Aussies day 2
Prior to commenting on day 2, a bit more This Easter we were in Southport, a not terribly appealing seaside town in Queensland’s Gold Coast. Having arranged a shared apartment originally with Chris, we ended up accommodating three overseas visitors as well (Cheah, Michael and Henry, variously from Singapore and Malaysia) - it was a tight squeeze but at least we all found a place to rest our heads. Evening activities involved some Clabbers games including a memorable 609-609 draw, and a thorough tablet-based review of this year’s Eurovision entries.
The tournament venue was the RSL club, a large venue, but bursting at the seams with our total of 188 competitors. The top few tables had to be placed on the stage in order to fit us in, and a stage location was something extra to aim for despite the extra heat and gloom up there. The field was exceptionally deep including the overseas contenders, the only notable absentees being Edward O, and the SA guys who never travel anyway; Chris had returned from the UK with the prime aim of securing enough games and rating points to qualify for the WSC, and with another slot guaranteed to the winner it was sure to be a tough campaign.
In this spot during game 9, the first of the second day, Cameron Farlow had changed five then played VINT, so there was a higher chance of vowel problems. What to play?
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O -> Andrew Fisher GIJOPR? 318
------------------------------ Cameron Farlow ??????? 281
1|= ' = ' =|
2| - " " - |
3| H A O M A E - |
4|' - F E N U R O N S '|
5| M U T E D O Y I D |
6| " " T " " |
7| ' Q I ' |
8|A W A ' H U I S ' =|
9| P A E A ' |
10| " L " G U " |
11|B R E T O N S D - |
12|O N - ' V I N T '|
13|L T ' ' T - |
14|I - Y " O - |
15|X ' Z A R I B A =|
------------------------------
JOG or JIG at 6B net 34 points, but I went for JOG 14M 31 without much hesitation. As it turned out, Cameron had to dump three more consonants elsewhere, but drawing ELS I had to settle for SPERLING rather than a nine-timer. My win - EROTISE, AUDITOR, SPERLING (and ZARIBA) vs FENURONS, BRETONS. Strange to think that he has a shot at qualifying for the WSC if his rating climbs to over 1952 by the end of June - he’s good, but I’m not sure he’s quite ready for it.
Next up was Alastair. Interesting early game with a few setup attempts or feints - his AUAS almost certainly didn’t retain the P, but my best score hindered it anyway; I chose OGIVE rather than VOGIE to set up the Y, which worked, then OTARY to set up the R, which fizzled as he had the N. What’s best at this point?
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O Alastair Richards ??????? 347
------------------------------ -> Andrew Fisher CDEFIRS 318
1|G N A W J E W I E ' F|
2| O " I D I E B - O|
3| T - ' M ' - U|
4|Q A T S P R O c A I N E|
5| R - A T|
6|O Y " " R " |
7|G ' M E G A T O N ' |
8|I ' Z I T I L ' =|
9|V ' O ' ' E ' |
10|E H U H " R " |
11| E K A S |
12|' A U A S ' - '|
13| V - ' ' - |
14|B Y " " - |
15|I ' = ' =|
------------------------------
Quackle loves low-scoring fishes here such as FAD 5J, but with this score differential that puts you on a one-track path reliant on a bingo. I went for the best score, BRIEFS M2, and Alastair responded with the intriguing CLEEP. Holding ACDDIN?, I balanced with CADI/JA only for him to dump a single E in BYE 14A:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O Alastair ??????? 362
------------------------------ -> Andrew DILNNX? 354
1|G N A W J E W I E ' F|
2| O C A D I D I E B - O| Unseen DELNNOORTU 9
3| T - ' M ' R U|
4|Q A T S P R O c A I N E|
5| R - A E T|
6|O Y " " R F " |
7|G ' M E G A T O N S |
8|I ' Z I T I L ' =|
9|V ' O ' C L E E P |
10|E H U H " R " |
11| E K A S |
12|' A U A S ' - '|
13| V - ' ' - |
14|B Y E " " - |
15|I ' = ' =|
------------------------------
The inference is very clear that he holds the final E (having also engineered the CLEEPE opening earlier), and he is close to a bingo. A cunning move on his part, making my course of action very unclear. I went with EN C14, but dropping the X at 5L was also an option; I guess I had to preserve one in the bag, with a prospect of counterplay if he bingoes.
As it turned out he had TONSURED 11H, and the best I could do in response was XENIAL N10 losing by five. Good endgame from Alastair giving himself the best prospects. CAROLERS vs MEGATON, PROCAINE, TONSURED (he told me that he held the last three E’s before playing CLEEP).
