Dunedin Tournament - November 2010

Expected: 9.2 wins, Actual: 7 wins. _ Rating change: 1641 to 1581 


SUMMARY:

Opponent	(my)	#	W/L	My Score	Opp. Score	Diff.	My Bonuses	His/Her Bonuses
Jean O	X	1	L	287	467	-160	-	JETTERS VITALISE
Lynn W	ss	.2	L	354	421	-67	INSISTED	GREYING
Paul L	?sss	..3	L	336	403	-67	MONOTONE	-
Karyn McD	?sss	...4	L	366	404	-38	PLEASING REUNITE	STAINED
Shirley H	?sss	....5	W	370	332	+38	KINLESS	ERODENT
Jean	?sss	6	W	494	352	+142	AILERONS INSNARED	SALTIER
Lynn	X	.7	W	476	269	+207	MISTILY TINDERY IGNORES	-
Paul	ss	..8	L	271	399	-128	-	FRONTAL
Karyn	??ss	...9	W	424	415	+9	WOOLIES EMIGRATE	ROOSTED
Shirley	??	....10	L	392	423	-31	LETDOWN PORTION	TRICORN
Jean	??ss	11	L	313	398	-85	ENROLLED ASCETIC	STERILE
Lynn	?	.12	W	346	327	+19	AGITATES	conless(bogus!)
Paul	?sss	..13	W	386	373	+13	ANTIDOTE	-
Karyn	ss	...14	W	407	385	+22	ENTASIA	WITHERS DAMPEST
Shirley	ss	....15	L	292	449	-157	-	DEADLINE RAVINGS

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(Blog: in progress - more to come....)

Dunedin * 13-14 Nov, 2010
.	NAME	CLUB	WINS	Spread	AVE	Bonuses	New NZ Rating	Rating Change
1	PAUL Lister	CHC	9	326	409	17	1669	-49
2	Lynn WOOD	WLG	9	3	386	14	1589	110
3	Shirley HOL	CHC	8	417	410	25	1603	-25
4	Jean O'BRIEN	IND	7	5	390	22	1532	41
5	Ian PATTERSON	DUD	7	-333	366	17	1581	-60
6	Karyn McDOUGALL	DUD	5	-418	373	16	1462	2

(Many thanks to Ruth G and Glenda F for disseminating results table so promptly. )

Game 1 Jean O'Brien (Independent) Stratford
Not sure if I've played Jean before, but she's a very regular visitor to South Island tournaments, and us smokers stick together so we know eacg other quite well!

It was turn #14 before I got my first score over 30! . Around then I was glad to successfully challenge off her good-scoring VITES, but then her next play was VITaLIS(E) onto my previous turn - a disaster game best forgotten.

Game 2 Lynn Wood (Wellington)
We traded bonuses early on then neck and neck. She tried LENTLESS, that blew my mind for a few moments.... till Zyzzyva made her remove it. But then she used those S's elsewhere for good scores, plus a late blank, and MY hard-worked for bonus (CORNIER) came, but could only go across the end of VOLE, which takes only D, S, T. Another loss... but maybe only by a whisker. ;-)

Game 3 Paul Lister (Christchurch)
30 behind at turn 4, I'd built up EMNOOT? which I now see makes 10 7's. (How many can YOU get before you read on!?!)
(DON'T read further till you've at LEAST managed 2 or 3!!)
Well, I saw fOOTMEN but it wouldn't play. . I missed EMOTiON (haha, dummy!), MOmENTO and MOONsET - and I didn't know TOOlMEN, MOONlET, MOOTmEN, METOpON, MONTErO, or ENOMOTy!
So that left 8's, using free L or U or N.  I missed the perfect play, (N)OONTiME for 68 and had to settle on MO(N)OToNE for a paltry 59. . I thought wistfully first of just dumping MOON or some such, then getting a 'real' bonus soon after, but common sense(?) prevailed and I grabbed the bird in the hand. . All was fine then till Paul reached a TWS from my A, with (A)XILS for 87. That, followed by 4 turns of 30+, left me far behind.
Oddly, another player passing by after we'd finished was interested in the 87, as X was a spot prize. She muttered to me that it seemed "a lot". Hmmm, so I checked carefully, and begorrah, we'd miscounted that turn, should have been only 63. Blame the particular board, where DLS squares are not the 'proper' light blue, but a darker shade, easy to confuse with a TLS. Anyway, perhaps I should check opponents' scoring a bit more, but hey, life's too short. LOL

