APPEAL no. 15 |

Appeals Committee
Chairman | Bobby Wolff | USA
Members | Grattan Endicott Virgil Anderson Jean-Paul Meyer Chris Compton Tommy Sandsmark | GBR USA FRA USA NOR
Scribe | Tommy Sandsmark | NOR

Event
1998 World Championships
Rosenblum Cup | Qualifying
Countries
Great Britain | v | Panama
Players
NS | Dhondy | Pagan
EW | Vega | Hernandez
Board
Board 24. Dealer West. Love All
| ª | A K 9 7 |
© | K 3 2
¨ | J 6
§ | K J 7 2
ª | 10 4 |  | ª | Q 5 2
© | J 10 6 4 | © | 7 5
¨ | 9 5 4 3 | ¨ | A K Q 7 2
§ | 5 4 3 | § | Q 9 8
| ª | J 8 6 3 |
© | A Q 9 8
¨ | 10 8
§ | A 10 6
West |  | North |  | East |  | South
Pass |  | 1NT¹ |  | 2¨² |  | Dble³
2© |  | 2ª |  | Pass |  | 3NT
Pass |  | Pass |  | Pass |  |
¹ 14-16 ² Explained by West to South: 'Majors'. By East to North: 'Natural'. ³ Explained by South to West: 'General values'. By North to East: 'T/O'.
Result
3NT-2: -100
Facts
E/W's convention card reads: 'Against weak 1 NT: 2¨ is natural. Against strong 1 NT: 2¨ shows the majors. East considered 14-16 as a weak NT, while West considered it as a strong NT. Thus North took the double for T/O and bid 2ª. South doubled for values, and bid 3 NT on North's 2¨ bid, assuming that the ©/ª would behave badly. North did not correct to 4ª without a ¨ stopper.
TD's Decision
The TD considered 14-16 to be a strong NT opening, and consequently, South had had the right information from West. He therefore allowed the table result to stand.

Appellants
N/S
Players' Comments
There was no dispute as to the facts. E/W had now agreed upon which range 14 would be.

Committee's Comments
The committee considered it impossible to reach 4ª when South knew that East had the majors. Although the play in 4ª was not entirely clear, it was strongly felt that N/S had been deprived of their opportunity to guess the § and win 420. Under the guidance of law 12 C 3, the Committee was allowed to restore equity to the tournament and to this board, a right not given to the TD.
Committee's Decision
The Committee thus ruled that the score be changed to 4ª N/S with 10 tricks; 420 to N/S.
Relevant Laws
Law 12 C3
Deposit
Returned | X
Forfeited |

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