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International Sport Federation (IF) recognized by the International Olympic CommitteeThe Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2017Copyright World Bridge FederationWith thanks to the members of the World Bridge Federation Laws Committee, Max Bavin,Maurizio Di Sacco, David Harris, Alvin Levy, Chip Martel, Howard Weinstein, John Wignall, AdamWildavsky, Laurie Kelso (Secretary) and Ton Kooijman (Chairman).Effective March 2017The historic co-operation of the Portland Club, the European Bridge League and the AmericanContract Bridge League is acknowledgedHeadquarters: Maison du Sport International – 54 av. de Rhodanie – 1007 Lausanne –Switzerland

PREFACE TO THE2017 LAWS OF DUPLICATE BRIDGEIn contrast to other Mindsports like Chess and Go, Bridge is a comparatively new game and assuch is continually evolving. The first Laws of Duplicate Bridge were published in 1928 and therehave been successive revisions in 1933, 1935, 1943, 1949, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1997, and 2007.Through the 1930’s the Laws were promulgated by the Portland Club of London and the WhistClub of New York. From the 1940’s onwards the American Contract Bridge League LawsCommission replaced the Whist Club, while the British Bridge League and the European BridgeLeague supplemented the Portland Club’s work.Now responsibility for regular revisions has been adopted by the World Bridge Federation whoseLaws Committee is charged with the task of reviewing the Laws at least once every decade. It isfair to state that this latest review is the most extensive to date. Many, many submissions werereceived from individuals, Tournament Directors, NBO’s and Zones and all were considered atlength by the Committee. After meeting at a number of Championships and after exchangingsome thousands of emails consensus was eventually achieved. The thanks of the whole Bridgeworld are surely owed to the hard-working Committee members whose names appear below. Inparticular Ton Kooijman called on his vast experience to act as Chairman and guide the task to asuccessful conclusion. But no praise is too high for the Secretary, Laurie Kelso, who did all thecollating and clerical work, most of the drafting, and devoted countless hours of his time. Withouthim the job would never have been finished.The trends begun in the 2007 Revision have been continued - the increased discretion given toTournament Directors, the attempts to rectify a situation rather than to penalise, and maintainingthe position of Regulating Authorities. It is not expected that the Code herein will last indefinitely(indeed right up to the time of publication there were still ongoing discussions on certain laws)but the framework is there, tried and tested, for future editions.The Committee acknowledges with gratitude the substantial help it has received from manyindividuals. It was all greatly appreciated.John R. Wignall, MNZMThe members of the WBF Laws Committee were:Max BavinMaurizio Di SaccoDavid HarrisAlvin LevyChip Martel2017 LAWS OF DUPLICATE BRIDGEHoward WeinsteinJohn WignallAdam WildavskyLaurie Kelso (Secretary)Ton Kooijman (Chairman)2 Page

Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION TO THE 2017 LAWS OF DUPLICATE BRIDGE .12DEFINITIONS .13LAW 1 - THE PACK .17A. Rank of Cards and Suits . 17B. The Face of the Cards . 17C. The Backs of the Cards . 17LAW 2 - THE DUPLICATE BOARDS .17LAW 3 - ARRANGEMENT OF TABLES .17LAW 4 - PARTNERSHIPS .17LAW 5 - ASSIGNMENT OF SEATS .17A. Initial Position . 17B. Change of Direction or Table . 17LAW 6 -THE SHUFFLE AND DEAL .18A. The Shuffle . 18B. The Deal . 18C. Representation of Both Pairs . 18D. New Shuffle and Re-deal . 18E. Director’s Option on Shuffling and Dealing . 18F.Duplication of Board . 18LAW 7 - CONTROL OF BOARD AND CARDS .18A. Placement of Board. 19B. Removal of Cards from Board . 19C. Returning Cards to Board . 19D. Responsibility for Procedures . 19LAW 8 - SEQUENCE OF ROUNDS .19A. Movement of Boards and Players . 19B. End of Round . 19C. End of Last Round and End of Session . 19LAW 9 - PROCEDURE FOLLOWING AN IRREGULARITY .19A. Drawing Attention to an Irregularity . 19B. After Attention Is Drawn to an Irregularity . 20C. Premature Correction of an Irregularity . 20LAW 10 - ASSESSMENT OF RECTIFICATION .20A. Right to Determine Rectification . 20B. Cancellation of Enforcement or Waiver of Rectification . 20C. Choice after Irregularity . 20LAW 11 - FORFEITURE OF THE RIGHT TO RECTIFICATION .20A. Action by Non-Offending Side . 20B. Penalty after Forfeiture of the Right to Rectification . 21LAW 12 - DIRECTOR’S DISCRETIONARY POWERS .212017 LAWS OF DUPLICATE BRIDGE3 Page