Game 4 Karyn McDougall (Dunedin)
PLEASING on turn 4, then REUNITE on turn 10, left me 100 ahead and looking good. . But her 35 followed by STAINED for 78, another 35, then a quick OUT leaving me with EUVW? saw her snatch a last minute turnaround.
Lunchtime, and the 2nd seed is 0-4. :-( :-(

Game 5 Shirley Hol (Christchurch)
Shirley's early ERODENT left me 80 behind, till I came up with a nervous KINLESS which survived the challenge, then ANY for 41! followed by JA for another 41 gave me control, as her late tiles turned to custard (and hey, I don't mean 'CUSTARD', thankfully. )

Game 6  J e a n
After the earlier 160-point shellacking I was out for vengeance. . I got it, by 142. :-) An early AILERONS then a (challenged) INSNARED left her with only a late consolation SALTIER, but still never in the game.

Game 7  L y n n
At this stage Lynn, 5th seed, was surprisingly leading the field by 2 clear games. My opening play: MIStILY! (Don't ya HATE it when someone plays a bonus at the very srtart!) . Then turn 7 saw TINDERY (2 bonuses with Y's in them) and a late IGNORES completed the rout.
Wow, after 4 straight losses I've now got 3 straight wins. Phew! :)

Game 8 P a u l
Uh oh. Always a great game with Paul, but only rarely a win. This time no different - no bonuses as I struggled thru to 271. I did manage to have SATIRE at the end .... with an X (no, TAXIERS is rubbish, though he blocked the only spot for it anyway.)
So only if SEXTIAR(Y) had survived the challenge I'd have won by a couple of points..... but alas.....

Game 9  K a r y n
A fascinating to and fro tussle. I led by 16 after 6 turns, then we traded bonuses (her ROOSTED, my WOOLIES) but she was also scoring well on other turns, so after 10 turns she led by 50. My EMIGRATE for 74 was then countered by her JEED for 60, then the last few turns were critical. She probably knew exactly what I had left, while all I knew was that she had no blank or S, but her last 2 plays of LURK then VUG now show she had basically rubbish. I figured I could go out (and win by 9) with SEXT/TELE, both of which I was only about 60% sure of, so I did, and Karyn (rightly) didn't bother with a challenge.

Game 10 S h i r l e y  H.
Nip and tuck till turn 7. I had DELNOW? and couldn't find a bonus there. So figured my W could land on a pink and make (JA)W. Then add the O in front for OW and get DWS both ways. Eureka, why not add the N to make OWN and (TEE)N. DEL? isn't a bad leave.
But hey, I'm going to play OWN on a DWS, why not add my D in front for another 4 points ? EL? is still a good leave. So down went DOWN, then as I started counting the score I glanced at my rack - EL? - briefly considered, then added LE? in front of my DOWN - for 93! (Oops, make that 98 after her challenge).
Turn 12 saw another bonus, pORTION for 60, and a 90 point lead, but Shirley straightaway got 75 for her TRICORN, then dragged S's out for SCOPS (47) then SWIM (36) and an 11-point lead. She had 4 tiles left, I had EEERUYZ. No good Z spots, so I figured YU for 22 then (F)REEZE for 15 would get me out, IF she didn't go out first. (As usual, I had no idea at all what her tiles were). . I played the YU, then.... she played a simple GAIN for 14 and the win. . Oh well, 50-50 with Shirley.
Note: When resetting the tiles we found 1 short, which turned out to be an N hiding in the bag. IF she'd had that as well as her GAIN I'd have probably won. Mental note - ALWAYS check the bag is empty. I usually do, and SHOULD have done after my YU turn, but guess I was so engrossed in the endgame computations I fluffed it, just this once!?

