richlp, on 2011-March-29, 13:17, said:
Not if I'm North or South. It sounds like something I might say.
I realize that duplicate bridge is a serious competition and that it's not "just a game so why is everyone so upset." OTOH, there's nothing wrong with having some fun while you play and to treat this as anything other than an attempt at humor goes a bit further than I would prefer.
I’m reminded of my first nationals. It was the Sunday swiss where I arrived with my partner to find, miracle of miracles….the boards had been made. Well, while playing the boards I had the feeling that the opponents seemed to know a bit too much about the cards. I didn’t say anything and as expected we were blown out. And to this day I still wonder about those boards. The point is that we should have made the boards with both sides present so that there would be no question of hanky-panky.
Just like this situation. East says something that sounds like a coded message- even if it is off the cuff and meant to humor. It can distract an opponent, put him off, or even put him out- affecting the outcome of a large number of boards. Personally, I want my opponents to be at their best- even in a setting of familiarity where I am ironclad positive they wouldn’t mind in the least.
As such, the problem is not merely whether W is compromised- but the unknowable quantity of the opponents [possibly] not knowing they have been distracted or subsequently feel they may have been cheated.