| Player 1 |
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#player1 hector hector
#player2 aibretty aibretty
>hector: ?DEEGGO 8H EGG +10 10
#note hector: I gain three valuation points and one win-percentage point with EGGED 8H. Different day, I might opt for a different style of play. Not a major difference.
>aibretty: DELQWYY K5 DEWY +31 31
#note aibretty: WYLED is better in the same spot. This was the beginning of a long series of very tough racks. I spent a lot of time trying to valuate my plays and make good decisions. Generally my choices are in the top 5, but rarely 1st (according to Quackle that is)
>hector: ?DEEOST L1 cESTODE +75 85
#note hector: This is easily the best bingo, but it’s interesting to note that Q’s second choice, not far back of CESTODE, is DOGE at J6 for 22, saving EST?. Don’t get used to me making the best play -- I did a *lot* of things wrong on this game -- in several ways this might have been my worst game of the tournament for pilot error. Perhaps the mistakes are entertaining or instructive to someone (let’s start with me).
>aibretty: IILQSYZ 3L .IZY +32 63
#note aibretty: I don't at all dislike this play, but SLY/LEGGY I think is best. It gives me a spot to play off my QI for 33 on the next play and keeps the Z for possible huge plays at J6. I saw the Q-Z combo and just wanted to shed one of them for some points......hector: I’m obviously lucky Brett didn’t have an A.
>hector: AFINOTX J6 FO. +36 121
#note hector: Okay, missing ONYX down the O column is pretty bad, but it’s actually symbolic of a cheesy problem I occasionally have not finding common short words because of unusual construction. Example: In the Round 13 game with David Turissini (a great game he won by 5 points), I made the error of playing KOAS for a bunch when KBAR was even more, saving the S and a balanced leave (when I had all consonants my next turn, it was nobody’s fault but mine). Now it’s not that I don’t know KBAR, I’m just not used to making words in that way, I guess (even after a solid decade doing this), and I didn’t see it. Ditto ONYX, an odd construction of a word with three consonants in a row (I can’t come up with any excuse for missing OXY). Perhaps the solution is more drilling on fours (and fives) just to get used to finding the solutions and pulling these words out of a mix. Does anyone else have occasional leakage here?
>aibretty: EGHILQS G3 SHEQIL +30 93
#note aibretty: urp. ELHI is an interesting suggestion here. It sets up a potentially huge Q play, though it would probably be blocked. I was so frustrated with these draws, I wasn't thinking clearly about this play......hector: Another embarrassing error from me but again, it’s instructive. As Brett was laying this word down, I went into "solve the puzzle" mode and anticipated that SHEQEL was being played. Lazy, lazy, lazy on my part -- you gotta verify the actual opponent’s play as it’s made. I noticed SHEQIL* a few seconds too late. At least I was able to keep a poker face about it, prepared to challenge if the hook came up, but there’s no excuse for being asleep at the switch. I noticed Frank Tangredi made a similar mistake at Ira’s tournament this weekend, assuming a HADJI play in progress but his opponent went on to play HADJE* in the same spot. Gotta think for 50 minutes, kid.
>hector: AILNTUX F2 XU +27 148
#note hector: XU gets the slim nod over AXITE (H4, 41). CALX (1L, 30) scores three more points and takes away the nine-timer threat, but you’ll do a lot better with AILNT than INTU.
>aibretty: BCCGORT 5C BOCC. +22 115
#note aibretty: I agonized over this one, spending probably a full few minutes trying to find a good play. I really liked this, but Q says C(Y)BORG @ 02. I'm just going to go ahead and say that it is wrong on this one......hector: We played a lot of bocce as kids, at my grandparent’s house. If I ever have a big yard again, we’ll get this game out there.
>hector: AIILNTT N1 NA.I +26 174
#note hector: Q opts for ZIT (N3, 12), unduplicating the T and keeping AILNT together for another go. I hate the double-T as much as anyone, but I didn’t want to pass on a solid score here. LAYIN (O1, 27) is also slightly preferred to NAZI. Keep in mind that NAZI doesn’t completely block possible nine-timers -- there are 100 8s that fit that C-N pattern as such (not as hard as it sounds since you only need six tiles to go down), and 110 9s if a perfect storm hits.
>aibretty: ABGMRTT 4A GRAM +30 145
#note aibretty: Q likes B(O)GART for 10 less, and prefers GRAB/BRAG in the same place. I kept the B in case I drew and A for an easy 34 with AB(Y) @ 01. Plus if I draw AEIR, I have a bingo from the Y! :o) j/k
>hector: EILNPTT A1 TIN.LE +21 195
#note hector: The nifty INEPT (H6, 20) gets the check, with TINGLE in a dead heat with GLINT (A4, 18). I'm normally very aware of grafting off the big tiles, but I missed a lot of Q-grafts this game, perhaps I underestimated the usefulness of the spot.
