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Double Squeezes
This is a relatively rare squeeze, involving an end-game where both opponents are squeezed. One is squeezed in suits A and B, the other in suits A and C, and suit A is termed the "anchor" suit (that is, the suit in which both opponents are squeezed).
Related Play Problems Play Problem 113
Related Extracts from Past Wednesday Games
East will no doubt lead a Club and Declarer does best to rise with Dummy’s King. West cannot duck, that would give Declarer a second Club stopper, so he takes the King with the Ace and continues the suit. Declarer wins her ♣Q, and knocks out the ♦A. Mercifully that card is with East, who should shift to a low Heart. Declarer has 9 tricks now, and if she is brave and greedy she will risk the Heart finesse for an overtrick (but going down three if the Heart finesse fails!).
If East fails to shift to a Heart when in with the ♦A, Declarer can actually make 11 tricks on a double squeeze! Suppose, instead, that East shifts to a Spade. Declarer wins that, cashes Spade and Diamond winners, and with one Diamond left to play, this is the position: Declarer ♠ 4 ♥ 3 ♦ 6 ♣ 5 West East ♠ ♠ 8 ♥ T95 ♥ KJ8 ♦ ♦ ♣ T ♣ Dummy ♠ ♥ AQ76 ♦ ♣ When Declarer plays the last Diamond East must keep the Spade, so he pitches a Heart. Now West is squeezed in Hearts and Clubs. The Heart finesse brings in the 10th trick and the squeeze gets the total up to 11!
West does well to raise to 2♠ with his 3-card support, and East gives up on slam, preferring the possible 9-card Spade fit to the probable 8-card Heart fit.
The Play in 4♠: South might well lead a low Club, which appears to be helpful to Declarer, but it really isn’t. Dummy’s Jack wins that, then ♠A, and another Spade. When North shows out, Declarer plays the Jack, losing to South’s Queen. It’s now essential for South to cash the ♦A, holding Declarer to 11 tricks. But South might get greedy, and lead a low Diamond, hoping that North has the ♦Q and Declarer the ♦J … in that case, Declarer might guess wrong and make just 10 tricks. But there is no guess, Declarer hops up with the King and that will be 12 tricks!
The Play in 4♥: North leads the ♦Q to South’s Ace, at which point South has no attractive return, and will probably play back a Diamond to Declarer’s King. Now, to make 12 tricks, one line for Declarer is to ruff a Diamond, draw trumps, then play a 4th trump and cash the ♠A, leaving this position: North ♠ T ♥ ♦ J ♣ 9865 Declarer Dummy ♠ A74 ♠ KJ9 ♥ 9 ♥ ♦ 7 ♦ ♣ J ♣ AK4 South ♠ Q85 ♥ ♦ ♣ QT7 Declarer knows that North has the ♦J and that South has pitched a Spade. He can go after one of two squeezes: (a) Play ♣A and ♣K, ruff a Club, and now, if the ♠Q is in the North hand, it will show up in the end-game. This squeeze is no more than an exotic way to take the Spade finesse which could have been taken earlier! Anyway, this squeeze does not work. (b) The exotic squeeze (and one which does work!) is to cash the ♠K and ♠A, and now, when Declarer plays that last Heart, N-S are caught in the grip of a Double Squeeze! North must hang on to her Diamond, so pitches a Club. Dummy pitches a Spade, and now whichever card South pitches will give Declarer his 12th trick. Yes, South could have brilliantly returned the ♣Q at Trick 2! That breaks up the Double Squeeze, and now Declarer will resort to the losing Spade finesse, making only 11 tricks.
E-W did well to play this one in 3NT rather than 4♠. 11 top tricks are available in either contract, that is unless North walks into a rather pretty squeeze. Suppose that North finds a Diamond opening lead, which is ducked. North persists with a Diamond, and Declarer cashes 5 Spades. Here is the position with 6 cards left: North ♠ ♥ T ♦ KJ ♣ QT7 Declarer Dummy ♠ ♠ 4 ♥ KQ63 ♥ A8 ♦ T ♦ ♣ J ♣ A92 South ♠ ♥ J954 ♦ ♣ K5 When Dummy’s last Spade is cashed, South is squeezed out of a Club card, she has to hang on to those 4 Hearts. Declarer pitches a Heart from his hand, and then cashes the top three Hearts. Now it is North’s turn to be squeezed! When the third Heart winner is cashed she will have to unguard one of the minors and it will be 12 tricks for Declarer. This one has a fancy name, it’s called a Non-Simultaneous Double Squeeze, no less!
