Unravelling the Vise Squeeze
Consider this hand:
xx
AKQJ10
AQ8
KJx
Axxx
xx
xxx
AQxx
You are in 6NT after an opening weak two bid in spades by Lefty. Lefty now leads the Jack of diamonds.
A legitimate hope is that Lefty has led from the J109 of diamonds and can be vise squeezed. The hoped-for ending:
x
--
Q8
--
K --
-- --
109 K7x
-- --
x
--
x
A
So you win the ace of diamonds and cash the clubs and hearts, vise squeezing Lefty.
The lead has be be in hand in this particular situation, or else there is no entry to the spade threat in hand. But if there was a winner in the threat suit, the lead could have been in dummy:
x
--
Q8
A
KQ --
-- --
109 K7xx
-- --
Ax
--
x
x
So we think of the vise squeeze as leading to a tenace position. But there is no need to lead to the tenace position, it can be led from.
Breaking up the Tenace Position
Worse, there is no need for the two key honors to be in the same hand. The vice squeeze works just fine in this situation:
10x
--
x
A
QJ Axxx
-- --
KQ --
-- --
K
--
AJ
x
This is completely nonpositional. Dummy and declarer can be reversed, or the hand with the winning club can be changed, and neither changes the structure of the squeeze.
But consider this hand. It is from an article by David Bird in the November ACBL Bridge Bullein. (And the hand above is a modification of Bird's hand.)
xxx
AKQJ10
AQ
KJx
Axx
xxx
8xx
AQxx
Again you are in 6NT after an opening weak two in spades by Lefty, Lefty leads the Jack of diamonds, and again you have only one hope, that Lefty has led from the J109 of diamonds. The hoped-for ending:
x
10
Q
--
K --
-- --
109 K7x
-- --
x
--
8x
--
The spade threat is now in dummy, and the winner is in dummy. So Lefty must unguard diamonds. Now the lead of the queen of diamonds forces a diamond trick.
Taking the vise metaphor seriously, in the first hand the Q8 is like a vise over the 109 of diamonds. This then is a broken vise squeeze -- the queen is in one hand and the 8 is in the other.
To be fair to Reese, he does note that "vise" suit can be Kx opposite 10x, though he does not note that it can be K alone opposite 10x.
Next: Outside Winners
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