aphis99

Seasonal bragging

2009-12-17T07:26:38Z

Not sure whether to post this as I don't wish to appear unhumble*. But everybody's doing it. And most of my games were in Australia, which is not always the toughest crucible.

11 tourneys played since this time last year, including WSC and Causeway. That was 197 games in total, with 155 wins (78.7%, or 88.2% domestically) and a spread of 12,665 (average 64.3, 86.8 domestically). Eight tournament wins, one second place, a 15th and a 10th. Earned about $3,500.

Highlights were winning the Australian Nationals and the Australian Masters with daylight between me and second place. But pretty much every game was enjoyable, in retrospect. Also consorting with my scrabble friends from far and wide at the Zon and elsewhere.
Lowlights - I suppose it was my fade into the teens towards the end of the WSC despite intensive preparation...but as I seem to have gained a couple of unmerited wins on the final day due to opponent errors, perhaps my final ranking was fair.
Tourneys for 2010 - perhaps not so many as 2009, but I will still hit the majors and ensure I fall in with the international qualifying criteria.
Goals - I have temporarily put Zyzzyva aside after a feeble couple of attempts to go through my accumulated cardbox (have already rescheduled twice and will need to do so again). But no doubt I will resume before long. Furthermore I will try and play a bit less like a computer and a bit more like Nigel.

Causeway game 45

2009-12-16T22:00:46Z

A fun game with Ricky Purnomo (rudely billed as 'x' in the file I uploaded). Here's how you can have a superb early game, survive three successive bingos with strong winning chances, and then succumb at the very end thanks to a skilfully-found setup.

http://www.cross-tables.com/annotated.php?u=5222

WSC positions

2009-12-15T10:24:26Z

I’ll put up a few WSC positions of interest that arose, then move on to the Causeway games.
I played OK in the WSC – nowadays I don’t pay as much heed to equity loss as I used to, because when you are defending a lead it can often go out of the window. But it looks as though my average on day one was 20, then 40, finishing with 38 on day three (about 33 on average – not bad, but clearly worse than Pakorn or Nigel). On bingos, I stupidly missed OSIERIES in game 1 against Marlon Prudencio when I was already cruising with a lead of 150, but my choice simmed only marginally worse; then I had a clean slate for 22 games, finally blotting my copybook with a miss of ISOTOPIC or ISOTONIC from IIOOT?? against Beevers in the last matchup, when in arrears by 100 (so more likely than not to be hopeless anyway) and frankly in a bad mood.

I was trying to explain to Ed Martin on the way home (I happened to bump into him at the airport) how the really good players, like Nigel, seem to play through bad racks with thematic, intention-driven plays, while the rest of us merely attempt, imperfectly, to emulate what computer programs can do (incidentally I spotted that somebody had managed to play QUACKLING on one of the boards).

Here’s one from my game with Wapnick. I had been slugged with DRAGLINE, QUEES(T)S and RAVINES (despite his phony EXPUNIT*) and had only minimal chances, but there was a lovely move I missed here after his BUND which provided a small winning shot:

   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O      Joel     xxxxxxx   366 
   ------------------------------  -> Andrew   EEGKNOR   267 
 1|=     H E C H T       '     =| 
 2|  -   I   "       "       -  | 
 3|    - R     '   '       -    |
 4|' V   E       '   B U N D   '|
 5|  E   E F     P   U P       B|
 6|  X     A N O I N T       " O|
 7|  I '   W   ' L '       Q   Y|
 8|O L L A S     O W     J U T S|
 9|    '       ' T '       E   Y|
10|  "       "   A   M A R E "  |
11|        D R A G L I n E S    |
12|'     -       E   D A F T   '|
13|  R A V I N E s '       S    |
14|  -       "       "       -  |
15|=     '       =       '     =|
   ------------------------------
AACDEGIIIIMNOOORTUZ  19

It’s KRONE F10, setting up KRONEN or KRONER with a keep of EGNR and numerous I’s to come. Very nice.

The simulation winner here against olaugh is highly surprising. John had arrived late for some reason, but banged out high-scoring moves in rows 8, 7, 6 and then 5 with ZO to take a lead in rapid time:

   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O   -> Andrew   EEEITUV   164 
   ------------------------------     olaugh   xxxxxxx   192 
 1|=     '       =       '     =| 
 2|  -       "       "       -  | 
 3|    -       '   '       -    | 
 4|'     -       '       -     '|
 5|        -           Z O      |
 6|  "       "   G A J O     "  |
 7|    '   F A V E L A     '    |
 8|=     Q A N A T     A X I T E|
 9|    '   D E N A R I I   '    |
10|  "       "       F R U G "  |
11|        -           -        |
12|'     -       '       -     '|
13|    -       '   '       -    |
14|  -       "       "       -  |
15|=     '       =       '     =|
   ------------------------------

Mirabile dictu, the best play is alleged to be EVITE/FADE (10A) keeping EU. Don’t get it; I settled on VITE N6 which comes out 13 points in arrears – I’m all for boldness when merited, but EVITE seems crazy against a rational opponent.

Robert Linn gifted me a game in round 6 by missing any of the bingos with DEINORSW (instead he tried INDOWERS*) – I had the ugly BCEIOUU, but a block of the relevant floater was enough. Earlier he had also given me a boost by playing CHATTIER for 70 instead of THEATRIC for 90. Now is that legend on his cap serious? (It reads CAPITAL PUNISHMENT)

First game of day 2 was with Paul Allan. He stunned me by opening with FAETORS* - it came off, but I was forced to give him an M in MESETAS. I grabbed a lead, but my racks were worsening – GJNNRU?, then GLLLNR?, then GLNQRW? which necessitated a change. The Q came back later, but I was able to score well with QUINS/SWOP along the top row, leaving him less than a minute to find a winning outplay underneath it holding EGILR?. The only outplay (VERLIG) actually lost by one, but after thinking furiously for a while and going over time, he resignedly put down LERING/QI/UN/IG for 31 which was a loss by two points after deducting the time penalty. I held for a while to make sure I had the win, and then accepted! The nonsensical IG had escaped me (the only phony to get past me in the event). Philip Nelkon strolled past and pointed at the word in bemusement – I still failed to notice the problem. I’m pretty sure Paul had played it in error, but the recount was slightly uncomfortable after I had realised the boob.

