Circumstances (Durham 3/26/2011)
Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Whether I'm a newbie to Scrabble, an intermediate player waiting for the strategy to come within hailing distance of his word knowledge, or a newly minted Collins expert/TWL STEE, I always cash at the Golden Corral in Durham. Read how it happened after the cut.
Game 1 vs. Matt P. Hopkins: W 439-383. (S)TANDiNG (2x2)/STRI(V)ERS. A taut battle, but I manage the better of the tiles in the end. Play through the game here: www.cross-tables.com/annotated.php
Game 2 vs. Francis Anum: W 434-404. (F)ELLATIO, DYNAMI(T)E (bingo-bango)/TERNI(O)NS, NASTIER (2x2), NARRatE. Very interesting pre-endgame/endgame, but neither of us play ideally. Play the game here: www.cross-tables.com/annotated.php
Game 3 vs. Bruce Shuman: W 415-291. ReLIeRS/none. Also played ZEBRA for 72. After I played REWORN for 35 keeping an R, I draw IRRV??out of the bag. Didn't see aRRIVeR, but thankfully it didn't play. After ZEBRA put me up by 120 I run away and hide by keeping the board closed.
Game 4 vs. Katya Lezin: W 404-357. ANATTOS, Or(G)ANONS/SC(A)TTiNG. Also got down BEAUX for 66. She blocked my early play at LAD(A)NUMS, which was disappointing. Later whiffed on NOSTRUM, but again it didn't play. Getting OrGANONS through the last bingo lane helped me control the endgame, allowing me to survive a final rack of CEITUUW.
Game 5 vs. Noah Lieberman: W 433-336. INSULT(E)R (2x2), GRANULE/EVASiON. Right before I played GRANULE, I was told that Noah had ACGION? on his rack, and he played off COIN. I was lucky he didn't find GONAdIC (which is hard to see if you have ING on the brain) in my spot for GRANULE. Probably the difference in the game right there.
Game 6 vs. lotting : W 389-379. GNaRLED/T(E)nTORIA, S(M)ARTIENS. Probably did not deserve to win this one. I blanked on KEP taking a T on the back, thus didn't bother looking for ENcHANT. Liz is outscoring me in the pre-endgame, and I draw the Q without a U and nowhere to play it. I set up a slot for QUI(L)L, which thankfully she doesn't block. I luckily draw UL to QILRS. That goes down for 28, the Q in Column A, and I'm left with LRS. She mistracks my last tiles and plays QUAI, the I two spots from the TWS. I can't believe my luck and play QUAILS for 45, and she's in despair over blowing a 2nd game in a row due to mistracking. Felt really bad for her, but am glad to be at 6-0 with good spread and everybody else at 4-2 or worse. Addendum: Some of my racks this game were hilarious. BEKPTV?, BEHTVV?, AALOORU, AILUUYY. I really needed YULIA* from Ogre Battle to be good with that last rack.
Game 7 vs. badqoph : L 352-378. AUXESiS/(D)RAINAGE, BESPR(E)Nt. Such an ugly, vowel-laden game, and Ryan runs his streak to 5 consecutive wins over me. One of these games I will not get clunky tiles against him, it has to happen! :) This game might have been winnable if I deal with the vowels better, or if I could instate emergency Collins and play ERIONITE# in the pre-endgame. At least AUXESiS was a nice find (also AUXESeS). Although Ryan's at 5-2 and I'm at 6-1, Bruce has also played really well at 5-2, and due to his 150 pt. win over Ryan, he's who I'll play in the KOTH in round 8.
Game 8 vs. Bruce Shuman: W 501-261. DISTAIN (challenged), SENARII, AnTIPOL(E)/none. Yep, I shut out Bruce bingo-wise twice. Just an outright bagging, really the only one I administered this tourney. He played NaZI for 34 to get some points on the board, but it allowed me to overlap it with SENARII, making NE/AN/ZA/AIR in the process for 82. AnTIPOL(E) down column O for 86 was the icing on the cake. Bruce congratulated me on my fine playing and apologized for not making it closer. Considering he was the 7th seed and gained 50 rating points this tourney, I told him he had nothing to apologize for, that these things just happen sometimes.
Certainly a very successful tournament, and I couldn't have asked for much more. With this money and the Charlotte money from last month, I think I can convince my wife to let me out to Gatlinburg next month. I'd be playing Collins out there, so I'll probably start cardboxing some Collins 4's and 5's, maybe some high-playable bingoes as well. I have this nice shiny international rating, I need to at least look like I know what I'm doing out there. After that, I might be due for a hiatus, to get booked up and recharged. We'll see where circumstances take me. Comments welcome as always, cheers!
