The squeeze that wasn't

When you are thinking about running a squeeze, do you analyze minutely all of the possible layouts, threats, entry positions, etc.?  Or do you rectify the count and have at it?  I'm afraid I tend to do the latter.  75% of the time it works out just fine – the squeeze either works or it doesn't and nothing is lost (that's the great beauty of the squeeze: you never end up worse than you might have been).  I don't usually stop to think of isolating the menace, transferring the menace, etc.  I should.

Having a general idea of entry positions, potential blockages etc. is usually enough.  But last evening at the club I failed to extract full advantage of a situation.

Dealer South. None Vulnerable.
	♠ A Q 10 9 8 7 2 ♥ J 6 ♦ 8 ♣ 8 5 4
♠ K ♥ 10 7 4 2 ♦ A K 5 ♣ K J 10 9 3		♠ 6 5 4 ♥ 8 5 3 ♦ J 7 4 3 ♣ Q 7 2
	♠ J 3 ♥ A K Q 9 ♦ Q 10 9 6 2 ♣ A 6

Here's the auction:

E	S	W	Me
	1♦	2♣	2♠
p	3♣	p	4♠
p	p	p

We play 1NT as 12-14 which is why the South hand opened 1♦ thus allowing me to end up as declarer.  Otherwise, there'd be no story.  Note that my 2♠ was non-forcing.  The lead was a trump.  If the lead had been a diamond (or even a club), again there'd be no story.

I won the lead and played four more rounds of trump.  Somewhere along the line, E shed a second club, which gave me my opportunity.  This is how things stood:

Dealer South. None Vulnerable.
	♠ 7 2 ♥ J 6 ♦ 8 ♣ 8 5 4
♠ ♥ 10 7 4 ♦ A K ♣ K J 10		♠  ♥ 8 5 3 ♦ J 7 4 3 ♣ Q
	♠  ♥ A K Q 9 ♦ Q 10 ♣ A 6

At this point, I knew that I needed a trump squeeze because I had no other way back to my hand.  But I thought it was a Vienna coup situation where I had to unblock the ♣A first.  On the contrary, I needed that card intact as a potential late entry to the dummy for the last diamond, should that become good.  So I played another spade, pitching a diamond (shame!) and now W was able to pitch one top diamond and hang on to the last club.

If I actually stop for a moment to think about my menaces against W, they must be a diamond in dummy and a club in my hand.  Therefore, I must pitch dummy's little club.  This blocks the clubs, but that's the magic of the trump squeeze: when and if the club threat materializes, I can unblock the A and return to hand with a trump to enjoy the last club.

As much as one might read about squeezes on paper, there's nothing like running one and failing to ram the appropriate rules into that thick skull!