2017 Beijing Hua Yuan Cup World Women Elite Bridge Tournament

Conditions of Contest

 

 

Laws

 

The Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2017 will be used. Unless stated explicitly, the General Conditions of Contest governing WBF tournaments will apply.

 

Official Language

 

English is the official language of the tournament. During each match, players converse only in English unless both captains in a team match, or all four players in a pairs event, agree to use some other language at their own risk.

 

Tournament Format

 

8 teams will compete in the Women’s Team. A double round robin consisting of 14 rounds of 12-board matches will be played. The team accumulating the highest number of Victory Points will be the winner.

 

24 pairs will compete in the Women’s Pairs. Vacancies will be filled by players appointed by the Organising Committee. An Endless Howell of 23 rounds of 3 boards each will be played over 2 days, in barometer style. The pair accumulating the most match points will be the winner.

 

Screens and bidding boxes will be used throughout this event. BridgeMate II will be used as the official scores collection device.

 

Tie Breaking

 

Two Teams

If two teams are tied with the same number of Victory Points at the end of the round robin, the tie shall be broken as follows (in the sequence shown):

a)         IMP quotient (total IMPs won divided by total IMPs lost) in all matches played by the tied teams in that particular event. If the tie remains, then:

b)         IMPs earned by the tied teams in the match they played against each other. If the tie remains, then:

c)         Total points earned by the tied teams in the match they played against each other. If the tie remains then:

d)         Total point quotient in all matches played by the tied team in that particular event. If the tie remains then:

e)         One board (“sudden death”) matches will determine the winner.

 

Three Teams

If three teams are tied with the same number of Victory Points at the end of the round robin, the tie shall be broken according to the following:

a)         IMP quotient in all matches played by the tied teams in that particular event. If one tie still remains it shall be broken in accordance with the above (Two Teams). If the three teams remain tied, then:

b)         If one of the teams earned more VPs against each of the other two in the matches it played against them in that particular event, it shall be declared winner and, if necessary, the tie between the remaining two teams shall be broken in accordance with the above (Two Teams). If the three teams remain tied, then:

c)         If one of the teams earned more VPs against one of the remaining teams and tied with the other in the matches it played between them in that particular event, it shall be declared winner and the tie between the remaining teams shall be broken, if necessary, in accordance with the above (Two Teams). If the three teams remain tied, then:

d)         If one team has been beaten by the other two teams in matches it played against them in that particular event, it shall be ranked third in the tied positions and the tie between the remaining teams shall be broken in accordance with the above (Two Teams); In all other cases, ties shall be broken in accordance with the following:

i)       Highest net total IMPs earned by the tied teams in the matches they played against each other. If one tie still remains it may be broken in accordance with the above (Two Teams). If the three teams remain tied, then:

ii)      Highest net total points earned by the tied teams in matches they played against each other. If one tie still remains it may be broken in accordance with the above (Two Teams). If the three team remain tied, then:

iii)    Total points quotient earned in all matches played by the tied teams. If one tie still remains it may be broken in accordance with the above (Two Teams). If the three teams remain tied, then:

iv)    One-board (“sudden death”) matches will determine the winner.

 

Four or more Teams

If four or more teams are tied with the same number of Victory Points at the end of the round robin, the tie shall be broken according to the following:

a)         IMP quotient in all matches played by the tied teams in that particular event, shall govern. Any ties remaining will be broken in accordance with the above (Two/Three Teams) if appropriate. If there are more than three teams that remain tied after use of IMP quotients, then:

b)         If one of the teams earned more VPs against each of the remaining tied teams in that particular event or if it has, uniquely, tied one and defeated the other tied teams, it shall be declared winner and the ties for the remaining teams will be broken in accordance with the above (Three Teams), if appropriate. If there are more than three teams that remain tied, then: 

c)         Total points quotient in all matches played by the tied teams in that particular event, shall govern. Any ties remaining will be broken in accordance with the above (Two/Three Teams) if appropriate. If there are more than three teams that remain tied after the application of total points quotient, then:

d)         One-board (“sudden death”) matches will determine the winner.

 

Disqualification

 

In the case of a team being disqualified, all matches it played prior to its disqualification may in the discretion of the Organising Committee be declared void and the scores earned by its opponents in those matches may be cancelled or varied.

 

 

Team and Pair Numbers

 

Team and Pair numbers was drawn by the Chief Tournament Director at random ahead of time.

 

Schedule of Play

 

The schedule of play for the 1^st round robin is included in Appendix 1. For the 2^nd round robin, the numbers shown in the Appendix represent the finishing position in the 1^st round robin. The seating will be changed such that the home team in the 1^st round robin will be the visiting team in the 2^nd round robin. The 2^nd round robin schedule may be slightly modified such that teams and from China will play each other in the 1^st or 2^nd round.

 

Line-up and Seating Rights

 

Teams play according to the schedule. The first named team will be the Home Team and the other the Visiting Team. The Home Team sits NS in the Open Room and EW in the Closed Room. The captains of the visiting teams will complete the line-up 15 minutes and the home teams 10 minutes before starting time. The detailed method for line-up will be announced at the Captains’ Meeting.