If North had been of an unsporting disposition she would have broken up the squeeze by shifting to a Club at Trick Two. Far from obvious.
12 tricks are normal, but there are a few ways whereby Declarer can make 13 tricks, though they are all anti-percentage. Our favorite such line goes thusly: Win the opening Heart lead on the board, and cash a second high Heart Cash A♠ Q♠, covered by the King, and ruffed A♣, then ruff a Club Cash the two Spade winners (yes, anti-percentage, there is still a defensive trump at large!) Cross to the A♦ Play the remaining two trumps. Both defenders must come down to two cards … East must hang on to the 9♠, so will pitch a Diamond, whereupon Dummy pitches that now-useless losing Spade … and West must hang on to his K♣, so must also pitch a Diamond … Dummy’s Kx of Diamonds now win the last two tricks. It’s your basic Double Squeeze.
Let’s say that North starts with a trump (good lead!). Dummy wins the trick with the Ace and Declarer can count 10 tricks if the trumps break. The extra tricks can come from Spade ruffs, and if Spades are 3-3 then 13 tricks will be made. The play unfolds as follows: Club opening lead won by Dummy’s Ace Spade to the Ace Spade ruff A♥ and K♥ are cashed Heart ruff Another Spade is led but North ruffs in front of Dummy. North does best to get out with her last trump, leaving this position: North ♠ ♥ T7 ♦ T65 ♣ Declarer Dummy ♠ Q ♠ ♥ ♥ 98 ♦ K9 ♦ AJ7 ♣ Q6 ♣ South ♠ K ♥ ♦ Q843 ♣ Now Declarer cashes his last two Clubs, and although, in reality, only one player (South) is squeezed, the end position plays just like a Double Squeeze. South must hang on to his K♠ and must come down to two Diamonds, and North must hang on to the T♥ and must also come down to just two Diamonds. So, it really doesn’t matter who has the Q♦ because after Trick Ten it will be doubleton.
4♥ is the most likely contract, but we've concocted an optimistic auction which arrives in 6NT by West, an unlikely contract which turns out to be cold. North’s best lead is the T♦, won by South’s King. But the joy is short-lived for the defense, because Declarer now has 11 top tricks, and the 12th comes from a squeeze, if Declarer untangles his tricks carefully. Let’s say that the K♦ wins the first trick, and a Club comes back. Declarer plays low (must preserve that Club threat card) and wins the Ace, cashes the A♦, crosses to the K♥, cashes the Q♦ (North showing out), and runs the Hearts. Here is the end-position with one Heart left to play:
West East ♠ K9 ♠ A32 ♥ ♥ 5 ♦ 7 ♦ ♣ Q ♣
South is the only defender who can protect the Diamonds, so she cannot hold on to 3 Spades. North surely has the K♣ (otherwise South’s Club shift was suicidal), and so, if she is the one with the 3 Spades, she’ll be squeezed in the black suits. Even though it’s not possible for both defenders to guard the Spades, the hand plays just like a Double Squeeze. Either North will be squeezed in the black suits, or South will be squeezed in Spades and Diamonds. Hence its name, the Either-Or Squeeze.
Against 3NT, if North fails to overcall 2♦, surely South’s opening lead will be the J♠. This gives Declarer better timing and now he is cold for 10 tricks, via 2 Spades, 2 Hearts, 2 Diamonds and 4 Clubs. But it could get even worse for the defense! Look at how the play might unfold: J♠ opening lead, won by North’s King Diamond return won by Dummy’s Ace A♣ is cashed, then the J♣ (North ducks this in case South has Qx) North wins the third round of Clubs Diamond is won by Declarer’s King The remaining two Clubs are cashed Here is the end-position with one Club still to be cashed: North ♠ ♥ Q64 ♦ JT8 ♣ Dummy Declarer ♠ A76 ♠ Q9 ♥ AKT ♥ 7 ♦ ♦ 54 ♣ ♣ 4 South ♠ J82 ♥ J85 ♦ ♣ On the play of the last Club, South cannot discard a Spade so must part with a Heart, after which Dummy discards a Spade and North a Diamond. South has been squeezed out of her Heart guard and now, after a Spade to Dummy’s Ace and a Spade back to the Queen, it is North’s turn to be squeezed, she must surrender the 11th trick in one red suit or the other. Yes, it’s a Non-Simultaneous Double Squeeze, and it was all North’s fault. First, her silence in the auction did not help Partner find the right lead (though this did also avoid risking an unseemly penalty), then she failed to break up the double squeeze (she must return a Heart when in with the K♣).
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