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#player1 E_Tran E Tran
#player2 Juraj_P Juraj P
>E_Tran: AEEGHIS 8H GEISHA +28 28
#note Game #1 of MSI Forums Play-Along SCRABBLE® Annotations. http://forum.mindsportsinternational.com/yaf_postst528_Play-Along-Expert-Annotations.aspx ET: There are no great short leaves worth keeping, so taking the points here is fine.
>Juraj_P: EINOPRR 9G PORNIER +82 82
#note ET: Juraj actually had a better x2x2 bingo here.
>E_Tran: AELLRRT L8 ..LLER +18 46
#note ET: Juraj blocks my bingo with his 6 overlap. This was quite a tricky rack for me that I spent considerable time on. The board is zipped up and could get closed if I'm not careful. TARSIER/ARTSIER at K5 score well and fork the board, but the LL leave is rather clunky. It took me a bit of time to see this play, but I like it a lot. Juraj may not know all the hooks to this word, and it opens up new lanes.
>Juraj_P: QU J6 QU.. +33 115
>E_Tran: AGORTTZ J3 TOR....G +22 68
#note ET: There are a few good alternatives: 10E TZAR, or 10H TAT/ORT. My concern with these plays is that they will shut down the whole NW quadrant. Given the score, I need as many lanes as possible. TORQUING opens new lanes, and doesn't disrupt lines 7 or 10. I can still preserve ZA at 10F next turn, without disrupting line 7. Quackle says TORQUING is valued 5 pts worse than TAT or TZAR, but I believe it is worth the sacrifice.
>Juraj_P: BLNW 4H BL.WN +26 141
>E_Tran: AAFHTUZ 10F ZA +35 103
#note ET: This scores, and hopefully I can draw an I for a big play at 14J next turn.
>Juraj_P: IIIOOO -IIIOOO +0 141
>E_Tran: AFHITTU 14J FAITH +48 151
#note ET: Juraj mentions he knew this hook, and was racing me for an I.
>Juraj_P: ?EGORTY 5B TOgGERY +77 218
>E_Tran: FITTUVX - +0 151
#note ET: I held this play for at least 5 minutes. Factors I considered when challenging: 1) Juraj has a history of playing strange phoneys against me. 2) Trying to remember if I've guessed GORGETY before. 3) The score/my rack. Given my rack, it'll be difficult to come back, so I thought my win% would be better with a challenge. With a nicer rack, I'd be more willing to let it go.
>Juraj_P: AEEJ 15H AJEE +40 258
>E_Tran: FITTUVX 7M FIT +20 171
#note ET: This play sets up my X. I may also draw an O and get a big play at 6E. The downside is that it eliminates my dangerous bingo lines. Quackle 4ply likes just VEX or VEXT, but I like that this play has potential for a big swing.
>Juraj_P: ADEIO O3 IODA.E +24 282
#note ET: I'm lucky Juraj couldn't hit this line stronger.
>E_Tran: BERTUVX H1 RUB.. +36 207
#note ET: TUBBY would be the usual play, but I need to keep the T for TAX(A) at 6L! Slotting the R also makes it easier for me to access the x3 squares.
>Juraj_P: DOOW 6C WOOD +28 310
>E_Tran: ?EINTVX 4A VINE +34 241
#note ET: This is a very interesting turn. My initial instinct is to play ZA(X) for 30, hoping to bingo on line 1 next turn for ~83. However, that plan is overruled because of the TAXA hotspot. The TAXA spot is not easy to block and likely to stay open. Playing VINE scores 34, keeps TX for TAXA, and keeps a blank for a subsequent bingo. VINE also blocks a dangerous hotspot at 4A. If Juraj does block the TAXA spot, I still have good places to use the X at 11G, 10H, or N3.
>Juraj_P: ANY 11E NAY +31 341
>E_Tran: ?DEKSTX O12 DESK +45 286
#note ET: Once again, I make this play to keep TX for TAXA. There are many other scoring options like 12D KEX/DEX, or even using the blank for EXiST or XyST, but DESK maximises the values of my tiles.
>Juraj_P: ACP 12D CAP +30 371
>E_Tran: ?AMSTTX 6L TAX. +59 345
#note ET: Finally drawing into my fish
>Juraj_P: OUUV -OUUV +0 371
>E_Tran: ?ELMNST 3B LES +26 371
#note ET: I first noted that the pool is 10v-6c; since Juraj just exchanged, the pool should be even grosser than normal. MINSTREL is the only bingo, but it doesn't sim very well. If Juraj bingos at line 14, it will be very difficult for me to win. A gross post-bingo draw will also make the game very close. Holding the last blank, I want a situation where I am in better control of my destiny. S(NOW)MEN is best by about 8% and 8 valuation. I saw SNOWMELT, but not SNOWMEN. LES and NEST are very close in 2nd. I like LES because it keeps many consonants and has low turnover, while the pool will be vowel-heavy and ugly. It also leaves two good bingo lines (1 and 14), so if Juraj does bingo, I can counter-bingo. Also note that the S is not a great tile on this board.
>Juraj_P: IU L3 U.I. +4 375
>E_Tran: ?CEMNTV 2G C.M +7 378
#note ET: There are 4 tiles left in the bag. I should really have played VUM here. I was too paranoid about him fishing with OVUM, but that is of little concern. My plan is to block his easy bingoes through the R, but also leave two bingo lines in case he does bingo. C(U)M allows bingoes beginning in R, and I am much more likely to use that spot than Juraj is.
>Juraj_P: ADEINOS N13 O. +7 382
#note ET: Juraj mentioned to me after the game that I had blocked ANEROIDS
>E_Tran: ?EINOTV 14B VIOlENT +74 452
#note ET: I had about 2 minutes left when my turn began. I looked at my tracking, which appeared to be accurate. I saw he had SIDEMAN for a lot at 14B, and would narrowly win. I then went through the pool to see if he had bingoes beginning with R. After deciding there wasn't anything there, I made this bingo instead of (R)EVOTINg, to block his potential win.
>Juraj_P: ADEIMNS N1 DIMS +20 402
#note ET: It turns out he did have SIDEMAN, and I made the correct play. Overall, I was very lucky to eke out a win here, and the game posed a lot of interesting decisions.
>E_Tran: U H13 U.. +3 455
>E_Tran: (AEN) +6 461
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