Vice squeeze
Encyclopedia
The Vice is an advanced squeeze
in contract bridge
. Its distinguishing motive is presence of a "vice" menace in one suit, where one defender holds cards of equivalent rank which split the declarer's pair of cards in front of him, where his partner has a winner in the suit. It was first attested by Terence Reese
in the book "The Expert Game", a.k.a. "Master Play in Contract Bridge". In other words, the defenders have a "high" finesse position, equivalent to the one in diagram:
If West can be forced to abandon QJ, the defenders will take only one trick in the suit.
A similar motive is encountered in guard squeeze
s, however, in the vice, the defenders have a winner in the suit. Since that winner will take a trick, this squeeze is without the count.
. When South leads the high 5, West must not discard the 10; when he parts with a heart honor, declarer leads the heart and East must cede the last trick to dummy's heart ten.
When the second menace (diamonds) is in dummy, it must be a two-card menace accompanied by an entry, otherwise West can safely abandon the suit; if the K were absent, the West can discard the diamond winner, as the declarer will not have the entry to enjoy it.
Squeeze play (bridge)
A squeeze play is a type of play late in the hand of contract bridge and other trick-taking game in which the play of a card forces an opponent to discard a card that gives up one or more tricks. The discarded card may be either a winner or a card needed to protect a winner...
in contract bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
. Its distinguishing motive is presence of a "vice" menace in one suit, where one defender holds cards of equivalent rank which split the declarer's pair of cards in front of him, where his partner has a winner in the suit. It was first attested by Terence Reese
Terence Reese
John Terence Reese was a British bridge player and writer, regarded as one of the finest of all time in both fields...
in the book "The Expert Game", a.k.a. "Master Play in Contract Bridge". In other words, the defenders have a "high" finesse position, equivalent to the one in diagram:
If West can be forced to abandon QJ, the defenders will take only one trick in the suit.
A similar motive is encountered in guard squeeze
Guard squeeze
Guard squeeze is a type of squeeze in contract bridge where a player is squeezed out of a card which prevents his partner from being finessed. The squeeze operates in three suits, where the squeezee protects the menaces in two suits, but cannot help his partner anymore in the third suit after the...
s, however, in the vice, the defenders have a winner in the suit. Since that winner will take a trick, this squeeze is without the count.
Examples
Hearts are the "vice suit", and the second menace is the declarer's 8. This is a position akin to automatic simple squeezeSimple squeeze
The simple squeeze is the most basic form of a squeeze as frequently applied in the game of contract bridge.By playing a winner in one suit, an opponent is squeezed out of a winner in a different suit. .The simple squeeze is a squeeze against one opponent and gains one trick...
. When South leads the high 5, West must not discard the 10; when he parts with a heart honor, declarer leads the heart and East must cede the last trick to dummy's heart ten.
When the second menace (diamonds) is in dummy, it must be a two-card menace accompanied by an entry, otherwise West can safely abandon the suit; if the K were absent, the West can discard the diamond winner, as the declarer will not have the entry to enjoy it.