Once,
the notion of offering "false preference"
would have sent shivers down the spines of
authorities on classic bidding methods. The
idea, introduced nearly forty years ago,
steadily gained adherents and is today a
standard technique of sound bidding. The
idea is that when faced with an awkward
situation, a bidder's safest action may be
to take a preference for a suit he doesn't
prefer in order to preserve bidding space.
East-West vulnerable South deals
West |
North |
East |
South |
|
|
|
1 |
Pass |
1NT |
Pass |
3 |
Pass |
3 |
Pass |
4 |
End |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:
K
Consider North's rebid problem after South's game-forcing jump shift to 3.
Nothing really fits. With neither a stopper
nor length in hearts 3NT is too dangerous,
while a natural bid in clubs would require a
better and longer suit. North has more
diamonds than spades but a secondary suit
should not be raised without four-card
support. This is a typical scenario in which
false preference - here 3
- is the most practical solution. It is a
least-of-evils action that allows South to
finish describing his hand. North can pass
3NT or raise 4
to five, and if South raises himself to 4,
the doubleton queen should not be
disappointing support.
It would appear that South has eleven top tricks and on normal breaks this
would be true. Declarer, delighted with his
good contract, ruffed the third round of
hearts and played two rounds of trumps.
West's diamond discard was a shock, as East
now had more trumps than South. Declarer was
still hopeful because East might be out of
hearts; he took his high trumps and started
diamonds but East ruffed in and had a heart
to cash for the setting trick.
South was misled by his surplus (eleventh) trick. If he had thought more
about making ten tricks, he would have made
his game. If declarer discards one of his
plentiful side-suit winners on the third
round of hearts, he can cope with the bad
trump break. If a fourth round of hearts is
led he ruffs in dummy and can untangle five
high trumps to eliminate East's. On any
other return, declarer wins and draws trumps.
In effect, "throwing away" one winner guards
against a five-one trump break.