August 2018 – Accepting Opening Lead

(Based On Ruling at Porthcawl Bridge Club – previously published in WBU newsletter)

Board 19 – Dealer South; East/West Vulnerable.

South is declarer in 4♣, and East leads ♣A. South then absent-mindedly places the ♣9 on the table, at which point the Director is called.

The Director now rules that when a card is exposed following an opening lead out-of-turn, that hand automatically becomes dummy, and that South should continue to lay-out her hand, with North becoming declarer.