Simple by Foxymoron

The origin of the nursery rhyme Simple Simon is quite interesting, and goes back a long way, Simple Simon's Misfortunes and his Wife Margery's Cruelty is a ballad from about 1685

Apparently it all started a day after they got married, and poor Simon seemed to put up with the mistreatment. The Simple Squeeze in bridge is something of a misnomer. It just means that one opponent is guarding two suits and, in the ending, he cannot keep both guards at the same time. The ingredients are that there is a threat in both hands and an entry to the opposite hand.

None of the online players found the squeeze on the following hand, whether they were in 3NT, 6C or the best contract of 6NT. There were crucial differences.

Tony Ratcliff, your scribe's sometime partner in Welsh events, reached the almost 100% slam here with a good auction. It was pretty difficult to reach the best spot of 6NT, which also has 12 top tricks.  In 6C, on the KH lead, Tony drew trumps, discarded his heart on the fourth diamond, and took the spade finesse. If one is playing in 6NT, this is too dangerous and we should play the simple squeeze, cashing the six clubs and four diamonds to reach an ending with the nine of hearts in dummy and the ace and jack of spades in the South hand,. West has to hold the top heart and needs to bare the king of spades to have a chance, but South will not jeopardise his excellent contract, and the overtrick will be close to a national top. Making 6C was well above average.

 

Of course, the self-kibitzers will reach 7NT and make it, and they will wonder why the 1 in 32 chance they took by playing the squeeze raised suspicion. That line requires West to have all four heart honours and the king of spades, whereas the simple line of finessing the king of spades ... really is simple.

Simple has more than one meaning of course. I recall having a scalp infection many years ago and the doctor advised me to switch to a simple shampoo instead of a herbal one. "I thought simple was a herb?" I replied, annoyingly.