Simple squeeze
Encyclopedia
The simple squeeze is the most basic form of a squeeze
as frequently applied in the game of contract bridge
.
By playing a winner in one suit, an opponent is squeezed out of a winner in a different suit. (The card led that leads to the squeeze is called the "squeeze card").
The simple squeeze is a squeeze against one opponent and gains one trick. It normally only works with the count; that means that the player executing the squeeze in order to gain an additional trick needs to have all winners but one.
The following diagram shows the most basic matrix:
When the ace of clubs is cashed, West is squeezed in the major suit
s. Obviously the key factor is that West has to discard before North. This squeeze matrix will not work if East's and West's cards were swapped. It is a positional squeeze. (Assume that the East hand contains a heart.)
The next diagram shows a distribution of the menaces that allow to squeeze either of the opponents as long as one of them holds the three key cards in the majors.
When the ace of clubs is played the heart king is discarded from dummy and East is squeezed in the majors again.
Sometimes the suit containing the menace adjacent to the squeeze card is blocked. If the suit can be unblocked before the squeeze is executed that is called the Vienna coup
the play being described the first time in a Viennese
coffee shop at the beginning of the 20th century. The play was therefore then conducted in a game of whist
.
South leads and needs to make all the tricks. The only successful sequence is to unblock the heart ace before then cashing the two clubs (shedding a heart from North). If South cashes his two clubs immediately, it is North who is squeezed, East simply discards in the same suit than North.
As long as a Vienna coup can be performed, or the menace is not blocked, this is an automatic squeeze. If for some reason, e.g. a lack of entries, the menace cannot be unblocked, the squeeze becomes positional.
We have seen that, unless blocked, distributed menaces always provide an automatic squeeze. A special type of simple squeeze with blocked distributed menaces is referred to as criss-cross squeeze
.
Squeeze play (bridge)
A squeeze play is a type of play late in the hand of contract bridge and other trick-taking game in which the play of a card forces an opponent to discard a card that gives up one or more tricks. The discarded card may be either a winner or a card needed to protect a winner...
as frequently applied in the game of contract bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
.
By playing a winner in one suit, an opponent is squeezed out of a winner in a different suit. (The card led that leads to the squeeze is called the "squeeze card").
The simple squeeze is a squeeze against one opponent and gains one trick. It normally only works with the count; that means that the player executing the squeeze in order to gain an additional trick needs to have all winners but one.
The following diagram shows the most basic matrix:
When the ace of clubs is cashed, West is squeezed in the major suit
Major suit
In the card game contract bridge, the major suits are spades and hearts . The major suits are of prime importance for tactics and scoring as they outrank the minor suits while bidding and also outscore them...
s. Obviously the key factor is that West has to discard before North. This squeeze matrix will not work if East's and West's cards were swapped. It is a positional squeeze. (Assume that the East hand contains a heart.)
The next diagram shows a distribution of the menaces that allow to squeeze either of the opponents as long as one of them holds the three key cards in the majors.
When the ace of clubs is played the heart king is discarded from dummy and East is squeezed in the majors again.
Sometimes the suit containing the menace adjacent to the squeeze card is blocked. If the suit can be unblocked before the squeeze is executed that is called the Vienna coup
Vienna coup
The Vienna coup is an unblocking technique in contract bridge, so called because it was first recorded in Vienna in the days of whist, used to avoid problems when executing an automatic squeeze.-Examples:Take this sample hand, below....
the play being described the first time in a Viennese
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
coffee shop at the beginning of the 20th century. The play was therefore then conducted in a game of whist
Whist
Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was played widely in the 18th and 19th centuries. It derives from the 16th century game of Trump or Ruff, via Ruff and Honours...
.
South leads and needs to make all the tricks. The only successful sequence is to unblock the heart ace before then cashing the two clubs (shedding a heart from North). If South cashes his two clubs immediately, it is North who is squeezed, East simply discards in the same suit than North.
As long as a Vienna coup can be performed, or the menace is not blocked, this is an automatic squeeze. If for some reason, e.g. a lack of entries, the menace cannot be unblocked, the squeeze becomes positional.
We have seen that, unless blocked, distributed menaces always provide an automatic squeeze. A special type of simple squeeze with blocked distributed menaces is referred to as criss-cross squeeze
Criss-cross squeeze
In contract bridge, the criss-cross squeeze is a variant of the simple squeeze where both menaces are blocked. However, the blocking card in one suit provides the necessary entry to the other menace. Unblocking in the right order will establish the additional winner, but requires an exact count of...
.