In hot water.(Bridge)(Brief article)

There are more coups at the bridge table than there are in Central America, and I love 'em all. Reading about them, discussing them, executing them. Thrilling. Perhaps most exciting of all is foiling them, which usually takes a lot of imagination, experience and speed. He who hesitates is down.

One of the simplest and most frequently seen is the 'Bath Coup', which is a fairly routine holdup play with A J x when the King is led. Partner discourages, declarer ducks and West knows that to continue will cost a trick.

In this year's Crockford's Final, the seldom encountered (or written about) 'I-Don't-Fancy-A-Bath-Tonight' Coup was found by Ian Pagan whose team went on to …