[Vampyr]

I am wondering if misunderstandings by players are sometimes caused by poorly-educated directors.

A few years ago I was at a tournament in Croatia. LHO opened 1♣, some kind of Polish Club or something, and I ended up declaring the hand.

When the opening bid was made, I asked and was told (in writing; there was a bit of a language barrier) the three possibilities for the meaning of the bid. When the opening lead was made, I asked which of the three opener had now shown. It was kind of obvious that he had a weak NT, but I asked reflexively and in any case didn't want to make assumptions about how they played their system and receive a surprise.

So when I asked, they told me about the same three possibilities. I wanted to know which one, and they weren't telling me, so I thought that they probably didn't understand. So I called over a director who could also serve as interpreter. He was a director from another Southern European country, what level I don't know but certainly not junior. He told me that the bid meant one of those three things and I had to work it out for myself.

Luckily HdW was nearby, and was able to tell LHO and the director that LHO had no doubt narrowed down the possibilities and had to tell me.

If this is what players get from their directors, it is no wonder they have difficulty getting it right themselves.

[helene_t]

Maybe some of those things are GBK for people who come from Polish Club countries, just like some directors over here might say that the fact that, playing a natural system,
1m-(pass)-pass-1M
1NT*
is 18-19 (or 17-19 depending on your notrump range), is GBK.

If HdW said they should tell you he is probably right but maybe it was not so easy for the TD. What was the auction?

[Vampyr]

helene_t, on 2015-July-22, 06:44, said:

Maybe some of those things are GBK for people who come from Polish Club countries, just like some directors over here might say that the fact that, playing a natural system,
1m-(pass)-pass-1M
1NT*
is 18-19 (or 17-19 depending on your notrump range), is GBK.

If HdW said they should tell you he is probably right but maybe it was not so easy for the TD. What was the auction?

I don't remember the auction; I will see whether partner does.

To be honest, I don't think that the example you give is GBK either. This is a big problem obviously, that people's reckoning of GBK varies wildly.

EDIT: Basically, if GBK is things that you don't tell when asked, I would set the bar far higher than which of a 3-way opening bid opener has shown up with or the point count of a reopening 1NT. More like, after 1♠-2♥ opener is highly unlikely to have a longer suit than spades, and responder is highly unlikely to have fewer than five hearts and fewer than (9)10 points.

Other, more specific things, especially any things that are based on agreements you have established, must be explained if asked.