Welcome to the website of Bridge on the Edge, based in St. John's, NL, Canada.  In 2016 we became a player owned bridge club.  We support a respectful culture, both at the bridge table and in all BOTE communications, for the enjoyment and growth of all members.  

Please contact info@bridgeontheedge.ca if you need additional information.

Members who want to use the member's functions (ie bookings etc), please ensure you've accessed the site using the bridgeweb link bridgewebs.com/onedge/.

Financial update as of February 28, 2026 for Members Only can be viewed in the membership section of BOTE and opening the Financial Statement link.

Here's the hand analysis booklet for the Instant MP Game on July 22nd. 

Instant Matchpoint Booklet.pdf

The word "squeeze" emerged in the late 16th century, originating from the earlier English word squise. This was an alteration of the obsolete verb quease, which traces back to the Middle English queisen & the Old English cwȳsan, meaning "to crush!”

The Simple Squeeze

Rahul wrote to tell us an interesting anecdote about a recent hand he played. He didn’t cry, but he probably wasn’t very happy until his imagination took over. Here is his edited commentary.

“I saw this criss-cross squeeze at the table today, but sadly I was the defender. Unfortunately, this was for the second doubled overtrick so no fun. Still, I thought it might be a nice hand for the site to show how these gambits actually work in practice. The possibility came up on Board 12, and the auction went 1NT by West, 2♠ by North,  P-P; Double by West, all Pass. A small ♥  was led.”

The Play of the Hand

The early play goes ♥  to J & A, then a ♦ Q covered by the ♦ K & won by ♦ A in Dummy. A low ♠  fetched West’s K and a ♦ was returned to ♦ J in Hand. Declarer next knocked out the boss ♠ Ace & ruffed the return of the ♦  in Hand. Now you're only missing 21 HCP and lefty has already played 7, so the NT opener on your right had better have the other 14.  Your remaining cards:

DUMMY

♠ -

♥ 1086

♦ -

♣ A753

HAND

♠ T975

♥ K

♦ -

♣ J9

The Fun Begins

Declarer can cash all her four remaining spades. at trick 10 RHO has to discard from ♥ Qx ♣ KQ.  If they throw a club, you will win the ♣ A, ♥ K, ♣ J. If they opt to throw a ♥ you take ♥ K, ♣ A, ♥ 10. Our declarer did run the spades (a good technique, as the Squeeze put pressure me & I might be ready to cry. But after I threw the ♣ Q, she just played for the ♥ Q to fall & was quite content to score up her +870!

Wait, There’s More

We have come to learn as we play, Duplicate is a game that can be creative, imaginative, & occasionally a brilliant study. In addition to the Crisscross Squeeze, there is the Double Squeeze which could if we expanded our first example, involve both opponents, Daffy & Sylvester. Readers of Victor Mollo’s clever works have maybe come across the Jettison Squeeze, where the variation of the simple squeeze requires Declarer to flamboyantly fling away an Ace or King in order to unblock a valuable suit. And only those players with far too much time on their hands will recognize the perspicacious pitch of a few losers (as bait) in Rectifying the Losers gambit, to prepare for an imminent squeeze. And this next maneuver is about as rare as praise from partner, a squeeze that operates against 3 main suits in succession, quite aptly named the Triple Squeeze.

Another rarity, the Vice Squeeze, first described by British expert Terence Reese in his book, "Master Play in Contract Bridge,” is a stratagem that operates against a defender's doubleton of touching rank, usually the QJ holding. It is a first cousin of the Guard Squeeze, a sequence of play where an Opponent is forced to relinquish a card that sets up a marked finesse against her partner. Usually Declarer holds say ♣ A102, Dummy has ♣ K43. The squeeze card forces LHO to bare her ♣ J, which subsequently falls to the ♣ K, on the next play, & now Declarer can pick up the ♣ Q65 from her RHO by finessing the ♣ 10.

Hugh Kelsey wrote extensively on this advanced bridge topic of Squeezes, as did David Bird, Clyde Love, Dr. Julian Laderman & a few others. If you want more information on this material, you can try Google, Wikipedia, or maybe invite Rahul out for a cup of coffee.

As of July 8th we have 214 members in our club.  I have just tallied up our fundraising efforts for the Longest Day event in aid of the Alzheimer's Society of St. John’s.  Between everything we raised $4,157.75 that is approximately $20 per member, wow!  Good for us.  We certainly the little club that could!  The money raised was made up of $967.75 from the 50/50 draws, $720 from Peggy and Shog’s plant sale, $1,750 from the Silent Auction, $465 for our table fees for the 25th of June from Supervised play and the Open game, $200 donated online and a random $55.  Hope that all adds up!!!!  I’d like to thank everyone that helped, selling tickets, donating items for the silent auction, making cake for treats  on our fundraising day, making up an entertaining Jeopardy game (btw Susan and Nellie won that!) or simply by turning up and being part of the whole experience.  Thanks. 

Not only were our Longest Day activities good for the Alzheimers Society but they also fostered our club spirit. Speaking of which we have decided to devote one shelf of our bridge library to a book exchange for non-bridge books, so if you have a book you think someone else might enjoy, bring it along.  Also we’d like to inform you that if you have any old eyeglasses that you no longer need, the church has a box to collect them and donate them to people who do need them.  You can bring them along to any game.  

Things will be quieter in the summer, however in September it will be our 10th Anniversary of being a player owned club and, of course, we will have some events to celebrate this amazing achievement. Meantime, enjoy the garden, cabin, pond or golf course for the next couple of months. whatever you enjoy when you’re not playing bridge. 

See you in the fall.

Julie Andrews, in The Sound of Music, sings: "Let's start at the very beginning / A very good place to start."

This is a good suggestion when it comes to reading 25 Ways to Compete in the Bidding by Barbara Seagram and Marc Smith. This book has a narrative arc. Reading it straight through gives you a solid advantage because, as the authors point out, competitive bidding is less about memorizing isolated rules and more about developing a cohesive tactical approach. Seagram and Smith state: "We are going to show you how to get into the auction effectively and safely after the opposition has opened the bidding."  As each chapter in this book builds on the former, creating a solid foundation, we are ready when the more complex chapters arrive.

Music to your ears?

This engaging and easy-to-read book is in our library.