THE SQUEEZE

An alternative to the elimination play as a method of developing an extra

trick is the “squeeze”. To listen to experienced players talk, one might
well imagine that the squeeze is the only possible way to make a difficult
contract, but they are, in fact, a comparatively rare form of play, requiring
very specific conditions in order to achieve success. The reason that
experienced players discuss them with so much enthusiasm is that they
are by far the most satisfying form of play. Despite the fact that they are
rare, it is extremely valuable to learn the mechanics of the squeeze.
There is no better method of understanding how to look for that crucial
additional trick in borderline contracts.
There are many weird and wonderful types of squeezes but it is not
the purpose of this article to expound on all the difficult variations, but
rather to examine the basic requirements for the successful squeeze.
Essentially the squeeze is a manoeuvre employed in the end-game, but
the ability to visualise the end position is required right from the start of
the play. Here is a very basic example…

Example 1 

 764  AKQJ53
 KQ73 W E  A95
 9763  AJ
 K8  A6

N E S W
2 P 2NT
P 3 P 4
P 7 All pass

East’s raise to 7 over his partner’s 4 response was somewhat

speculative, to say the least. A much better bid would have been 5NT, a
grand-slam force asking his partner to bid 7 if he held two of the top
three honours in the suit and 6 with less than two honours. He could
then have ‘corrected’ to spades at the appropriate level. Fortunately for
him, partner did hold K Q.
South led the K. Declarer could see twelve tricks on top (six s,
three s, one  and two s). The thirteenth trick could only come from
the long s provided the suit broke 3-3. But what if the s failed to
break? Then the only chance would be if South held the length in s as
well as the marked Q. If this was the position then South would be
squeezed by the last .
Declarer won the opening lead and drew trumps in two rounds. He
then cashed the A K and the two  tricks. Finally he cashed three more
rounds of trumps, discarding two s from the dummy. Assuming that
South had started with four s, he would be forced to come down to this
three-card ending…

 ---  3
 Q7 W E  9
 9  J
 ---  ---
S
 ---
 J 10
 Q
 ---

When declarer plays his last , South is squeezed in the red suits.
If he discards the Q, declarer will cash his promoted J before cashing
the last . If he discards a , declarer can cross to the Q and cash the
last  to make his contract.
You may be wondering why declarer did not test the s by cashing
three rounds of the suit, preserving the K as an entry to the long ?
This would have failed because the three-card ending would have been…

 ---  3
 7 W E  ---
 9  J
 K  8
S
 ---
 J
 Q
 J

Now when the declarer cashes his last , South can safely discard his J
(or the long  if he is already out of s). The discard from dummy will
enable South to select the correct card to discard when a  is led to the
K. Effectively, the dummy has been squeezed before South. This has
happened because cashing three rounds of s changes the status of the
suit from a “menace” to a second “threat” (see below), while leaving
South with one too many “idle” cards (the last ). Here is the full deal....

 10 2
 62
 10 8 2
 Q 10 9 7 5 4

 764 N  AKQJ53
 KQ73 W E  A95
 9763  AJ
 K6 S  A8

 98
 J 10 8 4
 KQ54
 J32

The ability to visualise the end-position is essential. Although it can be

hard work, learning how to visualise the end-game will pay huge
dividends in all types of contracts – not to mention the dramatic
improvement in the way you defend. The end position above reveals the
requirements for success at the point that the squeeze card is played:-
1. A “squeeze card” - the final spade.
2. A “menace suit” - the long hearts.
3. A “threat card” - the diamond Jack.
4. An entry to the menace - the heart Queen.
Either the menace suit or the threat card (or both) must be over the
defender who is being squeezed. If the menace suit is held under the
relevant defender then there must be an entry to the threat card which, in
the case of the three-card ending, will always be in the menace suit.

 ---  3
 K W E  A 10
 J  ---
 6  ---
S
 ---
 QJ
 Q
 ---
In this example, the contract is in no-trumps and the declarer has run his
long  suit to reach this three-card ending. When declarer plays the last
spade he is planning to discard the useless  from the dummy, regardless
of South’s discard. His play to the next trick will depend on that discard,
however. If a  is discarded, he will cash the A followed by the 10.
But if a  is discarded, he will cross to the K and cash the established
J.
If any of the four conditions outlined above are not met at the
moment the squeeze card is played, then the squeeze will be inoperable.
Careful timing of the play is essential – note the order of play in the first
example. After drawing trumps, declarer cashed the A K. If either
defender had held J 10 doubleton, then declarer could have made his
contract simply by crossing to the 9 and then returning to the K to
cash his master . If the trumps had broken 3-1 and declarer had
thoughtlessly cashed his two  tricks before turning to the s, he would
have been unable to return to the table to cash the master  if South had
held J 10 doubleton. To be defeated by this distribution would be
unforgivably careless. Good play demands consideration of all the
possibilities, rather than simply playing out the cards and hoping for the
best.
More often than not it is the auction that provides a clear indication
that a squeeze is the best line to make a tricky contract. In this next
example, South enters the auction and gives the game away.