I misplayed an unwinnable endgame against David Boys in #10, then got squashed by the brooding Wellington on table 1 who started rather strongly (http://www.wscgames.com/cgi-bin/showgcg.cgi?id=/2009/11;turn=index). I was hoping to draw E and M for EMMEWING in the endgame, but alas he held them both. Game 14 was a rare win against Nigel, starting with two blanks (took me three turns to find a bingo after disposing of Q and X, but then I drew the lucky 4-timer CLINCHED straight from the bag). I held a huge lead for a while, but he is very hard to shake off and only fell short by 7.

Last two games of day two were fairly badly played – perhaps I was losing focus. I missed an obvious TWS play against Komol which let him take the advantage (it was AURA, albeit with three overlaps); then I tried a phony MOULAGED* against meezerman, needlessly turning the pressure off and leaching a lot of equity.

Day three, and despite my second expensive phony of the tourney (mingling VENEY and VENEWE) I was still in touch against Cheah following his QAT:

   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O   -> Andrew   DDEIOS?   277 
   ------------------------------     Cheah    xxxxxxx   283 
 1|=     C R A F T       '     =| 
 2|  - G U   " O     "       -  | 
 3|    U T   B Y E '       -    |
 4|'   P I   A   W       -     '|
 5|      E A R   K     -        |
 6|  "     I F       "       "  |
 7|    '   O   S   '       '    |
 8|=     Z L O T E       '     =|
 9|    '   I   O   '       '    |
10|  "   R   O V A   V       "  |
11|  G L I O M A     E E        |
12|'     C     I D   N A M     '|
13|    - H     N U ' E   I - Q  |
14|W E X     H E N N Y   N   A  |
15|E L U A T E   T   S P I N T O|
   ------------------------------
Tracking   ABDEGIJLRRRS?  13

Interesting one, and the presence of the J and multiple R’s among the unseen tiles are two factors which I felt might inhibit bingos on his side. I didn’t have a lot of time to think, and bunged down DILDOES/NAMS for 67 hoping that he didn’t have a comeback. A simulation reckons that KIDDO 5H is strongest, but a safer bingo would (coincidentally) have been KIDDOES/NAMS – probably best in reality.

Cheah had ten minutes or so to spend with his rack of ABELNR? – as soon as I tracked it, I groaned with displeasure. But it turned out to be surprisingly hard to overlap the first few tiles of DILDOES, and BRANLES surprisingly eluded him.

I secured a win against getofftheoven, only to face my old foe Naween in round 20. I’ve had a great run against him in domestic games, but would have traded many of those wins for a WSC scalp – it was not to be, as his six-move sprint to 383 including consecutive DEVIATOR/HEPATIZE/URINALS was unmatchable.

After lunch came Pakorn (http://www.wscgames.com/cgi-bin/showgcg.cgi?id=/2009/21;turn=index), actually a pretty impeccable game on my part according to sim (except FAULD on move 2 instead of FAULT might have been slightly better). But once again his three bingos in four moves followed by a remunerative JOWARI were too hot for me. After the game he told me he was only 95% sure of SKEWING, having debated mentally whether SMEW or SKEW was the verb – not a problem for native speakers.

Wilma advised me later that I could have picked him up for failing to write down the move scores on the last few turns (when, as usual, he was down to mere seconds on the clock). I hadn’t noticed, but I did cook up a plan to send him over time – I noted he had four tiles left but couldn’t play them all at once, so I decided to play a move, accept his response, and then very quickly play another move which forced him to play again (rather than going out myself). It was about equal points-wise, but the surprise it caused him was worth it.

I bounced back from these two disappointments flanking lunch with a win over Neil Scott. He has a high rating, but challenged three rather normal words on my part (WATERMEN, SOUNDERS, PRIVIER) which elevated my eyebrows. Then came a very enjoyable game with Jim Kramer, all of which hinged on this position after his adventurous CUED D1 leaving nothing in the bag:

   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O   -> Andrew   AAILOOO   448 
   ------------------------------     Jim      AELMNTY   428 
 1|=     C       =       '     =| 
 2|  -   U   "       J       -  | 
 3|  C R E T I N S ' A M I E    |
 4|'     D       I N W I T     '|
 5|        -           S        |
 6|  "       Q       H E     " W|
 7|    '     u ' D O E N   '   A|
 8|E F   ' P A V I D   R '   D I|
 9|N A B   U G ' E S T O I L E  |
10|  G E A N S       " L     P  |
11|        T     K     -     U  |
12|'     V O G u I E R   -   R '|
13|    -       ' R '       F A H|
14|  -       "   B O Z O   U T E|
15|=     '       Y       ' R E X|
   ------------------------------

I have to confess I completely missed the best scoring position on the board. A fabulous move for me is KOALA/MISENROLL 11H, scoring 44 and locking in victory. Instead I opted for the alternative spelling, COALA at 1D for 21. Jim surprised me with LATU/MISENROLL – I held for a while, but accepted as I still had the win. I was let off the hook here, as he could have played KNELT/MISENROLL for 44, enough to turn the tables – I suppose that’s another I got away with.

Then I finished, as so often, with a final loss as previously mentioned.

The final was enjoyable, though I had a bit of a thick head after a few too many consolatory wines while draped across the shoulders of fellow barflies (there are pictures). Live commentary not great, and here’s hoping Philip will change the format next time – he had a few requests, but stuck with tradition because it was easier. Really good to see Pakorn winning, one of the nice guys of the game.

Vids

2009-12-09T02:30:03Z

I've been watching a few of the contestant videos that have been uploaded to http://www.youtube.com/CausewayChallenge - mostly they cover similar ground, but there are a few comments of note. Paul Allan was asked what was his biggest challenge in participating in the event, and he replied "Staying calm - I think that's true for a lot of people." I found this quite funny, as Paul has a notoriously fiery temper (mainly at his own expense) when things don't go his way. In his Causeway game against Mickey Quao, Mickey played UNVALID* which was challenged off, whereupon Paul played STIMIES into the middle of the board which allowed an immediate response of DILUVIAN. Cusswords aplenty were then audible in all corners of the playing arena.

