Single-Suited Squeeze

[lamford]

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International team event.

 

West leads a top diamond against your 3NT, and East gives reverse count with the six. West thinks for a moment and cashes the second top diamond and exits with a heart to East's jack. You cash four rounds (they break 3-3), and both pitch a diamond. If you cash the ace of spades, West will play low and East will play the ten. Over to you.

[nige1]

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Pretty hand, Paul! Thank you,

If the deal is something like this, then...

- Cash a top ♠ and duck a 2nd ♠

- (or vice versa).

- Win RHO's ♣ return (say).

- Cash your other top ♠.

- Forcing opponents to commit themselves.

- If LHO retains the boss ♠, then

- - Exit in ♠s immediately.

- - Otherwise, cash ♣ top(s) 1st.[/hv]

[MrAce]

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Pretty hand, Paul! Thank you,

If the deal is something like this, then you can succeed like this:

- Cash a top ♠ and duck a second ♠

- (or vice versa).

- Win RHO's ♣ return (say).

- Cash your other top ♠.

- forcing opponents to commit themselves.

- If LHO retains the boss ♠, then

- - Exit in ♠s immediately.

- - Otherwise, cash ♣ top(s) first.[/hv]

 

Nige1 we all know that far. Tell us how you will decide who has the ♠ winner and 4th ♦?

[nige1]

Nige1 we all know that far. Tell us how you will decide who has the ♠ winner and 4th ♦?

I tried to construct a hand with a successful 1-suit squeeze.

But there are clues:

1. If you believe RHO, then he has the 4th ♦. (Both defenders have discarded a ♦ and RHO signalled he was dealt an even number of ♦s).
2. You might be able to rule out ♠ holdings, from which LHO would have a natural ♠ lead/switch.
3. If RHO has the expected 4342, then, whatever his ♠ holding, he'll try to unblock, to defeat the contract when declarer was dealt, say, ♠ A K x x ♥ A K Q T ♦ Q x ♣ A K T

[lamford]

I tried to construct a hand with a successful 1-suit squeeze.

But, I suppose there are possible clues:

1. If you believe RHO, he has the 4th ♦. (Both defenders have discarded a ♦ and RHO signalled he was dealt an even number of ♦s).
2. You might be able to rule out ♠ holdings, from which LHO would have a natural ♠ lead/switch.
3. If RHO is 4342, then, whatever his ♠ holding, he is likely to try to unblock, in case declarer was dealt, say, ♠ A K x x ♥ A K Q T ♦ Q x ♣ A K T

Timucin is right. You have to guess the ending. But the important thing is to cash one top spade and then duck a spade. You win the club return and cash a second spade. Now the person with QTxx or similar is single-suited squeezed. If he keeps the queen of spades, you cash the king of clubs (Dentist coup) and then throw him in with a spade. If he unblocks the queen of spades (and the JT), you throw his partner in to lead into the KJ of clubs. I think this was described by Wang as a submarine squeeze because the defender has to try to keep his fourth highest card in the suit (he started with QJT8) but cannot defend against the Dentist Coup at the same time. Fairly mundane, and maybe it belongs in the beginner section. The full deal. The squeeze cannot be broken up at all, except by a LOOT of a club by East.

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[Lovera]

Although this one could be a winkle squeeze considering a situation of impasse in a suit(=club) and a winner also estabilished in diamond. In this type of secondary squeeze the trow-in can have in each opp. In Wang book there is another (rare) class with this "double" possibility of trow-in.

[lamford]

Although this one could be a winkle squeeze considering a situation of impasse in a suit(=club) and a winner also estabilished in diamond. In this type of secondary squeeze the trow-in can have in each opp. In Wang book there is another (rare) class with this "double" possibility of trow-in.

I recall well, having edited the Wang book when I was running Maxwell Macmillan Chess and Bridge. I cashed the ace of spades early on the hand at the weekend, and East did unblock, but I was pretty sure he had the queen from the carding.

[Lovera]

I recall well, having edited the Wang book when I was running Maxwell Macmillan Chess and Bridge. I cashed the ace of spades early on the hand at the weekend, and East did unblock, but I was pretty sure he had the queen from the carding.

The Cadogan Books on 369 Euston Road in London ?

[lamford]

The Cadogan Books on 369 Euston Road in London ?

Yes that is right. They bought MMCB.

[lamford]

The Cadogan Books on 369 Euston Road in London ?

