Opening Lead Validation - EBUScore
We are considering running EBUScore and bridgemates with the option selected to validate the opening lead against the hand record (pre dealt hands). However in the event that one or more hands do not correspond to the deal imported into EBUScore the Bridgemate may not accept the lead. This might happen if there has been an error in the duplimating process or a board is fouled. How do you recover from the situation where the lead is not validated?
Mark Humphris
Mark Humphris
Comments
It should be a rare occurrence indeed. In fact, this is one of the advantages of lead validation - that it may well identify a fouled board, which would then be given an artificial score. Get them to put in a lead card that the hand record has as belonging to the hand on lead.
Or enter passed out in the Bridgemate and write the score on a traveller to go in the fouled board. Any then type the scores into Enter Scores and marked as F (Fouled).
I recently ran a Swiss Pairs event and there was a last minute change to the set of boards used, and the event was started with the wrong set loaded and Open Lead Validation switched on.
Because of a bug in SwissPairsScorer it was impossible to switch the validation option off after the event had started, and it was no use changing the setting for imported deals. It caused a bit of a nightmare - any lead guessed had a 1/4 chance of being correct and you would average about 4 guesses to succeed, and sometimes it took more. I ran this way for the first match and then had to recreate the event and start again.
One must be careful!
So long as you have the file for the new set of boards it certainly works if you import this set of hands directly into the Bridgemate Control Software. It will tell that you there are hands already loaded but will allow you to overwrite them with the new ones and the hand validation will use this new set of hands.
vmt - good to know
I don't think its a bug in SwissPairsScorer (or EBUScore SwissPairs). Those programs claim it is a bug in the Bridgemate system. I presume that Bridgemate bug has not been fixed, rather than SwissPairsScorer remaining unnecessarily cautious. I wonder if there is any progress on resolving the Bridgemate system "limitation" - that the options controlled by the scoring program cannot be changed in a Swiss session.
This bug affected both Swiss Pairs & Teams was in the Bridgemate Control Program and was reported to Ron Bouewland in March 2014 (who said the fix was tricky) since updating settings cancelled the 'Waiting for next round Assignment' mode effectively sending the BMS to End of Session. It was cleared in BCS 3.2.18 and the clearance release in BCS 3.2.23 in November 2016. EBUScore version 1 was October 2015 so I don't think EBUScore ever picked up that clearance. This needs rectifying in next EBUScore Release (allowing the update settings if BCS version >= 3.2.18)..