Triple Squeezes

Bourke's Squeeze

This was reported in the January 2010 ACBL Bridge Bulletin, in Eddie Kantor's Test Your Play. It was contributed by Timothy Bourke, hence the name. It is a two-suit squeeze, which I believe should all have names.

The actual hand:

You are in 6 Hearts. West overcalled 2S over your 1H opener, so the spade finesse is probably offside. There are of course endplay possibilities. So you could draw trumps, eliminate clubs, and then play on diamonds. If West has Qxx and does not unblock or if West has QJx, you make the hand.

There is no sure play for the hand, but there is a much better line, one that works 100% if West has either diamond honor and no matter how many diamonds West has (as long as you can read the position).

Draw trumps, eliminate clubs, and end up in your hand in this position.

           653
           --
           A72
           --

KJx                  xx
--                   --
J8x                  Q97x
--                    --

           AQ
           K
           K104
           -

On the lead of the last heart, Lefty (West) cannot afford to pitch a spade. That's because you have an extended spade threat in dummy that only Lefty can block. And you have an entry in diamonds to the threat. So Lefty has to pitch a diamond, coming down to two diamonds. (If Lefty started with two diamonds Lefty is still forced down to two diamonds and three spades.)

Now you cross to the ace of diamonds and lead a small diamond to your 10. Presumably this loses to an honor in Lefty's hand. But Lefty is now endplayed into leading a spade to your tenace.

Note that while the count is right for an endplay -- you have two losers -- you are in the strange position of not having cashed one of your winners. The endplay works anyway because Lefty was forced to save three spades, not the normal two spades.

If Lefty throws a diamond honor, to avoid the endplay, then the finesse of the 10 wins. So there is a guard squeeze component to this squeeze, in addition to the extended menace threat and the throw-in threat.

Variations

I am not sure how much room there is for variation. There is some in the diamond suit. If Declarer's diamond holding is KJx, then you run the squeeze and it always works -- either the finesse is onside or the queen is offside and the endplay works.

If declarer's diamond holding is K9x, then for the squeeze to work right, Lefty has to have 2 of the 3 diamond honors. But the pseudo could be very difficult to defend against. If Lefty has Qxx, Lefty has to unblock; if Lefty has Jxx, either Lefty unblocks or Righty has to rise with the queen (crocodile coup).