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NASC 2015 Commentary: Round 10

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Go to: Before the Tournament, Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5, Round 6, Round 7, Round 8, Round 9, Round 10, Round 11, Round 12, Round 13, Round 14, Round 15, Round 16, Round 17, Round 18, Round 19, Round 20, Round 21, Round 22, Round 23, Round 24, Round 25, Round 26, Round 27, Round 28, Round 29, Round 30, Round 31.

Round 10

Howard Pistol (Oakland Park, FL) is at it again! He got down OUTSHINE as a 185-point triple-triple this round. Dan Stock ran across the room to tell me!

Michael Early (Fort Worth, TX) had a big win, 575-321, against Betty Cornelison (Portland, OR) this round. The bulk of that win is due to his fab 9: REPRINTED through the TE!

Kate Fukawa-Connelly (Lawrenceville, NJ) is all smiles. She just had her third “500 game” this morning. She is floating on a cloud.

Dustin Brown (Fairfield, CT) vs. Laurie Holz (Los Angeles, CA) in division 4. I see REFINErS and WETTERS and want to watch more, but she is down to 14 seconds on her clock (he had more than 12 minutes on his), so I walked off to let her focus. He ended up winning the game, 366-319. Great to see these School SCRABBLE students do so well in our adult tournaments!

John Chew reminds me that there will be merchandise prizes handed out after lunch for the rest of the event. Players with the best record in the bottom half of their divisions each morning will be called up to receive a prize. Great idea!

Bradley Whitmarsh (Attleboro, MA) vs. Joel Wapnick (Montreal QC) at board 2 in the CSW group. I see TOILETED (blank L), PALADINS, and BEGONIA on their in-progress board. Not all folks like to have their games examined so I kept a wide berth. All the better, because in circling the board, I saw ADNOPS? on Bradley’s rack. I wonder where it went? I learn later that Bradley won, 401-334.

Mohammad Sulaiman (United Arab Emirates) vs. Evans Clinchy (Boston, MA). I spot BUREAUS, OATIEsT, RATEENs, and BLARING on their board. I try to take notes standing behind the player whose clock is NOT running when I take notes during games, but Mohammad plays upside down. There was a glare on their clock, so I didn’t see that Mohammad’s clock was running. I apologize from afar for stressing him out if I did! It turned out to be Evans’ win, 496-341.

Whispered into my ear: “Martin Gold (Arlington, VA) played ANODIZED for a 110-point outplay to win his game this round!”

So, Becky Dyer (Austin, TX) and Austin Shin (United Kingdom) are playing this round. And I’m sure their game was interesting, but all I could see was his bright yellow shirt. It is an Arsenal jersey (that fellows who play “football” in England, but we call “soccer” over here, wear) and it featured the number 9 and the name AUSTINHO on the back in all caps. I got Conrad Bassett-Bouchard (Piedmont, CA) in on the action and we tried to decide if Austinho was the last name of a real player or not. He helped me realize that Barclays was not the name of the team, but rather an enormous bank conglomerate. So, thanks for that help, Conrad. Anyway, the game finally wrapped up and I got the chance to ask Austin. The name on his shirt is not a real player, but rather a nickname, of sorts, for him. Real “football” fans are already way past this info, I am sure. The tiles were by this point picked up and I asked Becky about the game. She said, “Please put down this exact thing. Austin beat me because he is smarter than me. He won based on sheer smarts. I can’t buy more IQ points.” Austin blushed. It was a 458-443 win for him. Poor Becky has hard a hard morning, losing her first three.

Joe Edley (Port Jefferson, NY) is smirking and walking my way. He says, “Hey Sherrie, go ask Jesse Day (Berkeley, CA) about his game.” I walk over to Jesse and Matthew Tunnicliffe (Ottawa ON) and plop into a nearby chair. I say “I think I am the last person that you want to see, but tell me about your great blunder.” He blushes and maybe shoots arrows at Joe (not sure, I may be making that up!). He says, “Well I made a 116-point error by forgetting that JEEZ takes an E. It is a new word, a stupid word, I might add. I studied it, but forgot in the heat of the moment and made an inferior play for 27 points.” He said, “I missed SOKEMEN and EIKONES.” He tosses these words around like they are everyday words (they are to folks like him and Matthew and the others who were gathered around looking). Jesse did get down PARVENUE, ACRiDLY, and LOOSELY (blank second L). Matthew got down RUTILANT, but could never get going. He pointed out NATURE and said, “I played that high-probability six, I studied it recently.” He was trying to defend why he did it. The board was closed and he had to create openings if he stood any chance of coming back. The thing is, despite Jesse’s blunders and blindness, he won, 507-316. Trying to help out, Matthew picked up the result slip to start filling it in. Jesse grabbed it away from him and said, “Let me fill it out! It is my first 500 game of the tournament! And, plus, your writing stinks!” Jesse is right, Matthew’s handwriting is a mystery! I reminded Jesse that Kate Fukawa-Connelly (Lawrenceville, NJ) had a 500-game this round, too, and then rubbed it in that it was her third, today. All in good fun!

