Wheesh. That was a blast. I lost a few games that I *know* I should have won, but that was countered by winning a few I got lucky on. What a funny game. Didn't even know I won the class prize until this morning cuz I had to skip the awards to catch the airport shuttle. Funny, funny, funny.
Game 9,
Rod MacNeil, W 454-339.
Me: ?JQZSSSS, Bingos: BITTIES*, FAUvIST, HORNIST.
Opp: ?X, Bingos: LAtI(T)UDE.
Missed Bingos: none.
Equity Loss: 49.
Rod never even blinked when I played the phony bingo, although I actually had STI(L)BITE that I should have played instead. Doh. My next bingo two turns later made it pretty hard to climb back in it. His late bingo was more about keeping the spread damage down than anything else. All in all, this was a pretty good game for me, and I was happy to start the day with a win.
Game 10,
Lee Brooks, W 362-321.
Me: ?QXZSSS, Bingos: EASTERS.
Opp: ?JS, Bingos: REPENTs.
Missed Bingos: (S)IPHoNIC.
Equity Loss: 81.
Lee had a great first day as a low seed, and we'd reached the sorting out time when we all had to keep winning to stay at the top tables. She actually scared me pretty good when she got her late bingo to pull even, but I had better tiles to play out and win in the endgame.
Game 11,
John Luebkemann, W 389-387.
Me: ??JXZSSS, Bingos: SOpITED, LICkERS.
Opp: QS, Bingos: MENTEES.
Missed Bingos: none.
Equity Loss: 49.
It was pretty cool to get to play another of the top seeds in the tournament. I played another tight game and got most of the goodies to keep this one in the win column. I almost blew it in the endgame, but he ended up coming just a wee bit short. Whew again!
Game 12,
Rich Moyer, W 389-355.
Me: ??SS, Bingos: aCTIVES, sURTIT(L)E.
Opp: JQXZSS, Bingos: PRESUME.
Missed Bingos: NO(N)TONIC.
Equity Loss: 87.
Rich had a super hot first day, and it was fun to be able to play him again. I wasn't sure how I was going to remember the severe drubbing I left him with at the Reno tournament last year. Other than missing NONTONIC early, I played really well with a lot of ugly tiles. He could have won it right through the end, though, and my big break was when he tried a phony on me, and I was able to play out and win. This game was a *lot* closer than the final score showed.
Game 13,
Mike Baron, L 322-432.
Me: ?JXZS, Bingos: (A)NISETTE, HALOGeN.
Opp: ?QSSS, Bingos: ANOPSIA, SCRIVeD, SALTIRE.
Missed Bingos: none.
Equity Loss: 62.
Yeesh. He bingo-bango-bongo early on and I just couldn't do a thing to reply. I made my share of early mistakes, too, then played it tight down the stretch when the game was already lost. Ah well...
Game 14,
Jason Katz-Brown, L 396-442.
Me: ?JQXZS, Bingos: (F)AVORITE, REALIZE(D).
Opp: ?SSS, Bingos: UNWISER, A(D)APTIOn.
Missed Bingos: NoNCRIM(ES).
Equity Loss: 163.
This was my first annotated game up at table 1, which was kinda cool. I have to admit that I was a little bit nervous at first, but I was able to shake it off after a turn or two and not worry about it. NOSHERY* really didn't throw me too much, although it felt kinda weird coming down off the podium to get to the challenge computer. I was feeling dead in the water until he gave me a sweet spot for (F)AVORITE, though. I was also really relieved when he didn't block the spot for REALIZE(D). I just wish I'd seen NoNCRIM(ES). (EX)PENDER was just heartbreaking. I so wanted to win the game, and I came so close. I knew it was good, but I just had to challenge because that was my only hope to win. It was an excellent find, and I have to give Jason props for playing a great game.
Game 15,
Orry Swift, L 357-416.
Me: ?QXSS, Bingos: STONIlY.
Opp: ?JZSS, Bingos: (C)RITERIA, rERAISE.
Missed Bingos: none.
Equity Loss: 90.
Orry just has my number. This was the third time that he just totally handled me. It couldn't come from a much nicer guy, so I'm okay with it on a personal level, but it's got to come back around sometime or other.
Game 16,
Chris Cree, W 412-362.
Me: ?QSS, Bingos: (U)INTAITe, PIONEER(S), DRILLED.
Opp: ?JXZSS, Bingos: HEADSME(N).
Missed Bingos: TAUTInG, T(A)BORINS.
Equity Loss: 126.
This was an interesting game. I missed a bingo on the first turn, but saw (U)INTAITe on the next play. He next played HEADSME(N) to the N, and I put him on hold. After thinking for 30 seconds or so, I (unfortunately) decided to challenge. I hit the stop button on the clock, and it totally wigged out--flashing random numbers and whatever before just shutting down. Uh...oops. We adjudicated the challenge, in his favor, then called the director for some...direction. We agreed to go ahead and say that two minutes had elapsed on either side...reset the clock and play down with 2:00 being the new zero mark. Fair enough, although it eventually wasn't any kind of issue (I didn't expect it would be). I got back in the saddle after the missed turn and balanced my rack before bingoing again, then another two tile balance followed by another bingo. Chris was becoming rather...agitated...by this point. I'd taken the lead back, but it was still a pretty close game with plenty of goodies unseen. I proceeded to miss a bingo on the next turn, which would have pretty much sealed it in my favor, but we were duking it out on a pretty tight board, with neither of us willing and/or able to open it. I finally opened it a bit, but onus was on him since I had a 40 point lead at this point. He missed a bingo opportunity late, if he'd known and seen (Ae)ROPAUsE. Yikes. I ended up ahead at the end though, pulling out another fairly lucky win.