Example 2

 Q5  J6
 A 10 6 5 W E  KJ9873
 A42  K 10 3
 A542  J7

N E S W
P 3 X 4
All pass

At favourable vulnerability, East elected to pre-empt in second seat.

After South made a take-out double, West decided that defending a 4
contract had much better chances than defending 3, so he put the
pressure on North by raising his partner to game. North declined the
invitation to make a dubious vulnerable sacrifice and the auction ended
there.
 South cashed the A K and then switched to the K. At this point
declarer was not very happy with the contract, since he had already lost
two spade tricks and looked set to lose a trick in both minors. Still, 3
would have been a very good contract for North/South, conceding four
tricks at most. But were there any prospects for making the contract?
Firstly, if the trump suit did not break then North was more likely
to hold three trumps because of the auction. This could be tested safely
by laying down the Ace first. Although South was marked with the Q it
would not be possible to end-play him because the 9 was missing and
therefore a genuine finesse position did not exist. When in with the Q,
South would be able to exit safely with either a  honour or a third .
The only remaining possibility was the squeeze.
Although the J was a possible threat card, there was no menace
suit available, assuming that South held both the missing  honours. Or
was there? It struck declarer that the only possible menace suit was the
s, but that an alternative threat card was the 5. This would require
South to hold at least four s as well as the missing  honours. Declarer
must ruff a third round of s, leaving the last 5 in dummy as the
necessary threat. Then he could run the trumps, expecting to arrive at this
four-card ending.

 ---  ---
 --- W E  7
 A42  K 10 3
 5  ---
S
 ---
 ---
 QJX
 10

If South had started with four s and both  honours, then he would be
squeezed by the final trump. Declarer thought that North was very likely
to reveal any interest he might have in the s by his discards on the long
trumps. In the event, declarer was able to get an accurate count of the
hand and by the time the last trump was played he knew that the squeeze
was virtually sure to succeed. He ducked the K and won the good
continuation of the Q with the A. He immediately ruffed a third 
and crossed to the A. South showed out on the first round, discarding a
. Declarer took the marked  finesse and played a further three rounds
of the suit. South discarded a second  and two s. North discarded a 
and a . The final  was the squeeze card and South discarded yet
another . Declarer confidently discarded the small  from dummy,
which had achieved its purpose. He was confident because North had
already discarded a . Since the declarer could not make the contract if
either of the defenders now held all three missing s, he simply played a
small  to the A and claimed the last two  tricks when both defenders
followed.

 10 8 7 4 3
 Q42
 75
 986

 Q5 N  J6
 A 10 6 5 W E  KJ9873
 A42  K 10 3
 A542 S  J7

 AK94
 ---
 QJ986
 K Q 10 3

Could the defence have done anything about this? Perhaps. If South
leads out the K before cashing the two s, declarer’s timing goes awry.
If he ducks the first  and South continues with the Q, declarer must
play a third round of s and discard a losing  from hand. If declarer
ruffs the third  instead, he will have succeeded in setting up the last 
as a threat, but he will not yet have dealt with his  losers. As the cards
lie this will not matter, since South will be forced to guard all three suits
and will still be squeezed on the last . If the  honours had been
divided, however, South would still have had an “idle” card, which could
be discarded on the last .
This last point is well illustrated by the next example, where it is
crucial that declarer should lose his losers early before applying the
squeeze.
Example 3

 K J 10  AQ9874
 Q872 W E  -----
 A 10 8 4  952
 A7  KQ42

N E S W
3 4 P 5*
P 6 All pass

*Trial bid, agreeing s.

South led the 5. Declarer raised his eyebrows a bit when his partner’s
hand came down, since he had assumed that the 5 trial bid would show
a much stronger  suit. On reflection, however, he acknowledged that it
was probably his own fault. He was not strong enough to make the jump
overcall of 4 but should have settled for the more descriptive 3.
The slam did not look particularly appealing, since even if he
ruffed a  in dummy before drawing trumps, he would still have only
eleven tricks (five s, one  ruff, one , three s and a  ruff). In any
case there was no guarantee that the second round of s would not be
ruffed by North, since he was marked with at least a seven-card  suit for
his vulnerable pre-emptive opening.
If North held either 2-7-3-1 or 2-7-4-0 shape the contract would not
make if he held a  honour, since the dummy would be forced into
making a crucial discard before him. On the other hand, it was far more
likely that South would be the defender who held length in both of the
minors, especially if the trumps broke evenly. Assuming this was true
then South would be squeezed by the last trump, provided declarer
disposed of his essential loser as early as possible. Since there were no
realistic prospects of discarding enough s from either hand, declarer
decided that the squeeze against South had to be the best option.
He ruffed the opening lead in his hand and crossed to dummy with
the 10. After ruffing a second , he drew both outstanding trumps with
the K. Now he simply exited with a low  to North’s Q. North
returned the A for declarer to ruff, on which South discarded a .
Declarer crossed to the A and ruffed the last , with South discarding
another . Finally he returned to dummy with the A and led out the
last trump, discarding the last  from his hand. South was now squeezed
in s and s.

