2016 CNSC

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Commentary: Round 1

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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, Final Round 1, Final Round 2, Final Round 3, After the Tournament.

Round 1 Auto-Commentary

Jason Li (Dollard-Des-Ormeaux QC) takes the lead, 1-0 +413. Chris Williams (Vancouver BC) is +310. Eric Tran (Calgary AB) is +301. Max Panitch (Toronto ON) is +288. Ryan Chepita (Ottawa ON) is +206. Adam Logan (Ottawa ON) is +154. Mike Ebanks (Calgary AB) is +136. Tony Leah (Ajax ON) is +130. Matthew Tunnicliffe (Ottawa ON) is +124. Eric Peters (Toronto ON) is +122.

High Win: Jason Li (Dollard-Des-Ormeaux QC) 639-226 vs. Ella Sobel (Dorval QC). Low Win: Andrew Golding (Montreal QC) 371-334 vs. Bernard Gotlieb (Montreal QC). High Loss: John Stardom (Ottawa ON) 440-465 vs. Crayne Spanier (Toronto ON). Low Loss: Ella Sobel (Dorval QC) 226-639 vs. Jason Li (Dollard-Des-Ormeaux QC).

Round 1

As luck would have it, the 5+ hour car ride from Ottawa to Toronto was not enough together time for Heidi Robertson (Ottawa ON) and Adam Logan (Ottawa ON). They are currently at board 1, enjoying more time together! This time they have chaperones, annotators Jackson Smylie and Lisa Kessler. I watched the game in progress, Heidi sitting properly in heels with her legs crossed. It turned out to not be a win for her, but she wryly suggests that it would have been better strategy to NOT try a phoney on her third play. See their game in the annotated game section!

Fern Lindzon (Toronto ON) vs. Eric Peters (Toronto ON). I see ROSETTE, MONGERS, GORDITA, KaoLINS, and AJUGA on their board. My eye was caught by Eric’s rack. It was a standard long, wooden rack, but raised, almost like a clog!

Eric Tran (Calgary AB) vs. Miriam Gregory (Vancouver BC). It looks to be pretty much an Eric show. I see his SeNTENCED, SUgARIER, and the fun RUSTLING on the triple line that hooked the N to create QUINTAN.

SIXTIEs, QUINOAs, RUKH, and DOVEY jump out from the Ross Brown (Ottawa ON) vs. Deen Hergott (Ottawa ON) board.

The high game of the tournament so far (and probably for a good long time) took place this round between Ella Sobel (Dorval QC) and Jason Li (Dollard-Des-Ormeaux QC). I had taken notes of the game as it was under way and was sitting at my computer when Ella walked up and said, “You probably want to go check out that board.” The best part? She was the one who came in second place, 226-639. I like good sports! I ask Jason about the game, which was already encircled by a few wanting to take in the post-game analysis. Jason explained that he got down FIREPANS as a 102-point double-double and on his next turn CYLINDER for 72 went down. A few turns later he got gLAZE on the triple for 69. Then came EVASIOn, hooking the S on her best play of the game (MOSQUE), creating MOSQUES for 94. As if that wasn’t enough, he outbingoed with INTRUDE for 66. Great game, Jason! I guess that win in Niagra Falls a couple of weeks ago wasn’t just a fluke!

I hear, “427-401?” and I’m drawn in. Carl Madden (Brantford ON) won. I see WATTAGEs, tAFFIES, and Shan’s fun CURIOSA. TREELAWN is on the board, but it was TREE added to the front of lawn on the triple lane.

I like to try to stump John Chew and I figured this play by James Leong (Vancouver BC) would do it: HOR?EOLA. Do you know the blank? John didn’t! I see LOAMIE?, WEEST, and ZORIL on the board. As I contemplate the blanks, Siri Tillekeratne (Calgary AB) played SETTLES/HE/DUOS for 74. It turned out that it wasn’t enough and James won the game. A hint about the blanks above: They were D and R and we know LOAMIEr is good!

TERRAGOn* jumps out at me. I’ve heard of TARRAGON, but not this word. Sure enough, it was a phoney. I later hear from Jesse Matthews (Kelowna BC), that he had played it out of desperation, he was behind and he still lost the game. Other plays: RETYING, SARDINE, and GORiEST. Nicholas Schneider (Pickering ON) won!

Allen Pengelly (Waterloo ON) points at his finished board. His opponent, Mike Ebanks (Calgary AB) was nowhere to be found. It dawns on me that this is because Mike won and Allen was pointing at Mike’s opening play: LOZENge, those two Canadian Maple Leaves just sitting there, all welcoming and happy. I see Allen’s ARSONIST and Mike’s REARING.

They are returning from the challenge machine. LOIASES (blank L) has just been adjudicated acceptable. Yvonne said, “I just bingoed out to win the game.” Her opponent, Jason Ubeika (Mississauga ON), was still shaking his head, trying to take it in. She said, “I just studied that word today, it is a new one!” He admitted he’d never heard of it and he also admitted he didn’t know SQUIRL (he challenged her play) and he knows it now! I see her AnNATTO and his ANTIHERO. To show that he was on top of things, Jason rearranged her outbingo to form AbIOSES (which is also good!). Her win, 421-355. Way to go Yvonne!

Joshua Sokol (Montreal QC) admits that he didn’t call me over to his board because both he and his opponent, Anna Miransky (Toronto ON), had phonied. But he says he was behind the whole game. Toward the very endgame he played ZIN to take a 34-point lead. She then played with a blank and a Q: CINQUE (not sure what the blank was) for 34. She has 5, he has 7, and he managed to eke out a 1-point win by playing out in 2. She had too many vowels to do it on her side.