2008 - A Retrospective (Part 3)

The Carlisle tournament was the start of a sequence: I played rated tournament Scrabble on four consecutive weekends, a first for me. The second of these weekends saw me travel up north to Sunderland, where I played Mikki Nicholson in the BEST North regional final at Laura Finley's house. As she proved many times over the course of the two days we were there, Laura truly is the hostess with the mostest: Mikki and I were never short of a drink or snack. My confidence, Scrabble-wise, was a bit low following Carlisle, and game one here did nothing for that: I was crushed 356-567! My consecutive bonuses of RATBAGS and OUtCHEA(T) only narrowed the deficit, as Mikki was already well ahead following DEGAMES, (R)EQUITAL (104) and DONARI(E)S. The nice spot of MINUTIa(L) was the cherry atop an already resplendent cake for him.
Game two saw me triumph 480-449, but only after we had both played a phony early on: Mikki played HE(M)OTYPE*, then I stupidly played DAI(M)OSEL* as a 9x, only to see it vanish off the board! Mikki had also played MOMENTA(L)* following my first move ULuLATE(D), which I failed to challenge. My mid game play of (E)NQUIRER for 104 proved decisive, although Mikki cut the spread with a final move of FREeG(A)NS. Game three started cagily, before I pulled away with AgATIZE(D) for 104. This cued Mikki in for three bonuses in four moves (SNOUTEd, REEARNE(D) and A(R)MOIRES) to retake the lead. I then became unsure of the two sevens in ADELNTU, and played the fairly woeful ANTED for 39. This should have cost me, but fortunately a decent K score plus trapping Mikki with a V saw me squeak a 437-389 win. Mikki played FE(A)RSOME for 80 early on in game four, only to see me counter immediately with ZATI (96). He maintained a slight lead over a cagily played midgame, before bonusing with dEIFESt (71) on a tight board. My reply of T(E)ENAGER pulled me almost level, but a decent score for ADULT gave Mikki a handy 30pt lead. Holding EILNNOO, I opened a second bonus lane with LOIN/(ZORI)L, and was rewarded with a pickup of CESU. Mikki blocked the likelier of the bonus lines, ensuring that E(N)OUNCES (83) was good for the win.
The final game of the day saw me start with the easy GOATEED, only for Mikki to respond with pAUSERS and INTONAT(E), countering my second bonus of OdONATE. Decent scores with the Z and X kept me apace with Mikki's consistent scoring, before I took a decisive leave with PERIDIA. I then made a few blocky plays to ensure the win, although it was not a well played section of the game for me. The scoreline of 459-376 meant that I was 4-1 up overnight, needing only two more wins to progress.
Early bonuses of PENNANT and E(N)DOGENS, in response to Mikki's R(E)STRaIN, gave me a handy lead on a blocked board in game six. I then picked one of the most horrible racks I have ever seen - TUUVWYY! Luckily, I was able to play out of this, with YU (29), V(A)W (17) and BUY (24) leading to the much nicer rack of CEIIST? The subsequent bonus of STICkIE(R), plus a score of 40+ with the K, proved decisive. However, I needed to be vigilant in the endgame and block GNATTIE(R) with AFF - other moves tied or lost. I was hoping to wrap up the fixture in game seven, but missing SMORING (which I didn't know) and N(E)GROISM (which I saw but was not sure of) early on proved costly. My only bonus of RESTING (90) could not match Mikki's DALLI(E)RS, TONGERs and cHATTER, leading ultimately to a score of 381-487. Game eight started nicely for me - consecutive bonuses of APoL(O)GIA and S(P)OILAGE gave me a handy lead. However, Mikki had the consecutive CASSENE and FIeRIER, which gave him the lead after I was forced to change my rack of seven consonants. A vital score of 47 with the X game me the pre-endgame initiative, which I held onto as Mikki had an ugly final rack of JMNTUUU. The 6-2 scoreline doesn't reflect how close the match was - I actually finished with a negative spread, since both of Mikki's wins were by over 100! I thus qualified for the national quarter final stages, and regained most of the points lost the previous weekend (+3 taking me to 203).

The following weekend (the third in the sequence of four) saw me participate in the Nottingham Nomads tournament for the first time. The divisions are round robin groups of nine played over both days, with one sit-out per round; promotion and relegation take place following Saturday's conclusion. Prizes are awarded on both days; effectively, each day is a separate tournament. My first game, against David Webb, could not have started better: the first rack of AAEPRSZ giving me a nice 106 point head start! Sadly, YaKItO(R)I got blocked the following move, but I was able to play FOrKINg soon after. David managed OUTSTRI(P) and SWOO(N)IER, but I held on to win 462-368. Three bonuses against Phil Appleby took me to a 491-433 win, and I then did likewise against Wayne Kelly, winning 441-413 (including the anagram of PARTICLE). Two early bonuses of MOUSIEr and SAT(I)ATES saw me to a comfortable win against Di Dennis after she missed the possible 9x of wAR(S)LING. Four bonuses against Ed Martin, including ATHAnOR (the only bonus playable), saw me to a 486-377 win. Austin Shin's mODE(R)ATO and BANDAGe(S) put me on the back foot, but a late EROTICA - following earlier bonuses of AIRBO(R)NE and SENATES - gave me another high scoring win, 502-438. At this point, I practically the group winner, since the nearest contenders were two wins and a large amount of spread behind me. I was determined to keep winning, however, and bonuses of GROoMED and hEXACTS saw off Jared Robinson, 482-304. An easy start of ANODIZE (75) and (Z)ANJA (42) gave me a nice lead against Martin Harrison, despite missing GUERI(D)ON soon after. A good spot of KET(O)T(I)C as a 4x for 52 dealt with a tricky rack, and put me over 100 ahead. Martin soon struck back with VOI(D)aBLE, and we entered a tense endgame on a board with few openings 11 points apart, and ?SSSS not yet played! Fortunately, my play of TOE (12) from EEENOST blocked all possible bonuses for Martin, and picking a C gave me outplays in several places. It was my win, 399-384. This gave me a Saturday record of 8-0 +698, which meant that I had taken the division by four whole wins! I was later informed that this was only the second time in the history of the tournament that someone had won all eight games of the day in the top group. This was possibly the zenith of 2008 for me, Scrabble-wise - my tournament rating for the day was 235! My joy, however, lasted all of ten minutes when I found out how expensive the hotel bar was...