Finishing 15th in the Worlds was a tad disappointing after a mainly strong run, but 10th in the Causeway standings was fine given that I was rarely in contention for the top slots. Solid but not spectacular. The new WESPA rankings show me at about 13th or 14th which is perfectly nice given that there are half a dozen world champions ahead of me.

Game 45 was quite extraordinary for me, as I was forced to surrender a 150+ lead with an amazing sequence of moves from Ricky Purnomo, eventually succumbing by three points. I'll probably post it later, but haven't been through all the other games yet (may take a while).

Causeway day 1

2009-12-02T13:24:04Z

Michael took the stage for the preliminaries before game one, describing the event as the biggest, longest and toughest tournament in the world (which garnered a ripple of applause). This year he is trying his best to capture all 1000+ games for annotation on the website, but his team of annotators - a gaggle of youngsters snatched from the streets to note down the racks and moves - seems rather inexperienced. He tells me he has also spent US$4000 on Facebook advertising, and is hoping that http://www.causewaychallenge.com will collect a million hits before the week is out.

He is keeping a close eye on the Causeway team, and has promised to boot them out next year despite the event's history if they should come last; the replacement would be another team of internationals. They are trailing at this stage, but there are still 36 of 45 games to go.

My morning was a struggle, with the racks failing to come together nicely for the most part. Lost a two-pointer to David Boys, ending 1-3 for a gloomy lunch. But the roast chicken and braised gingko nuts helped me recover to 5-4 by close of play.

Not much more gossip at this stage as I have had a quiet couple of nights. There is the toast story but I'll leave that alone for now. Simming my games from the WSC - the first batch of ten were pretty strong, with average equity loss of around 23, some of which was defensive. But the best news is that the Cellophane Slappers are back to entertain the guests in the bar (not their real name, just an appropriate soubriquet for the three gyrating lovelies in short brightly-coloured skirts). Their Celine Dion has to be heard to be believed.

WSC finish and travelogue

2009-12-01T03:29:45Z

I'm afraid I whinged to several onlookers about finishing 15th, having been in the top ten virtually throughout the event. The fatal last game was against Craig Beevers, who had risen from the depths on the final day and who drew good scoring tiles (I did get both blanks together, but they came with AIIIO initially, then a tile dump presented me with a couple more I's). He is not normally much of a conversationalist, but did inform me after the game why he had played TEOPANS in a particular spot - apparently it scored slightly less than somewhere else, but was more defensive. My stony demeanour may have alerted him that, right at that moment, I was not very receptive to hearing about the nuances of his decision-making.

The curse of the annotation struck me again, with both my forays on table one ending in defeats. At least I played respectably (the Pakorn endgame may look a little odd with my failure to play out, but it was a deliberate whammy to send him over time and gain a small moral victory - he had not been writing down the last few move scores as required by the rules).

The atmosphere on finals day was quite febrile, with general amazement about Nigel's odd ILIAC play and then the phony two (other than that, his play was stellar). I missed the start, being a little hung-over after imbibing a lot of wine. Pakorn's placement of DINE, announcing 21, before changing the play to PALUDINE for 167, got a big crowd reaction; BOTANICA was very important for him in game 4, as he would have been a wreck in the decider (in fact Mark had told him he needed to win in four games). Pakorn is a lovely guy, good-humoured and skilful, and the tears in his eyes as he received the oversize cheque resonated with us all.

Ferdy was clowning around in his usual tactless way. Quite apart from advising every opponent (and also Pakorn after the final) that they are lucky, he has no fear of putting his foot in mouth at other opportunities. He told me that I was no good last year, but I had improved a bit this year. Then on the freebie tour of Johor State he advised the tour guide that everything he had seen was just like Jakarta, and it was therefore of no interest to him. It's hard to put across without imitating his rapid-fire staccato delivery, generally omitting several verbs. A tactile lady from Singapore was seated next to me on the coach, and Ferdy leaned over to opine to me that he had not seen any beautiful women at all during his week in Malaysia.

Socially the Aussie team has mainly been mingling with some of the UK people. Harshan told me that the conversation can flag from time to time when the UK players gather together, so he prefers a livelier bunch; and Mark also has an opinion. Mikki is a hoot.

The tour was rather dull in the morning, but perhaps better than mooching round the hotel. We were taken to the source of our amplified 5.30 wake-up azans, the state mosque (but were not allowed access) and the royal museum, the best part of which was the hunting trophy room replete with stuffed tigers and crocs put to death by former sultans in the 1920's. Then we visited a newly-completed shopping complex at Narajaya which was not yet open to the public and was consequently somewhat dead, before moving on to the new marina for a waterfront snack. It was a warm but overcast and hazy day, so the views were limited. I think the next stop was the southernmost tip of mainland Asia at Tanjung Piai, involving a trek through the mangroves on raised wooden platforms, long-fanged monkeys scurrying alongside us, before reaching the seafront overlooking the Malacca Straits, parts of Singapore and Indonesia and a number of large container ships in transit (Mihai had misheard the briefing and was surprisedly expecting to see some sheeps frolicking in the saline mud).

On to lunch accompanied by some unusual sour condiments at a homestay centre, where we were entertained by a gaggle of somewhat co-ordinated young traditional dancers and some rustic singing; other music featured an unexpected rendition of Besame Mucho on local instruments. The best bit came next with our stop at the coconut farm. The local honcho demonstrated how to extend the long pole fitted with a cutting blade to dislodge the nuts, which were thus severed and sent tumbling to the ground. Wellington had a go with great success, then a couple of others tried their hand. Next step was to de-husk them, and here Michael Gongolo shone with a rapid motion around the sharp blade fixed in the ground and extending to waist height (highly dangerous - you have to shove the coconut onto the blade, then rip and turn as you peel off the husk, avoiding the cutting edge the while). We were all given a drink of the fresh juice from a chilled vat of it, sheets of juicy pulp suspended in the liquid - delicious and refreshing. Final stop was a flyblown fruit vendor's stand where I acquired a few bananas - we had been tantalised with the promise of a visit to the pineapple museum 'if we had time', but alas the clock was against us.

