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#character-encoding UTF-8
#player1 HJ Helen Joffe
#player2 JJB John J. Bulten
>HJ: ABNOT 8D BATON +20 20
#note 2:14 [22:46] The return of Saturday Scrabble in Kenner involves another well-planned and well-staffed tournament, featuring four divisions of 8+ players. The top division is a straight round robin of 8, so JJB as top seed will play all top players in reverse order. (Last time he was here, he lost three Collins games to Austin Shin by 200 each; what will happen this time?) HJ draws first and can reach the double-double easily.
>JJB: FLNOOOU 9G FOU +22 22
#note 0:20 [24:40] (foo 9g 22 +.2) Very slight preference for retaining OU over OO would be appropriate; either directs an L hook.
>HJ: DMU 10I MUD +12 32
#note 0:25 [22:21] (duma e5 14 +2) It's probably worthwhile to take the points and openness with the rarer word, duma.
>JJB: ELNOOOR D8 .ORNEOL +18 40
#note 2:01 [22:39] (noo 11j 14 +2.5) Now HJ is impressed by a turnover show, but the retained tile is again O, which has -2.5 value. Noo/un/do may be acheap overlap but adds 6.5 in leave value, and bingo-building needs to use tiles most efficiently and not just turn over. (Three with good leave or six with weak vowel, you decide.)
>HJ: AEX E11 AXE +35 67
#note 0:55 [21:26] Tripling the X on opponent's turnover retakes the lead comfortably.
>JJB: DLNOSTV E5 NOV. +14 54
#note 2:30 [20:09] (volta e4 16 +6.8) Occasionally you do draw six consonants out of six. The S delivers both the triple and all the points of borneols (alternatively, dolls/axel), but it doesn't overcome the best S leaves after volta 16 or vext 14. JJB writes volta but has not looked at it recently enough and doesn't rightly remember what's weird about it, so he reasons that nova is not too far behind; but lots of plays rate in between, and if one doesn't pull the trigger on volta one should play the S or score with two consonants. (The answer is: volt takes AEIS; volta is pluralized only volte, volte is pluralized voltes, and the verb volti is a musical direction, not inflectable. Can you keep that straight?)
>HJ: ?GNOSTW 15D STOWiNG +94 161
#note 0:45 [20:41] Commanding lead from a better-timed S.
>JJB: DELMSTT 11J MELT +22 76
#note 1:00 [19:09] (met 14f 27 +1.3) Still holding six consonants, it's hard to choose given the 1.3 value diff between holding three, or holding four for 5 points more.
>HJ: DIOV D3 VOID +21 182
#note 1:07 [19:34] (void 12k 29 +8) Also playable at 12k, but this choice demonstrates desire to close down from a good lead.
>JJB: DDEHSTU M11 .HUD +16 92
#note 2:31 [16:30] (hutted m9 28 +4.9; duh c5 19 +3) JJB's next trigger-shy word from his notes is hutted, easily indicated but neglected. Thud or duh would fit column C well too. Is it possible that beginning a tournament against a lower-rated opponent one is overconscious of the risk of phonying and one should compensate by taking risks early?
>HJ: IQ 14H QI +23 205
#note 0:45 [18:49]
>JJB: AADEIST L11 .A +14 106
#note 1:50 [14:40] Now come the bingo tiles that don't quite fit. Best fish.
>HJ: ACP 13I PAC +18 223
#note 0:25 [18:24] (pac n13 24 +6) Extending the lead to 117, but JJB is preparing to chip away at this and bingo. Pac also has a safe placement at n13.
>JJB: ADEISST 15M SAD +21 127
#note 4:00 [10:40] (sited n11 33 +3.5) Quackle has had enough of non-bingo racks and recommends sited, a fine 4-tile overlap that's hard to argue with in static leave. Given his observation that distaves doesn't quite play, JJB's choice creates a reasonable line, and is even with sited in most simulation, also competing with the simple S score of batons/sum 13, and with site 29, better in leave value. Other board-opening plays also rate well.
>HJ: ER 9C R.E +12 235
#note 0:36 [17:48] (four 9g 12 +1.3) HJ doesn't want to open and is not holding clear bingo tiles yet, probably a blank unhelped by duplication. On those grounds four/rum is worth considering too.
