CNSC 2011 Commentary: Round 15

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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, Award Ceremony, Final Round 1, Final Round 2, Final Round 3.

John Chew says, "Based on a tsh meta-simulation, there is as of round 14 a 35% chance that a 13-5 and low spread record will not be enough to make it to the finals. Reaching 10th place and prize money at this point looks like it will require 11-7 and high spread."

Board 2, Tony Leah (Ajax ON) defeats Adam Logan (Ottawa ON). I see HAuLIER, REVVING, SENORITA, and SORPTION on the board. Check it out in the annotated game section.

Board 1 had Joel Wapnick (Montreal QC) the winner over Will Nediger (London ON), which is also an annotated game. Of the game, I ask Will how it went and he says, "I wish I had challenged off his phoney, but oh well, it was good." I asked if he was intimidated and he said, "No, not really, I'd already faced off against Adam Logan (Ottawa ON) there yesterday, and that was sufficiently intimidating enough. They are both similar players, low-key and relaxed." Sherrie adds: kind of like Will himself. Later on, a lobby onlooker said, "Sherrie, did you see that phoney that Joel played in this last game?" I admitted I hadn't seen it, so Chris Lipe looked up the game online and we saw the play: VENIFIC*. We think (Chris thinks), he got it confused with VENEFIC#, which is good in the World Dictionary, one that Joel has been studying exclusively these days.

Ross Brown (Ottawa ON) and Andy Saunders (Guelph ON) are in a tense game. I see Ross' FLINTIER and Andy's pretty UnIDEAED (of this, he quipped, "a 5-vowel 8"). Just as I walk up, something happened. I think codirector Mad Palazzo is trying to get the result slip, maybe?, and then I lean in to see some of the plays. They are fixing the scores and the slip is taking a bit longer, and Mad wanders off. I then realize that Ross had played HEAVY and emptied the bag. Holding IOLPRZ?, Andy slapped down POLaRIZE to bingo out. Andy won, 425-403. So, I think what was a simple, "let me take your slip up for you" interaction, got entangled in the changing endgame fortunes of Ross and Andy.

Gabriel Gauthier-Shalom (Montreal QC) vs. Steve Ozorio (Mississauga ON): DOTTErEL, TIARAED, SOURCED, SLASHING, and ZIRAM on their in-progress board.

Randall Thomas (Calgary AB) is just plain fun from the word go. Today is wearing a The Flash T-shirt. In the foyer when Risa Horowitz referred to it as a Flash Gordon T-shirt, he had to correct her, politely (he is Canadian, after all). He then said, "My game is a bit stalled, so I decided to give it a jolt (with the shirt)." He is playing with Juraj Pivovarov (Calgary AB) this round. As I bend down to photograph him in the garment, Juraj slaps down SEASIDES for 80. I also see CRENATE on their board.

Eric Tran (Calgary AB) vs. Matthew Tunnicliffe (Ottawa ON) at table 3: LUNATION, BONDAGE for 68, and OUtLIERS for 78 for Matthew and cASERNE for Eric. They are very end-game intense and we've reached the portion of the event that those at top tables almost just don't see anyone but each other (they look right through tournament workers and coffeehousers that stop by, and they don't see Chris or me either). I know that Matthew won because he apologized for getting all the tiles.

Jim Nanavati (Burlington ON) comes to get me to see his loss to David Boys (Dorval QC). He said, "He was 144 down and I still lost!" Jim had played SHADILY and LOAMIER and had that great lead, and then got down one bingo after it: FEATEST. Then Dave caught on fire. He got down DRAGONET, then the bingo/bongo ODONAtES and sEATING. Of the latter play, Dave saw me writing it down and he brushed my arm and said "nice rack managment, huh?" I laughed and admitted I was pretty sure I would have found that play, too! The nail in the Jim coffin was Dave's next two plays: QI for 40 and JINN for 43. A 483-478 win for Dave who files this one under "gift."

