Insufficient bid accidentally condoned
N 1C, E 2H, S 1NT, W Pass. Apparently neither S nor W had noticed the 2H bid.
Am I right in thinking that W's pass constitutes acceptance of the insufficient bid even though she hadn't realised that was what she was doing at the time, and the auction has to continue from 1NT?
Comments
Initially it seems unfair BUT the law 27 states
A. Acceptance of Insufficient Bid
1. Any insufficient bid may be accepted (treated as legal) at the option of offender’s LHO. It is
accepted if that player calls.
It should also be noted that IF the player who called not having noticed the IB was allowed to change their call then there could certainly be UI issues.
Suppose West bid 2 Hearts, then 'saw the IB' and refused to accept it. Since West is (presumably) the NOS if that scenario was to be allowed then the 2 Heart call would be AI to partner and West could then force the IBer to change their call. Since it would be very difficult to proove that West hadn't seen the call, the powers that be have denied her the option.
If West made the call intentionally without realising that it condoned the IB then, of course she has learnt a lesson.
So Yes! The auction continues from 1NT (S) Pass (W). It is North to call and there is no further rectification since the IB is now being treated as legal. This means of course that North is allowed to assume what they like what the 1NT call by South meant.
And various players may be able to bid their suits again at the 2-level, even if they have to borrow a 2H bidding card from another bidding box.
("bidding box" should be "calling box" and "bidding cards" should be "calling cards" ?)
Calling cards? How very Victorian.
Thanks gents(?ladies), precisely what I thought.