Craig Brown, an English critic and satirist, said, "Everyone must know by now that the aim of Scrabble is to gain the moral high ground, the loser being the first player to slam the board shut and upset all the letters over the floor."

Once, an opponent of mine almost tore his cards in two when his partner removed a penalty double of a vulnerable four-spade contract (which would have cost 1,400) to five clubs.

More often, though, when we discuss bridge losers, we are talking about tricks that we might concede. Often, our job is to eliminate a loser or two. In this deal, for example, how should South play to make four hearts after West leads the club queen?