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Monty022
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Thanks. They were all tough but enjoyable days, well, I´m still spewy about day 3, but overall it was a fantastic experience. Back home now and back to the local 1 day scrabble tournament scene and the new upcoming season of WLoH. Cheers
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8/12 2016 15:11:27
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tragicNhip
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Monty022, I just read all of your recaps and am very impressed. The level of competition was FIERCE and you should be proud to win the matches that you did. I cannot imagine the pressure. Hope you enter next year and keep us all updated.
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8/12 2016 04:12:10
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steve^w
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Cheers Monty - interesting to hear about how to keep track of the games. You seem to have a knack for a good write up / remembering key moments. I´m intrigued as to whether people would find write ups of some WLoH games interesting ... a different topic for a different day maybe. Well done on keeping a positive record!
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5/12 2016 16:24:20
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WLoH Int Judge
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Posts from the excluded player captainkos/jimbo/george (to name a few of his uns) are being deleted. He has a nasty habit of trying to ruin any positive,friendly or interesting subjects on here. It just proves his malicious intent and why he has been repeatedly banned.
This thread is about the causeway challenge and will not be degraded.
Congratulations Monty. Seriously impressed by your Malaysian adventure. Have a safe journey home :)
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5/12 2016 11:56:46
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Monty022
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Causeway Challenge Final Day 5
Only 6 games today and all King Of The Hill as explained previously. I started on a 20-19 record in 27th position.
Game 40 is against a player I had played 3 times before with a 2-1 record so I had good expectations. I bingo second play with OBLIGES (73) but he bingoes back with STARNIES (74) and then very next play with 7 random tiles he bingos again with FAIRIES (74). I pull some back with YARTA (45) and AZO (49) but he plays CALENDS (79) to take a 40 point lead. Going into the endgame my final rack was BEETTU? with no place for a 7 letter bingo and restricted floaters P,C,A and E. I simply couldn´t find an 8. There are 3 bingos with the A but none had the A in exactly 5th position. Final score 399-420.
Game 41, I probably should have lost and I´d be kicking myself if I did but the final scoreline 459-360 makes it look like a comfortable win but it was anything but that. I think she made an opening play blunder by playing AIA for 6 points rather than simply changing. My opening parallel play of JOE got J doubled both ways for 41 points. I always had that 30-40 point buffer until it eroded right at the endgame. However prior to that, my opponent played BEAUTI(E) for 18. I didn´t challenge but it´s a phoney. Also one of her plays that really closed the gap was BARKA (44). I´ve not seen this word as its a phoney too although BAKRA is good. With 3 tiles in the bag I have OILSEED but nowhere to place and only floater is for words with D in first or second position. I play off 2 letters D and E leaving 1 in the bag leading 347-341. I pick up GD. She has a blank and plays elsewhere for 19 to lead 360-347. My final rack is GOLDIES and while she was planning her move I saw DISLODGE and hoped she wouldn´t block it. She didn´t, I bingoed out for 86 points plus 26 for her stranded tiles for the 99 point win. Lesson is don´t leave bingo lanes open if you can.
Game 42 I took a risk playing off XU making DEX next to TL square so it was a hotspot for whoever got a Y. The 2 letters I picked out of the bag were Z and (of course) Y. My opponent bingos with FANCIER (73) and I play ZLOTY onto DEX(Y) with ZLOTY on DW for 73 as well. It´s even as we go. With the rack BEEIRSS and a C floater I play S(C)RIBE keeping ES. I briefly consider ESCRIBES but was only sure of ASCRIBES. ESCRIBES is good so a bingo opportunity missed. However 2 plays later, with both blanks I break away with STEREOS hooking SCRIBE(S) for 70 and JOY (55). There are no bingo lanes at all but my opponent opens up top left quadrant with ROW creating a single bingo lane for hooks off ROW in second last position. His final is ELATING and in discussions after the game we both thought ROWN was good, it´s not RAWN is. I played AKIN hooking off the W so he could only use 6 tiles down plus the K of AKIN meant nothing could be played horizontally above. Final score 423-376. I have a 22-20 record. I just need to win one of final 3 games to secure a positive record.
