A. Trump Squeeze
The basic squeeze position requires that the threat suits opposite the squeeze card have its primary entry in its own suit. In the last chapter, we found that simple squeezes still worked if the primary entry was in the threat suit held by the squeeze hand, provided that a secondary entry (a re-entry back to the squeeze hand) existed in either threat suit. Because of this requirement for an extra (secondary) entry, the simplest squeezes are ones in which the primary entry is in its own suit. In this section, we will examine endings where the primary entry is not in either threat suit, and the significant extra values required compensating for the primary entry being outside of either threat suit. Up to this point, the squeezes shown have all been played at notrump. The ability to use trumps to set up winners and to serve as a late entry in suit contracts can play a key role in compensating for defects in the basic squeeze position. The simplest use of trumps in a squeeze ending is known as a trump squeeze and is shown in ending §2.1. In a trump squeeze the ability to ruff one of the guarded suits severely threatens one opponent in two distinct ways. First, the ruff can be used to set up a winner in the suit that is trumped. Second, the ruff can be used as an entry to an established winner. In the following ending ♦’s are trumps.
TRUMP SQUEEZE
| §2.1 | ♠ | Entry Defects in BLUE B: ♠A+ ♥K | |
♠ A Q |  | ♠ 5 ♥ 3 ♦ ♣ 32 | |
Lead | ♠ K 6 | ||
This ending shows how the trump can be used to either establish a winner (the ♠K) or to serve as a late entry to an established winner (the ♥Q). When the squeeze card is played (♣A), West must discard from a major. If he discards a ♠, The ♠6 will be ruffed, dropping the ♠A, and the last two tricks will be the ♥A and ♠K. That is, the trump is used to set up the ♠K. If West discards the ♥5, South will cash the ♥A, then use the ♦3 to ruff a ♠ as an entry to ♥Q. This shows the second usage of the trump after the squeeze card as an entry to an established winner.
The ability of the trump to be used to establish a winner in the hand opposite it or to serve as an entry to a winner in the hand with it should look oddly familiar. In fact, if you could substitute the small trump (♦3) for a spade higher than Ace, you would have a crisscross squeeze similar to what was presented in ending (§1.3). This is exactly the purpose of a simple trump squeeze: the ability to ruff after the squeeze card has been played replaces the lack of a primary entry in the threat suit held by the squeeze hand. Thus, just as in the normal crisscross squeeze, the secondary entry (entry to the squeeze hand) must be in the threat suit held by the hand opposite the squeeze card. Note, to overcome the defect of the lack of an entry opposite the squeeze card in the squeeze hand’s threat suit, we have increased the requirements to include a trump suit and require a two card threat suit (in this example, two spades) to allow ruffing to establish a winner.
This gives you two ways to view a trump squeeze. The first way is how a trump can be used as a “primary entry” to overcome the lack of the primary entry in either threat suit in a simple squeeze position. The other way often is to view a trump squeeze is as a means to solve a flaw in a crisscross squeeze position by substituting for the “Ace” of the threat suit held by the hand containing the squeeze card.
Example hand
♠
♥
•♦
♣ West North East South
Trick Lead 2nd 3rd 4th
1.W
2.
3.
♠
♥
♦
♣ North
West East
South ♠
♥
•♦
♣
Lead: ♠
♥
♦
♣
B. Guard Squeeze
Due to the ability to ruff, a trump squeeze could be viewed as having its primary entry in the threat suit held by the squeeze hand. However, there are many endings in which you can squeeze your opponents even though the primary entry lays outside the threat suits, and the ability to trumps does not play a role in the squeeze. The first of these endings is shown in §2.2. At first glance, this ending looks very similar to the basic squeeze position with the exception that one side suit winner (♥A) has not yet been cashed. Examine this ending more closely looking at elements of BLUE.
