S c o t t i s h B r i d g e U n i o n

Laws and Ethics Forum:    May 2010



Laws and Ethics Discussion:    May 2010

Ethical Behaviour

A player asks what he can do when an opponent, while running a long suit, keeps staring at him in a disconcerting fashion, as if daring him to play a card.

The best approach would seem to be to ask him, politely but firmly, to desist.

There are two possible explanations for his actions:
1) He is acting inadvertently, does not realise his behaviour is disconcerting, and has simply got into one of those bad habits that most of us have without realising it (‘cracking’ cards; holding the card about to be played for a long time before actually playing it; triumphant ‘pouncing’; fiddling with the bidding box; - the list of irritating habits is endless.)
In this case he will apologise, explain that he did not intend to give offence, and try to refrain in future.
2) He is deliberately trying to put you off your stroke.
This is a serious offence and should be reported to the Tournament Director to be referred to your club committee for action.

The relevant law is Law 74 – Conduct and Etiquette

A    Proper Attitude
1    A player should maintain a courteous attitude at all times
2    A player should carefully avoid any remark or action that might cause annoyance or embarrassment to another player or might interfere with the enjoyment of the game.
3    Every player should follow uniform and correct procedure in calling and playing

B    Etiquette
As a matter of courtesy a player should refrain from:
1 paying insufficient attention to the game,
2 making gratuitous comments during the auction and play,
3 detaching a card before it is his turn to play,
4 prolonging play unnecessarily (as in playing on although he knows that all the tricks are surely his) for the purpose of disconcerting an opponent,
5 summoning and addressing the Director in a manner discourteous to him or to other contestants.

The law goes on to list a number of violations of procedure which are more obvious attempts to gain unethical advantage. The relevant one for our correspondent is 
5    looking intently at any other player during the auction and play, or at another player’s hand, as for the purpose of seeing his cards or of observing the place from which he draws a card (but it is appropriate to act on information acquired by unintentionally seeing an opponent’s card)

It is clearly not practical to expect every player to behave perfectly all the time: part of the enjoyment of our game is the interaction with other people, and it would be dull indeed if everybody behaved in exactly the same way. Being human involves being fallible, and one man’s normal behaviour can be another man’s irritating habit. A polite request to desist from any particular action may be all that is required – or you might ask the player’s partner to have a quiet word.
Ethical behaviour is a frame of mind. The important thing is to have the correct attitude – nothing we do should be a deliberate attempt to gain advantage by upsetting an opponent.

We would encourage players to study Laws 73 and 74, and ask themselves ‘do I do that?’ (though an easier question may be ‘does my partner do that?’)
Knowledge of the Laws is useful for players at all levels. The SBU can provide you with a copy of ‘The Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2007’ for just £3: apply to your District Secretary.