 62
 A K J 10 9 6 4
 Q
 10 9 5

 K J 10 N  AQ9874
 Q872 W E  -----
 A 10 8 4  952
 A7 S  KQ42

 53
 53
 KJ763
 J963

Declarer knew that the squeeze would be successful because he

had a complete count of the hand when he led out the final trump. North
began with 2-7-1-3 shape (revealed by the play to the s, s and s) and
therefore South started with 2-2-5-4 shape and now held the guard in both
of the minors. The relevant end position:-

 J  ---
 --- W E  ---
 10 8  9
 7 S  KQ4

 ---
 ---
 K
 J86

Note that declarer’s plan would have worked even if South had
started with three trumps. The squeeze will now operate when declarer
ruffs the last . South can postpone the inevitable by under-ruffing, but
this will just revert to the end position outlined above. Otherwise,
declarer will return to the dummy with the A to draw the last trump
before playing out his established suit.
 By losing his  trick early while keeping the suit protected, the
declarer carried out a manoeuvre known as ‘rectifying the count’. This is
an essential requirement for any squeeze to work, since otherwise the
relevant defender will always have a spare idle card to discard at the
critical moment.
Once he had conceded his  loser, declarer then had to find a
method of extracting South’s idle cards. The only way to do this was to
play the hand on dummy reversal lines, forcing South to discard his idle
cards while declarer ruffed out the  suit.
North should have returned a  when in with the Q, since this
would have knocked out one of declarer’s entries before he had
completed the dummy reversal play. Now declarer would not have had
the entries to ruff out the s and dispose of his second  on the last
trump. For this reason, declarer should have ruffed a third round of s
before exiting with a small  from both hands. In this way he would
have kept control of the timing.
Sometimes the potential for a squeeze exists but the declarer lacks
the necessary squeeze card. The only possible escape from this dilemma
is to enlist the help of an unwitting opponent. This next hand is a
spectacular example of this type of play.

Example 4

 10 7 2  AQ43
 AJ W E  Q76
 AJ764  K52
 10 6 4  AK9

N E S W
1 P 2
P 3NT All pass.

South led the 10. The contract looked fairly straightforward, even
though there were only seven sure tricks (one , two s, two s and two
s). The s would yield an additional two tricks (at least) provided both
defenders followed to the first two rounds. Declarer won the opening
lead in dummy with the J and considered taking an immediate finesse in
s, but decided that this would be far too dangerous if the finesse lost and
the s did not break. Accordingly he switched to a  to the K and
South showed out! Quite suddenly a relatively simple hand had turned
very awkward. What to do?
 Declarer could cross back to the dummy and try the  finesse, but
even if it worked he would still have only eight tricks. But a much better
chance was to try and enlist the aid of South. The probability was that he
had a five or six-card  suit and if he could be persuaded to run it, there
was a very strong possibility that North could be squeezed if he held
strength in either or both of the black suits. Alternatively South himself
might hold strength in both s and s, in which case he might well find
himself end-played for the eighth trick after running the s. If this was
the case, he could then be squeezed by the play of the A.
Assuming momentarily that South did hold a six-card  suit,
declarer’s first consideration had to be his own discards. He could safely
discard two s, one  and one  from the dummy. From his own hand
he could discard one  and one , but his discard on the last  would
have to be determined by North, who would also have to find four
discards. With luck, declarer’s play to the last  would be marked by
North’s final discard.
The second consideration was threats and menaces. Obviously the
 suit is a menace against North, but at this stage it was not certain which
was the threat card. Remember, for the squeeze to work either the threat
card or the menace suit (or both) must be held over the player who is
being squeezed. The best chance of the threat card is the third  (in the
event that North started with K J X (X)). With either of these holdings
North is more likely to discard s on the long s. Therefore the master
 would squeeze North out of his long  and then a finesse of the K
could be taken, via the A entry.
If North discarded s rather than s then the 9 would be the
threat card if he started with Q J X (X). If North held both  honours
to four (or more) s then the contract was unlikely to make unless he also
held the K. Without the K, North would have a spare idle card to
discard on the last . It was true, however, that South would be forced to
return a  after cashing the sixth  if North held a five-card  suit (since
South discarded a  on the K) and declarer must return to hand with a
 to lead out his third . At worst this line would guarantee eight tricks.
It was possible, of course, that South started with only five s. If
so, he would be able to cash only three tricks in the suit and North would
be unable to discard more than one  without setting up the suit for only
one loser. Because of this possibility, declarer planned to discard the
10 from dummy on the third . This served to isolate the potential 
threat in his hand. If North then followed to the third , declarer would
discard the last  and a low  from dummy on the fourth and fifth s.
The last  would give North an impossible discard if he started with 2-3-
5-3 shape, with the K and both  honours. With this holding a second
 discard would be safe only if South then switched to a , but then
North could be end-played by another round of s.

