Please!
Declarer has AQJ675 on table, and leads the 10 from hand. As RHO is playing their card, the declarer says "please" (to dummy). Declarer then realises RHO has played the king, and asks Dummy to place the Ace.
Has declared nominated a card by saying "please"? People often do it when there is a singleton or irrelevant low cards, but what does it mean when it matters? I took the view that it means low (or more accurately play anything). For it to mean "play an appropriate card" would be to ask dummy to partake in the play.
It later transpires that declarer often says "please" to mean low. Assuming you did allow declarer to play the Ace above, does this change your view?
It never ceases to amaze me the new situations that our players seem to come up with!
Comments
My view is that if he didn't call for the ace or "cover" then he didn't play the ace.
I think "please" is the same as "play" and so (technically) Law 46B5 applies.
Nevertheless, when the suit is implicit, and declarer says "play" the intention is (usually) to follow suit by playing low.
But declarer intended that "please" was an instruction to play from dummy and when it was said declarer intended dummy to follow with a small card, so the low card from dummy is play.