Game 43 my opponent opens with RECORDS (74) and KEY (43) which I match a few plays later with TZAR (33) and YERSINIA (70) but he then bingoed again STONIED (83) to break away for good. My final rack was GRISTLE but there were no bingo lanes at all except one between an A and E for a 9 letter play but my opponent played there to 100 % kill off that remote chance. Final score 345-420.
Game 44 I messed up badly and it cost me the match. Opening rack and playing first I have AFINSS? but fail to see FUSIANS. I eventually bingo 2 plays later with SOCIALS using 2 blanks. I then phoney very next play with ADORATE (sounded plausible). I change letters at one stage and now behind, my opponent plays DEAF. I play JIVY onto DEAF(Y) and its challenged off as a phoney. I thought people hard of hearing were sometimes described as a "bit of a DEAFY". I guess not. I get LIMITER (70) down right before the endgame. I´m 4 points up but in trouble. I can see my opponent has GOLDEST. I have BGHNNNU. There is currently no place for GOLDEST but my best scoring option is HUB parallel to ITE of LIMITER. However, that creates a bingo lane for GOLDEST G(UT) O(BE). HUN opens up same opportunity. So I play NUB elsewhere. He plays DOTES (35) down other side of LIMITER using TW square to take a 9 point lead. With no vowels I can´t go out and he finishes next turn to win by 13. I now see that N(T)H with H on TW square may have been a winning move. Scores 18, prevents opponent using TW square and retains my only vowel. But the real error was the phonies. Final score 373-384. Blown my second opportunity to get to 23 wins. Once chance left.
Game 45, the final game of Causeway. I bingo first with PEALING (67) and bingo next turn with REWAGES (72). Don´t learn it, it´s a phoney but my opponent didn´t challenge so we continue. He uses the E in REWAGES to bingo back with TORTOISE (70) and again next turn with PARAFINS (78) which I have found is a phoney also (needs to be FF). I guess that makes us even. I immediately play VIOLATED (94) to take a 65 point lead. With 7 tiles in the bag I play TON (13) to lead by 53. With a rack leave of TUNG I pick up QZL. He plays a 3 letter word leaving 1 in the bag. I thankfully have one spot for the Q for 12 points but it places Q next to DW and I know he has an I so I´m giving him an easy 24 points. I pick up an F.
He has AAEINRU and I have FGLNUTZ with only one spot under C (CUZ) for the Z and thankfully a 41 point lead. He plays EAR obstructing the C. I´m gutted. I can see FUTZ on my rack. It´s all I can see. Then I see LUZ. I can´t place it. I look for 4 or 5 minutes. With my timer down to 2 minutes I play RUNG off the R of EAR to hopefully open up a space for LUZ/AL and hit the clock to end my turn. He turns the board to face him, as he does, I see it....I let out a short audible groan.....I feel sick to my stomach. I totally missed hooking LUZ onto EAR to make EARL. However, he misses blocking it and plays QIN for 24. I immediately play LUZ and totally overlook playing LUTZ. What a comedy of errors. He plays out GAU and I´m stranded with FT but I win it 436-414. Looks like we both saved our worst for last lol.
There was a little extra riding on the final game, the winner got to keep the playing tiles and tile bag so I got an extra souvenir. Plus the organiser let each player retain the specially made Causeway Challenge wooden tile rack. So everyone got a souvenir on leave with as well as the show bag of goodies we got when we paid the entry frees (score booklet, clutch bag for pens and pencils, tourist poster, and a Causeway Challenge shirt).
So my final record was 23-22 which I can at least claim is a winning record. Had I finished 22-23 it would have just psychologically felt so much different. I ended up 25th overall and given I ended up 3-3 on final day I only just edged up from 27th where I began the day. Had I won all 6 on the final day, I would have finished 10th and in the prize money but the real damage was done on day 3 when I went 2-8. All water under the bridge now. It is what it is.
Overall it was a well run tournament with over 200 players. No surprises I guess but the legendary Nigel Richards won the Premier group and the $10,000US first prize. The playing venue was huge and cool considering the stifling humidity outside. The Berjaya Waterfront hotel has seen better days, I don´t think there´s much (any) of a budget for maintenance. Thankfully the aircon works well so it´s been comfortable in the rooms in the evenings. I´d do this tournament again if the budget allowed it. At this stage, I don´t think there are plans for a 2017 event, the organiser was very non-commital about next year.