 K98
 83
 Q 10 9 8 3
 QJ7

 10 7 2 N  AQ43
 AJ W E  Q76
 AJ764  K52
 10 6 4 S  AK9

 J65
 K 10 9 5 4 2
 -----
 8532

After winning the lead with the J and cashing the K, declarer took the
A. Returning to hand with the A he exited with the Q, discarding
the 10 while North discarded a . South then cashed three more s.
Two s and the last  were discarded from the dummy. North discarded
a second  and a , but was clearly in difficulty on the final .
Eventually he discarded the K, hoping that his partner held the Q and
could guard the suit. This was the position when the last  was played:-

 K9
 ---
 Q 10
 QJ

 10 7 2 N  AQ4
 --- W E  ---
 AJ  5
 6 S  K9
 J65
 2
 ---
 85
 On the last  dummy discarded the 6, North the K and declarer
the 4. South mistakenly thought his partner’s final discard was a
demand for a  switch and he returned the 5. Declarer won with the
Q and North was squeezed for a second time by the A. Eventually he
parted with a  and declarer could claim.
As the cards lie the declarer could have chosen a second route to
make his contract. After crossing to the A, a  to the Q would have
held the trick. Careful play now assures the contract. A low  to the A
forces a  discard from South. Declarer can now play a small  from the
table. If North plays the K, declarer will duck. North can cash his Q
now, but eventually he will be end-played to concede an overtrick to
dummy’s J. If North plays low on the second , declarer wins with the
A and cashes the A K before exiting to North with either a  or a .
North will make the K, the Q and two  tricks, but will be forced to
concede the remainder. However, if South had held the K this line
would have been a miserable failure.
The type of squeeze that North was subjected to is known as a
‘progressive squeeze’, because the hapless defender is initially squeezed
out of a crucial discard and then squeezed again by the play of this
discarded suit.
It looks as though South can prevent his partner being squeezed by
exiting with a low  to North’s K immediately after winning the K.
Declarer must be very careful to duck this trick, since otherwise the spade
guard will have been transferred to the South hand. Now he will make 10
tricks since the s break (three s, two s, two s and eventually three
s because North will be thrown in with the third  to lead into
dummy’s  tenace). It is frustrating to be squeezed at the best of times –
but it is infuriating when you are being squeezed by your partner!
Here is a second example of the progressive squeeze, but this time
it is the declarer who applies the screw. The deal arose in a Teams event
and provided the most significant swing of the match.

Example 5

 A98  Q2
 AK754 W E  J3
 10 8 2  A9
 96  A K Q J 7 4 3
 N E S W
1 X XX*
P P 1 2
P 4 P 4**
P 4NT P 5
P 6 P P
6! 7! All pass.

*Re-double, showing 9+ HCP, but denying a fit.

**Advance cue-bid, agreeing trumps and showing
first round control.

The auction ranks as one of the most aggressive that I have ever come
across. It is characteristic of the uglier side of teams’ play, where the side
that is losing will often try anything to generate a big swing. There is
little pleasure involved in playing a match that degenerates to this degree.
Since East/West were vulnerable, while North/South were not, East
was faced with a difficult choice over the frivolous 6 bid. Clearly the
contract had no chance, but equally 6 must be a reasonable contract and
East/West would need to defeat 6 by at least six tricks if he elected to
double for penalties. Since it was obvious that his  suit would generate
one trick, at best, this did not seem very likely. Eventually he decided to
risk 7, since South held most, if not all of the outstanding strength and
any finesse position was likely to be favourable.
South led the K. Declarer was not at all happy when the dummy
came down, since it was apparent that partner’s 10 was likely to have
been promoted in a 6 contract and that there would have been a good
chance to defeat 6 by six tricks, particularly if the  suit broke 3-3.
Still, if the  suit did break then 7 was laydown, since declarer would
make one , four s and a  ruff, one  and six s for all 13 tricks.
With only eleven tricks on top the grand slam did not look
particularly promising. Declarer took a few moments to review the
auction and then decided that he was probably the favourite after all.
South was virtually guaranteed to hold all the outstanding strength (i.e. 12
HCP) and was likely to hold 4-4-4-1 or 4-4-5-0 shape, either of which
would explain the aggressive take-out double. Regardless, seven rounds
of trumps would reduce him to the point where he must be squeezed in
three suits on the last trump. He could then be squeezed again by playing
on the suit he elected to discard. In addition, he would be unable to
discard from a four-card  suit while the declarer held any trumps in his
hand, since otherwise the suit could be ruffed out and established while
the A remained as the necessary entry.
 A  and two s would be discarded from dummy on the third,
fourth and fifth s. Declarer would then select the final discard after
South had already discarded. Here is the end position...

