Psellos
Life So Short, the Craft So Long to Learn

The Schnapsen Log

January 26, 2014

As the Door Closes (solution)

Martin Tompa

Despite not having many trick points, the first thing to consider at this juncture is always closing the stock, so I considered it. It seemed possible that I could induce Pedro to open up the diamond suit, and perhaps that would mean I could catch the T with my A, so I set about thinking through the details of an elimination play. I would have to eliminate whatever safe exit cards he might be holding in clubs, and then throw him in with a heart.

Let us suppose first that Pedro was holding the critical T I would need to throw him in. I would begin by running both of my clubs. If he followed suit to both club leads, I would be on lead from this position:

Unseen cards:

T
♣ —
TQJ

Peter’s cards:

Q
♣ —
AK

Trick points: Pedro 27, Peter 47

Since we are assuming for now that he has the T, I will win from this position whichever two diamonds he holds. I throw him in with a heart, after which I must win both diamond tricks. Even if his diamonds are just QJ, I will end with 67 trick points.

Still assuming that he holds the T, he might not follow suit to both of my club leads. If he makes the obvious J discard, I will be on lead from this position:

Pedro: (27 points)

T
♣ —
TQ

Peter: (46 or 47 points)

Q
♣ —
AK

Now when I throw Pedro in with a heart, I am guaranteed to catch his T and make plenty of trick points.

I know what you are thinking now, clever Hans: if Pedro has only one club, he might make the devious unblocking play of discarding T on my second club, foiling my throw-in. This would leave me on lead from this position:

Pedro: (27 points)


♣ —
TQJ

Peter: (54 or 55 points)

Q
♣ —
AK

It is true that I could no longer throw him in, but his T would give me so many trick points that I could win just by cashing A.

Finally, we come to the situation in which Pedro does not hold the critical T at all, so that the elimination play fails:

Pedro: (27 points)


♣ QJ
TQJ

Peter: (28 points)

Q
♣ TK
AK

I cash both clubs, Pedro following suit, bringing me to 47 trick points. I next lead Q to throw him in, but he discards J, bringing my total to 52. Now I am the one who has to open up the diamonds, but that is fine because cashing A brings my total to exactly 66.

There were many, many possible situations to consider here, but in each one I am guaranteed to score 2 game points. So I closed the stock and proceeded with my plan.

With additional kisses,
your Peter.

© 2014 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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