Introduction to Simple Squeezes

By Jack Feagin

The simple squeeze is the most basic form of a squeeze 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. Seeing is believing. You will learn quickly if you lay out these
lesson hands with a deck of cards and play them a trick at a time.

The simple squeeze is a squeeze against one

(A) ♠AJ
opponent and gains one trick. It normally only ♥K
works with the count, meaning that Declarer needs ♦—
to have all winners but one. Example A shows a ♣—
basic ending. ♠KQ N ♠7
♥A W E
♥5
When the ace of clubs is cashed, West is squeezed ♦— ♦8
S
♣— ♣—
in the major suits. Whatever he discards then
declarer gets the rest of the tricks. Obviously the ♠4
♥3
key factor is that West has to discard before North. ♦—
This squeeze matrix will not work if the East and ♣A
West cards were swapped. This is therefore
considered a positional squeeze.

To review, a simple squeeze occurs when you have two threats against one person.
The count must be correct – you must have
(B) ♠9 winners to cover all of the remaining tricks but
♥AJ one. In other words, you have one loser. When
♦— the simple squeeze works, you win all of the
♣4 remaining tricks.
♠KQ N ♠8
♥KQ ♥65
♦—
W E
♦3
South in Example B has West busy in two suits
♣—
S
♣— and he has 3 out of the last four tricks but the
♠5 squeeze will not operate on the cashing of the ♣A
♥8 because West has an idle card, the ♠Q. After the
♦— ♣A West has no more idle cards and the ♣K will
♣AK squeeze him.
 Squeeze Terminology

Simple Squeeze This is a squeeze which acts against one opponent in two suits.

Squeeze Card The card which forces the defender to discard a busy card. The
defender has no cards in this suit and must discard.

(Note: in a simple squeeze the squeeze card must be a winner played

from the hand opposite the two-card menace, so that the two card
menaces and the squeeze card can not be in the same hand)

Threat A card that is not a winner but threatens to become a winner if a

defender gives up his top card in that suit. Also called a
“menace”.

Busy Cards An important card which in the lay of the hands and the timing
of its play may control the outcome of the tricks won or lost.
Generally winners that the defenders hold
Vienna Coup: An unblocking play made in preparation for a squeeze to correctly position a menace.

Cyde Love’s BLUE

Conditions for Simple Squeezes

B Busy The Opponent to be squeezed must hold "busy cards" in more

than one suit. That is, in at least two suits there are cards which
prevent each threat from becoming a winner.

L Losers Declarer has lost all his losers

save one. When this situation (C) ♠8
exists, we say “the count is ♥—
♦AJ8
rectified.” The squeezed ♣—
defender(s) must not hold any ♠— ♠—
idle cards, i.e. the ones that could N
♥Q W E ♥ 654
be safely disposed of. ♦KQ ♦—
S
♣9 ♣3
In Example C the squeezed defender holds the ♠J
♥Q, an idle card, i.e. one that could be safely ♥—
disposed of. On playing the ♠J, the squeezes ♦5
fails because the timing is wrong. If it were a ♣76
 (D) ♠AJ 3-card ending without West having the idle
♥K ♥Q, it would work.
♦4
♣— Declarer has in Example D a squeeze card
♠KQ N ♠— (♣A) and the necessary menaces (♠J, ♥K).
♥A W E ♥— West however is not harmed by the cashing
♦6 ♦832
♣—
S
♣3
of the ♣A because West has the idle ♦6.
The single word to describe the critical
♠5
♥— element is TIMING. Remember the
♦75 defender can not have any idle cards; his
♣A cards must all be busy.

U Upper The hand opposite the one playing the squeeze card must hold at
least one threat card "over" the squeezed opponent’s "busy
cards." At least one of the menaces is placed after the squeezed
defender (the “squeezee?”) plays.

E Entry Transportation to the hand of the established threat (the hand

with the threat cards). Declarer must have sufficient entries
(winners serving as communication between two hands) to cash
the developed menaces.

