Part 23 (2/2)

The player answered, ”I trumped it.”

The Dummy then said, ”Who trumped it?”

After this remark by the Dummy, the Declarer claims a revoke, the claim is disputed upon the ground that the Dummy called the revoke to the attention of the Declarer. The Declarer states that he would have made the claim, regardless of Dummy's remark.

Query: Should the revoke be allowed?

DECISION

Law 60 prescribes explicitly the privileges of the Dummy after he has placed his hand on the table.

There are exactly six things which he may do and no more.

Law 61 provides, ”Should the declarer's partner call attention to any other incident of the play in consequence of which any penalty might have been exacted, the declarer is precluded from exacting such penalty.”

Inasmuch as asking ”Who won the trick?” is not one of the six privileges allowed the Dummy, such action is irregular, and must, of necessity, call attention to the revoke. Had the Dummy actually claimed the revoke, it would preclude the exaction of a penalty, even had the Declarer been about to claim it. It is, therefore, immaterial whether the Declarer would have noticed the revoke had the Dummy not made the irregular remark.

The question is decided in the negative.

CASE 12

The adversaries of the Declarer take ten tricks, but revoke. Under these conditions, can either side score ”except for honors or chicane?”

DECISION

Law 84 provides that ”a revoking side cannot score, except for honors or chicane.”

It also provides: ”If either of the adversaries revoke, the declarer may either add 150 points to his score in the honor column or may take three tricks from his opponents and add them to his own. Such tricks may a.s.sist the declarer to make good his declaration.”

It is evident that the Declarer is given the option of either scoring 150 points or taking three tricks, should he prefer to make good his declaration rather than receive the bonus.

In the case cited, three tricks could not fulfill the contract, but should a thoughtless or generous Declarer elect to take a penalty which would not benefit him, in preference to 150, he would be acting within his rights.

The rule clearly decides this case. The adversaries ”cannot score except for honors or chicane,” and the Declarer can ”add 150 to his score in the honor column” if he elect so to do.

Acknowledgment is made of the courtesy of The Whist Club of New York in permitting the publication of its code of laws and of the decisions of its Card Committee.

SUMMARIZED PENALTIES

For the benefit of those who wish to hastily ascertain the penalty for an offense or to refer to the law upon the subject, the following table of summarized penalties has been prepared. It does not include every possible penalty, but merely those of most frequent occurrence.

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