Hope you´ve enjoyed the posts and I hope I´ve managed to convey a little about how my games went, both good and bad, the good plays and the stuff ups, and the good fortune and bad luck too. Sorry they have been so long but they will soon disappear into the archives of the WLoH forum and we can all get back to explaining how to score resigned matches and what to do when a player name isn´t found.
Ps, I may have one further short post with a hopefully pleasant surprise for WLoH folk but we will cross that bridge if and when we come to it.
Cheers Monty022
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4/12 2016 22:16:57
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Monty022
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Steve, I take a photo of the final board on my phone but the primary source of information is the score booklet provided to each player to maintain as they choose to for the tournament. You record the word, it´s score, the cumulative score for both yourself and your opponent, plus the letters are printed in the middle section so you can cross them off as you tile track each game. It´s not mandatory but if you leave everything to your opponent and they make a mistake, then you have no ability to correct it. At various stages after a word is played and the score announced, one player usually say something like "so that makes you 187 and me 154" and the other player looks to see they have identical scores. If not, you can backtrack to where the adding up went awry. Not everyone writes down the word but all write down the scores. I find it helps when there is an errant score that we know which word and can add it up again to ensure it was counted correctly. Good old pen and paper. You don´t know how lazy you´ve become when wordfeud does all the mathematics for you lol. Cheers
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4/12 2016 22:15:13
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steve^w
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Good on ya Monty. I hope you´re getting to enjoy Malaysia a bit too! Out of interest what´s your process for analysing and writing up your games? Do you take photos and notes as you play or is each move recorded somehow?
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4/12 2016 17:09:40
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MEQ5
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Monty...DITTO!
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4/12 2016 12:49:06
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WLoH Int Official
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Hi Monty. I´m so pleased you´ve had a better day today, which must have lifted your spirits. Tomorrow sounds quite challenging. The very best of luck. I look forward to reading your post.
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4/12 2016 03:31:00
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Monty022
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Causeway Challenge day 4 review:
A much much better day. But at 14-15 I started the day in 34th position.
Game 30 was going nicely, after 3 plays I was up by 40 and my opponent changed 5 tiles. That was a great choice for him as his next 5 players were APATITE (81), XI (37), TINDALS (76), ZEA (46) and JIRRE (44) to lead by 96. I had DEINOU? and with a lane with a G I made GUERIDON (75) to close within 44 points. My final rack was CDEGIRU and there was ABA and DON in parallel to hook the front of. So I went for it with CUDGIER with C (ABA) and U (DON) but it was challenged off as CUDGIER was no good. Turns out I had no bingo out plays. 398-456 loss.
Game 31 started ominously bad with my opponent having back to back bingoes GASOLIER and DEWORMS. I got some back with RELATES but nearing the later stages I was 97 behind when I had a purple patch with INERTIA (68), AZON (50) and with a rack leave of ATE I put my tiles on one by one with an E and T (duplicates reduce flexibility options) then the V (don´t like V´s either) and an I. With an L floater I played LEVITATE (88) to take the lead by 9. In a tense endgame my opponent had 2 bingo possibilities but both ran 1 letter too far into other letters or off the board and I eked out a hard fought 14 point win 467-453.
Game 32 was a total write off. My opponent had 3 bingos and a 100+ point lead before I got ALANINES but that was my only bright spot in my lowest score and heaviest spread defeat to date losing 292-476.
Game 33 started great with SNOTTIER (61) QUOTH (45) LAMENTED (72) and YEZ (53) in my first 4 plays to lead by 79. They cut the lead back with ISOLATE (72) to 38 but I challenged off their next play of GOW and two plays later I sealed it with BUNGEES (70). I had a cushion and phonied when I tried to hook the Y of IGGY onto WANE(Y) for 60 points. I finally won 489-373.
Game 34 I had fallen 40 points behind near the end when with rack of AEERSTU (I had AUSTERE but no place) but there was a floating N and I made SAUTERNE to take the lead. They then phonied with VODOO (should be VOODOO or VODOU) and I stayed ahead 436-395.
