The Schnapsen Log

The Glass is Slightly Full (solution)

Martin Tompa

Are you feeling pessimistic, as though the glass is nearly empty? If so, I have to admit that I feel the same way. Closing the stock doesn’t seem like a good option: you would need a lot of luck for an elimination play in clubs to work. (I will leave it to you to work out exactly how lucky you would need to be.) Closing the stock will probably mean handing 2 game points to Katharina whereas, if you leave it open, she will get at most 1.

But with the stock open, if you lead a card that Katharina can win, her ♥A and ♠AT will give her plenty of trick points. And what can you lead at trick 5 that she will not win? You don’t seem to have such a lead. Unless you are lucky enough that the last face-down card in the stock is the master trump ♥A. In that case, the position at trick 5 will look like this:

Katharina: (33 points)
♠ AT
♥ —
♣ TQ
♦ Q

You: (33 points)
♠ QJ
♥ K
♣ AK
♦ —

If you are enough of an optimist to imagine this position, then there are suddenly two possible leads, ♥K or ♣A, that Katharina cannot win. Either one will work. For instance, if you lead ♥K, Katharina will discard ♦Q and this will be the position one trick later:

Katharina: (33 points)
♠ AT
♥ J
♣ TQ
♦ —

You: (40 points)
♠ QJ
♥ A
♣ AK
♦ —

Now you can cash your two aces and get to 67 trick points to win the game.

Hoping that the master trump is still in the stock is a desperation play, but you are indeed desperate in your current position. So plunk down your ♥K as though you know it’s a winner and the glass is 1/5 full rather than 4/5 empty.

© 2015 Martin Tompa. All rights reserved.

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