 A9  Q2
 AK754 W E  J3
 ---  9
 --- S  43

 KJ
 Q 10 8 6
 Q
 ---

When declarer plays the sixth , South is squeezed. If he discards

either a  or a , declarer will discard a  and squeeze South again by
playing on the suit that has been established. A  discard is just as
simple. Declarer will discard the 9 from dummy and establish the 
suit by ruffing the third round. The A provides the necessary entry to
reach the s.

 7654
 92
 7643
 10 8 2

 A98 N  Q2
 AK754 W E  J3
 10 8 2  A9
 96 S  AKQJ743

 K J 10 3
 Q 10 8 6
 KQJ5
 5

There is something very satisfying about making a contract that

you have been pushed into by the opponents’ daft bidding. At the other
table the East/West pair settled for a very passive 3NT contract and
somehow managed to make only eleven tricks for a score of 660. The
grand slam in s was 2140, thus generating a net score of + 1480 and a
huge swing of 16 IMPs.
Sometimes all of the conditions for a squeeze against a particular
defender will exist, except that the threat card and the menace suit will
both be in the hand under the defender. As previously stated a squeeze
will not work in these circumstances, because the crucial discard will
have to be made from this hand before the relevant defender has had to
choose which suit to unguard. Effectively the hand containing both the
menace and the threat is squeezed first. However, sometimes it may be
possible to transfer the threat to the correct hand.

Example 6

 K95  A Q 10 8 4 3
 843 W E  J62
 AJ54  Q2
 A 10 2  K5

N E S W
1NT 2 P 4
All pass.

South leads the A and continues with a  to North’s K Q.

North exits with a trump to the K. At first sight the success of the
contract appears to rely on South holding the K, but declarer knows that
this finesse will not work since North is marked with all the outstanding
strength for his opening bid. If declarer simply runs the s, hoping that
North will be forced into unguarding either the s or the s, he will fail.
What he must do is cash the A before the last trump is played. This
transfers the  threat from the dummy to his hand. This is the three-card
ending.
 ---
 ---
 K
 QJ

 --- N  3
 --- W E  ---
 J  Q
 A 10  5
 When declarer cashes the last trump, he can safely discard the J
from the dummy. Now North is squeezed, forced to choose between
discarding his  winner - correct, just in case his prayers are answered
and it is his partner who holds the Q and the declarer is operating a
‘pseudo-squeeze’ - or unguarding the s.
The hand illustrates how crucial it is to be able to visualise the
winning end position. The trick is to initially try and picture the three-
card ending. If the position envisaged does not provide a winning line,
move on to the four-card ending, followed by the five-card ending and so
on. Provided that the other conditions for a squeeze are in place, it should
be possible to visualise an end position that will succeed.
If the declarer had failed to cash his A, this is the four-card
ending that would have resulted.

 ---
 ---
 K 10
 QJ
 --- N  3
 --- W E  ---
 AJ  Q2
 A 10  5

Now when the declarer cashes the last , the dummy is squeezed
before North. Whichever suit is discarded from the dummy, North will
also discard. No matter how he plays, the declarer will have to concede
one more trick.

 J72
 KQ9
 K 10 7
 QJ84
 K95 N  A Q 10 8 4 3
 843 W E  J62
 AJ54  Q2
 A 10 2 S  K5
 6
 A 10 7 5
 9863
 9763
 South’s defence was flawed. He should have recognised from the
outset that there was a danger that his partner might be squeezed and led
anything but the A. The 9 of either minor would have killed the
possibility of a squeeze from the word go. But having led his
unsupported A, failing to switch to a minor at trick two was distinctly
poor. By cashing their  tricks from the off, all the defence achieved was
to rectify the count for the declarer, while at the same time making it very
easy for him to work out the correct line.
Even if South had underled his A at trick one, the contract can
still be beaten. When North’s Q holds the trick, he can exit with a
trump at trick two. Now when declarer tries the squeeze North will have
a spare idle card in the K to discard. He will still be able to guard both
minor suits while retaining an exit card with the 9. Declarer does best
to try to eliminate s to rectify the count. North will play the 9 on the
second round and if declarer ducks the J, South will overtake with the
10 and (hopefully) switch to a . Even if declarer does go up with the
A, he will be unable to run all the trumps without establishing South’s
long  suit. Meanwhile North will keep his K until the last moment
and eventually the defence will come to three  tricks and a trick in one
of the minors, or the s will become established for four tricks.
The type of play illustrated by declarer’s play of the A is known
as the ‘Vienna Coup’. Essentially what happens is that a winner is
deliberately established for a particular defender (e.g. the K) so that he
can be squeezed out of it later.
A more common difficulty that arises in squeeze play is that both
defenders may have a guard in the suit that provides the potential threat.