Game 35 started ominously bad. I was 77 behind when I changed letters as I had no good rack leave or point scoring option. My opponent changed also and our luck reversed. I started scoring mid 20´s and she had 16´s and low 20´s. I drew even with RIVULETS(70) and took the lead with TINSELS (76) and cruised away 448-339. One aside, my opponent played RIAD which I challenged thinking she intended RAID but RIAD was good. She got excited thinking I wouldn´t know the (T)RIAD front hook but I played TINSELS there just before she picked up a T, phew lol.
Game 36 was even until I bingoed with PANTIES (77) followed by ZOA (45) and JUG (32) and I cruised to a 101 point win 401-300. Interesting position immediately prior to my bingo above, I had AFINRST and a C floater. I saw FRANTIC and was sooooo tempted to try FRANTICS but chose FRANTIC. A later check showed FRANTICS was a phoney but I did miss INFARCTS/INFRACTS. Live and learn.
Game 37 I spent the first 8 minutes of the game trying to make a double double with AEGRST? through a floating E. I ended up playing GREATEST for 66. Turns out there were 8 possible words that did it but only 2 I know EAGEREST and STEERAGE which would gave scored 82. It had no impact, that was my only bingo to my opponents 3 in a 329-468 loss.
Game 38 was close but I always had a slight lead. My opponent changed and next move played OU for 8 whereas I bingoed with VIOLATED (83) and VROUW (30) and I was 100 up. She got stuck with the Q to add 20 to my score. Final 479-330.
Game 39 I was closing the gap until my opponent played VAINEST (82). I cut the lead to 50 when my rack of MOLINES I ran through a floating T to make MOLINETS (66). Unfortunately my final rack was ABELLOW and the only floaters I had were MOL. Alas no possible bingos for the miracle win. Final 359-413.
Overall a much better day, 6 wins from 10 games that seems me with 20 wins from 39 matches overall and 27th place. My mind is in a much better frame today, especially compared to the doldrums of yesterday. Tomorrow is KOTH (King Of The Hill) with repeats for the final 6 matches. Basically 1v2, 3v4, 5v6 etc. After the round is complete, they recalculate the table based on wins and spread and it´s the same 1v2, 3v4 etc next round irrespective of who you previously played. In theory, if the leader had 34 wins and second 32 wins and the person in 3rd place had 25 wins, the players 1 and 2 would play each other 6 games straight.
Despite the emotional ups and downs of winning and losing, I´d highly recommend people look into tournament scrabble to test themselves. Obviously not a 5 day marathon but most common events are 1 day events of 6 or 7 games. It is an investment in time as it usually takes up one whole day on a weekend once or so a month. I also know a number of players here are dubious about the honesty of some of their opponents that they aren´t getting help from some anagram generator. Well live scrabble takes that completely out of the equation. It´s just you and your opponent, sitting at a table, brain versus brain. No external influences involved. So when they pull GUERIDON or LISTSERV or TOHEROA (Nigel Richards played that today on the big screen they have showing the 1v2 table of Premier group - they are 45 games of KOTH), they actually knew the word.
Final instalment tomorrow. Cheers
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3/12 2016 23:43:33
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Monty022
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Thanks, I know my posts are a bit lengthy and unless you are looking at the board and the rack then what I describe probably loses something in translation. But if you are desperate to read more "player X resigned, how do I score that?" or "player Y does not exist?" or "Somebody entered a score and our game hasn´t finished?" or "player Z is slow and unlikely to finish by deadline" posts, then simple scroll up or down to get your daily fix. I wish more people posted about wordfeud game strategy or endgame strategy or stuff that makes you think about the way you play today that may improve your win rate tomorrow.
I was peaved yesterday at how poorly I played and how poorly I ran. I probably need to manage my highs and lows a bit better. But as they say, tomorrow is a new day. 3-2 at lunch today with some interesting finishes that I ended up on the right side of the ledger with a win.
Cheers one and all.
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3/12 2016 15:57:31
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WLoH Int Judge
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Monty, for someone who started live scrabble just this year you are doing amazingly well. Keep going :)
It makes a welcome change to see posts on the forum talking about competitive scrabble. Thank you for the interesting and entertaining read.
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3/12 2016 12:34:56
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Be.en
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Hello, Monty! Thanks for your fascinating recounts of each days´ play; am thoroughly enjoying the reading and am in awe of your skill. May today see you finishing on a high. Best of luck!
