This type of squeeze was first analyzed by Mr.
Hugh Darwen in the British Bridge Magazine,
in the months of March and April of the year 1968. It was Mr. Hugh Darwen, who gave the squeeze its name. The
concept behind the hedgehog squeeze is a squeeze of one opponent in two or three
suits and a squeeze of the other opponent in three suits.
Biographical Notes
Note: Mr. Hugh Darwen, born in the year 1943, is of Warwick, England. He is considered to be the first among the solver's club on double dummy problems. Columnist of the British Bridge Magazine and successors from 1962 to 1990,for the International Popular Bridge Monthly from 1990 to 1999, and again for the British Bridge Magazine from 1999 to 2001. He is the author of the publication Bridge Magic: Double Dummy Problems, Single Dummy, Sure Tricks, Curios and Inferentials - and a Monograph on Squeezes: Double Dummy Problems, Single Dummy, Sure Tricks, Curios and Inferentials - and a Monograph on Squeezes, published by Faber and Faber in the year 1973 (... in the year 1972 as stated by the author. Source). ISBN-10: 0571102506 and ISBN-13: 9780571102501. Edited and with an introduction by Mr. Victor Mollo, who authored the publication Bridge in the Menagerie: The Winning Ways of the Hideous Hog, which may be the reason for the designation of the principle of this particular squeeze tactic named by Mr. Hugh Darwen.
Note: The website of Mr. Hugh Darwen is called the Double Dummy Corner, was started in January 2001 for the benefit of people interested in double dummy bridge problems. He invites the visitor to solve the presented Double Dummy problems and earn Double Dummy Master Points.
Note: As per an email from Mr. Hugh Darwen of November 20, 2009, he informs the reader with the following:
I regret to report that shortly after my articles were published somebody wrote to the magazine to point out that this squeeze is spurious. The guard menace in Spades is not needed! If East throws the King of Spades, South can play a spade to the ace, ignoring the finesse. East is squeezed in the red suits. I tried hard to find a genuine double guard hedgehog after that, but failed. (BG: Please see the corresponding Squeeze below.)
Clarifications
The following examples
should clarify the situations. The principle of the Hedgehog Squeeze is listed in three categories:
| 1. |
Single Hedgehogs |
| 2. |
Double Hedgehogs |
| 3. |
Progressive Hedgehogs |
Note: For the sake of simplicity, the Ace of Clubs is used
as an example in all of the illustrations.
Single Hedgehogs
1. Non-simultaneous Guard Hedgehog
South, the declarer, must take all four remaining tricks to fulfill the contract. South leads the Ace of Clubs. West discards a Heart and South plays the 2 of Hearts from the dummy. East is squeezed. If East discards the King of Spades, then South finesses West with the Jack of Spades. If East discards a Heart, then South has 2 tricks in Hearts. East must discard the Ace of Diamonds. On the second trick, South plays the Ace of Hearts. West is now squeezed in both Spades and Diamonds. This is a fundamental non-simultaneous guard hedgehog squeeze.
Single Hedgehogs
2. Simultaneous Guard Hedgehog
South, the declarer, must take all four tricks to fulfill the contract. South leads the Ace of Clubs. As a result West is squeezed in both Spades and Hearts, and is forced to discard the Ace of Diamonds. South discards the King of Hearts from the dummy. East, on the other hand is squeezed in both Spades and Diamonds. If West if forced to discard the Ace of Diamonds and East discards the King of Diamonds, then the Queen of Diamonds in the dummy becomes a winning trick. This is a fundamental simultaneous guard hedgehog squeeze.
Single Hedgehogs
3. Blocked Guard Hedgehog
South, the declarer, must take all five tricks to fulfill the contract. South leads the Ace of Clubs. West is forced to discard the Heart. South discards a low Diamond from the dummy, and East is squeezed and is forced to discard a Diamond. On the second trick, South leads the Ace of Hearts and West is squeezed in both Spades and Diamonds. This is a fundamental blocked guard hedgehog squeeze.
