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#player1 Jason Jason
#player2 Brian_Bowman Brian Bowman
>Jason: AACELOR 8F OCA +10 10
#note Round 20, I'm sitting next to Greenspan/Hoekstra and see A?EROLAS on the board. All of a sudden it hits me: "SONOFAB****!" Bad, bad whiff.
>Brian_Bowman: QT H7 Q.T +12 12
>Jason: ADELNRT F7 D.L +4 14
#note Now playing in Division 5...
>Brian_Bowman: AKLY E8 LAKY +30 42
>Jason: AEGNRTZ 10B ZER. +37 51
#note As I whined in the recount, if I'd known this was going to be my only E, I'd have hung on to it. :)
>Brian_Bowman: FO 9C FO.. +22 64
>Jason: AGNOPST 11A PAT +22 73
#note Q calls GAN, PANT(Y) and GAT in that spot better, but with all I's out I like the GNS combo.
>Brian_Bowman: CDIU A11 .UDIC +33 97
>Jason: DGIMNOS 14A .MID +14 87
#note Not even on Q's radar.
>Brian_Bowman: ADEERR 15C DEARER +31 128
>Jason: GMNORSS 13C MOG +28 115
#note I don't mind keeping the other S here, because there's a nice spot to play it by itself for points if it becomes a hindrance. Still, there are better plays.
>Brian_Bowman: EEEIR 6C EERIE +14 142
>Jason: NORSSUW F6 ....S +28 143
#note Q likes plays at 10H: SWOUN, SOWN or SOW.
>Brian_Bowman: AIILO 5G AIOLI +12 154
>Jason: NORSUWW 14G WOW +16 159
#note Missed the spot to play it for 24, at 4G.
>Brian_Bowman: BEE E3 BEE. +12 166
>Jason: NRSSTUV 4D V.RST +24 183
#note VENTS in the same spot is better, given that no N's have been played. Q likes TURV(E)S at C2.
>Brian_Bowman: AAB 4J ABA +16 182
>Jason: HJNOSUY 3L HOY +23 206
#note Another bad play. Should've done what I almost did, said "screw bingoing!" and played JOHNS for 45 at J10, but I hated drawing into UY. JOHNS is clearly best, though.
>Brian_Bowman: EF F2 FE. +18 200
>Jason: ?IJNSUU 2J JUS +32 238
#note Why not at O1? Another bad whiff in a game full of them. Brian took so long to play FE(R) and neither or us were doing great time-wise. I saw this, figured I'd exchange JUU if blocked, and spent a lot of time trying to calm myself down 'cause I felt myself getting worked up, barely looking at the board. When this stayed open, I played it quickly. I remembered this position driving to dinner and realized my mistake then.
>Brian_Bowman: EGG 6J EGG +18 218
>Jason: ?IINOUX 7B OX +34 272
#note For whatever reason, I have IIOUHNX written down, so I can't guarantee the accuracy of this. But I'm pretty sure my leave wasn't as good as ?HINU. Q likes the cute set-up of (F)OU at 2F, threatening a 54-point XI next turn. NIX in this spot is also better.
>Brian_Bowman: ELO A6 OLE +19 237
>Jason: ?HIINPU 5C HI. +25 297
#note Was glad to see this. Q likes UNsHIP at O1 to outrun the bingo.
>Brian_Bowman: NNNN -NNNN +0 237
#note Remember my puzzle parody, "It's raining N's," where I set up a situation so that somebody bingos with six in the bag and pulls NNNNNN? Well, looking at my tracking sheet, I couldn't help but be reminded of that here, as all six N's are unplayed.
>Jason: ?INNPTU 2H UN...T +15 312
#note Gah! (G)UNPoINT! I made some cute plays this game but very seldom made the best play.
>Brian_Bowman: AENNRST O2 TANNERS +84 321
#note As Brian's doing this, I'm going "play the blank, play the blank, play the blank ... damn."
>Jason: ?INNPTV J10 PINTs +21 333
#note And, as I feared, to conclude this comedy of errors I miss my tying endgame (which would've meant a re-play in round 20 for the title). I won't spoil it, except to say that it's very hard to find and that I knew the word, but wouldn't have seen it if you'd given me half-an-hour. The optimal endgame here is super-interesting. I nearly played the better PIVoT(S), which makes him block the out and makes him not give me an I for (I)NN. He can still win, but at least I make him work for it.
>Brian_Bowman: ?AIINU N5 UNAI +16 337
#note Geniusly giving him an out, though he missed it and it's not best anyway. Brian played this, then sI(P). Doing it the other way around gives me three less for my V. But, he was in time trouble. Stupidly, I only saw UNAI after I hit my clock.
>Jason: NV 7M V.. +10 343
#note We were playing on my board, with a pocket Samtimer, and I noticed Brian's clock was still running (and at -:05); must've not hit it hard enough. We took care of it after the game; Brian agreed that, since his last play took seven seconds and we were pretty sure he had less than seven seconds left after UNAI, he should take the minus 10. (I was just glad I didn't have to call Amanda again!)
>Brian_Bowman: ?I 10H sI. +16 353
#note Well, the silver lining is that I lost to a friend who would then take down Lloyd Mills to win the tournament. But this is a pretty bad choke job. I'd say I played like an 1100, except that would be offensive to 1100s. I really didn't feel that nervous, but I played like it, obviously. An easy missed bingo, making the best play twice in 16 turns ... I don't care how sh*tty your opponent draws, if he's an 1800, you lose. Just goes to show I didn't deserve to be in the position I was in.
>Brian_Bowman: (N) +2 355
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