The Spokesman-Review – 30 Sep 1936 By SAM GORDON.
Squeeze is Closely Akin to Story With Sleuth Searching for Clews.
The squeeze play has many of the earmarks of a drama. It is a plot including detectives, third degree, fall guy, hero who saves the day, climax, and everything. Declarer does the detective work. He finds the player who is put through the third degree. Declarer must determine upon the opponent who is to be squeezed. Sometimes he does this easily from clews; sometimes by inference; sometimes in sheer desperation. If an opponent has bid and his partner has not, it is a clew that such opponent has busy cards. If an opponent makes a standard opening lead. It is a clew as to some specific high cards he must hold. If an opponent has made a bid and makes a standard opening lead, clews of several busy cards may be found.
High Cards Indicated.
In the early play of a hand, discouraging and discouraging cards, played by opponents offer chances of determining the location of high cards by inference. Or because an opponent has failed to bid. But what happens when there is no indication of the exact or probable location of the threatening outside cards? How does a declarer decide where to look for the cards he wants to squeeze? Open your
mind and listen to this:
When a squeeze is necessary: when a squeeze is the only hope for success, look to see which hand holds the squeeze card. For the squeeze to be successful, the threatening cards must be in the next hand in rotation. If the threat cards are not in the hand which plays immediately latter the squeeze card, the squeeze will not be successful, anyway. So , you must assume they are where you want them to be and attempt the squeeze as if they were.
Everybody to Gain.
If the cards you expect with that opponent are not there, it comes under the head of too bad. If they are there, you have made it lucky stab and won. In either case, you had nothing to lose and everything to gain besides the satisfaction of having given yourself a chance.
In the above deal, South has the squeeze card. South must assume, whether he has discovered it definitely or not, that West holds the threat cards. If West does not hold the threat cards when the 10 of hearts squeeze card is led, no harm has been done. But West happens to have them. It happens so often.
To be continued…