Let’s try it with a full hand

You’re in 3NT. The defense leads four

(E) ♠ K Q 10 3 rounds of clubs and then the ♦J. No chance
♥864
♦Q754 that putting up the ♦Q will work (at least not
♣74 against a decent defender). That card can
♠762 N ♠ 984 later be a threat to squeeze East, who
♥J9 ♥ 10 7 5 3
♦ J 10 9 3
W E
♦K82 fortunately for you also has four hearts. East
S
♣ A Q 10 2 ♣K6# will be busy in two suits, diamonds and
♠AJ5 hearts. The timing and entries are right and
♥AKQ2 you easily squeeze East to get your 9th trick.
♦A6
♣J985 If this is not clear, play out all the spades
down to the five-card ending.
One interesting point of this hand relates to defense. If they see this squeeze
coming, they should stop cashing clubs. Declarer won’t have the “count”, that is,
he isn’t down to winning the rest of the tricks but one.

I think many players find their first squeezes in slam contracts. The conditions are
often easier to see.

(F) ♠A43 This hand comes from the New York

♥KJ Times. Shivann Shah of London was South
♦A952 in Exhibit F when he was just nine years
♣8732 old. A simple, quantitative auction left
♠95 N ♠ 10 8 7 2 Shah in 6NT with only 11 tricks: four
♥862 W E
♥ 10 9 7 4 3 spades, three hearts, three diamonds and
♦ J 10 6 4 ♦83 one club. The obvious hope was a 3-3
S
♣KQJ9 ♣64
diamond break, but there was also the
♠KQJ6
♥AQ5
possibility of a minor-suit squeeze.
♦KQ7
♣ A 10 5

When West led the club king, declarer let him (F1) ♠—
hold the trick. This is a common way to “rectify ♥—
♦A952
the count.” Shah had now lost all the tricks he ♣8
needed to and has all the remaining tricks save ♠— ♠—
one. Declarer took West’s club continuation N
♥— W E
♥ 10 9 7
with his ace, then cashed four spades and two ♦ J 10 6 4 ♦83
S
hearts to give this end position, shown in ♣J ♣—
Diagram G at left. ♠—
♥Q
The lead of the heart queen squeezed West. He ♦KQ7
could not retain the club jack and four ♣ 10
diamonds.
Try this one looking at only your hand and dummy. You are in 7NT and the ♠J is
led. When you need all the tricks, you have the count rectified at trick one!

(G) ♠ 6 5 If West’s lead of the ♠J is a standard lead, then East

♥AK42 apparently has the KQ♠. What other threat can we have
♦AJ83 to produce a squeeze?
♣J65
N We have to hope that East also has the long hearts and if
W E so we can bring this hand home. Run your minor suit
S winners. With four cards left (four hearts in dummy and
the two spades and two hearts in hand), East cannot hold
♠ A 10 3
♥Q8
a spade winner and four hearts.
♦KQ742
♣AKQ5

The full hand:

(G1) ♠65
♥AK42
♦AJ83
♣J65
♠J9 N ♠KQ8742
♥ 10 5 3 W E
♥J976
♦ 10 9 ♦65
S
♣ 10 9 8 7 4 2 ♣3
♠ A 10 3
♥Q8
♦KQ742
♣AKQ

The Vienna Coup

The Vienna coup is an unblocking technique so called because it was first recorded
in Vienna in the days of whist. It is used to avoid entry problems when executing
an automatic squeeze.

Here are the conditions when you need to consider this coup. For ease of
presentation, Declarer is South and holds the squeeze card.
 • Declarer in one hand is holding the squeeze card and one threat
• South has no winner in either threat suit
• North holds winners in both threats suits

The problem here is that South will have no entry to cash his threat card should it
become established. South can cash the ♣A and easily play the four from dummy.
But when she plays the ♣K, what can she discard
(H) ♠AJ from dummy? If she plays the ♥8, she cannot get
♥A8 back to her hand. The ♥A in the North hand will
♦— block the suit.
♣4
♠87 N ♠KQ The solution therefore is to cash North's winners in
♥54 W ♥K6
♦3
E
♦—
South's threat suit before the squeeze trick, in this
♣—
S
♣5 case that ♥A. The best way to understand is get
♠4 out a deck of cards and try playing the hand
♥Q7 without cashing the ♥A and the squeeze fails
♦— because East is pitching after North. If you cash
♣AK the ♥A first, the ♥Q in your hand is a legitimate
threat.