Back to the Zon, and I wandered out to the adjacent restaurant strip to find Mikki, Mark, Helen and Pakorn dining together. I joined them, and Vannitha later did likewise for a pleasant meal with a little bit of word study undertaken by Helen and Pakorn. Then the champion kindly picked up the tab for us. We retired to the hotel bar for a few more drinks, finding Russell Honeybun had also just turned up. I turned in at 11ish, but I heard that Russell and others went on to a nightclub where he became something of a cynosure with his dancefloor antics.

I'll be going through my games later today, fitted round a sortie to the bowling alley planned for 2.00. Information may appear here.

WSC

2009-11-27T05:51:18Z

At this point I am 9-3, about seventh or eighth. This morning I had a close and interesting game with Paul Allan, winning by two which survived the recount (it could have been more, but that's a story for another day); then lost to David Boys in a coinflip game that turned on what was in the bag, and then Wellington started with two bingos and a 64-point Q play that I couldn't overcome. Redeemed myself with a fortunate 200-point win over Nick Ball before lunch.

Good to be in the hunt for the moment...

Made it to the Zon

2009-11-24T01:16:58Z

I went to a course on the latest tweaks to Accounting Standards on Monday morning. I have to say my thoughts were elsewhere, as I was heading for the airport afterwards. Several hours later after an acceptable flight, one of Michael's orange-clad drivers met me at Changi with a tiny handwritten sign, and proceeded to take me through to JB. He looked about thirteen, but was a pretty aggressive driver not averse to flashing those ahead of him in the fast lane to make way, and when two lanes went down to one he stuck like glue to the car in front, giving the other lane not a ghost of a chance of cutting ahead of him. Meanwhile the radio entertained us with tunefully bland Sinopop, and I admired the tigerskin-effect interior of the taxi.

On arrival at the Zon, I bumped into David Boys lurking in the lobby entrance smoking a cheroot as coolly as Clint Eastwood. I chatted with him and Mark Nyman for a while, Mark having gained a few pounds since I last saw him but raring to go. Then a brief kibitz of a lobby game (Paul Allan & Adrian Tamas vs Lewis Mackay and Martin Harrison) before turning in.

Moths

2009-11-22T10:53:32Z

After a long hot spell, the refreshing rain was bucketing down in Torquay most of Saturday, and all through the night and Sunday morning. Apparently Melbourne has had a month’s rainfall in the last 24 hours. I drove back for the Gloriana gig, fitting in some low-prob sevens before changing into all-black concert attire and heading to St Marks. The first half went very well, belying the dodgy final rehearsal, and the Mundy opener flowed unusually tunefully – then that fantastic Tomkins piece that I also sang at Philip’s ordination (O Sing unto the Lord a New Song) before moving on to the 20th century stuff. The second half was OK, with a good Britten but then the Vaughan Williams mass was marred by some bizarre solos (the tenor shipped in to do the solo parts has a lovely voice, but he totally stuffed up one section, ending a tone higher than intended which was a tad confusing).

I’ve been fighting with moths at home for a while. A couple of months ago, I kept on finding occasional maggots slowly perambulating round the ceiling, but destroyed any that I saw. Then they seemed to disappear, but two or three weeks ago I would find a few centimetre-long brown moths every day, quickly and easily crushed (as they do not bother to move when approached with my lethal sponge or other handy killing equipment), and they kept on coming despite my efforts to find where they were living. I’ve even caught courting moths in flagrante delicto a couple of times, their shameless coitus naturally interrupted by a burst of flyspray or the business end of a slipper. I’ve pulled the fridge out, emptied and cleaned the cupboards, but still they keep on turning up every day – I’m thoroughly sick of them, actually. Perhaps I will come back to a plague of them.

I’m feeling well prepared for the WSC and fly off tomorrow – should be at the Zon by bedtime on Monday. Looks as though several of the contenders are already in situ, but there is only a three-hour difference so I should acclimatise quickly. Very exciting and I can’t wait for battle to commence. Meanwhile I have been watching the Australian Idol final, which featured a new duet between Guy Sebastian and Jordin Sparks that was virtually identical to ‘No Air’ (perhaps Chris Brown is a less desirable singing partner these days).

Sound/grab

2009-11-13T01:01:13Z

I went to St Peter's Eastern Hill at 7.00 last night to carry out their audit - it's one of my freebies. As I examined the records upstairs in the parish office, there was somebody in the next room bashing away on the piano (with a rather improvised, jazzy feel), while downstairs the choir rehearsed one of Darke's masses for Sunday and then Britten's Hymn to St Cecilia. It's a very musical parish, but Fr Matthew popped in and opined that the Darke sounded dreary. Then occasionally there would be a tram trundling past, dinging its bell at errant pedestrians with a doppler shift. The musical clashes were quite toothsome, and I felt like turning on my MP3 player to generate a bit more delicious disharmony. A lovely, spacious room overlooking St Patrick's Cathedral and a row of venerable trees on a beauteous evening...it was all very uplifting for some reason.

Also had an audit team lunch. I was amused by the locution of my Sri Lankan colleague Suresh, who advised the waitress that he would "grab" the soup and then "grab" the scallop risotto. He is always grabbing paperwork, or grabbing files from the internet. A very versatile verb.

Stop

2009-11-12T01:07:16Z

Many's the time I've seen the "FORM ONE LANE" roadsign amended to "FORM ONE PLANET" by touchy-feely graffiti-loving globalists, but here's another I enjoyed in Lorne recently:

Up & comer

2009-11-06T03:05:40Z

I had an email exchange with Anand's dad the other day, who was asking what he ought to study before playing in the World Youth in December. Apparently Anand is already comfortable with the top 700 7's and the top 200 8's (hope I am not breaking any confidences here). What amazed me, in retrospect, was the realisation that a nine-year old with a relatively small scrabble vocabulary can earn a 1342 rating, which is good enough to be ranked 158th in Australia. I suspect he has a strong natural vocabulary, and is sufficiently alert and competitive to win a lot of his games - once he starts chewing up the rest of Collins, he will be a force. The parallels with Allan Saldanha are quite striking - a boy with huge natural talent and supportive parents, who shot up the UK ratings at a young age and ultimately became the country's top-ranked player (before jacking it all in to become a futures trader or something). When the nine-year-old Allan lost a game, he was often seen in tears being comforted by mum, but Anand seems to be more sanguine about it all.

