Trump as Control
To set the stage, this is a standard squeeze-trim-endplay position:
6
--
x
xxx
--
--
KQ
KQx
5
--
A
AJ10
On the lead of the good 6 of spades, Lefty is squeezed out of his excess diamond. A lead to the ace of diamonds then trims out Lefty's last diamond.
Suppose instead that hearts are trump and you have a heart instead of the good ace of diamonds. The situation is
6
--
x
xxx
--
--
KQ
KQx
5
6
--
AJ10
On the lead of the six of spades, Lefty still cannot throw a club, because you have a control over the diamonds. So Lefty has to throw a diamond. The last diamond is then trimmed by leading a diamond from dummy and ruffing it.
The point is simply that a trump can function as a control in the exit suit. A trump is not as flexible as having the high card in the suit, because you have to be in the opposite hand to trim the suit, and of course you have to have that suit to lead.
Choice?
Usually, trump are used as a control (in the squeeze-trim-endplay) because you do not have a high card for control. However, if you have (2) a control in the exit suit and (2) a small card you can trump in the exit suit, you have a choice as to how to play the hand. Your choice might be determined by which hand you want to be in after the trim is completed. Otherwise, playing the high card earlier might help you discover the actual distribution.
Also, consider this situation:
--
--
Axx
xxx
--
--
??
KQx
5
--
Kx
AJ10
You are trying to eliminate excess diamonds from Lefty's hand. In no trump, you lead your good five of spades to accomplish this. If spades are trump, you can still lead your five of spades to reduce Lefty to two diamonds. However -- and this is the point to notice -- the squeeze portion of your squeeze-trim-endplay has already worked. Just conceptualize your trump as a master heart. Lefty is already reduced to three hearts, so you can just ruff them out, if that suits you.
When the Small Card to be Ruffed is also a Threat
In this situation:
--
xx
Ax
xxx
-- --
KQ xx
KQ J10
KQx xxx
543
--
x
AJ10
You cannot squeeze and trim Lefty, because you have no control in one of his potential exit suits, hearts.
However, if the small diamond in dummy was a threat against Lefty:
--
xx
Ax
xxx
-- --
KQ J10xx
KQ --
KQx xxx
543
--
x
AJ10
then, Lefty is squeeze-trimmed. He cannot discard a diamond, because that sets up a diamond trick for you. So he has to discard hearts on two rounds of spades. Then he can be trimmed.
So, the general rule is that you can run a squeeze & trim only when you have controls in all of the possible exit suits. We can say now add that when the small card in the suit is a threat, and you have a ruffing control, you do not need controls in the other possible exit suits.
However, the above situation can be run as an extended menace squeeze. In general, whenever you have a genuine threat in a second suit, you are likely to be able to run a squeeze. Essentially, almost everything is in place -- you have an extended menace, you have a control in the one-threat suit, and the loser count is right.
The squeeze-trim-endplay is "anti-positional", like the simple strip squeeze, so you would need it rather than the simple squeeze if all all the threats were in front of the defender:
--
xx
Ax
AJ10
-- --
J10xx KQ
-- KQ
xxx KQx
543
--
xxx
xxx
Here, the first two spades squeeze hearts out of Lefty. The final spade would squeeze Lefty, except that the dummy is squeezed first.
This rule -- that the defender cannot save a third suit if you have a threat in the trimmable suit -- may be very robust. Consider this ending, from a Bridge World article by Don Kersey in 1992.
Q83
J10
97
-
AJ9 -
- 75
106 KQ82
Q9 10
K104
9
A
A7
The absence of a club entry ruins the simple squeeze. It also undermines the simplest of the squeeze-trim-endplays. You can play two rounds of trumps and end up with two aces in your hand as controls. However, if Lefty saved two diamonds, you would have to play your ace of clubs first. But you are in the dummy and do not have a club to lead.
Or, suppose for the moment that Righty had only one trump. Your small club is guarded only by Lefty. So you could play your ace of clubs, play one round of trump, then come back to your hand with the ace of diamonds. This leaves
Q83
J
--
--
K104
--
--
7
This is the generic end position for trimming with a trump when the small card is a threat. Lefty has to save a club, or else the seven is good, and has to save 3 spades, or else you can set up the spades. So you ruff a club to trim Lefty down to 3 spades.
But in fact Righty does have two hearts, so you have to draw trump first. This still preserves the integrity of the squeeze-trim. On the first heart lead to dummy, Lefty cannot throw a club, because that sets up the club that you have not yet discarded. So Lefty has to throw a diamond. Now a diamond to the ace will trim Lefty's remaining diamond. You still have your ace of clubs as a control in clubs. On the second round of trump, you will have to discard your club threat, which means Lefty can finally let go of a club. But Lefty's clubs were always trimmable.
Double Control
In theory, at least, the trump can be a control in two suits at once.
x
AKQ
x
xx
Kx QJ
-- Jxx
Kx QJ
KQx --
--
10xxx
--
AJ10
The dictates of the hand are that you have to draw three rounds of trump at this point. What happens to Lefty? Lefty has to save three clubs, because you still have a trump. That leaves room in Lefty's hand for only one exit card. Whatever it is, you can lead it from the board and ruff in your hand, trimming it out of Lefty's hand.
Onward:
Two-Threat Squeeze-Trim-Endplay
Back to:
Introduction to Squeeze-Trim-Endplay
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