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SB was asked his opinion by the North player on a potential ruling on this hand from the Brighton teams. As advised to SB, prior to West selecting his opening lead, and after the auction was over, East asked what North-South's basic system was, and was told 11-14 NT and 5-card spade suit. He asked further how many diamonds North had shown, and was told 4+ and he also asked whether North could still have four spades, and was told that she could. North now commented that it was not East's lead so he should not be asking questions. It was clear to the table that East, a very experienced player, had mistakenly thought he was on lead. A moment or two later, West led the seven of spades and the contract duly went one off.
North felt that the questions by East could have suggested a spade lead (over the alternative of a diamond), as East was clearly considering a spade lead for him to ask whether North could still have four spades, and she thought that a diamond was a logical alternative. However the TD ruled that East had asked several questions, so that a spade lead was not demonstrably suggested, and that the score should stand. How would you rule?
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ing) tr. v. - Any bid made by bridge player with which partner disagrees.