February 2020 - 65

Special Contributors

George's World
BY GEORGE JACOBS

There are many types of squeezes out
there, but none like one I discovered in
Puerto Vallarta. What a great place for
bridge, golf, sun, food and more food.
Bridge is played at one club on Monday
and Thursday, and at the other club
on Tuesday and Friday. One club is an
open-air restaurant on the beach. You
will never enjoy anything more.
It is time for a new contest. You have
to name this squeeze. The winner receives a copy of my newest book: "Hugs
and Squeezes," a story of the various
romances in the bridge world - some
well known, some never before brought
to light. You will learn of intrigue,
deception, backstabbing and love - and
that is merely the bridge part!
So here is the setup: You are East,
holding:
♠A 5 2 ♥K 8 7 6 4 ♦10 7 ♣K 8 5.
West
Pass

North
1♦
3NT

You
South
Pass
1NT
All Pass

Partner leads the ♠10.
♠KQ63
♥Q9
♦AKQJ86
♣A
♠A52
♥K8764
♦ 10 7
♣K85
Declarer makes the strange looking
play of the king. You win the ace and

NOBET8888@aol.com

return a spade. Declarer wins the jack.
Now come six diamonds. You must
make four pitches. What will they be?
Think about that for a bit and remember that you will be subject to an
unusual squeeze. Guess when it takes
place? How about trick 12? Ever seen a
squeeze operate at trick 12 before?
Worse yet, while declarer is clearly
an evil person ... (Technically, I am
the salt of the earth and not that evil.
What does that even mean, "salt of the
earth"? Think about it. Salt is not your
friend. If you get salt in a wound, it
burns - more so if someone is rubbing
salt in said wound. If you are at the
beach, it gets into every crevice you
have and is quite uncomfortable. Think
about if even a grain or two gets into
bed with you. Misery all night. If someone is described as salty, you picture
a sailor with a wooden leg and a bad
temper. None of us would ever want to
work in the salt mines. Let's not even
mention [too late] going through someone like a dose of salts, and then there's
the ever popular curse, "pound salt."
Salt causes weight gain and is bad for
your health. But I digress.) ... it is not
declarer who rubs salt in the wound,
but your poor partner.
Back to the squeeze. After following to two diamonds, one club looks
easy enough to pitch, as do two hearts.
You then let go of your last spade. You
notice that declarer pitches five clubs,
including the Q-J-10, while partner
releases two hearts.

♠Q6
♥Q9
♦-
♣A

♠-
♥K87
♦-
♣K8

With five cards remaining, Salty
plays a heart to his ace, plays a club to
dummy's ace, and cashes the ♠Q. You
have to pitch a heart. Declarer pitches
a heart. Here it is: trick 12. A losing
spade is played from dummy. What do
you do? At my table, East pitched the
♣K. Uh-oh. At trick 13, partner led a
club to declarer's 9. Making five.
♠KQ63
♥Q9
♦AKQJ86
♣A
♠ 10 9 8 4
♠A52
♥J53
♥K8764
♦9543
♦ 10 7
♣73
♣K85
♠J7
♥ A 10 2
♦2
♣ Q J 10 9 6 4 2
Is this a suicide squeeze by partner,
a fratricide squeeze, a steeping stone
squeeze with no winners? Get a free
book now. See you all in Columbus.
Love their egg rolls.
◾

February 2020 Bridge Bulletin

65
February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2020