Guard Squeeze
| §2.2 | ♠ 2 | Entry Defects in BLUE B: ♦ K Q + ♣A | |
♠ | | ♠ ♥ K ♦ K Q ♣ A | |
♠ A | |||
By now, you should be able to quickly identify the threat suits in end-positions like §2.2. East is busy in ♣s and ♦s, there is only one loser, the threat suits are divided between North and South so upper is right, and a squeeze card exist (either the ♠A or ♥A). However, you should also be able to identify the entry defect in the basic squeeze position.
If you cash the ♠A and then use the ♥A as the squeeze card, there is no entry to the South hand. Likewise, if you cash the ♥A then use the ♠A as the squeeze card, there will be no entry to the North hand. Thus, the defect is that there is no entry to the hand opposite the squeeze card in either threat suit. You may have noticed that if North’s ♥J was replaced by the ♦2, the hand would be the basic squeeze position by first taking the ♠A and then using the ♥A as the squeeze card since the ♦A serving as the primary entry to South’s hand.
If you cashed your free suit winner (♥A) before playing your squeeze card (♠A) the lack of any entry to South would be fatal. Fortunately, this ending contains yet another recovery manoeuvre that compensates for this “defect” in the entry condition. The compensating value is that the primary entry is in a side suit that is partially finessable. When the ♠A is played East is squeezed after all, this time not just in two suits, but in three. If he discards a ♦, you win the ♦AJ, followed by the ♥A. If he discards the ♣A, you throw the ♥J on ♦A then win the ♥A and ♣K in North. Therefore, East is likely to discard the ♥K after which you discard the ♣K on the ♦A and then play West for the ♥Q by leading low towards the ♥A-J.
This use of a partially finesseable “primary” entry in side suit (that is non-threat/non-squeeze suit) to compensate for the lack of entries in the threat suits is a guard squeeze. Because the squeeze victim is busy in both normal threat suits and must also guard against a finesse through his partner, he is in effect busy in three suits. The guard squeeze is just the first of many ending we will examine where one or both opponents are squeezed in three suits, instead of two. Note, if you didn’t (or couldn’t) identify the presences of the entry defect, you may have cashed the ♥A earlier as part of a rule you read somewhere or the other about cashing all your side suit winners in a squeeze ending.
This example once again demonstrates that the lack of a primary entry in either threat suit dramatically increases the minimum requirements necessary for the compensating squeeze technique to work. In the guard squeeze, the minimum requirements are very high indeed. First, the primary entry must be partially finessable, something like the ♦AJ in this position, or ♦♦A10 if East held originally ♦KQ, ♦KJ, or ♦QJ (he will be squeezed out of both high honors). Second, the squeeze victim must stop both normal threat suits, and hold all but one of the partially finesseable cards. Finally, the threat suit held by the hand opposite the threat in which the finessee will be taken must contain at least one winner after the squeeze card has been played (in §2.2, this was the ♦A). This winner is necessary so that the non-established threat in the hand into which the finesse will be taken can be discarded after the squeeze victim gives up his guard. For example, in §2.2 had South won the ♦A prior to leading the ♠A, it will cost him a trick.
Sometimes, the primary entry will be a side suit, and there will be no re-entry to the squeeze hand outside of the same side suit. That is, entry to both hands is in the same side suit. In this case, there may still be a guard squeeze if the threat suit opposite the squeeze card has a winner (but no entry), and the secondary entry is partially finesseable.
GUARD SQUEEZE
| §2.3 | ♠ A 9 5 | Entry Defects in BLUE B: ♦A+ ♥KQ | |
♠ J T | | ♠ Q 3 2 ♥ ♦ 3 2 ♣ | |
Lead | ♠ K 8 6 | ||
In this ending West is busy in ♥’s and ♦’s, but no simple squeeze exist since neither hand has an entry in either threat suit. With the ♣A as the squeeze card, the secondary entry in ♠’s is partially finesseable, so the guard squeeze can still compensate for this entry defect. South cashes his ♣A, and West feels the pressure. A discards of ♥ or ♦ sets up the fifth trick automatically, so West will discard the ♠10. North may discard the now useless ♥J or, if he prefers, a ♠. However, if North discards a ♠, he must be very careful that it is specifically the ♠9 (do you see why?). North then wins the ♠A, dropping West’s ♠J, followed by the ♥A on which South discards the ♦K. Finally the secondary entry spade entry is used to finesses East’s ♠Q.
