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Law45 4b slip of the tongue?

I was called to a table where Declarer had called for a card from dummy and then asked for it to be changed to a different one (only two cards in the suit). The opponent who called me, hadn’t played yet so I allowed it. Can declarer now change their mind and say it’s a slip of the tongue?

Comments

  • It's not just a matter of them saying it's a slip of the tongue; it has to actually be one and that's something for you to determine as the TD. I think we would need a bit more information about exactly what cards were in dummy, how the previous play had gone and what exactly the player said in order to make some sort of a decision, though the way you have described it makes me think that it's rather more likely to have been a change of mind (not allowed) than a slip of the tongue.

  • I have probably let someone get away with a change of mind. The two cards in dummy are sQ and S7. The 7 changed to the queen. I don’t think the end result would be different as there were 11 sure tricks in 3nt. It’s something for me to watch out for next time!

  • The archetypal situation like this is déclarer leading towards an AQ in dummy intending to finesse. Not noticing until just too late that LHO has played the King, déclarer calls for the Queen and then tries to change it. This is not a slip of the tongue but a change of mind and so not allowed.
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