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3/12 2016 12:31:42
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WLoH Int Official
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CaptainKos....(Jimbo). Your post is unwelcome and somewhat cruel and will garner you no favour with our players. I suggest you quit while you are behind. In a contest between you and Monty.....you are invisible!!
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3/12 2016 10:55:17
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WLoH Moderator
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Jimbo, or should I say Captainkos? - why have you bothered to post here?Those of us who enjoy this game also enjoy Monty´s posts. You are not welcome, please desist
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3/12 2016 10:27:15
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Jimbo
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Monty. Give it a rest
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3/12 2016 10:16:14
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WLoH Int Official
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Well said MEQ5. We´re rooting for you Monty. Hope today brings success.
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3/12 2016 10:09:41
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MEQ5
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Monty..you are a winner, gallop that horse back to the top..continued good wishes to you!
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3/12 2016 09:59:26
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Monty022
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It came down to a handful of moments where I managed to get unlucky or guess wrong, or simply stuff up. Here´s my shopping list of moments.
I have the choice of playing JINNE or JINNI into a TW space for 36. I have a 5 % doubt about JINNI so I go with JINNE. My opponent immediately plays EGOTISED down to Next TW space for 83. He had no play with his rack of DEGIOST and no words with an I had I chosen JINNI. Lost by 47.
I played SEIZURE with S hooking AGO for 101 points. It´s challenged and AGOS is no good. I played ZEIN burning my blank for 56 next turn but afterwards see ZIFF with Z on DL running into TW burning my blank would have scored 75. Lost by 35
I played DJINNE when DJINN reached the DW space. It was challenged off as DJINNI is good, but not DJINNE. I challenged FENDY and NIXER which are both good. Lost by 73.
On a tight board near end I convinced myself HUIE was good. I know HUIA and KUIA is good and I thought one of them took HUIE/KUIE. Neither HUIE or KUIE is good. Off it came. My opponent quickly offloaded AQUA there for 28 with nowhere else to offload the Q. I had OUTBITE as final rack but it placed nowhere. Lost by 10.
I got befuddled twice. Played ELUX which was challenged off, ULEX and EXUL are good and LUXE too. Compounded that by playing SALEX on TW with X on DL for 69 points. It got challenged off. SILEX is good and I had the I. Later on I had PAVEY or PEAVY to go on TW for either 48 or 57 respectively. I convinced myself PEAVY was a brand name for guitar amplifiers so went with PAVEY. It got challenged off as there is no PAVEY, but of course PEAVY was completely good. The Y hooked AR for YAR. He challenged both PAVEY and YAR. I lost by48.
I tried to add an S to TENSILE And it got challenged off.
Most of these are self inflicted where I simply couldn´t remember the right word or got confused. Some was just unlucky. Unlike wordfeud, you don´t get multiple attempts to try different combinations until you find one that works. You get one shot and if you get it wrong and your opponent thinks its dubious and challenges, then off it comes, you score 0 and your turn is over. You then have the exact same rack to wrestle with next turn but meanwhile your opponent has had a new turn and advanced their score while you remained stationary.
I dropped from 10th to34th in a day that just snowballed with so much negativity in my mind with loss after loss reinforcing it. Day 4 is a new day with new hope. I just need to play my best each rack and the results will be whatever they will be.
Cheers
Monty022 (getting back on the horse)
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3/12 2016 09:17:02
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Monty022
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Causeway Challenge day 3 review:
Worst day of scrabble ever. Here goes as I don´t wish to relive it. I started 10th overall.
Game 20 I lost
Game 21 I was thrashed
Game 22 I lost
Game 23 I lost
Game 24 I lost
Lunch, I swallowed a chicken bone but thankfully it passed through
Game 25 I scored 4 bingos and beat the crap out of some poor lady
Game 26 I lost
Game 27 I lost
Game 28 I got everything and won by over 100
Game 29 I got every E and every R and no matter how many I played off, they just reappeared. Highest scoring play was placing an I under the Q on the TW for 33 points.
Last time I checked I was 33rd and sinking like a stone tied to an anvil. Sorry to bore you with all the micro details. I was hoping to consolidate my position in the top 10 today, but instead I find myself wondering why I´m holding a blunt knife in a gunfight.
