Feb. 27 LCT Results

It was a rainy Sunday; what better weather for a Scrabble tournament? 8 competitors ventured out in the soggy mess for 5 rounds of action. A special congratulations to Andrea Carman on her first tournament victory, going 4-1 as the 3rd seed, and gaining a whopping 108 rating points along the way. Woohoo!!!

The full results are below. Thanks to everyone for attending!

Steve Bush, Director

Format: Name, W/L, Spread, OldRating, NewRating, Prize
Division A
Marc Broering, 5-0, +745 , 1720, 1743, 1st place, $20
Will Scott, 3-2, +110, 1367, 1386, 2nd place, $10
Frank Lee, 1-4, - 403, 1368, 1341, high game (424), $5
Connie Breitbiel, 1-4, - 452, 1288, 1274

Division B
Andrea Carman, 4-1, + 109, 554, 662, 1st place, $20
Andy Wade, 2-3, - 4, 1083, 1046, 2nd place, $10
Betty King, 2-3, - 40, 735, 727
Victoria Bledsoe, 2-3, - 65, 483, 498, high game (469), $5

Feb. 27 LCT (formal) Announcement

Our next local club tournament will be held on Sunday, February 27, from 3:00 p.m. to around 9:00 p.m. at our regular meeting location, Perkins Family Restaurant, 2401 Richmond Road, Lexington. Steve Bush will direct. The February LCT is open to anyone who wishes to play, regardless of whether he or she is a member of the local club. It will be rated by the Word Game Players' Association (WGPO); no NASPA membership is required. The entry fee is $10. WGPO does not require individuals to be WGPO members in order to play at tournaments that it rates but encourages them to join; there are no membership dues for WGPO. You can join WGPO on its web site at http://www.wordgameplayers.org/join .

The tourney format will continue to be a five-round tournament, including a meal break at Perkins, with pairings and prize structure determined by the tournament director on the basis of the number of players participating. WGPO fully rates local club tournaments. Seedings will be determined by players' WGPO ratings, with NASPA ratings used if the player has not yet established a WGPO rating. Entry deadline is 5 p.m., Saturday, February 26, in order to ensure a timely start for the tournament.

To register either leave a comment to this blog entry OR send an e-mail to Steve at bush3262@yahoo.com. Here are the responses received so far, as of Saturday, February 26, at 4:00 p.m. EST --

9 WILL BE ATTENDING: Andy Wade, Andrea Carman, Marc Broering, Victoria Bledsoe, Betty King, Frank Lee, Connie Breitbiel, Will Scott, Steve Bush (directing)

2 WILL NOT BE ATTENDING: Cheryl Coovert, Janet Scheeline

0 ARE UNSURE ABOUT ATTENDING:

Hope to see you there!
Steve Bush, Tournament Director

Club results, Sunday Feb. 13

There were four of us at Perkins, so the pairings were easy: round-robin plus a king of the hill.

Victoria had the bingo of the day, in terms of points, low probability and overall coolness: INFIXeS for 106. She said she had been studying the fives that have X, and it came in handy.
Steve had the second-coolest bingo: the anagram of GONDOLA. He also had high game with 526.

Results:

Steve 3-1, +248
Betty 2-2, +190
Victoria 2-2, -86
Will 1-3, -162

Steve 437 LOaFERS 66, HOsTAGE 83
Will 313 LOITERS

Betty 398 STAGIER 83
Victoria 294

Victoria 372 MORALEs
Will 357 SARDINE 73

Betty 439 EMERGES 97
Steve 331 DEALERS 73

Will 402 DESTINY 75
Betty 383 TIERING 63, COBbLES 89

Steve 526 INERTIA 84, DONGOLA 85 SOLDIERS 70, GRENADEs 60
Victoria 297

Victoria 378 INFIXeS 106
Will 336 DEVIATOR 74

Steve 396 rEVISES 67 STAINER 73
Betty 393 BLENDiNG 86

Club Today (Sun. 2/13)

Just a quick last-minute post to say that I'll be there. Will said he's coming too. Any others?

