Simple squeeze

A successful simple squeeze poses several requirements. The count must be rectified, the defense's stoppers in the threat suits must be held by one opponent only, at least one threat card must lie over the squeezed defender, and at least one threat must lie opposite the squeeze card. In addition to these requirements, one of three general types of entry positions must be present.

Earlier, Examples 1 and 4, illustrated positional and automatic squeezes; here, they also illustrate one way to satisfy a simple squeeze's entry requirement.

One of the threat cards is the ♠J. It lies opposite the squeeze card (the ♣A), and it is accompanied by an entry (the ♠A) in its own suit. The hand containing the squeeze card must of course have another card (here, the ♠4) that can be used to cross to the ♠A after the squeeze has taken place.

Another entry position in the simple squeeze gives dummy, for example, an immediate winner and a small card in declarer's threat suit. This position is termed a split two-card threat or split two-card menace. The split two-card threat "splits" the threat between declarer's hand and dummy.

In Example 5, the spade threat is the ♠J. The split two-card threat splits the spade threat's immediate winner, the ♠A, from the threat itself. Dummy holds an immediate winner in the suit where declarer holds the threat.

When the squeeze card, the ♣A, is played, West might discard the ♥A. Then dummy throws the ♠3 and cashes the ♠A and the ♥K. If West discards the ♠Q instead, dummy throws the ♥K. South plays the ♠2 to the ♠A, removing West's remaining ♠K, and takes the last trick with the ♠J.

Notice that the simple squeeze with a split two-card menace is a positional squeeze. It will not operate against East if West's cards in Example 5 are transferred to East, as in Example 6. In Example 6, the split two-card menace is still present but if dummy discards the ♠3 on the ♣A, East discards the ♠Q and declarer must still lose to the ♥A. If dummy instead discards the ♥K, East throws the ♥A and declarer must still lose to the ♠K.

The problem in Example 6 is that declarer does not hold an entry to the ♠J threat after playing the squeeze card. The twin-entry threat converts the positional split-threat squeeze to an automatic squeeze. See Example 7.

Dummy holds winner-and-small in declarer's threat suit, as with the split two-card menace in Examples 5 and 6, but now declarer also has a winner (the ♠K) in that threat suit. This is a twin-entry squeeze and is automatic: with these cards in North and South, either West or East could be squeezed.

In Example 7, declarer leads ♣A and dummy follows suit. If East discards a spade, declarer wins the ♠A, the ♠K and the ♠9. If East discards the ♥A, declarer wins the ♠K, the ♠A and the ♥K. The same sequence occurs if West instead of East holds the guards in spades and hearts.

The third general type of entry position in the simple squeeze occurs when declarer has an entry in dummy's threat suit and dummy has an entry in declarer's threat suit. This situation is termed a criss-cross squeeze. It is regarded as a comparatively rare position.^[2]

Example 8 illustrates the criss-cross squeeze. Dummy's threat card is the ♥Q and declarer has an entry, the ♥A, in that suit. Declarer's threat card is the ♠Q and dummy has an entry, the ♠A, in that suit. When declarer cashes the ♣A, East is squeezed. South cashes the A in whichever suit East discards from, crosses to the other A, and cashes the remaining Q.

This is an automatic squeeze: it works regardless of which opponent guards the two threats. However, the position is usually ambiguous. After the squeeze has taken place, declarer is often uncertain which guard (in Example 8, the ♠K and the ♥K) is now a singleton.

For example, if East unguarded the ♠K earlier in the play, the situation might actually be as shown in Example 9. In this case, declarer cashes the ♣A and East throws a small heart. If declarer now judges that East has bared the ♥K, he will cash the ♥A. When the ♥K does not fall, declarer will subsequently be stuck in dummy, losing the final trick to the ♥K. A similar outcome can result if East bares the ♥K early in the play.

The possibility of this sort of ambiguity is inherent in the blocked entry position that characterizes criss-cross squeezes. A defender who can see what's coming can discard deceptively, putting declarer to a guess after the squeeze has matured.

One particular entry configuration may require special handling. In the layout shown in Example 10, the threats (♠J and ♥Q) are divided between the North and South hands and East holds the guards in the threat suits. Furthermore, North holds a winner in each threat suit and South holds no winner in either threat suit.

Suppose that South leads the squeeze card, the ♦A, in the position shown. East simply discards either heart, because the South hand can neither retain nor regain the lead, and the North hand must eventually lose the ♠J to the ♠K.

The solution is to unblock the ♥A before leading to the ♦A. After the unblock, the position is as shown in Example 11. The unblock of the ♥A transposes Example 10 into Example 11, a simple automatic squeeze with the ♥Q positioned to exert pressure against East. Compare Example 11 with Example 4, which shows the same basic position.

The unblocking solution remains the same even if the East and West hands were interchanged.

The play, prior to the squeeze card, of the winner that blocks South's threat is called the Vienna coup. The term has long been regarded as unduly connoting brilliance: "In short, the aura of glamor which has always seemed to surround this play is wholly fictitious."^[3]