David Wood (Thunder Bay ON) vs. Evan Berofsky (Thornhill ON). A fun back and forth: David's opening DIArIST, then Evan's ANTIBIAS through the T. David played BROMINE and then Evan played back to back UNWARIER and NESTLErS. Two fun later plays: Evan's FRITZ for 63 and AZOLE through that Z to the triple for 42. Evan's win, 502-366.

Robin Pollock Daniel (Toronto ON) played Dielle Saldanha (Richmond BC) this game. Wonderful to see two women doing so well and getting a chance to play each other at a top table! Chris will report on them a bit later.

Chris writes:

At Board Three, Matthew Tunnicliffe (Ottawa ON) is playing Eric Tran (Calgary AB). They each have blanks... Matthew gets his down with OUtLIERS for a 78 point double double. Eric has ACIPRT? and now nothing plays. He dumps some tiles, and Matthew has pulled a bango LUNATION as Eric now has doubled Is.

Shan Abbasi (Mississauga ON) has bingoed with LEDGIER and it's wide open for eights. John Dungey (Mitchell ON) has just laid down GIGGLERS (blank asthe L) through LEDGIER's G. Shan Abbasi (Mississauga ON) isn't laughing, however — he immediately puts downTeLERANS through the L in the triple lane for a 122 point 3x3. Shan also bingoed with ALANITE* in a 575-320 win.

Andrew Golding (Verdun QC) has bingoed on Jason Ubeika (Mississauga ON) with DUALIsT one short of the triple word. A couple turns later Jason hits HEMS / DUALISTS for 63. The crux of this game is when Jason plays UNPAIRED through the P for a natural triple triple for 167 points. Through an open G, Andrew immediately puts down XYGOSITy for 212.... and Jason immediately challenges. It's no good — only ZYGOSITY with a Z — and Jason goes on to win 595-408.

A heartbreaker for Zev Kaufman (Toronto ON) — late in a close game, he's looking at BIRETTAS from a B, or possibly CRISTATE from a C.... Jesse blocks the lane from the B playing LIMY way at the bottom of the board, so Zev — looking at a mostly crummy unseen tile pool — plays CRISTATE. This gives Jesse a spot for NOSHING and out plus 18 off Zev's rack and the 474-459 win. In the postgame analysis, Zev realizes that LIMY didn't block the better bingo — BIRETTAS / SLIMY would have played and prevented Jesse from bingoing out. A tough loss. Zev, with a blank, found the great cUNEATIC midgame.

Eric has finally gotten the blank down — cASERNE on the triple line one sort of the triple word score. Matthew blocks a potential big S play with AERATE. Eric's pretty low on time, not picking any E's, and generally having a miserable game. In the end it's Matthew's 442-359. Eric collects some man-hugs of support and sympathy from the assembled fans. (OK me and Jesse.)

"You should take a look at the outplay on Board 11," John Chew mentions as he walks by me. I venture over and Jeremy Hildebrand (Ottawa ON) and John Stardom (Ottawa ON) are dissecting the end. Jeremy had super clunky stuff — CDFITVX — with SY plus seven vowels unseen. He plays off FIX for a good score putting the X in the triple lane, really hoping to get some vowels. He picks IU (yuck!) to go with CDTV as John plays SEXY through the X to take a 386-374 lead. Jeremy's pretty confident here since even with CDITUV he should be able to go out before John who's sitting on four vowels, but something even better — an open O gives Jeremy OVIDUCT for the out-in-one and the 403-386 win.

Two awesome ladies are battling it out right in front of the scorer's table where Sherrie and I sit, and she assigns me to go over and get the tale of the tape as they finish. Robin Pollock Daniel (Toronto ON) has bested Dielle Saldanha (Richmond BC) 459-362. Dielle had UNANELED early, but Robin had PHILTRE to come back and some strong power tile plays to take a lead. Dielle at one point played OVERSUNG* which, despite Mariah Carey's best efforts at using the word on American Idol, still isn't good. (I've gotten away with it before — such a common word to not be in the book.) Anyway, Robin took it off the board, giving her a turn to clean her rack. Dielle finally got down COArSEN, but Robin took the opening that provided to play RIBALDS, and that was the game.

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