Next LCT: Sunday, February 27

Hi everyone,

I'm pleased to announce that after a few months' haitus, the Lexington Scrabble Club's Local Club Tournament is back! The date will be Sunday, February 27, at the same locale (Perkin's Restaurant).

As in the past, the following will apply:
-5 game format
-WGPO (not NASPA) fully-rated tournament
-Start time: 3pm
-"Registration" deadline 5pm the day before, i.e. Saturday 2/26
-Visitors from other clubs are welcome.
-Entry fee TBD. Likely $10-15 like in the past.

I will post a more "formal" announcement in the next week, wherein I'll keep a current list of entrants, but I wanted to at least get the news out now so you can be planning for it. Of course, if you are already planning to play, feel free to post a comment here, or email John or me, and I'll add you to the formal announcement when I post it.

Let me know if any questions. Hope to see you there!

Steve

Club results, Feb. 6

We had five players: Betty, Cheryl, Janny, Victoria and Will

Will 3-0, +435
Betty 2-1, +226
Janny 1-1, -60
Victoria 1-3, -215
Cheryl 1-3, -386

Bingoes:

Will:
ROMANCE 78
AnGRILY 71
ANGAR(I)ES 60
REPEATS 84
EQUINES 80
FASTeNS 70
AER(I)ALED* 62
ATR(O)PINE 64

Betty:
HEIFERs 82
SWAYING 89
INTeRN(A)L 66
S(E)RIAtES 60

Cheryl:
FAIRIES 61
RELATING 63
SUITINg 77
(S)TUDDiNG 76

Will's Knoxville tournament

Here is my game-by-game overview of the Knoxville tournament. It's long, so I apologize in advance. I hoped to be able to just put a link here, but that's beyond my capability.

Here is the short form: I was the top seed in Division 2 and finished 8-7, +35, in sixth place. My rating dropped from 1409 to 1375. In three losses, I let go a phoney, and in each case, challenging it off might have changed the outcome. Ah, well. There's always the next tournament.

Here's my full report:

Will Scott's Knoxville Tourney, January 2011

Game 1, vs. David Meredith

Division 2 had 14 players, so the format was a round-robin for the first 13 games, then a king-of-the-hill matchup for each of the final two rounds. As the top seed in my division, I was to play the field in reverse order, from the 14th seed to the second seed. David was the 14th seed. I'd played him before and I knew he would be tough, but he'd had almost no sleep the night before and was visibly bleary. However, he managed to stay awake enough to hand me a loss right away. It didn't help that I missed the bingo MALTOSE. My lone bingo was SLATTED, but he answered with NONARTS, and two turns later he played ZEE/ZA for 63 points, and I couldn't catch him. Will 339, David 410.

Game 2, vs. Jacob Cohen.

Jacob is a very nice guy from Asheville. He has played tournament Scrabble for only a little more than a year, but he's a quick study and is rising. We had a closely fought game, and on turn 9, he extended END to ENDGRAIN, down to a triple for 33 points, giving him a 44-point lead. I held, thinking it probably was two words, but I decided not to risk it. (It turned out to be a phoney.) I held ELNOTVY and had decided to play NOVEL when I realized I had NOVELTY and a fat spot, so I played it for 96 points. He played BUR for 11, and I played RIOJA through the I for 28 points, extending my lead. Jacob played ION for 16, and I put down POSY, hooking the S to RIOJA, for 39 points and a 92-point lead. I drew the last tile, the Z, to go with EEI on my rack, and then Jacob bingoed out with ELOINER through a triple, hooking the R to ODE. It was the only possible bingo lane on the board. He took the 26 points on my rack and finished a point ahead, 389-388. I ask for a recount, but we find two more points for him, so it's a three-point victory for Jacob, 391-388.

Game 3, vs. Charlie Bond.

Another nice guy, Charlie was a longtime player who quit the game in the 1990s and returned a couple of years ago. I jumped ahead with ARSENAL, but he later played AUGITES to get within 9. From there, he won the battle of four- and five-letter plays, winning 380-311.