Game 1 vs. Matt P. Hopkins: W 439-383. (S)TANDiNG (2x2)/STRI(V)ERS. A taut battle, but I manage the better of the tiles in the end. Play through the game here: www.cross-tables.com/annotated.php
Game 2 vs. Francis Anum: W 434-404. (F)ELLATIO, DYNAMI(T)E (bingo-bango)/TERNI(O)NS, NASTIER (2x2), NARRatE. Very interesting pre-endgame/endgame, but neither of us play ideally. Play the game here: www.cross-tables.com/annotated.php
Game 3 vs. Bruce Shuman: W 415-291. ReLIeRS/none. Also played ZEBRA for 72. After I played REWORN for 35 keeping an R, I draw IRRV??out of the bag. Didn't see aRRIVeR, but thankfully it didn't play. After ZEBRA put me up by 120 I run away and hide by keeping the board closed.
Game 4 vs. Katya Lezin: W 404-357. ANATTOS, Or(G)ANONS/SC(A)TTiNG. Also got down BEAUX for 66. She blocked my early play at LAD(A)NUMS, which was disappointing. Later whiffed on NOSTRUM, but again it didn't play. Getting OrGANONS through the last bingo lane helped me control the endgame, allowing me to survive a final rack of CEITUUW.
Game 5 vs. Noah Lieberman: W 433-336. INSULT(E)R (2x2), GRANULE/EVASiON. Right before I played GRANULE, I was told that Noah had ACGION? on his rack, and he played off COIN. I was lucky he didn't find GONAdIC (which is hard to see if you have ING on the brain) in my spot for GRANULE. Probably the difference in the game right there.
Game 6 vs. lotting : W 389-379. GNaRLED/T(E)nTORIA, S(M)ARTIENS. Probably did not deserve to win this one. I blanked on KEP taking a T on the back, thus didn't bother looking for ENcHANT. Liz is outscoring me in the pre-endgame, and I draw the Q without a U and nowhere to play it. I set up a slot for QUI(L)L, which thankfully she doesn't block. I luckily draw UL to QILRS. That goes down for 28, the Q in Column A, and I'm left with LRS. She mistracks my last tiles and plays QUAI, the I two spots from the TWS. I can't believe my luck and play QUAILS for 45, and she's in despair over blowing a 2nd game in a row due to mistracking. Felt really bad for her, but am glad to be at 6-0 with good spread and everybody else at 4-2 or worse. Addendum: Some of my racks this game were hilarious. BEKPTV?, BEHTVV?, AALOORU, AILUUYY. I really needed YULIA* from Ogre Battle to be good with that last rack.
Game 7 vs. badqoph : L 352-378. AUXESiS/(D)RAINAGE, BESPR(E)Nt. Such an ugly, vowel-laden game, and Ryan runs his streak to 5 consecutive wins over me. One of these games I will not get clunky tiles against him, it has to happen! :) This game might have been winnable if I deal with the vowels better, or if I could instate emergency Collins and play ERIONITE# in the pre-endgame. At least AUXESiS was a nice find (also AUXESeS). Although Ryan's at 5-2 and I'm at 6-1, Bruce has also played really well at 5-2, and due to his 150 pt. win over Ryan, he's who I'll play in the KOTH in round 8.
Game 8 vs. Bruce Shuman: W 501-261. DISTAIN (challenged), SENARII, AnTIPOL(E)/none. Yep, I shut out Bruce bingo-wise twice. Just an outright bagging, really the only one I administered this tourney. He played NaZI for 34 to get some points on the board, but it allowed me to overlap it with SENARII, making NE/AN/ZA/AIR in the process for 82. AnTIPOL(E) down column O for 86 was the icing on the cake. Bruce congratulated me on my fine playing and apologized for not making it closer. Considering he was the 7th seed and gained 50 rating points this tourney, I told him he had nothing to apologize for, that these things just happen sometimes.
Certainly a very successful tournament, and I couldn't have asked for much more. With this money and the Charlotte money from last month, I think I can convince my wife to let me out to Gatlinburg next month. I'd be playing Collins out there, so I'll probably start cardboxing some Collins 4's and 5's, maybe some high-playable bingoes as well. I have this nice shiny international rating, I need to at least look like I know what I'm doing out there. After that, I might be due for a hiatus, to get booked up and recharged. We'll see where circumstances take me. Comments welcome as always, cheers!