In my last article, I wrote about things we can do to improve everyone's experience when playing at a random table with and against random players. There is a lot more to be reflected upon when it comes to participating in a tournament on BBO. You will be playing with a partner of your choice – who might be a robot – and competing against people you know or not.

A tournament is more of a challenge than joining the first available table. To start with, you have to complete it – and the same applies to your opponents. Although, as discussed previously, leaving any game of bridge just because you didn't like the result of a board is considered bad manners, leaving a tournament is even worse. I have never come across anyone doing so, except for extremely rare occasions involving unfixable internet problems or a sudden health scare.

This means that we all need to be extremely considerate to our partners and opponents. If we upset or annoy someone, they can't just find an excuse to stop playing. They'll have to continue their game feeling miserable or angry – something that should be avoided at all costs. We all love the competitive side of duplicate, but we love the game of bridge even more. The happier people are, the better they play. If it's against us, we get more satisfaction from the challenge – but we should not forget that after our opponents move to the next table, they'll face a pair we are scoring against. The last thing we want is for the people we just played – and left frustrated – to lose concentration and start giving tops to the rest of the competitors sitting in our direction.

Too often, we fail to appreciate that each pair we face in a duplicate pairs event are enemies only for a round, but are basically teammates for the rest of the tournament.

What can upset someone during an online duplicate, besides snide remarks and general rudeness? Lots of things we’ve already looked at in previous articles – failure to alert, incomplete or no explanations, and lack of description of agreements. The best thing is to have a system card attached, but also to give a short summary of the basics together with your greetings at the beginning of each round. Avoid clogging the chat box with too many conventions. Concentrate on the essentials, and make sure to self-alert and explain the rest.

Most tournaments are timed, and precious minutes may be wasted if one has to search through a convention card or a long message to find the strength of a 1NT opening.

If you play with a robot, please do stick to its system. Human/robot pairs (when allowed) should be on a par with a pair of two humans. Were you to play in your local club, you wouldn’t be making bids you know your partner will misinterpret. You wouldn't be taking their bids for something different than what you agreed on, either.

Achieving a strange result on a board affects everyone in the tournament – your scores compare with the ones of all other pairs sitting in your direction, and you may spoil your actual opponents’ enjoyment of the game if your and the robot’s bidding has nothing to do with the hands you've been dealt.

During lockdown, I once faced a player partnering a robot, who gladly announced that the robot plays its own system, but she plays Acol. Nightmare three boards we had... While this might have been understandable during the pandemic – some people had not previously played on BBO and had only experienced Acol (4-card majors and a weak no trump) – by now everyone who wants a game with Robbie (as I gently call him) should make the effort to learn the system.

Undos? There are two sides to the story – asking for an undo and accepting or rejecting it. Some online duplicates restrict this option (undos not allowed during play, let’s say), others leave it to opponents to agree or not. If you've made a genuine mechanical error, you are entitled to ask to correct it, and you should not hesitate to do so.

A change of mind after a bid is made or a card is played is against the rules of the game, so refrain from seeking redress in such cases. In the spirit of good ethics and keeping the rest of your online duplicate table happy, do not change your mind after you've already bid or played. Stick to your original action, rather than ask for an undo on the basis that it can't get worse. It can – it might upset your opponents.

Occasionally, although rarely, you may be unsure – did I really want to bid 3 hearts when my hand looks more like a 4 hearts bid? For the sake of keeping a good vibe, my advice would be: if you're not certain that you simply pressed the wrong button, let it go – do not ask for a correction.

On to the other side – your opponents ask for an undo. Unless it’s clearly a change of mind, please accept it, especially in the bidding. You will rarely know what your opponent had in mind before seeing the substitute bid or the whole hand afterwards. You will always have the option of calling the director later to ask for a ruling if things don’t look right.

Back to the first side – if you’ve asked for an undo and it was rejected, let it go for the time being. It’s unproductive to get into an argument in the middle of a board. If you genuinely misclicked, explain it to your opponents at the end of the hand or round in a relaxed manner, and don’t begrudge the result of the board. It is up to you to press the right button – and perhaps you’ll use the double-click option to avoid mechanical errors in the future.

If the director is called before an accept/reject is made, be polite and patient. Don’t try to enter into a heated discussion with the other side. They are trying to be fair – rather than outright reject, they’re leaving it to the director to make a competent decision.

Last but not least – once again, try to maintain a steady tempo. Don’t rush, but keep an eye on the clock. If you are at the beginning of the round, it may seem that you have all the time in the world. However, what if the next deal is more challenging? Everyone will be under time pressure – or even worse, the board might be taken away.

Can you imagine if your opponents were to get to a difficult, although makeable, grand slam – but an adjusted average+ is given instead, only because you took too long to find the second overtrick in 1NT on the previous board, just to get the same 100% as for 1NT plus one? They might feel gutted...

About the author

Nevena is a multiple World and European champion, having played for Bulgaria, Great Britain and England. She teaches bridge to all levels, both face to face and online.