Squeezes everywhere

Our good friend Bill Milgram sent me a squeeze to look at (and classify) that allowed him to make 6C in a high quality game at the bridge club.  Ray commented that his opponents were unlucky that Bill had been the declarer since he was one of few players (maybe the only one) who would have made the contract.  However the defense did err at the beginning of the hand.  So this is a challenge for you.  Would you have made 6?

Here is the hand

Leah (patient wife)

AK872

632

J10943

void

 

Bill

6

AJ10

7

AKQJ6532

The spot cards are approximate and I don’t have an auction.  But assume there is no helpful information from the opponents.  The opening lead is the 6.  West wins the K and returns a small diamond which you ruff.  Can you make it from here?

While you are thinking about the hand, the Clyde E. Love practice deals are now available as a free download at www.ebooksbridge.com.  So if you like squeezes enjoy the twenty practice hands which cover a wide range of different types of squeezes and be sure to let me know if you find any mistakes.  People who provide useful input will be acknowledged in updates to the practice deals so this is your chance to be famous.

Back to the Bill’s deal.  It looks to me like both hands guard diamonds.  You have no entries to dummy to ruff anything out.  One possibility is that one hand guards spades and hearts.  Then when you run all the clubs you reach this ending and the victim cannot hold three spades and the KQ of hearts.

Leah (patient wife)

AK8

void

J

void

 

Bill

6

AJ10

void

void

 

Is there anything else?  The problem is the entries (non-existent).  If West holds spades and East hold hearts when you run clubs you end up in a similar ending:

	Leah (patient wife)
	AK8
	6
	J
	void

 

West
QJ10
9
Q
	Bill
	6
	AJ10
	void
	3

 

On the last club West still has an idle card and can throw a heart.  Dummy has no useful discard.  The double squeeze does not work.

Is there any other lie of the cards that works?  We need to make West’s life a bit tougher?  You can make the hand if the heart honors are split so long as West holds spades.  This is a double guard squeeze.  Let’s look at the ending since it was the squeeze that existed at the table.

	Leah (patient wife)
	AK8
	6
	J
	void

 

West		East
J109		Q
Q		K98
Q		A
	Bill	void
	6
	AJ10
	void
	3

When Bill led his second last club West was squeezed in three suits.  He had to give up his diamond guard.  Anything else would leave immediate defeat.  Bill throws a spade from dummy and East can discard a spade.  Now Bill cashes spades and arriving at a two card ending.  East is squeezed in hearts and diamonds. 

The nice thing about the hand from declarer’s point of view is that the hand sort of plays itself.  You really don’t have any other choices but to run clubs and when you do both the triple squeeze and double guard squeeze will operates.

The defense did err though.  At trick two when in on the top diamond, East has to damage declarer’s fragile entries.  Either a spade lead or a heart lead will do the trick.  Here is the whole deal:

	Leah (patient wife)
	AK872
	632
	J10943
	void

 

West		East
J109543		Q
Q7		K9854
Q86		AK52
87	Bill	1094
	6
	AJ10
	7
	AKQJ6532