An algorithm for a loaded crack partly in frictionless contact is presented. The problem is nonlinear in the sense that the equations of linear elasticity are supplemented by certain contact inequalities. The location of a priori unknown contact zones and the solutions to the field equations must be determined simultaneously. The algorithm is based on a rapidly converging sequence of relaxed Fredholm integral equations of the second kind in which the contact problem is viewed as a perturbation of a noncontacting crack problem. The algorithm exhibits great stability and speed. The numerical results are orders-of-magnitudes more accurate than those of previous investigators. Key words. cracks, contact, contact zone, integral equations of Fredholm type, numerical methods, linear elasticity AMS subject classifications. 73C02, 31A10, 45E05, 65R20 PII. S0036139999356934