Game 11 J e a n
ABCEEL? - I never want that rack again. :-( What a debacle! . Could only see rECABLE or rEBLEAC(H)  - and no, no room for BLEAC(H)Er. . Tried one - off it came. . Tried the other - likewise. . now 60 behind I admit I was naughty, just hoping she might be gullible - (F)EnCABLE, and of course muttered "fenceable" as I played it, just to ensure she got the right thought pattern. . Well, firstly, even FENCEABLE is NOT a word, it seems, and secondly, gullible or not Jean's never one to resist a challenge, so I was thwarted a 3rd time. . I played away CAB for 19, then confidently played ENROLEd. . Not sure why I was fairly sure of that one, cos Zyzzyva sure wasn't having it. . Rightly or wrongly Jean then dropped a STERILE down the board, and I thankfully got a bonus at last, adding her kind extra L to my previous try (for a lousy 58! GRRR). . 130 behind now, I soon managed AScETIC too, but could never catch her.

Game 12  L y n n
Began with FEVER for 30, then found AGITATE on my rack. I could play it as is for 63, and leave a large TWS open, but I thought instead to try for 80 leaving nothing open, with a slight alternative spelling of AGITATOR. . Lynn wasn't amused - neither was Zyzzyva. . She then of course blocked the 63 spot, with a HAP. . Not knowing at the time that that takes only S and U I tried AGITATE/HAPT. . Nope. :( . Durn, this is getting absurd like that last game.
Then blow me down - Lynn played CONLESS (a more unlikely word have I rarely seen) for 66, leaving 2 S's dangling gloriously. I considered a challenge, but then would have still had my 'garbagey' letters, so I accepted, and with a big sigh played a valid AGITATE(S) for 72, and only trailed by 16. . Well, no more bonuses or drama on either side till our last racks, and I led by 7. . I had DGOR? - she had 7 tiles which included a blank. . I found a place I could go out with GOuRD for 20 - would that be enough. If she bonused, or even used her blank for maybe a 30 I might fall short, but she played a tUI for 16. . So I duly went out, and won, to then see her other tiles were NOUU, so perhaps tUI WAS her best. . But it sure had me worried!
(And no, I REFUSE to consider serious tile-tracking... I spend my energies elsewhere during a game, thank you. )

Game 13  P a u l
If there's any justice, please let me take ONE game of Paul this weekend. . We started by trading small equal blows, then I got the only bonus of the game, ANTIDOTE, but for a mediocre 60 (I seem to be plagued by low-scoring bonuses this tournament - odd!). . He got 33 off it, so still fairly level. . Down to turn 17 - 368 each - and half the board totally cut off - we were each grabbing tiny scraps. . I had AERSS which was promising (though of course he KNEW I had those) and as usual all I knew about his tiles was "no blank or S". He threaded an EA into somewhere for 12. . I laughed, and played MY EA somewhere else for 14! (LOL, he'd missed that good spot). . then with us both having less than a minute his "normal" tiles just couldn't match my S's - and in fact he had to pass with NR left, as neither was playable. . (VITA)S for 8, (BUN)S for 6, and out. 

Game 14  K a r y n
First 7 turns, 1 bonus each, fairly even, but that's when Karyn found herself with BDEST?? (and reasonable bonus spots lying around). . She played DEB?T?S - I figured I might have lost this game, but had to ask her what the blanks were. 'U' and 'E' she said. . Huh ? . So for my own sake I wrote DEBUTES on some paper, considered it, showed it to her and yes, she confirmed it, so CHALLENGE, and off it came. . But I knew(?) she'd have a bonus next turn anyway, AND I wouldn't be seeing any blanks this game, so a bit concerning. At least 2 good bonus spots on separate sides, so blocking was impossible - so I grabbed a 31 for FOX in the best place I could see. . Well, unbelievable, she then played BE for 25. . There was a KI spot easily open for DEBaTeS/S(KI) but I think poor K was frazzled and tired by this time, and missed that. . So her NEXT turn was DAMpeST for 67, but I then got a 40 off it, to be only a little behind. . It went right down to the wire after that, till a fortuitous S helped me prevail in the last seconds.

Game 15 S h i r l e y  H.
Turn 2 I played WISPED for 43. Yes, that was my only S - I 'squandered' it! (Turned out 48 after she challenged). . She then grabbed a brilliant (D)EADLIN? - and before I managed to challenge this crazy DEADLING word she told me blank was an E. . Oh dear, now THAT's unchallengeable. . A couple of turns later I squandered anOTHER S - this time SLEEPY for 38, then a ZA for 40 got me to 234-264, but she then threw down RAX/RAVINGS for 82, and it was all over.

But heaps of fun. 



(Blog: in progress - more to come..by Thursday night latest!)