>JJB: EIIRSTT N12 IT +10 137
#note 2:48 [7:52] (trinities 5b 59 +20.3; exit 12d 11 +1) JJB knows there must be a bingo somewhere, and is looking at the 9-tile lanes, but doesn't quite have the honor of playing trinities 59 in a church (nor its anagram retinitis, both of which have the unique trait of scoring nine tiles as one point each without premiums). Directing a hook to his S that will be worth more is understandable, but it's also probable that the two-turn score will be higher with a low bingo and cold rack than with a 10-point fish and higher bingo. Trinities/retinitis rate about 14% of wins, while it 10 rates about 10%.
>HJ: J -3 +0 235
#note 0:20 [17:28] HJ trades only 3, likely to include some duplicates.
>JJB: AEGIRST O6 TRIAGES +85 222
#note 1:23 [6:29] JJB welcomes the opportunity, but with his score he is still 13 behind and must draw evenly or better, preferably the second blank. Grainiest is the 9 this time.
>HJ: ABJ C5 JAB +29 264
#note 0:58 [16:30] HJ cashes another power tile and also balances her rack effectively.
>JJB: CEKTWYY N3 TYKE +17 239
#note 2:44 [3:45] (wyte n3 16 +7.4) Leaves do not give bingo hopes, but JJB is again sketchy, hesitating about the certainty of wyte, a verb meaning to wit or know; that would at least have given a synergistic leave. It turns out that tyke has better win chances (about 30%) based on its openness, along with wye, which can be built on too.
>HJ: ?EEINRS 3G INtERES. +66 330
#note 0:59 [15:31] (liveners 3b 74 +8) Now HJ has many choices, although a little more work would reveal serenity 72 or many of the commoner bingos through the V.
>JJB: ACHILWY 2B CHAWY +57 296
>JJB: ACHILWY -- -57 239
#note 0:48 [2:57] (winch h1 48 +44.0) JJB has had enough restraint and makes a desperation attempt at a bingo equivalent (claiming 57), even though winch (5% wins) and linhay both get 48 at the easily indicated h1. He is reading his opponent's play as suggesting she is likely to allow this one; but wych, chewy, and whacky are the words that actually match the rack spec he is working for. A phony drops his win chances to about .5%. Combining a good hook and a suspicious point combo might be an indicator of wishful thinking!
>HJ: EEGOP H1 PO.GEE +33 363
#note 1:02 [14:29] HJ not only challenges off the word, rightly determining that she hasn't seen it before, but also shows off an impressive vocabulary of her own.
>JJB: ACHILWY L1 CH.WILY +42 281
#note 1:26 [1:31] (yaw 2j 37 +3.0) Now JJB's alternate, which would possibly have been a better play last time, is too late because it empties the bag this time. It's just as phony as the other and doesn't win; but HJ doesn't want to double-dip. Chaw 2b 33, of all things, still retains 1.5% wins.
>HJ: AEENRRZ 1L .ZAR +45 408
#note 0:33 [13:56] (challenge, zerk 5k 34 +61.2) The fact that the phony has offered a higher score than zerk 34 should not be a reason to not challenge, of course; but to HJ the road to a win is clear, given that JJB holds three Is, and spread in the first game is not that important.
>JJB: FIU C13 FA +19 300
#note 1:17 [0:14] (fa b6 33, en f4 13, luv 3b 12, ire g3 20+6 +9) JJB is not going out in two in any case, and HJ is likely to have the luxury of going out in either one or two (nerve 3a if not blocked). As it turns out there's a great setup for her to go out in two with more net points: en f4 allows jinnee to be formed on the next turn! This being unstoppable, JJB needs to cash out, which he does mostly, but he misses a 9-point higher spot for fa/fado/ab.
>HJ: EENR F4 EN +13 421
#note 0:37 [13:19] HJ makes the right play that happens to set up ire/erg/jinnee 20, but she doesn't see it.
>JJB: IIILU 1F LI. +0 300
#note 0:38 [-0:24] (keep time +10; luv 3b 12 +7) JJB thinks he will not go over time, but he looks down and his last 14 seconds have elapsed. Striving to use the best of the next minute, he doesn't see luv 12, foul/lum 12, or lieu j1 6.
>HJ: ER 3B RE. +12 433
#note 0:22 [12:57] (ire g3 20 +8) Er g5 and re m5 also create good overlaps.
>HJ: (IIU) +6 439
#note HJ gets the honor of taking out the first seed with two good blank bingos and challenging of one of opponent's two phonies. Aside from not challenging the other, her errors were subtle, while JJB's failure to find trinities (20.3) or to uphold his endgame (26 in all) were more significant. Known points available: JJB 29, HJ 32. Overall points available: HJ 94.5+, JJB 119.9.
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