Monday, June 22, 2009

Indianapolis and Knoxville Tourneys, June 20-21

It was a big weekend for Lexington Scrabblers.

First, Marc Broering and Andy Wade drove up to Indianapolis on Saturday for a 7-game, 1 day tournament.

According to the Scrabble Association's posted results, Marc had a rough day, going 2-5 in Division 1. His rating dropped from 1734 to 1693, but we all know that number is going to go up again soon.

Andy had a very good day. As the fourth seed, he won Division 4, going 6-1 with a plus-431 spread. His rating jumped from 945 to 1019.

On Saturday and Sunday, Tyler Hannan, Steve Bush, John Spangler, and I played a 15-game, 2-day tournament in Knoxville.

Tyler went 8-7 in Division 1, finishing fifth. His rating will go from 1583 to over 1600, just three months after cracking 1500.

I went 8-7 in Division 2, finishing fourth, and winning a "Bob's Bible." My rating will go over 1300, so I can play in Division 3 at Nationals without making excuses.

Steve went 7-8 in Division 2, finishing seventh. Ever the gentleman, he graciously let me outdraw him in two games over the weekend. His rating will stay over 1300, so he might be able to exact his revenge on me at Nationals.

John went 8-7 in Division 4, finishing sixth. His rating might slip a bit, but he's due for a breakout performance, maybe at Nationals.

Another Kentuckian but not a club member, Mark Edward Owens, also played at Knoxville. He finished 7-8, finishing seventh, but he exceeded his expected number of wins, so his rating, currently 1580, is certain to rise a bit.

The official results and ratings haven't been posted yet, but our combined performance means a net gain in ratings points for Kentucky, and especially for the Lexington club members. Woohoo!

MODERATOR'S ADDENDUM (6/23/2009, at 11:15 PM) -- The National Scrabble Association now has ratings changes posted for the Knoxville tourney. Here are the numbers (name, old rating, new rating, change) for the Kentucky contingent at Knoxville:

Tyler Hannan, 1583, 1603, +20
Mark David Owens, 1580, 1580, 0
Will Scott, 1297, 1328, +31
Steve Bush, 1307, 1320, +13
John Spangler, 849, 838, -11

Congratulations to Tyler for breaking into the 1600's! What makes this even more noteworthy is that Tyler has been playing in tournaments for only nine months! His first tournament was a local club tournament at Huntington, WV, in October of last year, with his initial rating at 1163. Great work, Tyler. Onward and upward!