[pilowsky]

One of the greatest Chess Grandmasters of all time was Jose Capablanca. He wrote that:
"In order to improve your game, you must study the endgame before everything else. For whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and opening must be studied in relation to the end game."
When I learned to play Chess there was an equal focus on the endgame as well as the opening.

Why bother knowing how to start if you don't know how to finish? It's a truism that I've often remembered.

I don't know if the same is true when teaching young Bridge players, because I came to the game sideways. From what I've seen most of the focus is on Bidding and then on signalling, and then on card-play. Endings comes last.
In the last week, two hands came up that I always get wrong. And so does almost everyone else. Here's the first one.
East led the ♠5 and I went down 2. most of the field also fell. but Susangwiz made it!

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The second one came up in yesterday's Forum challenge! It must be interesting because I scored 64% and went down 2 when it should make 4H=
Here's the hand. And the hash I made of it.
and East led the ♦5...

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Edit - looks like 11 people made it although the robots irresponsibly gave somebody a top board with 3NT+1.

[Cyberyeti]

First one you have to take some suspiciously double dummy views to make or have some help in the auction, essentially you have to extract E's spades and endplay him twice, once to give you a trick in the minors, and then to give you a ruff and discard, you also have to guess trumps correctly.

In 2, you gave away one trick trivially by not drawing the trump at the end, but you are down as soon as you lay down ♥A.

3N by N does make 10 tricks on a spade lead if you guess the hearts and clubs correctly as either you lead the K♠ blocking the suit or you lead a small one and declarer's J scores, it needs a diamond lead to hold it from that side.