The need to unblock middle cards, such as the ♠9 in the last hand, is common situation in such guard squeezes and often shows up in bridge problems. The discard of the ♠9 (if a ♠ at all) is necessary to avoid being locked in dummy if East refuses to cover the ♠9 with the ♠Q. Keep this unblocking play in mind whenever you identify the potential need for a guard squeeze.
The next example is a positional guard squeeze that you should have no problem identifying at the table (see §1.2).
POSITIONAL GUARD SQUEEZE
| §2.4 | ♠ A 5 | Entry Defects in BLUE B: ♦A+ ♥A | |
♠ Q T | | ♠ J 8 3 ♥ ♦ ♣ 3 | |
| ♠ K 9 6 | ||
In this position, the both threat suits (♥’s and ♦’s) are in the same hand, so this is a positional squeeze that works only against West. The simple squeeze position is also defective in that the primary entry is not in either threat suit. Fortunately, the primary and secondary entries are in the same suit, and this suit is partially finesseable. On the ♣A West will discard a ♠, and North can play either king. Now a ♠ to the ace and a ♠ hook through East’s ♠J will win all the remaining tricks for N/S.
Guard squeezes are easy to identify at the table because they all share the same features, the lack of a primary entry in either threat suit and at least a partially finessable side suit. Using the deficit identification method on the following hand should help the right line to be crystal clear to you.
| P2.1.1 | ♠ Q 3 | ||
| |||
Lead: ♠ K | ♠ | ||
WEST | NORTH |
|
|
| Pass | Pass | 2 ♣1 | |
| Pass | 2♦ 2 | Pass | 3 ♣ |
| Pass | 4♣ 3 | Pass | 4 ♠ |
| Pass | 6♣ | Pass | 6 ♠ |
| DBL | Pass | Pass | 7 ♣ |
| Pass | Pass | Pass |
2. Waiting bid
3. Major two-suiter
You gambled that your partner would have something useful in ♦’s. You have 12 top tricks, so “L” is right. The ♠Q and ♥J are probably both working threats against West, so “B” looks good. Both the ♠Q and ♥J are in the upper hand with respect to West, so “U” is right for a positional simple squeeze against West. However, the simple squeeze fails due to an entry defect. What is this defect? It is that North lacks an entry in either of his threat suits.
Fortunately, the ♦ suit offers a slim ray of hope. Can you see the right sequence of plays? If you did, pat yourself on the back, for you have just passed the test for identifying guard squeezes. After you cash all but your last ♣ and your two ♥ winners , both North and West will be reduced to 1♠, 1♥, and 2♦’s in an ending something like the following.
| P2.1.1 | ♠ Q | ||
♠ K | | ♠ ♥ ♦ Q 6 5 4 ♣ A 7 2 | |
♠ | |||
On the ♣ A West is in a quandary. If he throws a major suit card, he gives up the 13th trick immediately. However, if he discards the ♦9, he exposes his partner ♦ holding to a finesse. But note how important it was for you to save the ♦3 in dummy when as you discarded on ♣s. If you had not discarded the ♦10 and ♦8 from dummy. East could defeat you by refusing to cover the ♦10 or ♦8 when you lead it from the dummy at trick 12, and you can’t afford to overtake with the ♦A. However, the discarding the middle ♦s allow you to use the ♦A-7 to finesse East’s ♦Q-6. Once you are fully familiar with guard squeezes as a mechanism to overcome the lack of a primary entry in a simple squeeze type ending, this type of double unblocking is automatic and you can see it at trick one. If, by the way, West held ♦Q-J-T this will merely have been a triple squeeze, a topic we will cover in a later chapter. West actually held ♠AKJ10xx ♥QT98x ♦J9 ♣void.
