June 2012 - 56

Mike's Advice

Mike Lawrence
www.michaelslawrence.com

Preparing for a squeeze
Squeezes used to be one of the
mysterious techniques that only
good players used. The literature on
squeezes has become very extensive,
and publications like the Bridge Bulletin show examples of them with
greater regularity than ever. I played
against a young player just out of high
school a month ago, and she ran off
a squeeze just as if she had looked at
the hand records. There was no doubt
that she knew what she was doing.
The deal below shows a simple
squeeze that looks easy until you
notice a little trap.
Dlr: East  K J 3
Vul: E-W  5 4 3
A8
 Q J 10 9 7
AQ87
AQ6
Q542
K8
West

North

Pass

3NT

East
South
2
2NT
All Pass

South's 2NT did not necessarily risk
losing spades because North might
be able to use Stayman. North simply
raised to 3NT.
56 Bridge Bulletin June 2012

West found an unexpected lead: the
4. Dummy played the 7 and East the
2. South won with the king so as not
to block the suit later.
This looks easy at first glance.
South has four spade winners, two
hearts (assuming the heart finesse
wins), the A, and four clubs: 11
tricks. Should South take 11 tricks
and go on to the next deal? South saw
that if East had the long hearts and
theK, he could squeeze East and
make 12 tricks.
What should South do next after
winning the first trick? For example,
should he set up the clubs?
Here is what South should be thinking: "I have eleven tricks. Another
may come from a squeeze. Who am
I going to squeeze? It must be East
because he is the only defender who
can protect the hearts, and if he has
the K, I can squeeze him. I will, in
time, play the A and then lead winners. East will not be able to protect
the hearts and theK."
There is one little trap in this logic.
South must cash his spades before
giving up a club. Assuming spades
divide 4-2 or 3-3, South can take his
spades without setting up a spade
trick for the defense.

So that is what South should do. He
takes four spades, finding that West
had four and East two. South can
then force out the A. If West exits a
heart, South beats East's king with the
ace, crosses to the A and runs the
clubs, forcing East into the impossible
position of having to keep two hearts
and the K to keep declarer's queen
from being good. East will likely
discard the K, hoping West has the
queen, but that is not successful. If
East keeps his K, South discards
the Q and takes the rest with two
good hearts. South makes 12 tricks in
either case.
KJ3
543
A8
 Q J 10 9 7
6542
 10 9
N
2
 K J 10 9 8 7
W E
763
 K J 10 9
S
A6543
2
AQ87
AQ6
Q542
K8
If you like squeezes, this one is
worth a look. Note that if you bid 6NT,
the only lead to set it is a diamond. r

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2012