There are three or four weeks to go, and I recommended that he should try and master the top 1000 of both 7's and 8's, and be secure on all the threes, with hooks if possible.

On Tuesday, I was comparing study techniques with Trevor and Naween. Naween is taking a week off work prior to departing for Malaysia, and will spend the time simply reading through CSW making notes (he is going backwards, and has reached S so far). It's not a bad method and should throw up many interesting words, but doesn't strike me as very systematic. Trevor has multiple sheets of "Trevor's interesting words", annotated with hooks, anagrams and so forth, and he is going through all those. Meanwhile I have been hitting Zyzzyva very hard all year, having now captured 7's up to 25,000 and 8's up to 30,000 (about 75%); I have also looked through the 4's, dwelling on them individually, and am working on the 5's on a similar basis. Within the next couple of weeks I will scroll through and read the remaining bingos, without necessarily attempting to retain them all, check out the JQXZ words, and revise a few sheets of 6's that I have picked out. Certainly my Jumbletime results are pretty good at the moment, but of course that doesn't mean it will translate to the WSC.

singsong

2009-11-04T06:07:42Z

After mentioning my acquisition (inter alia) of a cheap CD of Tavener's Song for Athene in early June, it turns out we will be performing it on 22 November, just before I fly off. The blurb reads: Gloriana presents a program of magnificent and much-loved works by English composers. We commemorate St Cecilia's Day with a performance of Britten's dazzling Hymn to St Cecilia. Although written at the same time, Vaughan Williams's Mass in G looks back to the music of the sixteenth century. Scored for double-choir with a quartet of soloists, this work has long been noted for its noble simplicity and timeless beauty. Composed during the reign of Queen Mary, Mundy's Vox patris caelestis is one of the most imposing works of the period. The program also includes John Tavener's spellbinding Song for Athene and music by Tomkins, Holst and Rutter. (End of blurb)

Apparently we will rehearse the Tavener no more than twice, and we haven't even seen the music yet. Hope it's easy. The Mundy is mainly in a rather high register, which was no good for me this week as I am still shaking off a long-standing bug. And there is also a Harvey piece we are going to throw in, which demands a ridiculous top B of the tenors.

Funky flyer here: http://www.gloriana.com.au/BestOfBritish.pdf

Warmup session

2009-11-03T11:46:44Z

As Victoria has a public holiday today, I profited from the free time by dealing with a couple of errands in the morning, then getting together with a couple of teammates for a WSC warmup session. Trevor seemed more content to kibitz and review the games using Quackle, only playing Naween and me once each; otherwise Naween and I faced one another four times. Our first encounter was a nip-and-tuck affair, and while I had the two blanks which helped with DEXTRO 66 and DECEIVED, his late REBILLS took the lead; I hit back with NEURONS, but drew the worst possible five tiles from the bag (BGTTW) while his were a tad friendlier (EEHIORZ), enabling a 17-point win for Naween. I then succumbed to Trevor’s SHILPIT despite SEDGIER and OBEAHISM (and a six-tile play TERTIUM which drew a challenge) before temporarily bowing out. Their game was notable for a couple of misses towards the endgame; Naween overlooked SHEQEL for 62, then Trevor (down to mere seconds) missed RENY/TOILE which would have won by a wafer.

Back to me and Naween, and his NEARSIDES and AVAILED were too much for me although I developed a strong rack towards the end. If he hadn’t, in his usual canny manner, blocked as many spots as possible, I might have had a shot at finding the sole bingo from AERRTU? with floating EF and AR available (it’s a toughie but rather a delightful word, and guessable).

That was three losses in a row for me, and I was glad to get my name on the scoreboard with FROTTAGE, LONGLEAF, RETINOL and SEGOLATE (Naween could only muster the picturesque DAHABIEH through AH). I clawed back to respectability in the final rubber with a fortunate opening rack of DFIPZ??, yielding FIZ and then OEDIPEAN 86 which were ample to outmatch his later BERRETTA. So it was Naween 3-2, Trevor 1-1 and 2-3 for me. A good session.

Probably won't come up, but...

2009-10-29T06:07:40Z

SCREICH and SCRIECH are both good, as are SKREIGH and SKRIEGH, and SHREIK and SHRIEK. SCRAICH and SCRAIGH can be paired, as can SCREECH and SHREEK. The tough ones are SCREIGH, SHRIECH and SKRIECH which do not have interchangeable vowels, though they do fall into line with the old rule "I before E except after C".

I was sad to find out that a beloved old friend had died at the weekend. John Davis was my landlord for a year or so when I was at Oxford - an extraordinary character, lover of cats and nightly sherries, the host of dinner parties that started late into the night (soup at 11pm, anyone?), sometimes irascible, but always full of warmth and encouragement. He was dreadfully unwell with diabetes and a number of other problems, not helped by a highly indulgent diet and lack of exercise, but somehow soldiered on for many years even after a leg was amputated. The anecdotes are legend, and no doubt many of them will get an airing at his funeral at New Hinksey on Tuesday.

Latest

2009-10-25T05:54:55Z

Random notes from the last couple of days. Angela at work, a popular and lovely girl, was sadly made redundant, so most of the office had a lunch at Thai Thai in farewell. My dish was a kind of combination crab salad which looked good on the menu, but the reality was somewhat different – in a partitioned dish, there was a dipping sauce, some minced bits of an unidentified pinkish meat mingled with raw onion, a chunk of sticky rice that had been delivered in a gladwrap envelope inside a woven box, strips of dried pork, and the star of the show, comprising small dismembered arthropodal limbs and joints among chunks of tomato and carrot. But the crab shell was PURPLE, and the meat within seemed to be translucently uncooked. On tasting, the whole section was drenched in a lingeringly acrid saline solution so that none of the components were distinguishable, except by texture – I wasn’t sure whether the shell was supposed to be edible, so crunched on one piece as my neighbour compared the dish to a plate of cockroaches. I wouldn’t dwell on it, but it was comfortably the most unpleasant meal I have had for a long time.

