As published in the Bridge Bulletin - November 2003, page 24. The author is Mr. Allen Schwenk. The photograph of Mr. Allen Schwenk is by courtesy of the Kalamazoo Bridge Center News, located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States, Volume 7, Issue 3, September 2007.
The following is an excerpt from the article published in The Bridge Bulletin, and is therefore in the first person singular.
Squeezes usually threaten to win an extra trick in either of two suits. Occasionally, there is a threat in three suits. I have never seen a squeeze with threats in all four suits - until now.
| North |
 |
AKQ32 |
 |
AQ43 |
 |
432 |
 |
K |
| 1 NT |
|
|
| |
|
North-South, holding all the Aces and Kings, bid to 7 No Trump.
The Queen is led to declarer's Ace. Observe that declarer has 12 top tricks, wit a threat for the 13th in each suit. In fact, there are 13 tricks available against every possible distribution and every defense. The lead of a Spade to dummy's Ace reveals the unfortunate Spade break:
South cashes the King, dropping the 3, and the Ace and Queen, dropping the 5 and 6 to be cute. Had the Hearts split, declarer would be home free. If West were also guarding Hearts, there is a straight-forward Heart-Spade squeeze for the 13th trick.
In this scenario, East is guarding the Hearts. On the Queen, West is forced to give up his guard in one of the Minors in order to protect Spades. Declarer reenters his hand with the King and cases the Ace and the Queen. Dummy discards the 3 and the 3. Next South cashes the Jack and plays a Spade to the Queen. When the King is led, this is the position:
If East discards a Heart, South will win the last two tricks with the King and 2. So East must discard his last Minor card. Declarer parts with his 2. West plays a Spade.
Earlier, West chose to retain his guard in Clubs or Diamonds, while East has been forced to abandon both Minors. South needs to have watched the discards closely. If all the Diamonds have been played, dummy's 2 wins trick 12. If the Clubs have been abandoned, South wins the last trick with the 2.
There you have it. West has been squeezed in Spades and both Minors, and East has been squeezed in Hearts and both Minors. If South wishes, he can arrange for the trick produced by the squeeze to be won by one of the four deuces. The defenders can determine only which deuce.
 |
If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.