Stupid mistakes, phonies, leaking points and picking up rubbish sums it up. My opponents have been very nice and friendly and gleefully accepted the wins, but then again, I´d be happy to play me today for the win.
Tomorrow when I select tiles out of the bag, I will swirl my hand anticlockwise, that should improve my luck and play. It´s the only logical solution.
Cheers and tears
Monty022
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2/12 2016 21:03:26
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WLoH Int Judge
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Way to go Monty, impressive stuff, thanks for sharing. Wishing you the best of luck in your next round of games and looking forward to updates.
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2/12 2016 11:52:21
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1hockey
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Wow Monty well done from those of us who can admire how well you are doing.
How do you find the energy to compile such explicit details of your games
I would want to curl up and sleep lol
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2/12 2016 09:51:27
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WLoH Int Official
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Hi Monty. I´ve enjoyed reading about your first two days. May day 3 be as successful. You´re doing us proud. Hope you´re enjoying the experience. Looking forward to the next instalment and for the record, LISTSERV is now recorded in my personal Wordfeud dictionary! :)
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2/12 2016 09:29:43
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MEQ5
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Thank you Monty for the ongoing updates..very enjoyable to able to share in your experience.....best to you!!
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2/12 2016 09:17:35
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Monty022
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Causeway Challenge Day 2 review.
Game 10 had one of those special moments at the end but my opponent struggled with 3 phonies GLUTTER, ONERATE, and EARTONE which didn´t look right to me so I challenged each and off they came. Meanwhile I wasn´t bingoing but scoring enough to have a 60 point lead that grew to 90 when I had my "special" moments. It´s one of those words I´ve seen and was memorable for its odd ending but I had STRIVES on my rack with nowhere to place. But there was a clear L on middle TW square and then I saw it....LISTSERV for 86. It was challenged and good for an extra 5. I won a couple plays later 445-352 for 6-4.
Game 11 was close until I played CORNAGE and tried to hook it onto BACKED making ABACKED which is a phoney. I struggled and lost touch after that but CINEREA (68) reduced the spread for a 378-442 loss.
Game 12 my opponent played some beautiful parallel plays. He played ORAL (O)BI (R)IT (A)TE (L)OS for 25 and OVATED (OV) P(A) TI(T) UR(E) GAME(D) for 52 as it started from TW space. He was closing the gap from my opening bingoes when I picked up QZX in one grab from the bag allowing me to score 80 to his 40 for a final 402-340 win, 7-5
Game 13, ugh, the one that got away. I phonied trying to hook a U onto AIN for AINU but it´s UNAI. That cost me a few points. I challenged his play of THEMA which was good so that´s another 5 points. And with both blanks and a rack of AINOR and an A floater. I needed an 8 letter word that started or ended with the A to reach the TW square. I saw ANTIDORA but convinced myself it wasn´t good (it´s good). I played RATIONAL for 56 whereas ANTIDORA would have been tripled and another 12 points. In the end I lost by 16 with 354-370. Those little things all added up in the end I reckon.
Game 14 we traded early bingos and I had an uncomfortable 30 point lead when I played BIZ for 48 to stretch the lead to 80. On a tight board, I simply closed down the one potential bingo lane and won (ironically finishing with UNAI lol) 418-341 for a WLWLW start.
Game 15 we again traded early bingos but I was always 30 behind and losing ground on most moves. He was scoring solid 30´s while I was scratching with 11, 12, and 19 trying to keep a decent rack for that final bingo. When it got to the endgame, I was 101 behind with RETAIN? and all I could manage was TRAINER (63) which closed it to a 335-365 loss. My win one, lose one pattern intact.
Game 16 he bingoed with REDDINGS that I challenged and it was good. I played TINDERS (69) and LISTENS (71) to edge ahead. My tiles got bad. I changed 7 he took the lead but played GREM which I challenged off (phoney) and shortly after played NODALIC to pull 50 ahead and that was the final margin 414-364.