Game 4, vs. Margaret Swanson.

The action was in the second half of the game. I had built a nice lead, but on turn 9, Margaret played AGITATE to go ahead by a point. Two turns later I played DRUNKEST for 64, then ZA for 31. I almost blew the game by playing AGITATER*, which she challenged off, but two turns later, after she played SINUATE, I was able to answer with LIBRATE for 71. Finally, a win: 421-353.

Game 5, vs. Frank Schin.

With a rack of CDMNRXV, I opened by exchanging two. By turn four, I had a bingo: IRONERS for 71. Two turns later, holding EGOSTU?, I bingoed again with OUTGaZES for 68. Frank challenged, thinking I was trying a hail-mary because there was nowhere to play OUTAGES, but it came back good, and I built a 115-point lead. Frank kept chipping away and briefly went ahead, but I regained the lead with NICETY for 42. I win, 397-369.

Game 6, vs. Vicki Blizzard.

Vicki iss the co-director of the local club and the tournament, but I cut her no slack. I bingoed with BEACHING on my first turn, and maintained a good lead. On turn 8 I played STEIN through a triple, forming KAYOS, UT and RE for 58 points. Vicki then bingoed with LEDGERS, but I was able to answer with TiNGLES. Another win, 453-344.

Game 7 vs. Bill Snoddy.

Bill is the director of the Asheville club and tournament, and a pleasure to play. I had held a slight lead when he played ENTRAINS for 62, but I answered with TaNGOING for 68 to maintain the lead. He played EX for 42 and IF for 31, while I played OVULI* for 18 (I was thinking of OCULI, but fortunately, Bill didn't challenge) and TUBER for 24, and my lead was down to a point. But after he played DICED for 27, I was able to find IMITATEeS for 72, and Bill ran out of tiles. Will 417, Bill 361.

Game 8 vs. Yolanda Ushry.

For some reason, I always have a good game against Yolanda. I'm 6-0 against her, with an average victory margin of 106 points. This game was no different. I opened with the fun 6-letter word ZOUNDS (it's good only with the S), and after a 6-point play of UT, I made a string of big-point plays: 32, 35, 27, 26, QUARTO for 50, DUCKIES for 78, EYE for 34. She answered my bingo with her own, DERIDING, but I had built too big a lead and won, 430-337.

Game 9 vs. Aaron Finkel.

Just as I have Yolanda's number, Aaron has mine. He opened with VEALIER, while I, stuck with two Us, played GURU. Looking at my first rack now AAGHRUU I wonder if I might have been better off playing AARGH, keeping the two Us. A quick analysis by Quackle says AUGUR is the best play. Of course. Late in the game, just as I've clawed back to a three-point gap, Aaron drops SLINGER on me, pluralizing my earlier play of KENDO for 85 points. I finally get a bingo, STINGE(R)s, but it's not enough. Aaron 449, Will 388.

Game 10 vs. Mary Ellen Weisskopf.

In this back-and-forth game, I open with KITHE for 34, but I then get stuck with low-scoring plays, and Mary Ellen takes the lead on turn 4 with RADIANS for 71. I answer and retake the lead with SOUPIER for 89. Two turns later, Mary Ellen goes ahead with RESTABLE for 83, but I take it back with FOCAL for 49. After exchanging two of my three Rs, I find a spot for DRAGNET for 69, followed by ZEE for 49, and I win a high-scoring match, 456 to 403.

Game 11 vs. Gerri Bergeron.

As I played against higher- and higher-rated players in this tournament, I failed to raise the level of my game. After playing off two of my three Is with MINI for 11 points on my first play, I pick up both blanks and manage a bingo on turn 4 with (T)OstAdAS for 71 to take the lead. Stuck with two Us again on turn 6, I play my old standby, GURU, for 6 points, and then Gerri drops MISTRUAL* through the A for 70. I call hold. Hmm. I see MURALIST in that combination, but that won't fit. I dont like it at all, but I lose my nerve and decide not to challenge. Immediately after the game, I check it and find out the bad news. ALTRUISM, MURALIST and ULTRAISM are the good words in that combination. Later, I play ANOI(N)TED for 68, but it's not enough, and I can't manage any decent scoring plays after that. Gerri 388, Will 338.