A. Power to Award an Adjusted Score . 21B. Objectives of Score Adjustment. 21C. Awarding an Adjusted Score . 21LAW 13 - INCORRECT NUMBER OF CARDS .22A. No Call Made . 22B. Discovered during the Auction or Play . 22C. Surplus Card . 23D. Play Completed . 23LAW 14 - MISSING CARD .23A. Hand Found Deficient before Play Commences . 23B. Hand Found Deficient Afterwards . 23C. Information from Replacement of a Card . 23LAW 15 - WRONG BOARD OR HAND .23A. Cards from Wrong Board . 23B. Wrong Board Discovered During Auction or Play Period . 24LAW 16 - AUTHORIZED AND UNAUTHORIZED INFORMATION.24A. Players’ Use of Information . 24B. Extraneous Information from Partner . 24C. Information from Withdrawn Calls and Plays . 25D. Extraneous Information from Other Sources . 25LAW 17 - THE AUCTION PERIOD .25A. Auction Period Starts . 25B. The First Call . 25C. Successive Calls . 26D. End of Auction Period . 26LAW 18 - BIDS .26A. Proper Form . 26B. To Supersede a Bid . 26C. Sufficient Bid . 26D. Insufficient Bid . 26E. Rank of the Denominations . 26F.Different Methods . 26LAW 19 - DOUBLES AND REDOUBLES .26A. Doubles . 26B. Redoubles . 27C. Double or Redouble Superseded . 27D. Scoring a Doubled or Redoubled Contract . 27LAW 20 - REVIEW AND EXPLANATION OF CALLS .27A.B.C.D.E.Call Not Clearly Recognized . 27Review of Auction during Auction Period . 27Review after Final Pass . 27Who May Review the Auction . 27Correction of Error in Review. 272017 LAWS OF DUPLICATE BRIDGE4 Page

F.Explanation of Calls . 27G. Incorrect Procedure . 28LAW 21 - MISINFORMATION .28A. Call or Play Based on Player’s Own Misunderstanding . 28B. Call Based on Misinformation from an Opponent . 28LAW 22 – END OF AUCTION .29LAW 23 – COMPARABLE CALL .29A. Definition . 29B. No Rectification . 29C. Non-Offending Side Damaged . 29LAW 24 - CARD EXPOSED OR LED DURING THE AUCTION .29A. Low Card Not Prematurely Led . 29B. Single Card of Honour Rank or Card Prematurely Led . 29C. Two or More Cards Are Exposed . 29D. Declaring side . 30E. Defenders . 30LAW 25 - LEGAL AND ILLEGAL CHANGES OF CALL .30A. Unintended Call . 30B. Call Intended . 30LAW 26 – CALL WITHDRAWN, LEAD RESTRICTIONS .30A. No Lead Restrictions . 30B. Lead Restrictions . 30LAW 27 – INSUFFICIENT BID .30A. Acceptance of Insufficient Bid . 30B. Insufficient Bid not Accepted . 31C. Premature Replacement . 31D. Non-offending Side Damaged . 31LAW 28 - CALLS CONSIDERED TO BE IN ROTATION .31A. RHO Required to Pass . 31B. Call by Correct Player Cancelling Call Out of Rotation . 31LAW 29 - PROCEDURE AFTER A CALL OUT OF ROTATION .31A. Forfeiture of Right to Rectification . 31B. Out-of-Rotation Call Cancelled . 32C. Call Out of Rotation Is Artificial . 32LAW 30 - PASS OUT OF ROTATION .32A. RHO’s Turn to Call . 32B. Partner’s or LHO’s Turn to Call. 32C. When Pass Is Artificial . 32LAW 31 - BID OUT OF ROTATION .32A. RHO’s Turn to Call . 32B. Partner’s or LHO’s Turn to Call. 33C. Later Bids at LHO’s Turn to Call . 33LAW 32 - DOUBLE OR REDOUBLE OUT OF ROTATION .332017 LAWS OF DUPLICATE BRIDGE5 Page