Game 17,
Keith Smith, W 410-398.
Me: ZS, Bingos: ANILINE, A(N)TIDOTE, SAUCING.
Opp: ??JQXSSS, Bingos: SOVIETS, UNRAteD.
Missed Bingos: none.
Equity Loss: 86.
Speaking of luck, this was an odd one. While he's bingoing early, I'm playing PIPI(E)R to un-triple my I's. Blech. I bingo twice in a row later, but I'm still down by 60 after his double-blank bingo. I caught what I thought was a lucky spread break when he challenges a four, then barely manage to balance into a late bingo to pull even (376-378) with AEOOORUUYZ unseen. If he has the Z, there's a 44 point Z(A) play primed and ready. What do I draw out of the bag but AEZ. WOW! He blocks the ZA spot (he *has* to), but I have an out-play to win a game I thought was TOTALLY gone. Yee-haw!
Game 18,
Laura Scheimberg, L 346-353.
Me: ?QZ, Bingos: none.
Opp: ?JXSSSS, Bingos: EMERSI(O)N, SINUOUS.
Missed Bingos: none.
Equity Loss: 132.
I knew that sooner or later a squeaker would roll the other way. Laura was having a late-tournament surge, and came into this game fresh from shellacking Orry Swift (why can't *I* do that?!?). The tiles weren't looking too good early, and she gets her bingo to go up by a good bit. I had nice bingo tiles, but I opted for the decent scoring six rather then the fish, and draw into FGKQRRZ. She miraculously *doesn't* block my spot to play Z(E)RK for 81, but then bingos again and I'm trying to balance FGQRUW? next. I hold the QU? for a while because there's no great spot to play them off and I saw some potential for a Q bingo. I finally fish off Q(A)T, but I'm holding AEFMTU? for my last rack. No sevens, but if I can't get a 6 starting with a letter that goes in front of an E, I can make it to the triple word and *maybe* score enough points off her rack (DLPTTV?) by going out the next turn. FUMETs would have done just that, but I didn't see it. I do go out, but it's too little to win it. It all holds up on the recount.
Game 19,
Joel Sherman, W 430-368.
Me: JXS, Bingos: MEGARON, ST(E)RNWAY.
Opp: ??QZSSS, Bingos: rEVISIO(N), SANSER(I)F.
Missed Bingos: none.
Equity Loss: 89.
A double-double GENO(G)RAM would have been better than MEGARON, but I was glad I found ST(E)RNWAY. Anytime you can be up on Joel Sherman early, it's a good thing. He was right back in it with his second bingo, though, and I caught my break with his detour into phoney-land. He tries (P)ECTATED* the turn after SANSER(I)F, and I hold for a bit before challenging it off. I score 50 with my X, and he immediately tries (S)ECTATED*. I challenge that one off even quicker, and now I'm up by a bingo on him. He cuts the lead down the stretch and draws the second blank, but he only has one more shot before I close down the bingo lanes. He thinks for a long time, taking his clock all the way down to 1 second, then tries (T)OOLLIkE*. I might have held for longer if it wasn't so obviously a desperation play, but I'm sunk if it's good anyway, so we take a third trip up to the computer with the same result as the last two. Off it comes, I muck up the board, he goes over on time, and I end up with the win.
Game 20,
Amit Chakrabarti, W 462-387.
Me: ?QXZSSS, Bingos: SPECIAL, BONNiES(T), RESTORA(L).
Opp: ?JS, Bingos: TuRGIDL(Y).
Missed Bingos: NOUVELl(E), lOOSENE(R).
Equity Loss: 138.
This was another messy win that I owe mostly if not totally to a pivotal challenge. I played SPECIAL early instead of the clearly superior (R)EPLICAS, and a couple of turns later, I miss a boatload of bingos in ELNOUV? on a wide open board (Yes, I *DID* see UNLOVED, but that didn't play...UNGLOVE would have, however...). Anyway, I play off LUV, and he puts down TWEETIE(R)*. I hold for a long time. I don't usually hold for terribly long...just make the call and get it over with, but this was big. If it's good, he's right back in it (I *had* been up by 120). He takes his courtesy draw, and I finally make the call to challenge. Talk about RELIEF! I take a quick look at his awful rack (FWJU...something or other) before he throws it back, and I'm back in business...the business of missing another bingo. This time my best play was lOOSENE(R) to the same R. Anyway, I fish again, finally get a sub-optimal bingo on my next play. He's clawing back, but I bingo again a few turns later to pretty well seal it. He gets the super late bingo down with only an S left in the bag, but it was just about the spread at that point. Maybe I should worry about the spread much more than I did this tournament, you think??
Game 21,
Joel Sherman, L 350-485.
Me: JQS, Bingos: none.
Opp: ??XZSSS, Bingos: CLANK(I)ER, MARLiNS, tAUTEST.
Missed Bingos: none.
Equity Loss: 52.
Um, yeah. I was here for this game, but it hardly shows. Quackle actually says I didn't pretty well with what I had, but I didn't have much. Getting all the goodies (again, I might add, but with less phoneys this time...), he stomped me up one side of the board and down the other. Ah well...it was fun while it lasted.
| | Valid, challenged | Phoney, unchallenged | Phoney, challenged |
| My Plays |
DOAT
|
BITTIES*
|
none
|
| Their Plays |
(EX)PENDER
HEADSME(N)
|
none
|
EXP(O)NE*
PAY(I)N*
NOSHERY*
(P)ECTATED*
(S)ECTATED*
(T)OOLLIkE*
TWEETIE(R)*
|
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fine
tired
cheerful
allergic
still stuffy