Example 7

 J4  AKQ9832
 10 9 6 3 2 W E  7
 10 4 2  J8
 AJ4  Q96

N E S W
P 4 All pass.

South led the K. When North encouraged with the 9, South continued
with the Q and a third round to North’s A. Declarer ruffed this and
paused to review the prospects. They were not good. Even if South held
the K, declarer would only be able to cash two tricks. Since he could
not avoid losing a trick, the contract appeared to be doomed.
There was one chance, however. If South did hold the K and
also held at least four s, the 10 could be a threat so that South could
be squeezed in s and s. The contract had no chance if either one of
these conditions were not met, so declarer decided to play for it. There
was an additional problem in that North’s s would also have to be
eliminated, since otherwise he would also be able to guard the suit.
Careful timing was essential.
After ruffing the third round of diamonds, declarer must exit with a
. If South won and returned a , declarer would trust to luck and run
this round to his Q. If South returned a , declarer would win in
dummy with the J and ruff a second round of s. He would then play a
small  to the J and, if this held, ruff a third round of s. Then he
would run the remaining trumps. This is the end position he was playing
for.

 ---  9
 10 W E  ---
 ---  ---
 A4 S  Q9
 ---
 A
 ---
 K7

With luck, when declarer lays down the last trump South will be
squeezed. Playing out the  suit until one defender is left guarding the
suit is following a manoeuvre known as ‘isolating the threat’. Proper
timing of the play is vital, of course. After the third  is ruffed in hand,
declarer must exit with a  immediately. Any other play removes an
essential entry from the dummy and the contract will fail.
As with most squeezes, the position arises as a play of last resort.
The difficulty is not in the execution of the squeeze – but in recognising
that the possibility exists in the first place. Many players would give up
far too early on this type of hand. They would probably play South for
K X doubleton and bemoan their luck when the King does not drop on
the second round. Whenever you are faced with a difficult hand that
seems to have no genuine chance, try to visualise a possible distribution
that would work and then play for it. Sometimes the opponents will hold
this shape and you will have brought home the ‘impossible’ contract.
  10 5
 KQ4
 A9763
 10 8 2

 J4 N  AKQ9764
 10 9 6 3 2 W E  7
 10 4 2  J8
 AJ4 S  Q96

 76
 AJ85
 KQ5
 K753

There are occasions when it is not possible to know precisely

which defender is being squeezed, even though it is apparent that one of
them is suffering.

Example 8

 65  AJ74
 KQ4 W E  AJ9863
 AK96  7
 AKQ2  63

N E S W
1 P 2
P 2 P 4NT*
P 5 P 7

East’s 1 opening was pushy, particularly as East/West were at

unfavourable vulnerability. Hardly surprising that West bid on to the
grand slam after his partner’s opening bid, once he had confirmation that
his partner had both major suit Aces. Fortunately East played the hand a
lot better than he bid it.
South led the Q and declarer could count twelve tricks (one ,
six s, two s and three s). The thirteenth trick could only come from
a squeeze, but the problem was that the declarer had no information about
which defender should be the victim. What was certain, however, was
that one of the defenders held at least four s. Since this was the only
available menace suit whoever that defender was would be the one who
had to be squeezed.
Assuming that South has made a safe lead rather than a foolishly
aggressive one, he was likely to be holding length in s headed by the
Q J 10. If he also held four or more s, he could be squeezed by
running the trump suit and then laying down the A. This is the five-
card ending that declarer envisaged…

 -----  AJ7
 ----- W E  -----
 9  -----
 AKQ2 S  63

 -----
 -----
 J
 J984

When declarer leads out the A South is squeezed, forced either to part
with his  guard or his long . But what if it is North who holds the
long s? If so, he must also hold long s, since either the menace suit or
the threat card must be held over the defender who is being squeezed. If
it is North rather than South who holds the long s then the dummy will
have to discard ahead of him and he will be able to discard from the same
suit as dummy to defeat the contract. This is the six-card ending
envisaged when North is being squeezed…

 KQ
 -----
 -----
 J984

 6 N  AJ7
 ----- W E  3
 9  -----
 AKQ2  63

If it is South who has this holding, rather than North, the play of the last
trump will squeeze him just as effectively. He will have to unguard either
the s or the s and the last  can safely be discarded from the dummy.
Declarer will now lead out the A and the position will become clear.
The final consideration is the order of play. After winning the first
round of s, declarer should draw trumps, cash a second round of s
(using the A as an entry if the trumps break 4-0) and ruff a third round
of s. This gives the additional chance that if South led from precisely
Q J 10 declarer’s problems will be resolved, since he will be able to
discard his three losing s on the third round of s and the K 9. After
ruffing the third  declarer will play out his remaining trumps, discarding
s from the dummy. If either defender had to guard both s and a
second suit, the squeeze will succeed.

