Four Nations 2008

In the end, it could scarcely have been any closer. Both England and Scotland finished on 27 wins from a possible 48, so it came down to spread. We edged it...by a mere 15 points! Ireland finished on 26 wins, so this must count as the closest Four Nations event in its short history. We were a bit guilty of thinking only ourselves and Ireland could win prior to the last couple of rounds, but an astonishing performance of 14-2 by Scotland against Wales pulled them well into contention.

The victorious members of our team each received a Collins English Dictionary, plus a souvenir mug. The dictionary is a massive tome - I will certainly have problems finding a shelf strong enough to support it! Transporting it home was no piece of cake either...

Anyway, a few comments about my games. Saturday was something of a disaster - I managed a solitary victory against the four members of the Welsh team, who were the weakest side on paper. The Q seemed to materialise on my rack at the most inappropriate times throughout Saturday, perhaps none more so when I drew CDQVW to join the IN I had kept! Two victories from three against Ross, Neil and Helen at least meant I had a few wins from very little to work with. My play of the day was undoubtedly OuT(PO)WERS as a four-timer for 102 against Ross - my only bonus of the game, as it would turn out.

After spending the extra hour granted by the clocks reverting to GMT in the hotel bar(!), Sunday started with perhaps the strangest game of tournament Scrabble I have ever played. My opponent was Allan Simmons (current BMSC and NSC champion). After his first four turns to my three, the score was 26-11 to him! All of a sudden, the game exploded into life, with the following remarkable sequence:

• Lewis: NIGELLA (74)
• Allan: AGISTER (87)
• Lewis: JEN(N)Y (45)
• Allan: ABATTOI(R) (62)
• Lewis: P(A)rANOID (149)
• Allan: FARADIS(E) (78)
• Lewis: QUIE(T)EN (64)
• Allan: (O)XY (59)
• Lewis: VUMs (60)

Allan finished the game with FRESHET for 91, taking the final scores to 551-522 in my favour. I will try to upload a board diagram at some stage - can't find a way to keep the formatting yet...

The rest of the day flowed in a similar vein for me. I won the first three games against Alex, Rik and Feargal from the Irish team, but then lost to Kevin in the final round - largely due to missing CUNEATE late on :( Kevin finished with an impressive 10-2 record - very well done to him!

My full list of bonuses:

• vs David Williams: SOLANIN, META(N)oIA, TONS(U)RED
• vs Gwynfor Owen: OUTE(A)RNS, CITROUS
• vs Chris Quartermaine: ANImATE
• vs Gareth Williams: (L)OAMiEST, RETRIES
• vs Ross Mackenzie: OuT(PO)WERS
• vs Neil Scott: THENARS, USTIONS
• vs Helen Gipson: DISSEAT, BORACIT(E), (T)RIPHONE (101)
• vs Allan Simmons: NIGELLA, P(A)rANOID
• vs Alex Balogun: CANCaNS, SEDILIA
• vs Rik Kennedy: GARTERS, (N)OnVALID, PE(A)RMAIN, AUREOLE(D)
• vs Feargal Weatherhead: ROPIEST, IDEAT(I)vE, POnDERS
• vs Kevin McMahon: TOREAD(O)R, bINIOUS

Overall, I was disappointed with finishing with a 7-5 record - only two games appeared to be genuinely unwinnable. It appears I only missed three bonuses over the whole weekend, including CUNEATE, which is not too bad.

Before I forget, I would like to thank Ross for organising the whole event, Amy Byrne for TDing with her usual aplomb and efficiency, and Ray and Julie Tate for their unstinting efforts with the computer and the running respectively. The atmosphere was very cordial throughout, but very competitive nevertheless! Many thanks to everyone who was there for making the event both memorable and enjoyable :)

First Post

This is the first post on my blog. I intend to put all kinds of Scrabble-related stuff on here, so stay tuned!

The final of the BEST 2008 knockout tourney will be played this weekend, between Harshan Lambadasuriya and Paul Allan - it should be a cracker. I lost 9-7 to Paul in the semi-final, largely thanks to chickening out of various valid bonuses. Here's a selection of them, in puzzle form:

a) IILTXY?

b) ABDEORS + R [ending with that R]

c) CCEIOPR + A [never heard of this - nice word though!]

d) DEILSTU + L

e) ADEIGLR + L

f) CEGINPS + I [not quite sure how you'd use this in a sentence...]

I did manage to play some nice words too - things like HACIEN(D)A for 106, BEsTRe(W)N for 158, MInIBAR, SOOGEED and the two nines D(OW)NTIMES and INTENSi(fY) in the final game. Sadly, this wasn't enough - I seem to have acquired the annoying habit of pulling dreck from the bag after each bonus I play at the moment...

Hopefully, coverage of the final will be available on the Internet Scrabble Club: www.isc.ro. In 2006 - the previous time the tournament was held - ISC hosted such coverage, which enabled observers to post comments and thoughts as the games were relayed on a tape-delay basis. It is both fascinating viewing and a great way to learn about the game.

Predictions? I think it will go right down to the wire. Paul has struggled a fair bit this year, but has regained confidence and form as the year has progressed. Harshan has turned in some terrific performances this year, including a 12-3 result at the Masters and winning his semi-final 9-3. I would give Harshan the edge, although there is almost nothing in it. Regardless of the result, we should see some topnotch Scrabble.

The following weekend is the Four Nations tournament, held in Glasgow this year. Each of the four home countries sends four players to compete against the other representatives. I will be looking to stage a repeat of my 12-0 performance from last year's event, although this will be a longshot(!) England took the trophy that time by 10 clear wins - let's see if we can do it again!