Round 11 turned into a bit of a rout against Peter Kougi. With scores close he had slotted a C in second place for a nine-timer, allowing me SCRAWLER for 194, and I went on to nab three more bingos in five moves that also involved a hefty X play. Sadly he had purloined one of the blanks so my high game of 638 didn’t quite survive the tourney. SCRAWLER, DECIARE, NUTRIENT, FLAMENS vs WINERIES.
Then Peter Shaw, who tried FLOWIN(G)S* early on; I had to block with DEADBOLT in case he tried something valid, spurning a 108-point DOUBTED. Got lucky with a follow-up SQUEG for 86 and it was all over. DEADBOLT vs SMARTER.
This landed me against Eldar again. I didn’t really get the tiles, but it was a fun game with some interesting words played - here it is on cross-tables: http://www.cross-tables.com/annotated.php?u=14149
On to Naween. Three main choices here following his ARIETTA, though there are seven plays which score more than 40:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O Naween ??????? 118
------------------------------ -> Andrew EEMPORW 113
1|= ' = ' =|
2| - " " - |
3| - ' ' - |
4|' U V A E ' - '|
5| A I A - |
6| " R E D R A W S " |
7| ' ' Z A ' |
8|= ' B O G ' =|
9|A R I E T T A ' ' |
10| " " " " |
11| - - |
12|' - ' - '|
13| - ' ' - |
14| - " " - |
15|= ' = ' =|
------------------------------
I chose the adventurous EMPOWER 9I rather than 10F, and refusing the blocky MEOW 8A. All sim much the same. Naween phoneyed in response, so despite my poor FIIINOO pickup I was able to dump with FIORIN and win fairly comfortably. REDRAWS, EMPOWER, AMBLERS v ARIETTA, HUITAINS, THINGIES.
Henry again in game 15. This time I got the better of him in a solid game. PRANCER, EXPLAINS, SIENITE v REVOLVER. The good run continued against Alastair, with two 90+ bingoes in succession giving me an unassailable lead; the only oversight was CIVILIAN for 40 round two floating I’s, but my move killing the TWS was safer - whereupon Alastair used the same spot for the cute WH(I)N(I)ARD. BRIERIER, ERYNGOES, OXLANDS v GYPSIED.
Last of a long day was against Esther Perrins. She has always played a canny defensive game, but has picked up the word study lately and is reaping the rewards. I fell behind and was forced to open with EGAD just before the TWS (actually, it sims best but is easily blocked by a human). My pickup including JZ was interesting, but she was able to bingo anyway and my consolation-prize ZONES/EGADS put me over fifty behind after the dust settled. QUADRANS vs RELOCKED, RATTIER, MEASLIER, MATTERED. 6-3 for the day left me handily placed, and better play on my part with no missed bingos.
The tournament venue was the RSL club, a large venue, but bursting at the seams with our total of 188 competitors. The top few tables had to be placed on the stage in order to fit us in, and a stage location was something extra to aim for despite the extra heat and gloom up there. The field was exceptionally deep including the overseas contenders, the only notable absentees being Edward O, and the SA guys who never travel anyway; Chris had returned from the UK with the prime aim of securing enough games and rating points to qualify for the WSC, and with another slot guaranteed to the winner it was sure to be a tough campaign.
In this spot during game 9, the first of the second day, Cameron Farlow had changed five then played VINT, so there was a higher chance of vowel problems. What to play?
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O -> Andrew Fisher GIJOPR? 318
------------------------------ Cameron Farlow ??????? 281
1|= ' = ' =|
2| - " " - |
3| H A O M A E - |
4|' - F E N U R O N S '|
5| M U T E D O Y I D |
6| " " T " " |
7| ' Q I ' |
8|A W A ' H U I S ' =|
9| P A E A ' |
10| " L " G U " |
11|B R E T O N S D - |
12|O N - ' V I N T '|
13|L T ' ' T - |
14|I - Y " O - |
15|X ' Z A R I B A =|
------------------------------
JOG or JIG at 6B net 34 points, but I went for JOG 14M 31 without much hesitation. As it turned out, Cameron had to dump three more consonants elsewhere, but drawing ELS I had to settle for SPERLING rather than a nine-timer. My win - EROTISE, AUDITOR, SPERLING (and ZARIBA) vs FENURONS, BRETONS. Strange to think that he has a shot at qualifying for the WSC if his rating climbs to over 1952 by the end of June - he’s good, but I’m not sure he’s quite ready for it.
Next up was Alastair. Interesting early game with a few setup attempts or feints - his AUAS almost certainly didn’t retain the P, but my best score hindered it anyway; I chose OGIVE rather than VOGIE to set up the Y, which worked, then OTARY to set up the R, which fizzled as he had the N. What’s best at this point?