 K 10 9 8 2
 75
 543
 10 7 5

 65 N  AJ74
 KQ4 W E  AJ9863
 AK96  7
 AKQ2 S  63

 Q3
 10 2
 Q J 10 8 2
 J984

After winning the A and drawing trumps in two rounds, declarer cashed
the K and ruffed a  back to hand. When the 10 failed to appear by
the third round, declarer was reasonably sure that South had started with
five s. This placed North with eight cards in the black suits and
therefore a / squeeze against him seemed more probable at this point.
Since the trumps had broken 2-2, declarer simplified matters by cashing
one round of s before crossing back to hand with the last trump from
the dummy, on which North discarded a  and South a . On the last
two trumps South had no choice but to discard his two s. When the Q
appeared, declarer knew that the A would either fell the K or would
squeeze South in s and s. Well played!
No explanation of squeeze play would be complete without an
examination of the ‘double squeeze’. This type of play is termed a
double squeeze because both of the defenders, in turn, are squeezed into
making a crucial discard. It arises whenever each defender holds a guard
in different suits and the declarer has a threat card in both of these suits.
In addition, both defenders also guard the menace suit.
There are two types of double squeezes, known respectively as
‘simultaneous’ and ‘non-simultaneous’. In the simultaneous variety both
defenders are squeezed in turn by the same squeeze card, whereas in the
non-simultaneous variety each defender is squeezed at separate moments
by different squeeze cards. Here is an example of the simultaneous
double squeeze.

Example 9

 J  A Q 10 9 7 6 4
 J732 W E  95
 A976  K84
 A Q 10 6  7

N E S W
P 3 P 4
All pass.

Since East/West were vulnerable, West decided that his partner

was likely to be reasonable for his pre-emptive opening and that there
was likely to be a fair chance to make the game. Initially he was tempted
to try for 3NT rather than 4, but decided that there was too much chance
that the opponents would be able to run four or more  tricks.
South led out the A K and switched to a low  when his partner
signalled three cards in s. Declarer was tempted to try the Q because,
if it held the trick, he would be able to dispose of his losing  on the A.
If the Q lost, however, the contract would rely on North holding the K
to no more than a doubleton. This did not seem a particularly attractive
proposition and further reflection guided declarer to the correct line.
Assuming that the  finesse would fail, declarer reasoned that there was a
strong chance that South would attempt to cash the K if he held it. On
the other hand, if North held the K to three or more and also held the
K then again he might try to cash it. If either of these possibilities
occurred then the contract would succeed, since declarer would again be
able to dispose of his losing  on the promoted Q.
If North held the K J and South held the K, then North was
likely to encourage a  continuation. If this happened a squeeze position
would exist against both defenders, since South was marked with the Q
and North with the K and declarer held a threat card in both suits.
Therefore, neither defender would also be able to guard the s.
Assuming that South won the first round of trumps and continued
with a low , declarer would play the 10 and ruff North’s J. Then he
would run the trumps, arriving at this four-card ending…

 ---
 ---
 Q 10 2
 K

 --- N  4
 J W E  ---
 A9  K84
 Q S  ---

 ---
 Q
 J53
 ---

The exact distribution of the  suit is not vital, since if either

defender started with four or more s they would still be unable to guard
two suits. The hand would become a positional squeeze against that
defender rather than a double squeeze.
When declarer leads out the last , South knows that he must
retain the Q and so discards a . Declarer can now safely discard the
J from the dummy, since its work is done. North is now squeezed. A 
discard promotes the Q and a  concedes three tricks in the suit.
Note that if either opponent switches to a  when in with the K,
the double squeeze will no longer work. Declarer must keep the A as
an entry to the two threat cards, but the menace of the  suit must be
retained in his hand. Therefore, if the K is knocked out too early,
declarer will be unable to return to his hand to cash the established . If
the defence does switch to a , declarer will be forced to rely on South
holding precisely Q J 10 or at least four s. In both these cases a
positional squeeze against South will still work.
  53
 864
 Q 10 2
 KJ953

