Can 4NT be "incontrovertibly not artificial" ?

Another more interesting insufficient bid from Devon!

W	N	E	S
1S	2H	X	3H
X	4H	5D	P
4NT
5NT

North pointed out that 4NT was insufficient, and West said something like "oh dear, well I can make it good" and bid 5NT, someone suggested it wasn't as simple as that and the TD was called. I (the TD) decided that I should talk to West away from the table, and she told me that she intended 4NT as natural (to play). I decided that I would err on the side of allowing the auction to continue, prepared to fall back on Law 27D if the other side were damaged. So I ruled that if North did not accept 4NT, the correction to 5NT must stand (Law 27C) but would not silence partner. I thought I was ruling under Law 27B1(a) that 4NT was "incontrovertibly not artificial" but perhaps I was ruling under Law 27B1(b) that 5NT had "the same meaning as" 4NT.

5NT ended the auction and was destined to go off. I told the table to call me back and left the table.

But it's never that simple.

I returned to the table to point out that if I had ruled that 4NT or 5NT was artificial, then East would be silenced anyway. Meanwhile, West had explained that there had been a misexplanation. The first double had been explained as take-out, showing the minors, and the second double had been explained as take-out, equal length in the minors; but West had intended the second double as penalties. The misexplanation did not appear to damage North-South but I guess there was heaps of unauthorised information.

I repeated my instruction to be called back but I heard no more: I guess 5NT went off.

Insufficient bids in Torquay

Good

A few natural insufficient bids passed off almost without mention of the new law. At least twice, a player had make an insufficient bid of a new suit in a competitive auction, I found myself saying

If you bid three hearts (or any other call that shows hearts) then partner can bid again, otherwise ...

Bad

There was a more complicated example:

W	N	E	S
1NT (12-14)	2C (nat)	2S *	3C
2NT

Nobody had asked about 2S, so I did: "balanced invitational or slam try". So if South had passed 2NT shows a minimum 1NT, I asked: "Yes". I ruled that 2NT was not artificial and that Pass would show the same as 2NT, so West could bid 3NT or Pass without silencing partner.

Ugly

I made the mistake (!) of hanging around for the rest of the auction.

W	N	E	S
1NT (12-14)	2C (nat)	2S *	3C
2NT/P	P	3S	End

So I intervened and reminded EW of their obligations, both thought that the explanation of 2S was (still) correct. Their card showed "Modified Lebensohl" (but this meant system on, with stolen bid doubles). East said he had made a mistake, and North asked if West was allowed to know that East had made a mistake. I answered "No" and asked NS to call me back; but the hand records showed 3S was three off, and I was not called back.

No surprises that East had a weak hand with five spades, it was more of a surprise that North had four clubs and five diamonds.