You should probably think of these as “simple guard squeezes,” to differentiate these ending from a group of guard squeezes we will examine in a later chapter known as double guard squeezes. We have discovered that the simple guard squeeze is a way to compensate for entry defects in a simple squeeze. Later, we will learn that a double guard squeeze is a manoeuvre to compensate for entry defects in a double squeeze.
C. Entry-shifting Trump Squeeze
The trump squeeze and guard squeezes are the most common corrective responses when the primary entry is in neither threat suit. More rarely, you will run across three additional endings in which the primary entry is also in a side suit: the entry-shifting squeeze, the clash squeeze, and the trump clash squeeze. Also, as we shall see later, if you have both an entry defect and a loser defect (more than one loser) there are a host of additional plays that may gain a trick or more. We will deal with these multiple defect squeezes in later chapters. Below, we address the three other types of compensating manoeuvres when only an entry defect exist in blue.
ENTRY-SHIFTING TRUMP SQUEEZE
| §2.5 Lead S ♠ trumps | ♠ A 3 | Entry Defects in BLUE | |
♠ | | ♠ T ♥ Q ♦ ♣ A K | |
Lead ♠ K | ♠ K 2 | ||
With ♠s as trumps, you would like to cross-ruff but East ♠10 would be used to over-ruff one of your ♦ ruffs. So you have little choice but to pull trumps and look towards a squeeze for your extra trick. If you pull trumps, your loser count will be one, West will be busy in ♥s and ♦s, and the red suit threats are divided. Therefore, BLU is all correct. However, there is no entry to either hand in either ♦’s or ♥’s. But this ending allows you compensate nicely for the lack of entries to either hand in either threat suit through the ability to use trumps as a late entry to either hand. Since you are not sure which hand will require the late entry, you have to put off the decision of which hand to win the ♠ in until West has committed himself to discarding his long ♥ or ♦. So when you lead the ♠K, West is caught in an entry-shifting squeeze. If he discards a ♥ you overtake with the ♠A, ruff out the ♥A, and re-enter North to win the good heart with by ruffing a ♦. On the other hand, if West discards a ♦ on the ♠K, you play low in dummy, ruff a ♦, then re-enter South by ruffing a ♥ to cash your long ♦.
In the entry-shifting squeeze, you are able to win the squeeze trick in either hand after the victim commits himself by abandoning a long guard in one of the threat suits. The compensating requirements for this entry-shifting trump squeeze are very high indeed. First, you have to have a trump suit in which you can win the last round of trumps in either hand, after the squeezed opponent has made his discard. This “either-or” requirement means this is a positional squeeze. If the east hands were reversed, the squeeze would not work. If you lead a low spade from dummy, EAST knows you have to win in South and would discard a heart. If you lead the Spade ACE, east would know you are going to have to win that trick in dummy and would throw a diamond. Second, the trump suit generally has to be balanced between the two hands, usually 2-2 or 3-3. We will acknowledge that it is possible to construct entry-shifting trump squeezes with an unbalanced position. We refer people interested in such rare beast to “Adventures in Card Play” by Geza Ottlik and Hugh Kelsey for examples of these endings.
Even though rare, the entry-shifting trump squeeze is very easily identified because of the lack of entries to either hand outside the trump suit. If you recognize this entry defect early enough in the hand, you may even be able to take corrective action to compensate for minor flaws in the ending. For instance, you may need to ruff a side suit early in one hand to get to a balanced trump position, or it may also be necessary to unblock the trump suit to preserve the ability to win the penultimate trump trick in either hand. You may find it even necessary to risk an otherwise unnecessary trump finesse early during the play in order to preserve sufficient top trumps at the end to be able to win the trump trick in either hand.
If you are following this logic, you have just learned how to identify and execute an entry-shifting trump squeeze at the table. Hopefully, you will find it as easy to identify as we have made it seem, even if you have to take unnecessary ruffs and risk unnecessary finesses.
D. Clash Squeeze
Entry condition blocked so you can not cash your free winners, and return for the squeeze card.
