2026-01-22 15:07:41 +0000 UTC

class Solution:
    def minimumPairRemoval(self, nums: List[int]) -> int:
        count = 0

        while len(nums) > 1:
            isAscending = True
            minSum = float("inf")
            targetIndex = -1

            for i in range(len(nums) - 1):
                pair_sum = nums[i] + nums[i + 1]

                if nums[i] > nums[i + 1]:
                    isAscending = False

                if pair_sum < minSum:
                    minSum = pair_sum
                    targetIndex = i

            if isAscending:
                break

            count += 1
            nums[targetIndex] = minSum
            nums.pop(targetIndex + 1)

        return count