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#player1 Connie_C. Connie C.
#player2 Daniel_C. Daniel C.
>Connie_C.: AQT H7 QAT +24 24
#note Welcome to my Game 7 from the Philadelphia tournament from last weekend. I wanted to analyze this game in detail, since I lost it so badly.
>Daniel_C.: CEISTXZ G8 ZIT +27 27
#note Quackle much prefers ZEST, which scores 19 points higher. In retrospect, I agree (except for being somewhat nervous about the high-scoring Y hook at the end), since it shouldn't be too hard to score with the X the following turn.
>Connie_C.: ABBEIR 11C BARBIE +33 57
>Daniel_C.: ACEOSTX H11 .XACT +66 93
#note Didn't know or see EXACTORS, although if I'd taken the time to see it I might have tried it.
>Connie_C.: AFK 10B KAF +29 86
>Daniel_C.: ELOOSUV 15F OU.LOVES +62 155
#note Fairly straightforward, although it tooke me a long time to see.
>Connie_C.: ?AILOPT L8 PILOTAg. +74 160
>Daniel_C.: EGNOORU 12A GOON +31 186
#note So, here's what I drew after playing through a rack of ELOOSUV. I did manage to find Quackle's favorite play, though.
>Connie_C.: DHI M11 HID +27 187
>Daniel_C.: DEPRRTU 14A PURRED +33 219
#note I liked this play because the board was so closed and I had no good way to open it that scored. Quackle slightly prefers URPED in the same spot. I didn't know that word, although I would have played it, since RT is a nicer leave than just T.
>Connie_C.: AH 15A AH +32 219
>Daniel_C.: EINNRTT 9K T.N +4 223
#note Ok, so here's where I really started to draw unbalanced racks. I think the next stage in developing this game will be figuring out how to deal with situations like this one a little better. I considered 11K NOH and 8L PINT both, but eventually decided that 9K TIN was the best, since it opened up a new bingo lane that could force my opponent to open the board up a little more. I also liked the INTER leave. Quackle likes K9 TEN best here, since it scores non-trivially and leaves INRT, which is pretty good. I think if I were to play this again, though I would try M7 NIT, which does what I was trying to but does it much better.
>Connie_C.: DEIRW N6 WIRED +25 244
>Daniel_C.: EIILNRT I4 LIRI +17 240
#note My plan backfired horribly. Two bingoes (LINTIER and NITRILE) and nowhere to put them. My play gives a good leave and opens the board considerably. Neither that play, nor Quackle's best suggestion F9 LIB does not deal for what Connie has in store for me next, though.
>Connie_C.: EEEINRS O8 ESERINE +88 332
#note Drat.
>Daniel_C.: AEFMNTV H1 FAVE +36 276
#note Interestingly, this play is preferred even though it closes the board I tried so hard to open the previous turn. Second best (and probably what I would do if I could replay this) is H1 FAVA.
>Connie_C.: AW I1 AW +15 347
#note So now it is all too easy for my opponent to make it really hard for me to bingo back.
>Daniel_C.: DMNNTUY 13E DUN.M +19 295
#note Ok, this rack is just a disaster. I did not want to see any of the tiles that I drew. DUNAM, which is favored here, nicely cleans it up and leaves NTY, which isn't the worst thing in the world.
>Connie_C.: AEGMO M2 OMEGA +21 368
#note And that closes another lane, or more if you expect me to find a 9 through FA or AW.
>Daniel_C.: ?ENOTUY B8 YU. +10 305
#note TOURNEY playes nowhere. I realized I needed to bingo, which meant opening the board in another place. YUK does this well, and my ENOT? leave is very promising. Quackle prefers XU, which it claims has a higher win %. I like that move less than YUK or YEUK simply because every time I let my opponent play she will simply make it harder for me to bingo. I have the blank, and I want as many opporunities to score big on the next turn as I can have.
>Connie_C.: CEELNOS C2 ENCLOSE +75 443
#note Ok, this was just unfortunate.
>Daniel_C.: ?EGNOTY A4 YOGEe +51 356
#note Of course I draw into the second Y. Even the J would have been better. zYGOTE and bYGONE both score better in the obvious spot, but I didn't see either of those.
>Connie_C.: IJS 3J JIS. +13 456
>Connie_C.: (NT) +4 460
#note So there you have it. I definitely did get a few unlucky draws, but the game was lost by my mishandling opening up a very closed board. Two lessons to be learned:
1. If the game is even and the board is closed, I should focus on scoring on that closed board rather than try to make it possible for me to bingo on my next turn. If I look harder, I can probably find plays that score non-trivially and aren't overly risky.
2. Having a blank is still probably not a good enough excuse to take excessive risks.
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