68 A - claim and facing hand - clarification
Shireen Mohandes
refer to:
Any statement by declarer or a defender to the effect that a side will win a specific number of tricks is a claim of those tricks. A player also claims when he suggests that play be curtailed, or when he shows his cards (unless he demonstrably did not intend to claim - for example, if declarer faces his cards after an opening lead out of turn Law 54, not this Law, will apply).
"shows his cards" needs to have "to the non-claimimg side only". This is to cater for defender claims.
V
Volker Walther
I see several problems with your suggestion:
First a formal one: there is no-non claiming side, unless the claim is established. Therefore your suggestion should be: "...when he shows his cards to an opponent".
Second: How do we deal with the situation, when a defender faces his cards, because he believes that he will get the rest? I think this should be treated as a claim.
E
Ed Reppert
Volker Walther: Agreed, but as to your second point I wonder what the law should say about the situation where a player says "I'm not claiming" and faces his hand. Maybe he wants to induce his opponents to concede, maybe he has some other reason. It seems to me that the statement means he demonstrably does not intend to claim, but others have told me I'm full of it. Either way, this should be clarified.
Gordon Rainsford
Ed Reppert: This is certainly treated differently by different people, but there is a school of thought that it is a claim even if they say "I am not claiming".
Another related point is when a claim is deemed to have been made. Presumably we would agree that someone who starts to make a claim and immediately realises (without prompting) that the claim is not good can correct or withdraw the attempt at a claim? If so, how far into the claim does the player have to be before this no longer applies? Until the statement is complete (my preference)? If so, how do we tell when it is complete?