Single Hedgehogs
4. Automatic Clash Hedgehog
South, the declarer, must take all five tricks to fulfill the contract. South leads the Ace of Clubs. West discards the Heart and South discards a small Diamond from the dummy. East is squeezed and is forced to play a Diamond. On the second trick, South plays the Ace of Hearts, and West is squeezed in Spades and Diamonds. This is a fundamental automatic clash hedgehog squeeze.
Double Hedgehogs
5. One-Way Clash Hedgehog
South, the declarer, must take all five tricks to fulfill the contract. South leads the Ace of Clubs. West is forced to discard a Diamond. South plays the Jack of Hearts from the dummy, and East discards the low Heart. On the second trick, South leads to the Ace of Hearts in the dummy. East is now squeezed in both Spades and Diamonds. This is a fundamental one-way clash hedgehog squeeze.
Double Hedgehogs
1. Double Guard Hedgehog - Hexagon Squeeze
South, the declarer, must take all four tricks to fulfill the contract. South leads the Ace of Clubs. If West discards a Spade, then both Spades in the dummy become winners. If West discards the King of Hearts, then South finesses East for the Queen of Hearts. West is squeezed and must discard the Ace of Diamonds. South discards the low Heart from the dummy. East is squeezed in all three suits. This is a fundamental double guard hedgehog squeeze.
Double Hedgehogs
2. Double Clash Hedgehog
South, the declarer, must take all five tricks to fulfill the contract. South leads the Ace of Clubs. As a result West is forced to discard a Diamond. South discards a small Spade from the dummy. East, on the other hand, is squeezed in all three suits. This is a fundamental double clash hedgehog squeeze.
Double Hedgehogs
3. Hybrid Double Hedgehog
South, the declarer, must take all five tricks to fulfill the contract. South leads the Ace of Clubs. West, again, is forced to discard a Diamond. South discards a small Heart from the dummy. East is squeezed in all three suits. This is a fundamental hybrid double hedgehog squeeze.
Progressive Hedgehogs
1. Guard/Guard Progressive Hedgehog
South, the declarer, must take all six tricks to fulfill the contract. The contract can be either in Clubs or in No Trump. South plays on the first and second tricks a Club. West and East and also the declarer must play each Major suit. If East discards one Diamond on any of the first two Club tricks, then the 2 of Diamonds becomes a winning trick. On the third trick, South plays the Ace of Diamonds and West is squeezed in both Major suits. This is a fundamental guard/guard progressive hedgehog squeeze.
Progressive Hedgehogs
2. Clash/Clash Progressive Hedgehog
South, the declarer, must take all six tricks to fulfill the contract. As in the example for the guard/guard progressive hedgehog squeeze, the contract can be either in Clubs or in No Trump. South plays on the first and second tricks a Club. West and East and also the declarer must play each Major suit. If East discards one Diamond on any of the first two Club tricks, then the 2 of Clubs becomes a winning trick. On the third trick, South plays the Ace of Diamonds and West is squeezed in both Major suits. This is a fundamental clash/clash progressive hedgehog squeeze.
Progressive Hedgehogs
3. Clash/Guard Progressive Hedgehog - Type One
South, the declarer, must take all six tricks to fulfill the contract. The contract can be either in Clubs or in No Trump. South plays on the first and second tricks a Club. West must discard a card in each Major suit on both tricks. South discards a Spade on the first trick and a Diamond on the second trick, unless West discards a Diamond on the second trick. East discards both small Diamonds on the first two tricks. On the third trick, South plays the small Diamond to the Ace of Diamonds in the dummy. East is squeezed in both Major suits. This is a fundamental clash/guard progressive hedgehog squeeze - type one.
Progressive Hedgehogs
3. Clash/Guard Progressive Hedgehog - Type Two
South, the declarer, must take all six tricks to fulfill the contract. The contract can be either in Clubs or in No Trump. South plays on the first and second tricks a Club. East is forced to discard a card in each Major suit for each Club trick, keeping a guard in the Diamonds. On the third trick, South plays the Ace of Diamonds and this play squeezes West in both Major suits. This is a fundamental clash/guard progressive hedgehog squeeze - type two.
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.