Cecilia Le (San Francisco, CA) and Jason Broersma (Caledon ON) this round. A late-finishing game, several others gathered around to check out their board. I see VIOLaTE, VIOLETS, and AIGRETTE. It was a 437-333 win for Jason.

Jesse Matthews writes:

Wendy Wilkinson Ridout (Ankeny, IA) and Gladys Burritt (Eureka, CA) are facing off this round. Wendy has F?LTERS lined up on her rack, but needs to see an overlap play in order to get it down on the board. She sees her play and lays it down, creating RAN and SHE in the process. Nice board vision!

Meanwhile I’m continuing to see great rack vision from players in all divisions. Ed Morrison (Malabar, FL) has cleaned up a clunky rack of AIOSTUU against Francina Bailey (Wilmington, CA). Seeing an open C on the board, he makes his play. Can you find it?

Early on in his match against Paul Avrin (New York, NY) I see John Karris (San Jose, CA) play the beautiful AXOLOTLS. Paul is trailing, but cleans up his rack considerably with YTTRIA in response.

Yukiko Loritz (Anaheim, CA) and Matt DeWaelsche (San Antonio, TX) have just finished up their endgame. Matt eagerly points out to me that he played RENO+, a new addition to the TWL dictionary this year and also the name of our host city! He got to play the nice pREDELLA near the end of the game, but Yukiko has sealed this match up already, thanks to earlier high-scoring plays like TUSSIVE and CODEX. Yukiko wins this one 430-378.

Brian Nelson (Los Angeles, CA) and Cynthia Seales (Stone Mountain, GA) have had a great game. Cynthia tells me that they had a very close game throughout, but thanks to her fantastic play of MUJIK for 57 points in the pre-endgame she is able to pull ahead to win this one 412-378. Cynthia also played BEDSITS, while Brian got away with BEMOURN* and bingoed with FEAtURES and GeRANIOL.

Aron Smith (Blythe, CA) challenges pRANKLER*, and outplay for Deanna Stacy (Des Moines, IA), which comes back unacceptable when they walk over to the challenge computer to check it.

Mark Peltier (Seattle, WA) and Martin Weisskopf (Huntsville, AL) had a high-scoring game this round. Mark saw that Martin had several high scoring out plays (GLEETY and EYELET) at the end when they both were close in score, so Mark played BATT to block both of Martin’s outs and force Martin to play for less points. Mark ended up winning 463-430. Some of Mark’s high plays included ZINEB, QUASI, GARNETS and EMERIES. Martin’s higher scoring plays were TENONERS, GNARLIER, and the beautiful find of DRUiDIC.

Robin Pollock Daniel writes:

Leesa Berahovich (Berkeley, CA) and Norases Vesdapunt (Stanford, CA) had a barnstormer of a game. It was almost sad that it didn’t end in a tie. Norases played EXORcIST for 80, PAREIRAS for 83, SONATINE for 77, and TANNERS for 66. Leesa got down two huge non-bingos, PLAZA for 78 and QADI for 72, along with GROOVIER (98), MILEAGES (64), and, late in the game, HITCHeD for a seemingly game-ending 87. Lisa had two choices where to place HITCHed, choosing the higher-scoring but more volatile N6 (vs. N8) position, but this allowed Norases to play FACET at O11 for 41. This, along with several other 40+ point plays gave Norases the slim victory of 516-513, a combined game score of 1029!

Sal Piro (New York, NY) vs. Charles Reinke (Middleton, WI). Sal played MISVALUE (67) early on, dangling the E dangerously at O7, and Charles swooped down with his two blanks, playing APOlUNEs for 122. He also had the natural SNEEZIER (88) to Sal’s phony-but-accepted LOTIONED* (70), but it was a win for Charles, 443-414.

Marty Gabriel (Charleston, IL) tracked me down to talk about his lovely game against Kenji Matsumoto (Berkeley, CA), which he won 538-338. The tiles clearly flowed in Marty’s direction, allowing him to get down UVeITIC (80) to start the game, followed by NEUTRINO (63), ADULATE (67), and AILERONS (59), the latter being one of those bingos that you don’t need late in the game to secure the win, but the good tiles just stick to your fingers like a magnet to a non-stainless steel fridge.

