Arranging Matches

Length of matches

24 boards. Played in two halves with a mandatory exchange of opponents. An option remains, with the agreement of both teams, to shorten the match to 20 boards (2 x 10). The VP scale used depends on the match length, make sure it is noted on the results submission.

Home/Away

Either team may set up the match, simply the person best suited. 'Homes' and 'Aways' are preserved for separation but have no real import in online arrangements.

Walkovers

League matches must be completed (min. 20 boards). We cannot prevent an early concession in a knockout match and indeed, it has always been part of the 'nature of the game'. If an online problem arises, the teams should try to sort it out themselves, if necessary, resuming – in the event of BBO collapse etc. – to play remaining boards.

Ties in knockout matches

The existing procedure for an IMP-tie in a knockout match is to rescore the match as aggregate. This was no doubt conceived to avoid the delay caused by playing extra boards resulting in missed trains etc. Whilst that is not a consideration in online play, we retain the aggregate decider, if only to avoid further administration. Of course, if aggregate is tied, three extra boards must be played (and the IMP then aggregate calculation repeated until separation.

EBU 'Sky-Blue Book'

Online play has now been taken into the pre-existing documentation (Blue and White Books) and a resource dedicated to online does not exist as such. However, there is a useful index to online content, at https://www.ebu.co.uk/documents/laws-and-ethics/skyblue-book.pdf (2024).

BBO match settings

Kibitzers

Not allowed. Regrettably though kibitzing seems innocuous, and joining to watch teammates is fun, there are many incidents of improper use to for the Association to risk it causing problems.

Undos

Updated for 2024-25 season.

• In the auction allowed: in general, accept any request made by an opponent.
• In the play: please do not ask for an undo, do not grant such a request.

Undos in the auction are permitted because,

1. In the case of a slow alert/explanation, it allows opponents to reconsider their action.
2. In the event of a misclick, it is equivalent to correcting a 'bidding box accident' in face-to-face play.

We strongly recommend use of the 'Confirm bids and plays' setting.

Note: it is a shortcoming on BBO that it is not possible to set up a match with undos without allowing them for both auction and play.

Barometer scoring

Off. This replicates the situation in F2F play. We believe the availability of IMP scores when both sides complete the board can be unfair to less experienced teams.

Identity

Real name in profile. Please put you full name in your BBO profile. If you are concerned about exposure in other events, you can remove it afterwards. The LBH styles itself as 'Friendly and competitive' and we believe that not being anonymous is a courtesy to be observed even online – maybe especially so.

During play

Alerts and self-description of calls

Mandatory. Alert as you would F2F, describe all your own calls whether they would be announced or not. For example, annotate all no-trump ranges whether they be openings, rebids, responses or advances; if weak-two can be five cards, say so; if fourth-suit-forcing is forcing to game, say so, etc.

Failing to alert/describe slows down the game and is a courtesy to opponents. Timely description avoids questions and potential unauthorised information (UI).

System cards

Please. It need not be detailed but should specify leads and carding.

BBO provides an easy mechanism to create a system card ('Convention Card') and this can be associated with a given partner. It is rather neat: it becomes joint property, either partner may change it, and it appears whenever the partnership sits down to play. We favour the 'simple' card (not the unfamiliar ACBL style), choose 'Modern Acol' or 'SAYC' (for 5-card majors) and edit. To find the opponents' card, check the blue menu-button during play. Lastly, if you cannot do that, captains should as a courtesy, email copies of printed EBU System Cards to opponents.

Pre-alerts

Please. Even with system cards it is polite to give a brief description of your methods before play. Be clear about your leads and carding – it is awkward to ask about leads, signals, discards etc. during play.

Chat

Avoid comment to table. If you do need to ask questions in the auction or play, do so by private chat. It is good practice to switch the chat target (lower left blue 'chat' button) to 'opponents' to avoid accidental chat to table and the creation of UI

Disputes

The majority of matches will not have a director (the 'TD' button calls the person who set up the match). So in the event of a bridge dispute, teams are in the same position as in F2F bridge. The details of bidding and play will have been recorded but both teams should take a copy of relevant chats made. In the cases of hesitation etc. there is no access to timestamped logs. The captains should then find a real-life director with the assembled information and seek a ruling. The EBU has a page of directors which is easily discovered.

LBHCBA Committee

15-April-2025