The important but subtle point of technique on this hand eluded many who played it in the original event. The bidding usually ended up in 3NT by South and West had an easy ♠Q lead. Declarer started off jauntily, assuming that he had five Diamond tricks to go with two Spades and (at least) three Hearts. Many declarers won the Spade lead in hand and cashed the ♦K and ♦Q, learning the bad news in that suit. So, with little inspiration, declarer generally played a Diamond to the ♦A and conceded a Diamond to East. No good! East returned a Spade to the ♠A and, with entries tangled, declarer could do little but cash the last Diamond and try the Heart finesse. When the ♥K failed to drop on the ♥A South had to admit defeat. Successful declarers were more canny with their use of entries. When West showed out on the second Diamond South realised that he needed the Heart finesse to work. Accordingly he overtook the ♦Q with the ♦A (key play) and played a Heart to the ♥10. When that won, declarer could concede a Diamond to East. Can you see the difference that makes in the timing of the hand? Now after a Spade return to the ♠A declarer could cash the last two Diamonds and was in the right hand to take a second Heart finesse. This neat line of play racked up an overtrick when the ♥K dropped on the third round.
There is a chinese say:'An image is worth 1000 words!'You may want to take theOnline Player Guided Tour
1 - Bidding: Click the 'Play' button in the middle of the page to display the bidding box.When you are ready, click the 'Start Bidding' button.When a bid is alerted, it is shown on a yellow background. You can then click that bid to display the related alert.When there is a comment or a question about your own bid, you can read it on the bidding box comments pane, and then, click the 'Ok' button to continue bidding.Click 'Close Bidding Box' to proceed to playing the hand.2 - Playing: The lead is automatic if you are declarer, otherwise you'll see the 'It's your lead' warning in the center pane.You will play your cards and dummy's as if you were at a live table.2.1 -Touching cards are considered equivalent! e.g. if you have 876 and you play the 7 while Vu-Bridge expects you to play the 6, then the 7 will blink and the 6 will be played.2.2 -Sometimes there will be a comment or question during the play.You should read it and click the 'Click to continue' button at the top of the comment text.If its a question, there will be a 'Show Answer' button to click at the bottom of the comment panel.2.3 - When a comment bears a 'Finish flag' button, you can click it to reveal hidden hands and continue playing. We use this to explain technical coups like end-plays, squeezes etc.2.4 - You can review the last trick by clicking on the last won or lost trick (back of card) at the bottom of the screen. The last trick will show during 3 seconds and then play will continue.2.5 - You can click the 'Undo last trick' button at the let of the screen in order to redo one or several tricks and review the attached comments.You can review the auction by clicking the 'Auction' tab in the same area.3 - Moving the comment panel:When the mouse hover the dark green background of the bidding box or the comment panel, you'll see a crosshair cursor and you can drag and move it around the page.The left and right arrows on the top left corner of the comment panel allows you to increase or reduce the width for better readability.4 - When a hand is finished, you can click the 'Board List' at the top of the comment panel, and play other hands From the same Series.To play other Series, visit the Vu-Bridge's home page and click the 'Bridge Hands' button.