Examine §1.2.4 with the lead in the south hand. If the ♠ Ace had been cashed earlier, and the lead was in the south hand, this would be essentially identical to basic squeeze ending (§1.1). As a matter-of-fact, if the ♠2 was the ♣2, you would lead to the ♠A and play the ♣2 to reach the identical position used to demonstrate the basic squeeze position. The position §2.6, however, illustrates that entry defects can exist in which you can not cash your side suit winners and get back to play your squeeze card. In this ending, if you cash the ♣A and use the ♠A as the squeeze card, there will be no entry to the south hand.
POSITIONAL CLASH SQUEEZE
| §2.6 | ♠ A 2 | Entry Defects in BLUE B: ♥KQ + ♦A | |
♠ K | | ♠ J T ♥ 3 ♦ 2 ♣ | |
♠ Q | |||
The thought of a guard squeeze as the remedy for this situation is quickly discarded, since the ♠ suit is not even partially finesseable and there is no winner in the threat suit held in the south hand (♦s). However, this position contains sufficient compensating values to overcome the entry deficit in the form of the singleton ♠Q. When ♣A is taken, West comes under tremendous pressure. He must keep the ♥KQ and ♦A , so the ♠K will most likely be discarded. This makes the ♠Q a winner, so North can discard the useless ♥J, and the next three tricks will be won by the ♠Q, ♥A , and ♠A.
This singleton ♠Q serves as a menace against West, making him once again busy in three suits. The singleton ♠Q in an ending like this is known as a clash menace, and this type of squeeze is referred to as clash squeeze. Note that in this ending, if the East and West cards were reversed, no the squeeze would work. Also, notice that the requirements for this squeeze get very high again. You need winners in both side suits, a clash threat (in this case the singleton ♠Q), plus a primary entry. While this version of the clash squeeze is positional, if the threat in the hand with the clash menace (in this case ♦s) has a winner in its own suit, the clash squeeze works equally well against either opponent.
Consider the next position, which is a minor modification to the ending in §2.7.
CLASH SQUEEZE
| §2.7 | ♠ A 3 2 | Entry Defects in BLUE | |
♠ J T 9 | | ♠ K ♥ K Q ♦ K Q ♣ | |
♠ Q | |||
On the ♣A, North can safely discard a ♠, but what is East to play? If it is a red suit honor, N/S will win the AJ in that suit plus the other two Ace. If it is the ♠K, the •A and ♠Q are played from south, and the two Aces in North win the last two tricks.
Thus, you should see that the clash squeeze compensates for a blocked entry position in the normal simple squeeze. If at possible during the play, you should avoid blocking the ending by cashing your winners. However, this is sometimes not advisable or even possible. In these cases, the clash squeeze may see you through.
TRUMP CLASH SQUEEZE
| §2.8 ♣ trumps | ♠ A 3 2 | Entry Defects in BLUE | |
♠ K Q J | | ♠ T 5 ♥ J T ♦ ♣ 3 | |
Lead | ♠ 4 | ||
With ♣’s as trumps it looks like you have a simple squeeze by cashing ♠A and ruffing a ♠, then leading your last trump. But West will discard the ♥K. You can win the ♥Q but then you lose ♦K to ♦A. It also looks like you might be able to play a ♥A, ruff a heart, and play the last ♣. But in this case, East keeps 2♠s and you have no squeeze. In each case, the problem is the lack of adequate entries. But there is a solution to this hand in the form of a trump clash squeeze. When you take the ♣ A west is helpless. If he throws a ♠, you pitch ♥ from dummy, cross to the ♠ A, ruff a ♠, making the dummy good. If he throws a ♦, the ♦K is good. Finally, if he discards his ♥K, you cash the clash menace (♥Q). Unlike the simple clash squeezes (§2.6 and §2.7) unblocking earlier in the hand is usually not an option when you need to use the trump clash squeeze.
((( More to come, not finished)))
2 comments:
efvgtrnyt
keep it coming. This is MUCH easier than the hundreds of texts and articles that treatr with this topic
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