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O Alastair Richards ??????? 347
------------------------------ -> Andrew Fisher CDEFIRS 318
1|G N A W J E W I E ' F|
2| O " I D I E B - O|
3| T - ' M ' - U|
4|Q A T S P R O c A I N E|
5| R - A T|
6|O Y " " R " |
7|G ' M E G A T O N ' |
8|I ' Z I T I L ' =|
9|V ' O ' ' E ' |
10|E H U H " R " |
11| E K A S |
12|' A U A S ' - '|
13| V - ' ' - |
14|B Y " " - |
15|I ' = ' =|
------------------------------
Quackle loves low-scoring fishes here such as FAD 5J, but with this score differential that puts you on a one-track path reliant on a bingo. I went for the best score, BRIEFS M2, and Alastair responded with the intriguing CLEEP. Holding ACDDIN?, I balanced with CADI/JA only for him to dump a single E in BYE 14A:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O Alastair ??????? 362
------------------------------ -> Andrew DILNNX? 354
1|G N A W J E W I E ' F|
2| O C A D I D I E B - O| Unseen DELNNOORTU 9
3| T - ' M ' R U|
4|Q A T S P R O c A I N E|
5| R - A E T|
6|O Y " " R F " |
7|G ' M E G A T O N S |
8|I ' Z I T I L ' =|
9|V ' O ' C L E E P |
10|E H U H " R " |
11| E K A S |
12|' A U A S ' - '|
13| V - ' ' - |
14|B Y E " " - |
15|I ' = ' =|
------------------------------
The inference is very clear that he holds the final E (having also engineered the CLEEPE opening earlier), and he is close to a bingo. A cunning move on his part, making my course of action very unclear. I went with EN C14, but dropping the X at 5L was also an option; I guess I had to preserve one in the bag, with a prospect of counterplay if he bingoes.
As it turned out he had TONSURED 11H, and the best I could do in response was XENIAL N10 losing by five. Good endgame from Alastair giving himself the best prospects. CAROLERS vs MEGATON, PROCAINE, TONSURED (he told me that he held the last three E’s before playing CLEEP).
Round 11 turned into a bit of a rout against Peter Kougi. With scores close he had slotted a C in second place for a nine-timer, allowing me SCRAWLER for 194, and I went on to nab three more bingos in five moves that also involved a hefty X play. Sadly he had purloined one of the blanks so my high game of 638 didn’t quite survive the tourney. SCRAWLER, DECIARE, NUTRIENT, FLAMENS vs WINERIES.
Then Peter Shaw, who tried FLOWIN(G)S* early on; I had to block with DEADBOLT in case he tried something valid, spurning a 108-point DOUBTED. Got lucky with a follow-up SQUEG for 86 and it was all over. DEADBOLT vs SMARTER.
This landed me against Eldar again. I didn’t really get the tiles, but it was a fun game with some interesting words played - here it is on cross-tables: http://www.cross-tables.com/annotated.php?u=14149
On to Naween. Three main choices here following his ARIETTA, though there are seven plays which score more than 40:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O Naween ??????? 118
------------------------------ -> Andrew EEMPORW 113
1|= ' = ' =|
2| - " " - |
3| - ' ' - |
4|' U V A E ' - '|
5| A I A - |
6| " R E D R A W S " |
7| ' ' Z A ' |
8|= ' B O G ' =|
9|A R I E T T A ' ' |
10| " " " " |
11| - - |
12|' - ' - '|
13| - ' ' - |
14| - " " - |
15|= ' = ' =|
------------------------------
I chose the adventurous EMPOWER 9I rather than 10F, and refusing the blocky MEOW 8A. All sim much the same. Naween phoneyed in response, so despite my poor FIIINOO pickup I was able to dump with FIORIN and win fairly comfortably. REDRAWS, EMPOWER, AMBLERS v ARIETTA, HUITAINS, THINGIES.
Henry again in game 15. This time I got the better of him in a solid game. PRANCER, EXPLAINS, SIENITE v REVOLVER. The good run continued against Alastair, with two 90+ bingoes in succession giving me an unassailable lead; the only oversight was CIVILIAN for 40 round two floating I’s, but my move killing the TWS was safer - whereupon Alastair used the same spot for the cute WH(I)N(I)ARD. BRIERIER, ERYNGOES, OXLANDS v GYPSIED.
Last of a long day was against Esther Perrins. She has always played a canny defensive game, but has picked up the word study lately and is reaping the rewards. I fell behind and was forced to open with EGAD just before the TWS (actually, it sims best but is easily blocked by a human). My pickup including JZ was interesting, but she was able to bingo anyway and my consolation-prize ZONES/EGADS put me over fifty behind after the dust settled. QUADRANS vs RELOCKED, RATTIER, MEASLIER, MATTERED. 6-3 for the day left me handily placed, and better play on my part with no missed bingos.