It turned out that Barry Harridge was resigning from WESPA’s dictionary committee, so my name was put forward as a possible replacement. Elie asked what I might propose to contribute, and I basically said that I wanted to ensure that the workings were more open to public view – there has been a perception of a secret cabal. Most of the substantive decisions have already been taken, but I would also be keen to ensure greater consistency (e.g. why don’t DREIGH and LOUCHE compare, when SKEIGH and GAUCHE do), assist with the mining of Chambers 2008, and weigh in on the phrasal words issue. As far as timing is concerned, I would argue for harmonising with NASPA’s schedule. Hence WESPA may need to issue an update shortly after the next US update, whenever that may be, but could then leave the wordlist in place for eight to ten years.

Friday night I picked up Philip’s mum Coralie from the airport, accompanied by Peter who had met her in Adelaide after training down from Darwin on the Ghan. They were the last ones to emerge by several minutes, and I was fearing they had been kidnapped. On a mild, sunny Saturday morning we all explored a meadow in Anglesea, famous for its wild orchids – identifying bearded, donkey, carnea, spider and several other varieties all captured on Peter’s camcorder. Philip had to conduct a wedding in the afternoon so I drove Peter and Coralie down to Wye River, a favourite beachside location of mine south of Lorne. Then in the evening we travelled back to Melbourne for the Elaine Paige concert (celebrating forty years on stage). We’ve seen her a few times, and she still has a belting voice although perhaps a little less melodious than in her prime.

Having guests plays havoc with one’s cardbox schedule. I was supposed to review 2,750 fives this weekend but may have to squeeze them in during the week. I don’t want to just whizz through them – I am targeting active study.

More Zyz oddities

2009-10-19T06:46:46Z

YOLK is defined as "the yellow part of a bird or reptile". Also SALL is given as "This is the only form of this verb (v -ES)"

A lot of the fours I struggle with seem to include a K. Thus KOLO (+S), a folk dance; KORO (no hooks), an old man; KAAL, naked; KAPA (+S), a cloth; PAIK and PIKA; KUNA and KUNE; KUTA, KUTI, KUTU; KORU; KOHA and HOKA; HAKU, KULA. Give me a high five if I get these right in my next game.

What not to say

2009-10-16T02:44:49Z

At my first proper job, I was introduced to one of the managers who was called Tina Borland. I blurted out, "That's an anagram of BANDROL". She looked nonplussed, but creditably responded "Oh...er...so it is!". When even younger and more callow, I was earning some pocket money in a temporary job during a school break by sweeping a factory floor. Noticing a box of components labelled 'Mainetti', I pointed out to my fellow dogsbodies that it was an anagram of INTIMATE (cue silence, accompanied by murderous looks). I still do all that in my head, but at least I am no longer so socially inept as to impart the information to others.

poser

2009-10-14T22:19:35Z

This is the kind of (Collins) puzzle that skin_it_mahatma is usually pretty quick with. If you can see a connection among the entries in this non-exhaustive list (which is, however, presented in a specific order), put another example in comments:

BEAT
DUNG
FORM
LYRE
CURD
MIST
PROW
MESH
LOSS
REST

Causeway

2009-10-14T02:19:14Z

Mon dieu, I am salivating at the thought of entering the fray this year (http://causewayscrabble.com/), even more so perhaps than the WSC. Michael has hand-picked 50 of the world's best to fight for the generous purse, and it will be unrelentingly tough.

After a dismal showing last year, my international rating has plummeted which means I am nowhere near the top seeds. In fact if I had not qualified for Australia, I would be out of the frame for international teams. That means that my draw on the final day is relatively easier, so I will be hoping to gain a few places on the leaders. I'm also hoping to overturn some recent history on day one, which features Ed Martin (he beat me at Mumbai after I played too quickly/carelessly in the endgame, and at CC08); Jighere (a vanquisher at CC08); Austin Shin (never played); meezerman (a vanquisher at CC08); Suanne (who beat me at Mumbai and CC08); Phil Robertshaw (I am not sure we have ever played); Howard Warner (he's beaten me many times, but not lately); David Boys (I sneaked home against him at Mumbai) and Komol (a frequent vanquisher except for once at King's Cup). That run doesn't look as fearsome as some other sequences, and it would be great to get some W's on the board. Australia will be a tad weakened by the absence of Chris, but no doubt we will all pull together.

WSC warmup

2009-10-06T01:06:51Z

Half of Australia’s WSC team (Naween, Peter and I) gathered at my place last night for a scrabble session, with Julian ably making up the foursome. Eldar was trying his luck at another game elsewhere on the planet, so couldn’t make it. It was a lateish start, so we only managed a single round robin plus one extra game between Peter and me; and sadly I have to report that I lost twice to Peter, then lost to Naween, only salvaging a point in the final rubber against Julian 402-395 after he unwisely S-hooked MAND. Peter lost to Julian, but completed a strong night with a storming win over Naween, and in the other fixture Naween enjoyed a narrow win over Julian. So it was Peter 3-1, Naween 2-1, Julian 1-2 and me 1-3 (-33). Once again the Wishing Well of India provided the sustenance.

My bingos were the humble BEETING, OUTRIDE, CAFTANS, GRATEFUL and DEBOUCHE, while my opponents shellacked me with VIRANDOS, NITRATOR, APHANITE, RINDLESS, ANXIOUS, ENTODERM, LIGATIVE, ENGRAFT and NIRLIEST. I regretted the absence of an E for VULSELLA at one point, and also played a six-tile dump to make the only NAWEEN + 1 word in Collins.

Here’s a pre-endgame poser in my second game with Peter, after his O(X)IDES:

   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O   -> Andrew   CFIINTU   328 
   ------------------------------     Peter    xxxxxxx   346 
 1|=     '       =       '   Z a| 
 2|  - B     "       "       O P| 
 3|    A       '   '       -   H|
 4|'   W -       '       V     A|
 5|    N   -           - A     N|
 6|  " E     "       "   L   Q I|
 7|    E       '   '     V '   T|
 8|M I N C Y   M Y     G E O D E|
 9|    ' O     O U T R I D E    |
10|  A R A A R A     "       "  |
11|      T -     E     P I L A F|
12|'     E     O X I D E S     R|
13|    B E R T H E '       -   I|
14|  -       "   R I N D L E S S|
15|=     '       T       '     K|
   ------------------------------
Tracking  AEGGJLNOOOSUUW?  15

Really not sure what the best winning shot is. I toyed with CITIFY E3, but didn’t like the look of the two U’s still unseen, and rejected IF B5 because of the easy kill in column 1 (presuming Peter held at least S). I settled on UNIFY E4, but the draw of AGJW killed me. Simulation shows that UNIFIC 5B is slightly better, and maybe CUBITI 2A.