In CSW play, a seven-letter bingo ending in G but without IN in front creating the gerund was played, FAnTEEG# for 77. Tony Leah (Ajax ON) defeated Stefan Rau (Hudson, NY), 431-427, Stefan losing by the two one-point tiles left on his rack after Tony played out.

Division 1 Round 10 Auto-Commentary

Orry Swift (Houston, TX) stays in the lead, 9-1 +655, on a 3-game winning streak. Joey Krafchick (Richardson, TX) is 1 game behind at 8-2 +800, still at #2. Trey Wright (Sierra Madre, CA) is +451, #3 climbing from #6. Jason Li (Dollard-Des-Ormeaux QC) is +443, #4 improving from #7. Jesse Day (Berkeley, CA) is +137, on a 4-game winning streak, #5 rising from #9. Charles Reinke (Middleton, WI) is 2 games behind the leader at 7-3 +566, on a 4-game winning streak, #6 rising from #10. Chris Cree (Dallas, TX) is +490, #7 leaping up from #12. Ian Weinstein (Coral Springs, FL) is +465, #8 jumping up from #13. Joe Edley (Port Jefferson, NY) is +439, #9 down from #3. Darrell Day (Richardson, TX) is +353, #10 tumbling from #4.

In Class B: Charles Reinke (Middleton, WI) is the lead, 7-3 +566, on a 4-game winning streak. Chris Cree (Dallas, TX) is +490, #7 rising from #12. Darrell Day (Richardson, TX) is +353, #10 jumping down from #4. Norases Vesdapunt (Stanford, CA) is -12, #12 up from #19. Nigel Peltier (Portland, OR) is -35, #13 dropping from #8. Kate Fukawa-Connelly (Lawrenceville, NJ) is 1 game behind at 6-4 +559, on a 3-game winning streak, #14 up from #20. Joshua Sokol (Montreal QC) is +424, on a 3-game winning streak, #16 climbing from #23. Leesa Berahovich (Berkeley, CA) is +275, #19 down from #15. Thomas Reinke (Middleton, WI) is +255, #20 up from #25. Steve Bush (Richmond, KY) is +246, on a 3-game winning streak, #22 climbing from #29.

In Class C: Tasha Asberry (Cordova, TN) is the lead, 6-4 -131. Alec Sjoholm (Lynnwood, WA) is 1 game behind at 5-5 +268, #30 rising from #38. Jeff Fiszbein (South Lyon, MI) is +195, #34 collapsing from #24. Tom Bond (Everett, WA) is +155, #35 up from #42. Amnuay Ploysangngam (Thailand) is -407, #42 tumbling from #35. Reid Hattaway (Moscow, ID) is 2 games behind the leader at 4-6 -61, #44 down from #39. Mark Miller (Radnor, PA) is -176, on a 3-game winning streak, #47 whizzing up from #59. Ross Brown (Ottawa ON) is -181, hovering at #48. Terry Kang Rau (Hudson, NY) is -281, #52 tumbling from #45. Greg Heidler (Waialua, HI) is -287, #53 tumbling from #44.

High Win: Michael Early (Fort Worth, TX) 575-321 vs. Betty Cornelison (Portland, OR). Low Win: Jerry Lerman (Foster City, CA) 358-351 vs. Matt Canik (Austin, TX). High Loss: Leesa Berahovich (Berkeley, CA) 513-516 vs. Norases Vesdapunt (Stanford, CA). Low Loss: Robin Levin (San Francisco, CA) 227-543 vs. David Pearl (Long Beach, CA).

Division 2 Round 10 Auto-Commentary

Chris Williams (Vancouver BC) stays in the lead for the 4th consecutive round, 9-1 +1016, on a 7-game winning streak. Howard Pistol (Oakland Park, FL) is 1 game behind at 8-2 +619, #2 climbing from #3. Carlene Wallis (Sparks, NV) is +429, on a 4-game winning streak, #3 improving from #7. Elizabeth Ralston (Los Angeles, CA) is +311, #4 dropping from #2. Kevin Fraley (San Jose, CA) is 2 games behind the leader at 7-3 +866, on a 3-game winning streak, #5 leaping up from #10. Charlie Southwell (Arlington, VA) is +697, on a 4-game winning streak, #6 up from #11. Jeff Martin (Albuquerque, NM) is +608, #7 up from #13. John Karris (San Jose, CA) is +456, #8 rising from #15. Matthew Ridout (Lexington, KY) is +426, #9 tumbling from #4. Kevin Bowerman (Chapel Hill, NC) is +387, on a 4-game winning streak, #10 rising from #14.

