2009 Dallas Open Answers
Original puzzles here:
2009 Dallas Open Day 1
2009 Dallas Open Day 2
2009 Dallas Open Day 3
if you want to try to solve before seeing answers.
EMEUTE m8
OX h8, setting up GRUB
Not spectactular, but there's pleasure taken in finding the best play in a mundane situation
in a lost game.
The interesting facet of this position is that I have all the hooks for -OX, modulo the V,
and I also hold the penultimate A. I played OBI b13, and despite a bonky pick, still
got down MARVELS to close the game next turn. Another consideration is I have the case L,
so OI sets up a SLAB on row 15, assuming he doesn't block, and ABLES is a pretty
good bingo-fish. The best fish of all would be to ABSEIL, which yields bingos for
all but the U, V, and H. So, just OX for 9 is the killer.
I played ME, f2 for 37, but Quackle prefers UM for just 23. Between the E being
the final one, and AGNES over ANGUS, from the residue emerges another 16 points
of equity. I did consider SUNSGAME as a high-scoring alternative.
Best play(which I missed) was ORC, 7c.
Jim Geary: Turn 1
-> Jim Geary FGJKVWW 0
Joel Sherman 0
--Championship Player's choices (your play: 2)
best xch GJKVWW 0 43.89% F
0.69*xch FGJKVWW 0 43.85%
1.14 xch FGJVWW 0 43.41% K
1.98 xch FJKVWW 0 43.16% G
2.36 xch FGJKWW 0 42.97% V
2.61 xch FGKVWW 0 42.79% J
3.11 xch FGKVW 0 42.58% JW
3.15 xch FGVWW 0 42.53% JK
3.94 xch FGJKVW 0 42.28% W
4.76 xch FKVWW 0 41.95% GJI know there's a bit of error in there that may lead to overlap, but rerunning yielded
similar results. I can see the sense in keeping a consonant going into a vowel-discount
bag, but I wouldn't have guessed F. JW as the high two consonant leave is surprising,
but makes sense on an unambitious level.
I played SEQuIN for 76 keeping A. Quackle prefers QIS for 32 keeping ANES? by 3.5 points.
During the game I didn't think a leave could be 44 more points than A. I also thought that
putting a Q on j6 would hurt my long term comeback chances as well, but even there the
simulation disagrees.
NYSTATIN, o8, 95.
After a quite pleasant series of moves, it appeared I actually had some shot in the game.
This lasted about two seconds as he promptly laid down a blank bingo, and I was redead.
I played BI at c9, so as not to open the position too much. If she has an O-hook play,
I'll have lines for my bingo. If she doesn't, she might just play off the R, and give
me and 8-line. And there are scenarios where ACDRT? + 1 will bingo by making the blank
an O or S (If I pick G,E,I,O,S,U). Quackle approved:
-> Jim Geary ?ABCDRT 37
Mary Aline Stevens 83
--Championship Player's choices (your play: 1)
best *9C B(I) 7 42.48% ?ACDRT
3.99 xch BD 0 40.68% ?ACRT
5.44 8A DiT(Z) 39 40.03% ABCR
6.69 I8 (E)R 9 39.42% ?ABCDT
6.94 xch BCD 0 39.37% ?ART
7.30 xch CD 0 39.24% ?ABRT
8.79 xch DT 0 38.71% ?ABCR
8.57 xch CT 0 38.70% ?ABDR
8.83 xch BDR 0 38.47% ?ACT
9.11 xch BT 0 38.47% ?ACDR
Randy is in a tough spot. He's down 10 and looking at a possible bingo by me in the SW quadrant.
The trick of this position is I don't really have bingos. My biggest threat is actually
ZEATIN a4. AMPED wins in all scenarios except an I in a bag, in which case it ties:
AMPED CAMPED
A(2) 2 0
D 1 0
E 1 0
I .5 1
N 1 1
S 1 0
T 1 1He didn't have enough time in the game to appreciate the real danger, and I got a lucky victory.
Part of it was "dumb" luck I made myself. I tried really hard this tournament to not
get bogged down on racks and keep a buffer for myself going into the endgame. After
playing QUA, leaving one in the bag, I still had 12:13 on my clock. A good thing,
too, as I spent so much time working on the endgames after his CAMPED, that I didn't
look up at the Z-spot for nine minutes! Fortunately, it took me about three seconds
from the time I glanced at the Z til the time ZEATINS came down.
NUMeRaCY, a1, was the highest-scoring bingo.
GOUGED, j3, was the best play.
QI for 11, keeping ACTION is best. I might've thought of this if I hadn't been busy convincing
myself to challenge the perfectly valid WALER. Takes a lot of nuance to make up for vomiting
away 23% winning chances with one avoidable decision.
I played CAMPAIGN at 15h, but it seems the best move is to just play PA 2n, keeping AGIN?,
which according to Quackle wins 5% more often than CAMPAIGN. (Approx 85%-87% v 80-82%).
If we empty the bag taking five, he can win with a big enough G-starting bingo from a1,
e.g. GANYMEDE, GATHERED, GUSHIEST, whereas in the pussyfoot variation we only lose when
he gets down one of the XANTH- bingos. And as a practical matter, Quackle is much better
at seeing these than carbon-based lifeforms.
ETERNIZES, 7g
WAKER m9, is the 52 point play I eschewed for faint hopes of glory.