Moonfish

2009-09-20T08:27:06Z

We stopped for lunch in Lorne yesterday, on a beautiful spring day. Outside the fishmonger the carcase of a moonfish was a-dangle, and from behind the screen a recording of a solo cellist blasted out (Bach, I think). The fishmonger considers himself a poet (the board is often adorned with a few thought-provoking lines), and this seems to have been his home-made art installation for the day.

Later we drove to the Benedictine Abbey at Camperdown. While Philip was attending one of the services, I ran down the hillside to the lake and back up again. They own all the land down to the lakeside, and it used to be forty acres (but since the drought has increased to 42).

aphis99 @ 2009-09-20T10:23:00

2009-09-20T00:24:10Z

Some Masters positions below…

I’m still pretty convinced my choice here after Edward’s DZO was best, though I did perceive the possible threat:

   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O      Edward   xxxxxxx   321 
   ------------------------------  -> Andrew   CEFIIKL   348 
 1|=     '       D       C     =| 
 2|  -       " V E R O N A L S  | 
 3|  D Z O     ' T '     R -    |
 4|'     H O V E A       P     '|
 5|        B o X I N G S        |
 6|  "   J O W   N   "       "  |
 7|  W H O     ' E '       '    |
 8|G O A ' P O M E       ' L E Y|
 9|    G L O B I   E M E R I T A|
10|  "       A R E F Y       "  |
11|  T R A N S I T     -        |
12|'     -       '       -     '|
13|    -       '   '       -    |
14|  -       "       "       -  |
15|=     '       =       '     =|
   ------------------------------

Tracking AAADDEEEIIINNQRSTTUUUU?

CLEIK/MYC 11J is easily best on simulation, mainly because it scores so much more than everything else (except ALECK D11 which leaves the unappetising FII). Next best seem to be CIEL 1L or CIEL 12A, at least 5% down on win percentage and seven or eight equity points in arrears. With a tight board the only game-losing threat was a response of SQUID or SQUIT, and alas the former duly eventuated. So, should I have gone for the ultra-safe option and a lead of about 50? Maybe.

The tables are turned in the next position, with none of the possible moves earning more than 28% wins according to Quackle. The top move on sim is rather surprising:

   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O      Edward   xxxxxxx   408 
   ------------------------------  -> Andrew   DEFITUU   380 
 1|=     '       D       C     =| 
 2|  -       " V E R O N A L S  | 
 3|  D Z O     ' T '     R -    |
 4|'     H O V E A       P     '|
 5|        B o X I N G S        |
 6|  "   J O W   N   "       "  |
 7|  W H O     ' E '       '    |
 8|G O A ' P O M E       ' L E Y|
 9|    G L O B I   E M E R I T A|
10|  "       A R E F Y       "  |
11|  T R A N S I T   C L E I K S|
12|'     -       '       -     Q|
13|    -       '   '       -   U|
14|  -       "       "       - I|
15|=     '       =       '     D|
   ------------------------------

Tracking AAAEEIINNRTU? (13)

Drawing a pair of U’s was unwelcome, especially with another unseen. I went for the best score, FRIED L8 for 40 (often a proxy for the best-simming choice), but the surprising UTU 6J for a humble 8 points comes out ahead of the fray. That would probably earn an exclamation mark in a chess annotation, but the point is it leaves FRIED as a possible followup, while dumping both U’s and leaving a relatively bingo-friendly rack. It would take strong nerves to go with an 8-point move at that phase of the game, and I never spotted it. Edward’s next move AI was a nice touch:

   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O      Edward   xxxxxxx   415 
   ------------------------------  -> Andrew   AEERTUU   420 
 1|=     '       D       C     =| 
 2|  -       " V E R O N A L S  | 
 3|  D Z O     ' T '     R -    |
 4|'     H O V E A       P     '|
 5|        B o X I N G S        |
 6|  "   J O W   N   "       "  |
 7|  W H O     ' E '       '    |
 8|G O A ' P O M E       F L E Y|
 9|    G L O B I   E M E R I T A|
10|  "       A R E F Y   I   "  |
11|  T R A N S I T   C L E I K S|
12|'     -       A I     D     Q|
13|    -       '   '       -   U|
14|  -       "       "       - I|
15|=     '       =       '     D|
   ------------------------------

Tracking ?AEINNTU

Assuming he held the blank, I calculated that he had eights at 15H with every rack except where E was in the bag, and sevens in row 13 with every rack unless T was in the bag. Inferring the E was much more likely, so I attempted a block with AUE D11 – no good, and he went out with UNBAITED to win by 80.

After refusing KERNELLY in my game against Trevor (turns out that YELL simulates better anyway), I had an outright bingo miss a couple of moves later after he had played WINS:

   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O      Trevor   xxxxxxx   133 
   ------------------------------  -> Andrew   FNOPRT?   175 
 1|=     '       =       '     =| 
 2|  -       "       "       -  | 
 3|    -       '   '       -    | 
 4|'     -       '       -     '|
 5|        T           -        |
 6|  " D R A M       "       "  |
 7|    '   L A U D E R S   '    |
 8|=     J A N T E E     Y E L L|
 9|    '   Q   '   K A N E H    |
10|  W I N S "       Y A     "  |
11|        -           -        |
12|'     -       '       -     '|
13|    -       '   '       -    |
14|  -       "       "       -  |
15|=     '       =       '     =|
   ------------------------------

It’s UPFRONT. Bah. Well, it was the first miss in 13 games so I absolve myself. Slightly less sharp on the Sunday, it turns out I also missed TSARITZA against Esther – ouch.