>aibretty: BHILTTU B6 HUB +29 174
#note aibretty: a huge gamble, especially considering I don't have the A when I play this. HILT is the other chose, but it is way too easy to score with. This creates volatility and maybe a tradeoff of points in the next few turns giving me an opportunity to balance.....hector: I don’t know the rest of Brett’s leave, but I love gambits like this. JG had a game in the Scrabble News a long time ago that turned on a G being played at H2. It opens, but it doesn’t give it away.
>hector: DEOPTUV M7 DEVOUT +26 221
#note hector: Hey, I made the best play for once. I’m also prepared to challenge off a DEVOUT-S* hook if it shows, but against an opponent this strong I doubt that will get played.
>aibretty: AILOTTW A8 ALOW +33 207
#note aibretty: hey look, an A.....hector: Many times fortune favors the brave. A good example of why you can’t play scared.
>hector: AKNPRRS C7 PARK +26 247
#note hector: Quackle says this is second-best, slightly behind NARK (L11, 22). If the Ys were still in the game, NARK becomes too risky, I suppose.
>aibretty: AEILNTT N10 IT +10 217
#note hector: Hector Mistake Series, take 1,072: I wrote this play down as OI on my scorebook, not IT. As a result I mistracked, and later in the game when I went to fix my tracking, I mistracked again since I was marking O-I as played, not I-T. Geesh. I generally track well and my retracking has never been a problem the few times I’ve needed to do it, but this double-botch threw me for a loop, sucked up time, and led to me playing a Division-9 quality endgame.
>hector: EINNORS E2 ON +14 261
#note hector: ON is the second-best play, but there’s a 41-point gem that’s a little bit better (shifting into outrun mode; see if you can find it). I was very lucky that ON (accidentally) blocked Brett’s AJEE hit from H1.
>aibretty: AEEJLNT L11 JET +34 251
#note aibretty: i was feeling pretty good at this point. I am down 10 after this, with the case L, an E for JUTE or JETE and a good balanced leave. He just fished, so if he bingoes, the most likely spot will be opening up the bottom triple lane. With my leave, I have to hope that I draw into something from a pretty good looking bag that can counteract is play. If he doesn't bingo, then I have some huge opportunities.
>hector: EIMNORS H8 .MERSION +83 344
#note aibretty: then this happens. And this game is going to be tough to win at this point.....hector: Best, though MERINOS 14F isn’t that bad since the bag doesn’t have any way to hammer the H12 slot. Nonetheless EMERSION is eight valuation points in the clear, and wins about 92 percent of the time.
>aibretty: AEFLNPU O5 PANFUL +36 287
#note hector: A tremendous play; it scores, it turns over, and it gives Brett a chance, especially if he can pick the blank.
>hector: AAIORTV 11C ARVO +25 369
#note hector: No spot for AVIATOR obviously; surprisingly that rack makes just two eights (buzz on VARIATOR*, though you can make a word from the collection in VARIATER*). ARVO is an okay play but a lot of things beat it, especially AORTA at B10 (28 points, leaves one in the bag, blocks a bunch of lines and possibilities, gets fives blank-picks if it’s still sitting in the bag -- and as it turns out, it was).
>aibretty: ADENRRS 13C REDRA.NS +72 359
#note aibretty: For some reason I just wasn't seeing the anagram that fit here and missed the 8 through the O. I was feeling pretty desperate and thought I would throw this down. I was about 88% sure it wasn't good, but I needed to try something. ugh. .....hector: When this play went down I thought of David Pearl playing SERRANID on Dean Cullen in the final game of the D3 Nationals at Providence (2000), in the dangerous O7 slot. Nothing else fit. Okay, so I know REDRAINS* is no good, and I take it off. But do I block SERRANID which fits in the same friggin spot???? No, that would make too much sense. I noted that DRAINERS didn’t play, I reminisced about the SERRANID game, and I checked out. Ack. To make matters worse, I also overlooked the other bingo available and don’t block that either. In my defense I was low on time here, but playing this poorly will get you beat.
>aibretty: ADENRRS -- -72 287
>hector: ?AEEIIT 1A .I +2 371
#note aibretty: not exactly an easy find here. Thanks, Scott, for taking pity on me......hector: Geesh, I can’t see the bingo here? I also made a brainless fish -- if you’re going to play off an I, son, graft off the big tiles, like the Q perhaps?
>aibretty: ADENRRS 5K ..R +4 291
#note aibretty: I still have the playabale SERRANID, but don't even reconsider the rack for bingoes.
>hector: ?AAEEIT I13 TIE +11 382
#note hector: Another easy conversion missed. In my defense I didn’t get much sleep the night before and I felt somewhat sluggish in this game, but that’s an explanation, not an excuse. You gotta play better than this if you want to beat good players.
>aibretty: ADEINRS 14K DEAR +21 312
#note aibretty: (NE)ARSIDE@15H=30 is best
>hector: ?AAE D10 A.EAs +14 396
#note hector: It’s been said elsewhere and I’ll repeat it here -- Brett is a very worthy MM champion, and I don’t think he’s anywhere close to his true rating yet. I've enjoyed playing him and interacting with him, and you will, too. I just out-lucked him here. Tip of the cap to you, Aibretty.
>hector: (INS) +6 402
#note aibretty: well played, Scott. |
