JLOL, on Feb 5 2009, 03:48 PM, said:
jdonn, on Feb 5 2009, 03:39 PM, said:
RichMor, on Feb 5 2009, 03:31 PM, said:
Yes, NS should get the result for 4
♠X down 2.
Yes, EW should get the result for -800.
Seems only right that both pairs get a bad score

If the EW result was due to (I forget the exact wording) a stupid, ridiculous, irrational, wild, gambling action, then NS should not have their score changed. All you can do to them is give some kind of procedural penalty for a bad explanation, as well as for responder's extraneous comment (b. in the original post) if you care to.
This is incorrect. In fact most split rulings are because one pair forgot to play bridge after they were damaged so they keep the score, but the offending side gets their score rolled back since they can't benefit from the damage. The really stupid bid or play might well have not occurred if there hadn't been damage to begin with.
My point is a misexplanation is not automatically damage. If I open 1NT and my partner says 12-14 and it's really 15-17, and LHO does something stupid like overcall 4
♥ on xxx Kxxxxx Qx xx and we kill him, and he says he wouldn't have done that if he knew 1NT was 15-17, I keep my score. That's the same to me in this case, there was a misexplanation (or misbid?) without which 5
♦X couldn't have occured, but it should never have occured anyway since only someone hopped up on some leafy plant would bid 5
♦, so NS benefit since EW stupidity is all that damaged them.
A situation of split scores is different. Say when partner wrongly announces 12-14 the opponents use their system over weak notrumps to reach a normal 4
♥ game, and one of them plays it like a doofus and goes down. And say if they knew 1NT was strong they would never have bid, and 1NT would have gone down. That's the split score situation where I get 1NT down and they get 4
♥ down.
I think I confused things by (mis)quoting part of the law that leads to split scores when I wasn't trying to refer to them.
Please let me know about any questions or interest or bug reports about GIB.