In my close clash with Geoff Wright, promoted to Masters after Peter Kougi dropped out (perhaps he went to the Chicane concert instead?), I had tried a few setups that don’t really simulate too well – e.g. ZO 25 (keeping ADEIT) instead of ZOEA for 33, ILEX for the S-hook when DIXI would have been better, but also NEATH J2. I had a feeling Geoff might overlook the front hooks, and that was the main reason for refusing PONDOK here:

   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O   -> Andrew   DKOOOPW   218 
   ------------------------------     Geoff    xxxxxxx   220 
 1|=     '       =       '     =| 
 2|  -     U V A     N       -  | 
 3|    -       Z   F E R N S    |
 4|'     -     O P   A   -     '|
 5|        -     r   T -        |
 6|  C       "   E D H       "  |
 7|  L '       ' L O       '    |
 8|V E G A       A T     '     =|
 9|  A I G R E T T E       '    |
10|  N       F E E D "       "  |
11|    A B A T E       -        |
12|S I L E X     '       -     '|
13|I   -       '   '       -    |
14|R -       "       "       -  |
15|I     '       =       '     =|
   ------------------------------

In the end my choice of DOOWOP 12G turns out best anyway, given the good K-spot it creates.

The endgame was slightly interesting, after Geoff’s RUG 3C.

   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O   -> Andrew   EEILOST   357 
   ------------------------------     Geoff    xxxxxxx   345 
 1|M I C K Y     M O A   Q I   =| 
 2|  -     U V A     N   I O -  | 
 3|    R U G   Z   F E R N S    |
 4|'     -     O P   A   d     '|
 5|        -     r   T H A W    |
 6|  C       "   E D H   R   "  |
 7|  L '       ' L O       '    |
 8|V E G A       A T     '     =|
 9|  A I G R E T T E       '    |
10|  N       F E E D "       "  |
11|    A B A T E       J U N    |
12|S I L E X   D O O W O P     '|
13|I   -       '   '       -    |
14|R -       "       "       -  |
15|I     '       =       '     =|
   ------------------------------

Tracking BDEINNRSUY

In my old cavalier days, I would have plonked down ESTOILE/THAWS without a moment’s thought, reasoning that bingos were a fairly negligible chance in response. This time I mulled it over, reasoning that easy comebacks in column O like DINNERS or INSURED would be enough to overhaul me, and I chose SI/QINDARS instead (leaving handy plays in row 13 using JOT or JOL). Geoff pondered for a while, eventually going for (SI)N in the same spot, and having drawn BU, I knew that the Y was going to be in the bag for him. So that was a getaway I might not have enjoyed at one time in my career.

The analysis shows a better standard of play on the Saturday, but satisfactory overall. Some of the “new” hooks are not thoroughly ingrained, e.g. at one point I missed a good play involving the –N hook to UDO (similar to my miss of BOYF a couple of tourneys ago). It’s all being fed into my study plan.

CC teams update/speculation

2009-09-15T00:19:52Z

At this stage, Tango reckons the Nigerian team for this year's Causeway will comprise Wellington, Saidu, Chinedu, Dennis and Eta Karo. I don't know Eta but he has a very good rating. Thailand are looking like Pakorn, Panupol, Komol, Marut and Pichai, while the Causeway team (combined Singapore and Malaysia) is shaping up as Ganesh, Suanne, Marlon Prudencio, Ricky Purnomo and probably Hubert.

At least one of the International teams will be UK-dominated, probably from among Harshan, Austin Shin, Phil Robertshaw, Craig Beevers, Dweeb and Phillips Owolabi. Michael says he is very keen to get on board the players who are in good form, hence Harshan and David W after their BMSC and UK NSC showings.

Masters review

2009-09-14T08:13:16Z

What an amazing weekend. I was in a pleasantly warm Sydney for this year’s Masters event, staying in a cheap hotel near King’s Cross – it was fine, although the thin walls meant that on Saturday I was woken by a couple banging the headboard in the next room (they had finished by the time I emerged from the shower). The tournament was held in a light and airy venue near the famous fountain, just adjacent to an open-air market with superb food vendors (I had wonton soup on day one, then a Turkish gozleme on Sunday). And games-wise, I seemed to get an excellent flow of scoring tiles virtually throughout, helping me to a 17-2 victory – losing only to Edward on Saturday night before our Indian gala dinner, and then the final game to David on Sunday. I had 20/38 blanks, but a surer sign of good fortune was the fact that I was able to play consecutive bingos in nine of the 19 games.

Among my 49 bingos, the more interesting ones included THYRSES (followed immediately by Carmel’s splendid nine-timer of BURSITIS round the T – I didn’t realise until checking that it also makes SHYSTER), STIPPLER, DIAPHONY, FOREFEEL, PINECONE, SAZHENS, BECRUST, HEITIKIS, PREMORAL. Curiously, Karen had mentioned DIAPHONY to me as a ‘hail mary’ outbingo that paid off in one of her recent UK tournaments, and then following Naween’s NOTEPAD I had the same opportunity, much superior to the alternative HYOIDEAN. And as for HEITIKIS, I was aware of the 7 but really wasn’t sure whether it took an –S plural in the inconsistent minefield of Maori-derived words. I spent a few minutes havering, but eventually went for it on the grounds that TIKI definitely takes S, plus I already had a 100+ lead and there were no particularly appealing alternatives. Tony responded with BOTHE(R) elsewhere for 45, later telling me that he was close to BOTHERED for 212 which might have proved troublesome. I haven’t been through the games in detail yet to check for outright misses, but wasn’t game enough to try kERNELLY for 78 against Trevor (when YELL 44 keeping ?NR may have been superior anyway). My opponents snagged 31 bingos in response over the 19 games.

By round 18 I had the title wrapped up and had a fun game with UK-bound Chris May, replete with cheeky setups and speculative plays (not to mention outrageously good tile-drawing in the early game). Round 19 was against Eldar who had also already locked in his second place, and in this dead rubber the tile synergy was not so spectacular as I limped to a tally of 244 against his 485. I’ll run some of the other games through Quackle and probably post further details later. I’ve been studying pretty hard all year, but the outcome is far beyond expectations and the ‘rub of the green’ I am getting surely cannot last – still hoping it will continue through December though.

At the same time as all of the above, the solution to my Rules of Construction puzzle was published by The Times, and the comments from solvers were almost universally gratifying (e.g. here, here or here). Very good to see.