Psellos
Life So Short, the Craft So Long to Learn

The Schnapsen Log

November 9, 2012

Entries from Thin Air

Martin Tompa

It’s come down to the wire at the weekly Black Eagle tournament. You and the reigning champion Katharina are down to the last deal, with the game point score tied 1-1. The winner of this deal wins the tournament. Onlookers who have been knocked out of the tournament have gathered around your table. You suddenly feel cold and clammy, and you’ve got pins and needles in the tips of your fingers. Yet Katharina looks as cool as a cucumber that’s wearing a funny hat.

Katharina: (27 points)
A
KJ
♣ A
K

You: (29 points)
K
ATQ
♣ K

Trump:
Stock: Exhausted
Game points: Katharina 1, You 1
On lead: You

You’ve definitely held your own against Katharina tonight, and things couldn’t be tighter. Not only is the game point score tied, but the trick point score is nearly tied too and there are only five tricks left in tonight’s tournament. When you think you have come up with a good plan, you are welcome to read my analysis.

© 2012 Martin Tompa. All rights reserved.


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About the Author

Martin Tompa

Martin Tompa (tompa@psellos.com)

I am a Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, where I teach discrete mathematics, probability and statistics, design and analysis of algorithms, and other related courses. I have always loved playing games. Games are great tools for learning to think logically and are a wonderful component of happy family or social life.

Read about Winning Schnapsen, the very first and definitive book on the winning strategy for this fascinating game.

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