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NSC 2009 Commentary: Round 19

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Go to: Before the Tournament, Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5, Round 6, Round 7, Round 8, Round 9, Round 10, Round 11, Round 12, Round 13, Round 14, Round 15, Round 16, Round 17, Round 18, Round 19, Round 20, Round 21, Round 22, Round 23, Round 24, Round 25, Round 26, Round 27, Round 28, Round 29, Round 30, Round 31, After the Tournament.

Round 19

Mike Baron (Corrales, NM) and I shared a quick lunch at the Internet table, much of it under the glow of light from the laptop as the room's lights were off and under repair during the break in sessions. As the lights returned, division 5's mother-son duo of Cathy Steinke (Indianapolis, IN) and David Steinke (Indianapolis, IN) came by to get head shots taken. Forgetting that I was in the presence of a supserstar, I politely introduced the Steinkes to Mike. They were so delighted to meet him and mentioned him signing their book!

Two of the division 1's younger superstars, Rafi Stern (Seattle, WA) and Kenji Matsumoto (Amherst, MA), played this round. I see Kenji's ABUTTER for 74 and sELVEDGE for 68. Rafi played AINSELL for 79 and sPINNErS of 74. Darn nice to Kenji to share his blank with Rafi so he could get down another bingo! My favorite play was a 21-point DYVOUR by Rafi: nice rack cleaner! Rafi's win, 439-409.

The husband and wife duo of Joel Horn (Boston, MA) and Judy Horn (Boston, MA) squared off this round in division 2. John Robertson, their division leader, walked by and whispered, "I've heard of dueling bangos, but dueling horns?" I see Joel's GELATINE for 62 and ANTIQUE for 88. Judy's bingos were CUREITES for 79 and PlODDERS for 74. As I was watching, Judy quietly played three tiles: AXE/NA/ZAX/AGE for a mere 51! Judy's win, 444-432.

Jeff Cook (Keyser, WV), who plays with his legs crossed to the side, a good distance from the board. He looks nonchalant, but contends it is "warmer" to sit this way in an over air conditioned room. He's a bit of a joker, so I'm never sure if I should take anything he says seriously. Seeing me coming, he said loud enough for me to hear, "hey, pretend we are playing!" Their clocks were off and the game was over, but they bent down, concentrating intently on the board. Jokers. I see Jeff's BOwLINES for 80 and Matt's UNDERLIT for 70 and dAIKIRS for 98. It was Matt's win, 421-398.

Thomas Reinke (Middleton, WI) has begun to pay rent for his occupation of table 1 in division 2, defeating Scott Leifer (Middleboro, MA) this round, 437-364. Scott, who is barely in his 30s himself, ran his fingers through his hair and said, "I feel positively old! These younger players are just tooo good!" I assured Scott that he was plenty young. I see RECOURSES and REELING but couldn't be bothered to take down who played them, but my notes do point out that Thomas played DIsPlANT and Scott played PALSIEs.

Bingofest central at a Mark Miller (Philadelphia, PA) vs. Cheryl Tyler (Lubbock, TX) board. I see Cheryl's oBEYInG for 78, URANIDES for 63, and ALANiNES for 60. Mark's three bingos: GROUNDED for 64, OUTRAVE for 86, and LEVANTS for 73. Mark's win, 462-419.

I keep hearing "It just ain't right... it just ain't right..." I see Adam Logan (New York, NY) and Chris Cree (Dallas, TX) up to their elbows in tiles, playing and replaying the endgame to see how a win could be created for Chris. At one point, it was a 289-133 lead for Chris. I see Adam's bOOKISH and Chris' WINDIEST, but in the end, Adam took a bunch of time to figure out how to stick Chris with some tiles to eke out the win. He managed to leave Chris with QL, winning, 373-369.

Pakorn Nemitrmansuk (THA) defeated Jim Kramer (Roseville, MN) this round, 504-379. I see Pakorn's SLITHERY, FILISTER, and TOASTIER. Jim played cUITTLE and EUlOGIA. When I guessed the blank to be an L in EULOGIA, Jim said, "That is good for you, Sherrie!" I feel the sting!

At table 1 in division 1 Jerry Lerman (San Francisco, CA) tried TOPHAT* and Nigel called it off. Check out the game in the annotated game section!