In Class : In Class B: Jeff Martin (Albuquerque, NM) is the lead, 7-3 +608. Martin Weisskopf (Huntsville, AL) is +383, #11 dropping from #5. Guy Ingram (Ellenwood, GA) is +56, #15 jumping down from #9. Ken Smith (Pukalani, HI) is -74, on a 3-game winning streak, #16 improving from #18. Mark Peltier (Seattle, WA) is -116, #17 rising from #19. James Porter (Cleveland Heights, OH) is 1 game behind at 6-4 +254, #22 climbing from #24. Tod Taylor (Seattle, WA) is +91, #25 rocketing up from #35. Paul Mishkin (San Francisco, CA) is +40, #28 jumping up from #36. Curtis Lee (Jacksonville, FL) is 2 games behind the leader at 5-5 +111, #36 collapsing from #25. Amnon Igra (Sacramento, CA) is +101, #37 down from #28.

In Class C: Elizabeth Ralston (Los Angeles, CA) is the lead, 8-2 +311. Edward Gowash (Fort Worth, TX) is 2 games behind at 6-4 +272, #21 climbing from #27. Carolyn Easter (Birmingham, MI) is +162, #23 jumping up from #29. Cynthia Pughsley (Oakland, CA) is +134, #24 hurtling up from #37. Carol McDonald (Northboro, MA) is +85, #26 hurtling up from #38. Gwen Stewart (Ellicott City, MD) is +78, #27 jumping up from #34. Carole Denton (New Carrollton, MD) is 3 games behind the leader at 5-5 +200, #31 zooming up from #47. Paula Catanese (Mountain View, CA) is +179, #32 rocketing up from #54. Katya Lezin (Charlotte, NC) is +153, #33 soaring from #56. Lilla Sinanan (Stoney Creek ON) is +25, #41 jumping down from #33.

High Win: Howard Pistol (Oakland Park, FL) 544-400 vs. Dave Leifer (Alpharetta, GA). Low Win: Ruchi Gupta (Knoxville, TN) 356-326 vs. Cheryl Melvin (Grand Rapids, MI). High Loss: Kit Morehead (Berkley, MI) 434-440 vs. Ken Smith (Pukalani, HI). Low Loss: Peter Dolgenos (Sacramento, CA) 264-443 vs. Vera Bigall (Toronto ON).

Division 3 Round 10 Auto-Commentary

Bill Ewing (Missoula, MT) stays in the lead for the 3rd consecutive round, 10-0 +623, on a 10-game winning streak. Ben Greenwood (Florence, MA) is 2 games behind at 8-2 +986, still at #2 for 3 rounds. Charles Dupont (Seattle, WA) is +723, on a 3-game winning streak, #3 improving from #4. Dave Lockrem (Blaine, MN) is +491, on a 4-game winning streak, #4 rising from #5. April McCarley (Austin, TX) is +325, on a 4-game winning streak, #5 rising from #8. Tapani Lindgren (Roseville, CA) is +307, #6 falling from #3. Zachary Ansell (Los Angeles, CA) is +242, #7 climbing from #9. Daniel Novinson (San Francisco, CA) is 3 games behind the leader at 7-3 +439, #8 up from #11. Carl Warner (Renton, WA) is +380, on a 6-game winning streak, #9 climbing from #18. Lynda Wise (Toronto ON) is +334, #10 rising from #13.

In Class B: Zachary Ansell (Los Angeles, CA) is the lead, 8-2 +242. Margo Kuno (Philadelphia, PA) is 1 game behind at 7-3 +206, #12 down from #6. Mary Ellen Weisskopf (Huntsville, AL) is -23, on a 4-game winning streak, #17 up from #22. Betsey Wood (Concord, MA) is 2 games behind the leader at 6-4 +287, #20 down from #12. Carol Tillson (Silver Spring, MD) is +169, on a 3-game losing streak, #21 jumping down from #15. Sonia Wilmot (Littleton, CO) is +158, #22 jumping up from #28. Rhonda Morris (Oklahoma City, OK) is +72, #25 jumping up from #33. Claudia Finn (Seattle, WA) is +54, #26 plummeting from #16.

In Class C: Chloe Fatsis (Washington, DC) is the lead, 7-3 +202, on a 3-game winning streak. Joey Gordon (Fort Worth, TX) is +178, on a 4-game winning streak, #15 up from #19. Cooper Komatsu (Los Angeles, CA) is 1 game behind at 6-4 +454, #18 jumping down from #10. Nancy Hanley (Wilmington, DE) is +120, #23 rising from #32. Chris Autio (Missoula, MT) is +23, #27 tumbling from #20. Dani Roter (Valley Village, CA) is 1.5 games behind the leader at 5.5-4.5 +26, #30 dropping from #23.