 J N  A Q 10 9 7 6 4
 J732 W E  95
 A976  K84
 A Q 10 6 S  7

 K82
 A K Q 10
 J53
 842

Declarer must be careful to overtake the J with the Q when North

follows to the first round. Otherwise South will simply duck and the only
safe way back to hand that does not break up the squeeze is to ruff a .
Unfortunately this would reveal the danger to an alert defender and South
should have no trouble in switching to a  when in with the K. Ruffing
a  rather than a  is also bad play, since now South can simply exit with
the Q when in with the K, thus removing the vital threat card.
Like all hands that require a squeeze to bring home the contract,
careful preparation is the key. When considering the possibility of
applying the double squeeze, the declarer must be able to say to himself:-
“The first defender must guard suit A and the second defender must guard
suit B, since I hold a threat card in both suits. Therefore neither defender
can guard suit C, which is my menace suit.” The opportunity to apply a
successful double squeeze will always exist provided these conditions are
met and the declarer has the necessary squeeze card.
More often than not the necessity for a double squeeze becomes
apparent because a particular distribution has not materialised and the
declarer is forced into some pretty fancy footwork in order to bring home
the contract.

Example 10

 9864  A K 10 5 3
 AK86 W E  74
 8  AQ962
 A 10 7 3  6
 N E S W
1 P 4*
P 4NT P 5
P 5NT P 6
P 7! All pass.

*Splinter, agreeing s and showing 11-14 HCP.

Obviously the grand slam was decidedly optimistic, requiring the s to

break 2-2 or for a successful finesse to be taken against North, if the first
round of the suit felled a singleton honour from South. In addition the
K must come down in three rounds. The idea behind splinters is to
invite partner to investigate the slam if he is better than a standard
opening. West’s trump support was simply not good enough to invite a
slam and he should have settled for 4. East would still have pushed on
to 6 but would have not attempted the grand slam.
South led the K. Declarer won with the A and ruffed a  to
hand. Declarer then cashed the A and ruffed a second , felling
South’s K in the process. This looked like good news, but in fact it was
one round too soon. Now the s could not be established by ruffing a
third round, even if South could not ruff ahead. The contract seemed
doomed, until declarer saw that he had the conditions for a double
squeeze – provided the trumps broke 2-2. South was guarding s and
North was guarding s. Therefore neither defender would be able to
guard the s. This is the five-card ending he envisaged…

 ---
 J92
 J 10
 ---

 --- N  10
 AK86 W E  74
 ---  Q9
 10 S  ---

 ---
 Q 10 5 3
 ---
 Q
 Declarer cashed A K and breathed a heartfelt sigh of relief when
the trumps broke. He ruffed a third , on which South discarded a ,
and ruffed a third  back to his hand. On the last  South and the
dummy discarded s. North was now squeezed out of his  guard, since
he was forced to guard s. Now the play of the Q squeezed South, who
was forced to discard either his  guard or his  guard. Whichever he
discarded, declarer would discard the other suit from the dummy and
claim the remaining tricks.

 Q7
 J92
 J 10 5 4 3
 J94

 9864 N  A K 10 5 3
 AK86 W E  74
 8  AQ962
 A 10 7 3 S  6

 J2
 Q 10 5 3
 K7
 KQ852

The great pleasure of squeeze play is watching the defender squirming

while he is being squeezed. Believe me, it is twice as much fun when
you have got both defenders in your grip!

Before closing, it is worth reiterating the points raised in this chapter:

1). For any squeeze to work, declarer must have:-

a). A threat card.

b). A menace suit.
c). A squeeze card.

Either the threat card or the menace suit (or both) must be over the
defender who is being squeezed. There must be a connecting link
between the two hands in the menace suit.

2). The three stages to operating any squeeze are:-

 a). Recognition.
b). Preparation.
c). Execution.

The most difficult of these stages is the first. Without the ability to
visualise that the possibility of a squeeze exists, it is only possible to
execute a squeeze when it is ‘automatic’ (i.e. whenever declarer runs a
long suit and one or the other defender is automatically forced into
making a crucial discard). Such a squeeze is carried out more by luck
than good judgement, although many are quick to claim an inordinate
amount of credit when they pull them off.
Preparation is also difficult, since careful timing of the play is
essential. Sometimes you will be required to go through some unlikely
contortions to prepare the ground (see Examples 4 & 6). Remember, a
squeeze cannot be executed successfully until all essential losers have
been conceded (‘rectifying the count’) and all idle cards have been
extracted from the relevant defender(s).
By comparison, the execution of the squeeze should be
straightforward, since all the hard work has been done. Time and again,
however, I have seen the attempted squeeze fall at the last hurdle because
the declarer has been afraid to lead out his last trump, because he will not
be able to trump further losers. The point is that you should not have any
further losers – if you do, the squeeze will fail anyway because you have
not yet rectified the count! That last trump is usually the essential
squeeze card – if you do not play it, the defender will not be squeezed!

Frank Groome
(October 2009)