SOMEONES is the bingo I missed.
2009 Dallas Open Day 1
2009 Dallas Open Day 2
2009 Dallas Open Day 3
if you want to try to solve before seeing answers.
EMEUTE m8
OX h8, setting up GRUB
Not spectactular, but there's pleasure taken in finding the best play in a mundane situation
in a lost game.
The interesting facet of this position is that I have all the hooks for -OX, modulo the V,
and I also hold the penultimate A. I played OBI b13, and despite a bonky pick, still
got down MARVELS to close the game next turn. Another consideration is I have the case L,
so OI sets up a SLAB on row 15, assuming he doesn't block, and ABLES is a pretty
good bingo-fish. The best fish of all would be to ABSEIL, which yields bingos for
all but the U, V, and H. So, just OX for 9 is the killer.
I played ME, f2 for 37, but Quackle prefers UM for just 23. Between the E being
the final one, and AGNES over ANGUS, from the residue emerges another 16 points
of equity. I did consider SUNSGAME as a high-scoring alternative.
Best play(which I missed) was ORC, 7c.
Jim Geary: Turn 1
-> Jim Geary FGJKVWW 0
Joel Sherman 0
--Championship Player's choices (your play: 2)
best xch GJKVWW 0 43.89% F
0.69*xch FGJKVWW 0 43.85%
1.14 xch FGJVWW 0 43.41% K
1.98 xch FJKVWW 0 43.16% G
2.36 xch FGJKWW 0 42.97% V
2.61 xch FGKVWW 0 42.79% J
3.11 xch FGKVW 0 42.58% JW
3.15 xch FGVWW 0 42.53% JK
3.94 xch FGJKVW 0 42.28% W
4.76 xch FKVWW 0 41.95% GJI know there's a bit of error in there that may lead to overlap, but rerunning yielded
similar results. I can see the sense in keeping a consonant going into a vowel-discount
bag, but I wouldn't have guessed F. JW as the high two consonant leave is surprising,
but makes sense on an unambitious level.
I played SEQuIN for 76 keeping A. Quackle prefers QIS for 32 keeping ANES? by 3.5 points.
During the game I didn't think a leave could be 44 more points than A. I also thought that
putting a Q on j6 would hurt my long term comeback chances as well, but even there the
simulation disagrees.
NYSTATIN, o8, 95.
After a quite pleasant series of moves, it appeared I actually had some shot in the game.
This lasted about two seconds as he promptly laid down a blank bingo, and I was redead.
I played BI at c9, so as not to open the position too much. If she has an O-hook play,
I'll have lines for my bingo. If she doesn't, she might just play off the R, and give
me and 8-line. And there are scenarios where ACDRT? + 1 will bingo by making the blank
an O or S (If I pick G,E,I,O,S,U). Quackle approved:
-> Jim Geary ?ABCDRT 37
Mary Aline Stevens 83
--Championship Player's choices (your play: 1)
best *9C B(I) 7 42.48% ?ACDRT
3.99 xch BD 0 40.68% ?ACRT
5.44 8A DiT(Z) 39 40.03% ABCR
6.69 I8 (E)R 9 39.42% ?ABCDT
6.94 xch BCD 0 39.37% ?ART
7.30 xch CD 0 39.24% ?ABRT
8.79 xch DT 0 38.71% ?ABCR
8.57 xch CT 0 38.70% ?ABDR
8.83 xch BDR 0 38.47% ?ACT
9.11 xch BT 0 38.47% ?ACDR
Randy is in a tough spot. He's down 10 and looking at a possible bingo by me in the SW quadrant.
The trick of this position is I don't really have bingos. My biggest threat is actually
ZEATIN a4. AMPED wins in all scenarios except an I in a bag, in which case it ties:
AMPED CAMPED
A(2) 2 0
D 1 0
E 1 0
I .5 1
N 1 1
S 1 0
T 1 1He didn't have enough time in the game to appreciate the real danger, and I got a lucky victory.
Part of it was "dumb" luck I made myself. I tried really hard this tournament to not
get bogged down on racks and keep a buffer for myself going into the endgame. After
playing QUA, leaving one in the bag, I still had 12:13 on my clock. A good thing,
too, as I spent so much time working on the endgames after his CAMPED, that I didn't
look up at the Z-spot for nine minutes! Fortunately, it took me about three seconds
from the time I glanced at the Z til the time ZEATINS came down.
NUMeRaCY, a1, was the highest-scoring bingo.
GOUGED, j3, was the best play.
QI for 11, keeping ACTION is best. I might've thought of this if I hadn't been busy convincing
myself to challenge the perfectly valid WALER. Takes a lot of nuance to make up for vomiting
away 23% winning chances with one avoidable decision.
I played CAMPAIGN at 15h, but it seems the best move is to just play PA 2n, keeping AGIN?,
which according to Quackle wins 5% more often than CAMPAIGN. (Approx 85%-87% v 80-82%).
If we empty the bag taking five, he can win with a big enough G-starting bingo from a1,
e.g. GANYMEDE, GATHERED, GUSHIEST, whereas in the pussyfoot variation we only lose when
he gets down one of the XANTH- bingos. And as a practical matter, Quackle is much better
at seeing these than carbon-based lifeforms.
ETERNIZES, 7g
WAKER m9, is the 52 point play I eschewed for faint hopes of glory.
SOMEONES is the bingo I missed.