The Schnapsen Log

August 24, 2012

Order from Chaos

Martin Tompa

Lore has once again taken Peter’s place across the table from you at the Café Abeles. As friendly as Lore is, she’s a much more intimidating opponent than Peter is. You’ve noticed some surprising plays from her, and you suspect that there have been many more that were too subtle for you to notice.

Lore: (19 points)
♠ T
♥ J
♣ A
♦ TK

You: (41 points)
♠ KJ
♥ Q
♣ —
♦ AQ

Trump: ♥
Stock: Exhausted
Game points: Lore 5, You 6
On lead: You

Plan your play. When you think you have 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 (tompa@psellos.com)

I am a Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, where I teach discrete mathematics, logic, probability, design and analysis of algorithms, and other related courses. I have always loved playing games. Games are great tools for learning to think logically but, more important, seem to me an integral part of happy family or social life. I will be delighted if game-players, parents, teachers, and students find this series fun and useful.

My excitement about Schnapsen was rekindled by playing against an iPhone program called Master Schnapsen/66 written by two friends at Psellos. Set to play at its “Master” level of difficulty, this program is one of the two most formidable opponents I have found. It comes up with surprising and brilliant plays, and I have learned an enormous amount of Schnapsen strategy by playing with it. Nearly every deal in this Schnapsen Log arose during those hours of playing with Master Schnapsen/66.