High Win: Carl Warner (Renton, WA) 532-287 vs. Dani Roter (Valley Village, CA). Low Win: Terry Veevers (San Mateo, CA) 341-301 vs. Cecilia Huber (Cleveland, OH). High Loss: Tom O'Laughlin (Hartland, WI) 418-419 vs. Rhonda Roederer (New Orleans, LA). Low Loss: Julia Bogle (Indianapolis, IN) 214-482 vs. Diane Kerner (Beverly Hills, CA).

Division 4 Round 10 Auto-Commentary

Jim Laris (Altadena, CA) claims the lead, 9-1 +358, on a 7-game winning streak. Jennifer DeWaelsche (San Antonio, TX) is 1 game behind at 8-2 +588, #2 climbing from #4. Hannah Rozear (Durham, NC) is +337, #3 slipping from #1. Jack Peters (Nantucket, MA) is 2 games behind the leader at 7-3 +547, #4 up from #5. Rachel Gillette (Lafayette, CO) is +401, #5 falling from #3. Richard Banker (Ankeny, IA) is +396, on a 3-game winning streak, #6 climbing from #7. Peter Hopkins (Toronto ON) is +199, on a 3-game winning streak, #7 up from #8.

In Class B: Jim Laris (Altadena, CA) is the lead, 9-1 +358, on a 7-game winning streak. Jennifer DeWaelsche (San Antonio, TX) is 1 game behind at 8-2 +588, #2 improving from #4. Rachel Gillette (Lafayette, CO) is 2 games behind the leader at 7-3 +401, #5 falling from #3. Richard Banker (Ankeny, IA) is +396, on a 3-game winning streak, #6 climbing from #7.

In Class C: Jack Peters (Nantucket, MA) is the lead, 7-3 +547. Dustin Brown (Fairfield, CT) is 1 game behind at 6-4 +381, #8 climbing from #11. Sheng Guo (Amawalk, NY) is +1, #13 rising from #21. Jennifer Hay (Portland, TX) is -61, #14 sliding from #10. Margaret Hughes (Los Angeles, CA) is 2 games behind the leader at 5-5 +62, on a 4-game losing streak, #20 down from #17. Keith Forman (El Cajon, CA) is +1, #24 down from #16. Pamela Pudelka (Corpus Christi, TX) is -97, #26 tumbling from #20. Chandra Hebert (Lafayette, LA) is -144, #30 climbing from #32.

High Win: Arthur van Tol (Grandville, MI) 479-284 vs. Dawn Mennear (Des Moines, IA). Low Win: Annie Adkins (Waukomis, OK) 336-330 vs. Deborah Komatsu (Los Angeles, CA). High Loss: Constance J Creech (Metamora, MI) 377-390 vs. Chan Fonseka (Dublin, CA). Low Loss: Francina Bailey (Wilmington, CA) 255-473 vs. Ed Morrison (Malabar, FL).

Division CSW Round 10 Auto-Commentary

Dave Wiegand (Portland, OR) remains in the lead for the 3rd consecutive round, 9-1 +857, on a 6-game winning streak. Becky Dyer (Austin, TX) is 1 game behind at 8-2 +673, unchanged at #2 for 3 rounds. Amit Chakrabarti (Hanover, NH) is +407, #3 improving from #5. Austin Shin (United Kingdom) is +402, on a 4-game winning streak, remaining steady at #4. Nick Ball (San Bruno, CA) is 2 games behind the leader at 7-3 +575, on a 3-game winning streak, #5 up from #6. John O'Laughlin (San Francisco, CA) is +489, #6 sliding from #3. Peter Armstrong (Oakland, CA) is +424, #7 improving from #8. Evans Clinchy (Boston, MA) is +325, #8 rising from #9. Bradley Whitmarsh (Attleboro, MA) is +130, on a 3-game winning streak, #9 improving from #11.

High Win: Karen Richards (Australia) 518-340 vs. Judy Romann (Bainbridge Island, WA). Low Win: Sharon Sorensen (Australia) 359-336 vs. Michael Gincel (Lakewood, NJ). High Loss: Puneet Sharma (Cambridge, MA) 477-502 vs. Peter Armstrong (Oakland, CA). Low Loss: Shauna Petrie (Mississauga ON) 269-391 vs. Supriya Devnani (Orlando, FL).