Bridge

Good bidding often requires you to describe your hand to your partner, but you shouldn’t gratuitously show your hand to your opponents.

In a team match, both Souths opened one spade, and North raised. At one table, South jumped to four spades, and West led the jack of hearts. Since the club finesse was fated to lose, South had no legitimate play for the contract as the cards lay, but he got home with a swindle: He let the jack of hearts win, following with his eight.

West naturally led a second heart, and South took the king, drew trumps, cashed the ace of hearts and threw a diamond from dummy on the 13th heart. Making four.

What happened at the other table? Over two spades, South felt constrained to probe by bidding three hearts. Conceivably, a heart fit might produce a vital extra trick.

North then bid four spades, but since South had shown his hearts to the opponents, West’s opening lead was a diamond. The defense got two diamonds, a club and a heart.