The Vice is an advanced squeeze in

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions o ...

. 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 John Terence Reese (28 August 1913 – 29 January 1996) was a British bridge player and writer, regarded as one of the finest of all time in both fields. He was born in Epsom, Surrey, England to middle-class parents, and was educated at Bradfiel ...

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 A 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 squeezed player protects the menaces in two suits, but ...

s, however, in the vice, the defenders have a winner in the suit. Since that winner will take a trick, this squeeze is without .

Examples

Hearts are the "vice suit", and the second menace is the declarer's 8. This is a position akin to automatic simple squeeze. 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.

References

* Terence Reese, ''The Expert Game'' (American title: ''Master Play in Contract Bridge'', ) {{WPCBIndex Contract bridge squeezes