More to follow reasonably soon, including the second half of the Nomads tournament, and my first encounter with Nigel Richards (current World Scrabble Champion).

2008 - A Retrospective (Part 2)

Following Warrington, next up was the NSC(T) Northern Regional qualifier, held in Shipley. I'd managed to go 6-0 in the same event last year; however, it was seven games this time round. I won my first two games easily enough, despite mindlessly losing three turns in the process (especially bad was playing TROJANS* - eek!) I then got trounced by Wayne Kelly - one of those games that was unwinnable, although overlooking SEITANS near the end to reduce the spread was pretty poor. Another two lost turns in my next game nearly cost me, but bonuses of TEENDI(N)G and LeV(O)DOPA, plus some nice sixes (WITTOL and FRIGOT), were enough to clinch it. A nice score of 530 saw me to a comfortable win in the next round, helped by the nine PA(RE)NTAGE. I played READOR(N)S as a 4x too quickly in game six, missing a lovely placement for DROSERA, which would have netted 90+. My other bonus of FISTULAR kept me in it, but ultimately I lost to Craig Beevers, going over time in the process (a rare event for me!) I needed to win my final game to qualify, and managed to do so by 10 points against Ross MacKenzie - the nice NUCLe(I)D(E)S being my only bonus. I was thus through to the NSC semis, to be held in Birmingham in mid-September. My team narrowly missed out on qualification for the NSCT final, despite all three of our members doing well enough to qualify for the NSC semis! A spread differential of a mere 50 points shows how close it was.

My next event was the ABSP Masters - an invitational event for the top 16 players in the country, held in Staffordshire at the end of June. In practice, a few of the top 16 choose not to come for various reasons, so the field usually comprises of a select few from the top 25 or so. My early 2008 performances had taken me to a rating of 203, so I was seeded #1 for this event. Naturally, of course, I proceeded to lose my first three games to Wayne Kelly, Harshan Lambadasuriya and Stewart Holden. I was in good company - the #2 seed, Brett Smitherham, had done likewise. How often will you see the top two seeds propping up the table of any event? I was thus in real danger of failing to improve on my only other appearance in the Masters - a woeful 5-10 -300 odd in 2005. However, I then won my next four games, which included my best find of the day in BErGYLT against Martin Harrison - a Masters debutant who was doing exceedingly well (he would finish 3rd). I lost my final game of the day to Phil Appleby, largely due to missing both of the bonuses in my first rack of EELMRW? and playing the phony APHALI(A)N*. Sunday dawned well - I racked up 500s in both of the first two games against Phil Robertshaw and Brett Smitherham; though the latter caused me a bit of a scare when he came back strongly from an early 200+ deficit. I narrowly beat Paul Gallen, another Masters debutant, by one point in round 11, thanks to a well-spotted FUSt(I)ANS and Paul's phony of
EPITHE(T)A*. However, I then came unstuck against Mikki Nicholson, another Masters debutant doing very well (he finished 2nd). I did at least manage to get a nickel from him by extending ERUV to ERUVIN in the endgame :) Round 13 was definitely unlucky for me; a horrible game against Jared Robinson saw me losing by over 150. I did not help my cause by playing the phony RERAISER*. I managed to get back on track with a comfortable win against Ed Martin (529-333), thanks to a hat-trick of (D)ELEtION, INFaU(N)AL and UNSHA(P)ED. My final game against Craig Beavers saw me triumph by 460-448 - the only time in the game that I was in the lead! I was only able to win due to my final play of HEBONAS for 99, which Craig could not block - he had seven consonants and picked the second blank as the last tile from the bag! My overall record of 9-6 +203 was enough for fourth place, one off the money. Bizarrely, it was sufficient to gain me a ratings point.

Next up was the inaugural Carlisle weekend tournament. My rating of 204 was a new personal best for me; this of course meant that I lost my first two games! My loss of 355-425 against Darryl Francis was the first time in a good while that I'd failed to play at least one bonus in a tournament game. Gareth Williams then proceeded to beat me 547-355, meaning that I was dead last after two games for the second tournament in a row! I then rallied somewhat, winning my next three games - (B)LUNGeRS probably being my best bonus in this mini-streak - before losing the last two of the day. I conceded my second 500+ of the day against Ross MacKenzie - a well spotted CHOENIX on move one being his best word - before Jason Carney extracted a measure of revenge for the BEST R2 match by sneaking a 15 point win. It was most definitely a day to forget... . Sunday went much better - a 6-1 record for the day propelled me to a 9-6 record and £20 for third place, but it wasn't enough to stop my rating plummeting by 4 points to 200. I missed a 9x with AACEET? + H in fifth place - can you spot it? I did manage to play COLETIT(S), DeWPO(I)nT and OOTH(E)CaE in other games, however. My final play of the tournament was the nice clearout of
V(A)UDoUX (the bonus version would not fit!)

More to follow soon, with a bit of luck...