BRIDGE

Katherine Heigl, an actress, film producer and former fashion model, said, “I’d be a terrible secret agent. I can’t keep a secret and I’m not sneaky.”

Bridge experts try to keep secrets — what is in their hands — and sometimes make sneaky plays. In this deal, for example, how did South try to throw East off the scent after West led his fourth-highest heart against four spades?

In the auction, using New Minor Forcing (a two-diamond artificial rebid, asking North for more information about his hand) would have kept South’s diamond suit sneakily hidden. Also, maybe South should have bid three no-trump over three spades, a contract that would have waltzed home here.

The first trick went heart three, five, queen, jack! South was trying to look like someone who had started with a singleton heart. But from West’s fourth-highest lead, East knew that South had at least one more heart. (If West had held six hearts, he would have led the four-spot.)

East was also aware that if he did not cash the heart ace, it might disappear, South’s having 5=2=5=1 distribution. But what should East have done after taking the heart ace?

Given that West probably had only one useful card, East accurately continued with a third heart.

South won with dummy’s king and played a spade to his jack, but West won with his king and led another heart. When East ruffed that with the spade queen, it effected an uppercut, promoting West’s spade nine as the setting trick. Sneaky!