Threats by Foxymoron

All squeezes in bridge require threats. Either two threats as in the simple squeeze which is usually positional, or three threats as in the double squeeze where both opponents are squeezed in turn.  Which reminds me of one of my favourite crossword clues: Threat perhaps perceived by Alice? (3, 6). But I digress. A hand at the Woodberry this week was particularly interesting as the right line of play was not clear and one wanted to combine a simple finesse with a potential squeeze.

John Bernard was the only declarer to bid and make 6S. It is quite difficult to reach and not so clear that you want to be there. Making 12 tricks in spades would have been well above average. South should call a spade a spade as he is not quite good enough for 2C. North should bid 3S with eight losers, and now South will surely bid 6S.  The idiom "calling a spade a spade" originates in the classical Greek of Plutarch's Apophthegmata Laconica, and was introduced into the English language in 1542 in Nicolas Udall 's translation of the Apophthegmes, where Erasmus had seemingly replaced Plutarch's images of "trough" and "fig" with the more familiar "spade". "Not many people know that!" Michael Caine might have said. And I have gone off topic again.

In 6S if West leads a club it is easy as now declarer has three club tricks. Say that he leads a heart. South will win, cash the ace and king of diamonds, discarding a club and ruff a diamond to find they do not break, West being forced to part with a club. Now it is normal to take the spade finesse and West wins and returns a spade. It looks right now to take a discard on the king of hearts, but that would be fatal; it is needed as the squeeze card. The winning line is to ruff a heart, draw the trump, cross to the king of clubs and only now cash the king of hearts, squeezing East in the minors. West has already been forced to part with a club and now East has to do the same.

Of course this did not happen and the defence went wrong quite quickly with East pitching a diamond at some point.