[dkham]

I'm based in Scotland.

At the end of an auction I was on defence, about to make the opening lead. I asked an opponent what his partner's bid meant. Then I asked the bidder himself. I assumed that the bidder would be able to tell me, as they were about to be dummy/declarer so wouldn't be giving any information away. Is this right? Can the declaring side describe their own bids (if asked) before the opening lead?

To clarify, here's an example:

---

Suppose you are West, about to make an opening lead. Can you ask South directly what his bid meant, or can you only ask North about South's bid?

[barmar]

Normally bids are explained by the partner of the bidder, even after the auction is over. However, if the bidder believes his partner gave an incorrect explanation, he must call the director, who will then instruct him to correct the explanation.

[pran]

dkham, on 2013-August-01, 08:03, said:

I'm based in Scotland.

At the end of an auction I was on defence, about to make the opening lead. I asked an opponent what his partner's bid meant. Then I asked the bidder himself. I assumed that the bidder would be able to tell me, as they were about to be dummy/declarer so wouldn't be giving any information away. Is this right? Can the declaring side describe their own bids (if asked) before the opening lead?

To clarify, here's an example:

---

Suppose you are West, about to make an opening lead. Can you ask South directly what his bid meant, or can you only ask North about South's bid?

The main rule is that you should ask partner to the player who's call you want explained.

But there is a special Law ( 20F5{b} ) that applies during the correction period, i.e. after the closing pass and before the opening lead:

Presumed declarer and his partner are both responsible for all explanations from their side to opponents to be complete and correct.

Each of them must (even without being asked) correct any misexplanation (including missing alert where required and alert where not required) that has been made during the auction or is given during the correction period.

So just go ahead and ask North about the 2NT bid. South must (unasked) correct North's explanation if it is incomplete or incorrect in any way.

Edit after seing Barmar's answer: It is technically correct that the Director must be called in such cases. However in "simple" situations the misinformation is usually corrected right away.

Of course the Director must be called to the table if the misinformation may lead to withdrawal of the last pass from a presumed defender and continuation of the auction

[paulg]

The current SBU Alerting Procedure can be found on the new SBU website (PDF) and this provides quite a lot of information about the processes.

One of the key points it mentions is that you should ask about the auction as a whole rather than a specific bid, as this can create problems for your own side. The procedure says that the 'declaring side' should explain its auction, but in practical terms this is normally done by each player describing the meaning of their partner's calls. They only have to describe their partnership methods and, if applicable, any relevant partnership experience - they do not have to explain what they intended by their call if there is no partnership understanding.

For example, in the specific case, if North-South are not a regular partnership then they will probably not have discussed the meaning of 2NT response by a passed hand. However they may tell you what an unpassed 2NT means and, if they say that there is no agreement for 2NT, then it would be reasonable to ask them about this.

barmar has already addressed the other salient point.

[aguahombre]

For the casual reader I would like to point out two things:

1) It is called the clarification period, not the correction period.

2) The question by the opening leader is not silly.

Opener might have psyched, which will be revealed if 2NT is disclosed as natural and forcing.
A correction by Declarer if Dummy says it is natural and non-forcing will uncover that they had a misunderstanding. In either case, or even if the bidding is disclosed to be as it sounds, it might affect the defenders' choice to be active or passive on defense.

[paulg]

I should have added that declarer should have advised you, prior to the opening lead, if his partner had failed to alert an artificial 2NT bid. If this happened then you must call the Director and listen to what he has to say.

In Scotland, if 2NT is natural then it would not be alertable regardless if it is forcing or non-forcing.

[pran]

aguahombre, on 2013-August-01, 09:31, said:

For the casual reader I would like to point out two things:

1) It is called the clarification period, not the correction period.

Of course, my error.

aguahombre, on 2013-August-01, 09:31, said:

2) The question by the opening leader is not silly.

Opening leader may ask any question he likes before he selects his opening lead and places this face down on the table in front of him. Then his partner may ask any question he likes before he tells the opening leader that he may turn his opening lead face up.

aguahombre, on 2013-August-01, 09:31, said:

Opener might have psyched, which will be revealed if 2NT is disclosed as natural and forcing.
A correction by Declarer if Dummy says it is natural and non-forcing will uncover that they had a misunderstanding. In either case, or even if the bidding is disclosed to be as it sounds, it might affect the defenders' choice to be active or passive on defense.

It is not obvious that opener (or presumed declarer) might have psyched and neither of them is supposed to reveal any psyche during the clarification period?

I assume that what you meant is: Opener's psyche (if any) will be revealed when he faces his cards as dummy?

[aguahombre]

No, I meant what I said. The psyche will be revealed when Opener answers that 2NT was natural and forcing.

[blackshoe]

pran, on 2013-August-01, 12:47, said:

Opening leader may ask any question he likes before he selects his opening lead and places this face down on the table in front of him. Then his partner may ask any question he likes before he tells the opening leader that he may turn his opening lead face up.

Declarer can also ask questions after the opening lead is made face down, and before it is faced. While I've never seen a declarer object to it, I've also never seen a defender allow declarer the opportunity to ask.

[pran]

blackshoe, on 2013-August-01, 14:33, said:

Declarer can also ask questions after the opening lead is made face down, and before it is faced. While I've never seen a declarer object to it, I've also never seen a defender allow declarer the opportunity to ask.

See also Law 20F2!

[iviehoff]

barmar, on 2013-August-01, 08:25, said:

However, if the bidder believes his partner gave an incorrect explanation, he must call the director, who will then instruct him to correct the explanation.

Only declarer/dummy should do this at the end of the auction. Defenders must wait until the end of the hand.