Chapter Six: “Upper” Defects in the Basic Simple Squeeze Position

Until an incredible article by Geza Ottlik in The BridgeWorld magazine enlightened me, I thought that it was impossible to execute a squeeze if all of the BLUE requirements were satisfied except for the “U-requirement.” The logic for my incorrect view seemed flawless to me: The hand with the threats is squeezed before the defender who sits behind them. Thus, requiring the discard of the threats. However, Ottlik found a squeeze that does appear to work without meeting the “U-requirement” that he terms a “BACKWASH SQUEEZE.” The name backwash was suggested to Ottlik because of the highly unusual nature of the squeeze to work in a backward manner without an apparent threat lying over the hand being squeezed. It turns out, in reality, there is a threat over the hand but more of that in a moment.