Yes that is right. They bought the publishing arm of MMCB.

[Lovera]

Chien-Hwa Wang (The SQUEEZE at Bridge) is the author of that particolar type called "Clash Squeeze". May i tell you what do you think about and because it is not much known ?

[nige1]

Chien-Hwa Wang (The SQUEEZE at Bridge) is the author of that particolar type called "Clash Squeeze". May i tell you what do you think about and because it is not much known ?

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I was delighted to find this hexagon clash squeeze, not mentioned in Wang's book. :).

 

But Hugh Darwen had already discovered it and published it as a problem :( [/hv]

[Lovera]

I recall well, having edited the Wang book when I was running Maxwell Macmillan Chess and Bridge. I cashed the ace of spades early on the hand at the weekend, and East did unblock, but I was pretty sure he had the queen from the carding.

Nice ending developing on four suits and also for its reversibilty.

[Lovera]

"Clash Squeezes (The author's series of articles "All the Clash Squeezes" appeared in Bridge Magazines, July, August, October, November 1956; January, August, October 1957; August 1958; September 1959; May 1960; and August 1964). A squeeze with contains a clash menace is called a clash squeeze.The following North-South cards form a clash menace against West: W ♠ K, N ♠ A2, E ♠ J10, S ♠ Q. West' s king and South queen will clash under North ace. Yet, if entries are available, West cannot afford to discard the king, as it will enable North-South to make the queen and ace separately. In the above diagram, if the East-West cards are interchanged the North-South combination is a clash menace against East. To ensure the effectiveness of these clash menaces, it is necessary in almost all clash-squeeze situations that a side entry be kept in the North hand so that, should the king be discarted, the North hand can be entered to cash the ace after the lone queen has been made. Exceptions to this do exist. There are cases in which a clash squeeze is combined with a trick-establishing or throw-in play, where no extra entry the hand with the longer part of the clash menace is needed to effect the squeeze. (...)" [From Chapter 8 of Wang's book, pag. 141].

[lamford]

A strong player commented on the ending that the person with Qxx should be the one in position to win the fourth spade, so, in this case, the defender with QJT8 should unblock three times. This is because declarer will always employ the dentist coup of cashing the two high clubs because he also makes when the queen of clubs is doubleton. However, no signalling system will tell the defenders who has the nine of spades, and unblocking will be fatal when South began with it. I guess East should play queen, jack in spades (to say that he has the ten) and West should then encourage spades if he has the nine, but discourage if he does not. I doubt if any defender in the world will get this right!

[Winstonm]

Isn't this just a variation of a stepping stone squeeze (described by Reese in Master Play)? It appears to me that the key play is to duck a spade immediately upon winning the heart switch. Presuming East wins with the 10 and switches to a club, win, then play off the hearts and the two top spades.

 

At that point it is a 3-card ending. The opponents have no winning choice if declarer reads the position correctly. If West holds the spade 9 and East the 8, a spade endplays West. If East holds any spade other than the 8, declarer cashes to Club and exists with a spade and East must give a stepping stone to the winning Jack in dummy.

 

As Mr. Ace pointed out, the key is reading the end position correctly.

[Lovera]

Isn't this just a variation of a stepping stone squeeze (described by Reese in Master Play)? It appears to me that the key play is to duck a spade immediately upon winning the heart switch. Presuming East wins with the 10 and switches to a club, win, then play off the hearts and the two top spades.

 

At that point it is a 3-card ending. The opponents have no winning choice if declarer reads the position correctly. If West holds the spade 9 and East the 8, a spade endplays West. If East holds any spade other than the 8, declarer cashes to Club and exists with a spade and East must give a stepping stone to the winning Jack in dummy.

 

As Mr. Ace pointed out, the key is reading the end position correctly.

No, it is not a stepping-stone because in the suit of trow-in after sq. card can take one or the other opp. and this one is its particolarity. Rightly needs to know if the opp. that will win the trick has or not the impasse situation to rescue eventually the top card.

[Winstonm]

No, it is not a stepping-stone because in the suit of trow-in after sq. card can take one or the other opp. and this one is its particolarity. Rightly needs to know if the opp. that will win the trick has or not the impasse situation to rescue eventually the top card.

 

Yes, that's why I called it a variation of stepping stone, as it is simply a stepping stone if RHO does not unblock all his high spades, and if he does it is a strip squeeze endplay against West.

 

It is certainly an clever hand and an interesting position.