 

Teams failing to observe the above and causing a delay of the match will be subject to Late Start penalties.

 

Substitutes

 

If for any reason a team is unable to produce 4 players, either at the start of a session or during a session because of an emergency arising, the Director may designate a substitute to allow the match to proceed. The substitute must be female and not be a member of another team in this contest. The Director, having designated a substitute, must inform the Chairman of the Organising Committee or his designate as soon as practicable and shall provide him with a written memo giving the circumstances that necessitated the use of a substitute. The result of such a match in which a substitute has played shall stand. If no substitute is available, the defaulting team must forfeit the match.

 

Systems & Conventions

 

The events at this tournament are designated as the equivalent of WBF Category 3 events for systems and convention purposes, neither HUM Systems nor Brown Sticker Conventions are permitted at any time or in any event. Psychic of conventional or artificial opening bids are prohibited. All teams will be required to submit their convention cards and supplementary notes, in .pdf format on or before 30 September 2017.

 

Alerts and Explanations

 

WBF Alerting Policy will apply.

 

 

 

Walkovers

 

If a team is unable to play or complete a match, the Director may find that team to be in default and declare the match forfeited. The team in forfeit will receive 0 victory point and the non-offending team will receive the higher of:

1.      the average VPs for all matches played up to that time of the walkover, or

2.      the complement of the average VPs of the offending team for all matches played up to the time of the walkover, or

3.      12 VPs.

 

Agreement of Results

 

The Captains are responsible for signing the official results within 30 minutes after the official completion time of a match. Discrepancies must be reported no later than 30 minutes after the official scores have been posted.

 

Late Arrival

 

Any team not seated and ready to play at the announced starting time of a match will be assessed penalties according to the following scale:

 

0 - 5 mins.           1st offence: warning

                     2nd +: 1 VP each

>5 - 10 mins.              1 VP

>10 - 15 mins.            2 VPs

>15 - 20 mins.            3 VPs

20+ mins.            At the discretion of the Organising Committee

 

Slow Play

 

The time allowed for each match of 12 boards shall be 1 hour and 40 minutes, computed from the time play in such match is started by a Tournament Director. If play continues after the time allowed then either or both of the pairs shall be subject to penalty, according to the amount of delay for which such pair was judged responsible, as follows:

 

0 - 5 mins.           1 VP

>5 - 10 mins.              1.5 VPs

>10 - 15 mins.            2 VPs

>15 - 20 mins.            2.5 VPs

>20 - 25 mins.            3 VPs

25+ mins.            At the discretion of the Organising Committee

 

Request for Review Procedure

 

A request for review of the ruling of the director must be lodged by the team’s captain or his designate, or by one member of the pair in the pair’s event, within 30 minutes of the conclusion of the match. All requests must be submitted to the director together with a US$100 deposit, which will be refunded unless the Official Reviewer determines that the request was without merit.

 

Closed Room

 

Only the directors, the tournament officials and the Official Reviewer on duty may enter the Closed Room during any match.

 

Smoking and Consumption of Alcohol

 

No player may smoke or consume alcoholic beverages in the playing area.

 

Mobile Phones, Pagers and Other Electronic Equipment

 

Mobile telephones, pagers or other electronic equipment may not be brought into the playing area. Any player or team official bringing such an item into these areas will result in his team being fined 2 VPs, or in the case of pairs events will result in his partnership being fined 25% of the match points available on a board during the session. The penalty is mandatory. Constant violation of this regulation will result in the player being prohibited from playing and in the case of the team official not being admitted into the playing area. The Chief Tournament Director may, at his discretion, prohibit a player from bringing other equipment into the playing area.

 

Computer Dealt Hands

 

All teams will play the same set of computer dealt hands where possible. These hands are generated at random with no special constraints or restrictions.

 

Prizes

 

 

      

Trophies will be awarded to the top 3 teams in the Women’s Team event and the top 6 pairs in the Women’s Pairs event.

 

Best Performance Prize Competition

 

Best Performance Prize Competition consists of 4 separate prizes:

 

1.    Best Overall Achievement;

2.    Best partnership Bidding;

3.    Best partnership Defence;

4.    Best Declarer play.

 

Best Overall Achievement is to be awarded to the team which has achieved best team score plus two best pairs scores. If in case there are two or more teams share the highest combination of score, the team which holds the best team rank will be the winner. Scores assigned to team and pairs standings are:

 

 

Best bidding, defence and declarer play shall be suggested by all teams and players. All hands played between 16-21 October can be candidate for the above-mentioned best prizes. Application forms will be in the bulletin, and after lunchon 21 October, each team will send a representative plus TD to attend appraising meeting. In case any team has no person free, the team can designate any representative.

 

 

(*) To be determined by the team coaches, NPCs and Chief Tournament Director.

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix 1

 

Tournament Programme

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teams Play Schedule (1^st Round Robin)

 

 

Team Roster