Here’s another Vienna Coup example. (I) ♠5

♥—
Try squeezing this hand without cashing the ♣A ♦ 10 4
before playing off the spades. The squeeze fails. ♣A5
You must cash the ♣A so that one threat will be ♠4 N ♠—
♥65 ♥—
in the South hand. If this isn’t clear, grab that ♦6
W E
♦98
S
deck of cards and play the hand out both ways, ♣3 ♣K87
once without cashing the ♣A and a second time ♠J7
♥—
by playing it before running the spades.
♦5
♣Q6

We know a squeeze will fail if each opponent has a guard against our two
menaces. Both will have idle cards to play. Even when that occurs, we still have a
chance if we can transfer one of the guards to the other hand. This is called
“transferring the menace”, even though it is obviously a misnomer. We hold the
menaces; what we really are transferring is the guard against the menace.
You are in 6♥ on the lead of the ♠6, which East wins with the queen and returns the
♣4. You have eleven tricks, 3 clubs, one
(J) ♠K93 club ruff in dummy, two diamonds and 5
♥K976
hearts. East holds the ♠A, but how can
♦A765
♣KQ we squeeze her. Not in diamonds and
♠ 10 8 7 2 ♠AQ654
spades, as we lack “U”; East will discard
N
♥J8 ♥54 after dummy. And not in clubs and
W E
♦ Q 10 9 2 ♦J8 spades, as we have no entry to the ♠K
S
♣ 10 8 2 ♣J954 threat. So we switch our attention to
♠J West. If he long in diamonds, we will
♥ A Q 10 3 2 have a squeeze if we can put another
♦K43 threat in his hand. Let’s say the play
♣A763
proceeds to Example J1.

(J1) ♠K9
We know the diamonds are with West. (The ♥—
opening lead marks East with at least 5 spades and ♦A76
she has already played 2 hearts and 4 clubs.) But ♣—
the spade winner is with East. Our only hope is to ♠ 10 7 N ♠A65
“Transfer the Menace”. Play the ♠K and ruff out ♥— W E ♥—
East’s ace. You hope that West has the ♠10 and ♦ Q 10 9 ♦J8
S
♣— ♣—
now you will have the ♠9 and a small diamond as
♠—
threats against West. Cashing your hearts will ♥Q3
squeeze West and give you your twelfth trick. ♦K43
♣—
There are probably over thirty types of squeezes. The good news is that most are
so rare that you don’t really need to worry about them.

See http://www.bridgeguys.com/Squeeze/Squeeze.html for a very good discussion

of the squeezes you do want to know about.

Basic double squeezes are as easy as simple squeezes and will be the subject of a
future lesson.

Further reading

Beginner to intermediate

David Bird, Bridge Squeezes for Everyone

Norman Squire, Contract Bridge, Squeeze Play Simplified

Frank Schuld, The Simple Squeeze in Bridge - New and Revised

Advanced

Clyde E. Love, Bridge Squeezes Complete ( the Bible but difficult)

Terence Reese, Master Play in Contract Bridge

Terence Reese, Squeeze Play Made Easy

David Bird, Bridge Squeezes for Everyone

Peter Thoma, The Art of Bridge Squeezes

Hugh Kelsey, Kelsey on Squeeze Play (Master Bridge)

Fook H. Eng, Bridge Squeezes Illustrated

Chien-Hwa Wang, The Squeeze at Bridge

George Coffin, Endplays in Bridge: Eliminations, Squeezes and Coups