A. RHO’s Turn to Call . 33B. Offender’s Partner’s Turn to Call . 33C. Later Calls at LHO’s Turn to Call . 33LAW 33 - SIMULTANEOUS CALLS .33LAW 34 - RETENTION OF RIGHT TO CALL .33LAW 35 - INADMISSIBLE CALLS .33LAW 36 - INADMISSIBLE DOUBLES AND REDOUBLES .34A. Offender’s LHO Calls before Rectification . 34B. Offender’s LHO does not Call before Rectification . 34C. Irregularity Discovered after the Auction Period . 34LAW 37 - ACTION VIOLATING OBLIGATION TO PASS .34A. Offender’s LHO Calls before Rectification . 34B. Offender’s LHO does not Call before Rectification . 34LAW 38 - BID OF MORE THAN SEVEN .34A. No Play Permissible . 34B. Bid and Subsequent Calls Cancelled . 34C. Offending Side Must Pass . 35D. Possible Lack of Recourse to Laws 26B and 72C . 35LAW 39 - CALL AFTER THE FINAL PASS .35A. Calls Cancelled . 35B. Pass by Defender or Any Call by Declaring Side. 35C. Other Action by Defender . 35LAW 40 - PARTNERSHIP UNDERSTANDINGS .35A. Players’ Systemic Agreements . 35B. Special Partnership Understandings . 35C. Deviation from System and Psychic Action. 36LAW 41 - COMMENCEMENT OF PLAY .37A. Face-down Opening Lead. 37B. Review of Auction and Questions . 37C. Opening Lead Faced . 37D. Dummy’s Hand . 37LAW 42 - DUMMY’S RIGHTS .37A. Absolute Rights . 37B. Qualified Rights . 37LAW 43 - DUMMY’S LIMITATIONS .38A. Limitations on Dummy . 38B. If Violation Occurs . 38LAW 44 - SEQUENCE AND PROCEDURE OF PLAY .38A.B.C.D.E.Lead to a Trick . 38Subsequent Plays to a Trick . 38Requirement to Follow Suit . 38Inability to Follow Suit . 38Tricks Containing Trumps . 382017 LAWS OF DUPLICATE BRIDGE6 Page

F.Tricks Not Containing Trumps . 39G. Lead to Tricks Subsequent to First Trick . 39LAW 45 - CARD PLAYED .39A. Play of Card from a Hand . 39B. Play of Card from Dummy . 39C. Card Deemed to be Played . 39D. Dummy Picks up a Non-designated Card . 39E. Fifth Card Played to Trick . 40F.Dummy Indicates Card . 40G. Turning the Trick . 40LAW 46 – INCOMPLETE OR INVALID DESIGNATION OF A CARD FROM DUMMY .40A. Proper Form for Designating Dummy’s Card . 40B. Incomplete or Invalid Designation . 40LAW 47 - RETRACTION OF CARD PLAYED .41A. In Course of Rectification . 41B. To Correct an Illegal Play . 41C. To Change an Unintended Designation . 41D. Following Opponent’s Change of Play . 41E. Change of Play Based on Misinformation . 41F.Other Retraction . 41LAW 48 - EXPOSURE OF DECLARER’S CARDS .41A. Declarer Exposes a Card . 41B. Declarer Faces Cards . 41LAW 49 - EXPOSURE OF A DEFENDER’S CARDS .41LAW 50 - DISPOSITION OF PENALTY CARD .42A. Penalty Card Remains Exposed . 42B. Major or Minor Penalty Card . 42C. Disposition of Minor Penalty Card . 42D. Disposition of Major Penalty Card . 42E. Information from a Penalty Card . 43LAW 51 - TWO OR MORE PENALTY CARDS .43A. Offender to Play . 43B. Offender’s Partner to Lead . 43LAW 52 - FAILURE TO LEAD OR PLA

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