West deals, Both vulnerable
West leads the 9♥️. Dummy plays small and East wins A ♥️. At trick two East leads J♦️ to your A♦️. Count your top winners—three in ♠️s, three in ♥️s, three in ♦️s, and two in ♣️s—one short of making your 6 NT contract. With eleven tricks to go you have ten winners and one loser—that’s squeeze time!
In a squeeze, “threat cards” are cards that might turn into winners if the defense does not keep that suit. We say the defense needs to “protect” that suit.
Some double squeeze notes:
i. Sometimes only one defender can protect a suit.
ii. When you have multiple squeezes going on, the suit that both defenders are protecting should be saved for last.
iii. When executing a squeeze, one needs to be mindful of when/if a threat card has become good.
iv. You will not need to keep track of the last suit you intend to play, only the previous threat cards.
v. Another consideration is entries—you will need to assure access to any threat cards that become winners.
vi. Finally, you will need to be careful not to squeeze yourself before squeezing the opponents.
It sounds more complicated than it really is.
For the hand above, answer the following:
1. What are your threat cards?
2. Which suit could both defenders protect?
3. Which threat cards will you need to watch carefully?
4. What order should you play your suits? (Remember to unblock the ♥️s)
