge in general) will profit, still insisting what all experienced bridge players know (or certainly should) about understanding why they are playing these new conventions as well as what happens when they do.

Obviously some latitude needs to be given TDs; however the head honcho (whomever and whatever that position necessitates) will soon get a better handle on which TD can or cannot assume such responsibility giving management a certain tool in which to determine their competence (mainly not to allow any form of bias to ever enter any bridge tournament).

BTW, the above should be announced (if necessary or possibly just periodically) before all tournaments or at least, as just mentioned, once in a while.

In this way we will have the extra force of letting all players know what we expect, in which this full disclosure may make learning and thus playing these conventions better from all perspectives.

And to all those newbies who cherish directly playing against well known bridge stars, it will only publicize the importance we all should feel about making tournament bridge as good as it can be, rather than just a ho hum episode in lackadaisical bridge law enforcement.

BTW, I would entertain an amendment to the above suggestion, by giving an adjusted upward score to those victimized by CD, whoever the culprits happened to be, with possible lesser punitive punishment to the ones who haven’t been playing very long. However, we must be careful to keep official precedents of what we dole out, including everyone who feels its wrath.

Hi Bobby,

Your comments, as always, are cogent and well thought out, and would be of great help at the tournament levels to which you refer. My question however was about how CD can be handled at the club level in a way that will not discourage newer players from trying open club games.

Hi Paul,

Your worries about CD at the club level were intended to have been included in my last comment and I thought I did cover how.

At the club level, newbie players may experiment with more exotic conventions, some of which may be “home brews” and if CD occurs they would likely suffer some minus score adjustment, but no where near the penalty more experienced pairs would be assessed if they became guilty of the same type of CD.

In other words, while attempting to both learn the game and at the same time go modern with conventions, but upon forgetting them or worse, misapplying or inaccurate disclosure of them, their penalties would be far less severe than would occur if experienced and much better players would commit the same bridge crime.

In other words, in order to allow certain modern and topical bridge methods to be played by novices, the penalties for creating uncomfortable and damaging behavior at the table, (CD), would be handled in a much more gentler manner as long as this practice was restricted to club play, not higher level tournament competition.

Hi Paul,

Just my 2 cents.

Maybe as experienced players, we should just accept that this will happen, and that on occasion, it’ll result in our being fixed. Once we’ve accepted that, we can then get past it, be nice to the relative newbies when something goes awry, and help alleviate their nervousness.