Monday, June 21, 2004 5:44 AM
Love on Squeezes
PITBULLS:
Re-read Love on Squeezes
today
after 35 years of collecting dust. The price on the book was $2.50 which gives
you an idea of its era. Anyway the book is a classic but its written in a mathematical
way ( author was a math professor ) . Love assumes the reader is a Math major
with a finely tuned deductive reasoning brain . Here is an attempt
by me ( below ) to simplify his work on double squeezes and some other
general comments.
All Squeezes work due to
the nature of the game of Bridge. The rules of Bridge allow declarer to have
two hands (his and the dummy) with
two or more threats which allow him to gang up on a poor
defender(s) one hand. The fact
that Bridge is played in a clockwise
direction is
essential in identifying and executing squeezes. Double squeezes by definition
involve two defenders & three
suits with their threats. The double squeeze will not work if all three threats are in the same hand. Therefore
the dummy & declarers hand
share the three threats . This means that one hand ( declarer or dummy ) must hold a single threat. Love uses this single threat
hand as a reference
point to define the suits in a double squeeze by using letters:
Thus we have potentially
three types of double squeezes based on which threat is alone. However,
Love proves that Type L squeeze always fails due to the fact that Bridge is
played in a clockwise direction. He also splits the Type B squeezes depending
on how many winners in the B suit. So eventually he finished with three types
of double squeezes, Type R, Type B1 and Type B2. Type B: if the B threat was
accompanied by one winner only [no winners is impossible: remember that it must
be accompanied by an entry] then it is a Type B1 squeeze: if it is accompanied
by two or more, then it is a Type B2 squeeze. The fact that there are two or
more winners in the B suit drastically changes the execution of this squeeze.
Love shows that there is
a drastic difference between the play of a simple squeeze and a double squeeze.
In a simple squeeze you can still have winners in your threat suits after the
squeeze takes place. In every double squeeze , all your winners are cashed except for the B suit. He also
mentions that the squeeze card must always be in the hand opposite the B suit
if there are no split entries in the B suit.
So what? You see a
double squeeze, you work
out which is the one
threat hand, the B/R/L/F suits: you decide on its
classification based on the single threat
hand eventhe B squeezes:The meaning of R & L is based on the one
threat hand: How do you play it? Remember to leave the B entry alone. You do
the following:
Which is the squeeze
card? Don't know, don't care. Which of these squeezes are simultaneous, which
non-simultaneous? Don't know, don't care. Do I really mean any order for Type
B2? Yes, try it. If you get the right Type B2, it can be simultaneous, or LHO
can be squeezed first, or RHO, at the whim of the squeezer: how does that fit
into other writers' classifications ? Love makes it irrelevant but they write
about it at great lengths.
Love does a good job of
explaining the relationship between how “busy” a defender is in protecting
suits and the count being rectified. If a defender has to guard three suits
then there could be a progressive squeeze or a strip squeeze with the count
rectified at two. The victim in a strip squeeze is busy because he may have
surplus winners , a tenace position to guard or exit cards to be squeezed out.
Essentially in a two suited strip squeeze , a defender is busy in 3 suits so the count is rectified at
two ! If a defender is busy in four suits , the count could be rectified at
three tricks ! In some squeezes
like compound squeezes , when the count is rectified at one and the defender
has to guard 3 suits , the squeeze matures on the 2Nd last free
winner. Trump squeezes mature at
the 2nd last free winner because the defender is busy protecting
against a ruff to set up a suit. Squeezes can occur with the squeeze card being
a loser. This rectifies the count and squeezes the opponent at the same time!
He does not delve into suicide squeezes as a theme though.
Love scoffs at the terms “criss-cross” squeeze
or “Vienna coup” as they are rightly just entry conditions for the simple
squeeze. The Squeeze literature makes much ado about nothing with these fancy
labels. Guard squeezes are just simple squeezes when there is no entry to either of the two threats. The
fact that a defender is busy in a third suit ( protecting partner against a
finesse ) , Love calls them a “two and ½ suit squeeze”.
Love uses many slam
hands for his squeeze examples. After reading the book , one gets the
impression that all
slams should be made somehow. Love gives a hand in his chapter
on compound squeezes where the contract is 7NT with only 12 top tricks. Love
says “prove that this hand is cold on any distribution of the opponents
cards” after the opening lead gives one clue which he ( of
course ) labels the basic threat ! He goes on to list the simple squeeze possibilities
and then saying failing that if the defender is busy in 3 suits you can force a
discard out of him that causes the standard double squeezes to come into play.
In other words this hand is cold on a double squeeze or a simple squeeze!
Love spends some time on
squeeze defense . Not letting the declarer rectify the count , killing entries,
not allowing squeezes to repeat by allowing the suit without an entry to be
established , making a discard very early so that its not obvious the King is
singleton , deception etc . Love
encourages running your free suit early to induce pseudo squeezes as
concealment is certainly better then revealment in squeeze defense.
Love fails to mention
the main purpose of learning Squeeze theory. Squeeze play is necessary as a
defense against the bidding of BJ & Tom which lands you in some dicey contracts.
These contracts usually need all the help then can get J .