Game 12 vs. Reid Warren.

Reid is a tough player, and he was 2-0 against me coming into the tournament. He opens with COX for 24, but I respond with ZOA for 45. That's my highlight of this game. On turn 4, he bingoes with VOCALES*, and it took me FOUR DAYS to realize that this was a phoney. The kicker is that I had studied this rack and I knew the only two anagrams: ALCOVES and COEVALS. Unfortunately, the door to that piece of information was shut on Sunday, when I needed it. I barely paused when he played it; I thought Id seen the word somewhere, so I didn't call hold and really scrutinize it. After that, Reid exchanged and then he played BRANNIER. That's the one on which I called hold, and it's the one I challenged, and it's the one that's good. Ouch. With his free turn, he played SENARII to go up by 136 points. I managed to play REdOL(E)NT for 68, but it wasn't nearly enough. Reid 453, Will 315.

Game 13 vs. Tom O'Rourke.

We both struggled to score early, and I burned a lot of time trying to find points in dreadful racks. Tom played MIRZA for 44 on turn 9 to open a 53-point lead, and I distinguished myself by playing five turns with single-digit scores. Still, by the end of turn 13, I was down by only 46. (Hey, it could have been much worse.) Then my luck changed. I drew both blanks, making my rack GINRS??. There was one obvious bingo lane through a double-word score. Tom couldn't capitalize, but he wisely blocked it with TAO for 13. There was one other possibility, however. I had seen it a few turns earlier but couldn't make use of it. There was an H on the board, leaving the possibility of an eight-letter bingo, but it had to end with the H and the seventh letter had to be S, to make SPA. While Tom deliberated before his TAO play, I plotted my move. Had he not played in that spot, I could have played REGINAS for 67. When he blocked that, I dropped GReeNIS(H) for 64. The bag was empty, so I took 8 points off his rack and won by five, 308-303. Whew. That almost made up for my two previous boneheaded losses. Almost. It was my lowest-scoring game of the tournament. I always try to avoid a sub-300-point game, and that is about the only goal I achieved in this tourney.

Game 14 vs. Mary Ellen Weisskopf.

In the first of two King-of-the-hill rounds, I was still in the hunt for fourth place, providing I had a blowout win and the fourth-place player lost by about 200. Didn't happen. What did happen was that I opened with OCTANES for 74 and two turns later played PLAISTER for 62, taking a commanding lead, if only temporarily. Mary Ellen played GLISTER for 79 to narrow the gap, I scored a total of 163 points in my next four plays, but then she played (D)eWiNESS to a triple for 83. Fortunately, I drew the better tiles in the final three turns and won, 432-381.

Game 15 vs. Margaret Swanson.

We played about even until she dialed up REDIALS for 77 on turn 7. I was able to stay close and finally got down a bingo, SONATaS, for 70 to take a 34-point lead. From the second A in my bingo, she laid down APOSTLES, but then she picked it up, fearing a strong comeback play to the triple-word score. Instead she played POST for 21. I couldn't close the board, but I refused to open it further, making two- and three-tile plays. It backfired. She bingoed (I forgot to record the word and I can't remember it) and I got stuck with all vowels in my final full rack. Margaret 399, Will 351.

Final notes: I finished 8-7, with a spread of 35 points, and my rating dropped from 1409 to 1375. Ouch. During the tournament, it seemed to me that I was plagued by Is, and I was sure I drew the lion's share of them. According to my tallies, I drew slightly more than half, and I often did have two or more on my rack, but part of the reason for that was my rack management, leaving an I on my rack while making a middling play. I also hurt myself by allowing two phoney bingoes in two straight games. Add it all up and it was a lack of focus overall. I can only hope to be better prepared mentally in my next tournament.