Game 17 was a fantastic contest. Playing second I had BEGOTTEN that was countered by his TRUDGEON and LORIMER. He piled on the pressure with EXO (43), BENET (35) and FEAT (41) but I countered with REROUTING (74), WITH (42) and EPHA (27) before I got ahead with AWARDED using both blanks. His final rack of COALISE was thwarted as I played PALMS and obstructed access to the most likely bingo lanes where he could have used a D for COALISED. He had a bingo lane with W and B and SOCIABLE failed to fit by 1 space (phew). He ended up playing CAMELIDS for 30 through the M of PALMS and the D I obstructed. I didn´t challenge and went out next turn for a 431-407 win. But those last 8 minutes were as intense as any game I´d ever played, not quite sure if there was a miracle bingo to be found. We checked afterwards and there was no final bingo. But it was still nerve racking.
Game 18 we traded early bingos EXTERNAL and ERASION but I managed LAZE (52) getting Z both ways on DW square and AWAY hooking (W)AI (A)ZO (Y)EN for 50 on a tight board. I simply kept it tied up and thwarted bingo lanes as he opened them for a close 389-354 finish.
Game 19 I fell 90 points behind after she hooked TERRENE onto CANE(R). I challenged and both were good and I thought she got a 5 point bonus for incorrect challenge but it´s per word and I challenged both. So that added 10 (ouch!) onto her bingo but I understand the challenge rule now. I got a little back with WASP (47) and AID (36) but the board was very locked up. I played YORE to open it up, she hooked BLED underneath overlapping YO. I had a dilemma of playing GOAT under BLED for a few extra points or above YORE for fewer. I chose above as the G was available for words coming down, I had the only I and 3 N´s unaccounted for. With 5 in the bag, I play UKE and have the rack AEGINV?. She plays 2 tiles to empty the bag. I´m 49 behind and see AVENGING onto the G of GOAT to bingo out to win 395-352. She explained why she played both tiles, her rack was TNNRSS? so she needed vowels and picked up 2 from the bag. Unfortunately she never got another chance to play.
All in all, a very good day, I went 7-3 for the 10 games today making me 12-7 overall and 10th position. Still a long way to go but an encouraging day. One other thing I found out, the player leading the intermediate group is a 12 year old kid from New Zealand. Haven´t played him yet but if I´m going to win this thing, I´ll have to stomp on him and kick some sand in his face at some point. He has 15 wins so I´m only 3 wins off the pace and there´s 26 games to go. A lot can happen in 26 games. Cheers.
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2/12 2016 00:51:00
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Monty022
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For the record:
SILURID
— noun
any of numerous Old World freshwater fishes of the family Siluridae, comprising the catfishes.
— adjective
belonging or pertaining to the family Siluridae.
If I saw a catfish, I´d call it a catfish, never a SILURID lol
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1/12 2016 07:42:55
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Monty022
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Yeah, psychologically 5-4 sure feels better than 4-5. The leader is 8-1 with another 3 on 7-2 and with 36 games to go (10 today), nothing is impossible at this stage. I´m still spewy about game 1, I could have blocked her final bingo as there was an ED that she played REPOSITED into that might have kept me in it. Maybe she had another bingo elsewhere. Sigh. And that second game, I just had nothing at the end to fight with so I feel unlucky there. It was only those 2 disasters after lunch that were sure fire losses, I feel I really should have been 6-3 or even 7-2 with an ounce of luck. Over 5 days and 45 games, the luck should even out so hopefully I´ll be able to report a game where I have returned for an unexpected victory. Don´t worry about the meanings of the words, I don´t. I´d rather fill my head with a dozen more words and anagrams than take up that space with the meaning of a word I´ll never use in a conversation anyway. I can see zero opportunities where SILURID(S) will be used in a day to day chat with anyone I deal with normally lol.
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1/12 2016 07:38:33
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WLoH Moderator
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Well done Monty!! To be a game up by the end of the first day must make you feel satisfied with your efforts. Keep us posted. (PS I´m leading through my dictionary to find the meaning of some of the examples you have given)
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1/12 2016 00:08:38
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Monty022
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Well Causeway Challenge day 1 is in the history books. It was an up and down day as you will see but very enjoyable overall. I´m not going through every game in detail but here goes:
Game 1 started ominous with my opening play bingo of MONTAGED (72) followed by AZO (51) and DEVICES (81) and I had a comfortable 132 point lead. My opponent then went on a super hot streak with 4 bingos in next 7 plays to take the lead. I scored solidly throughout with my 9 next plays with 4 scores in low/mid 30´s and lowest was 19 but I ended up losing 475-516. Felt like I did nothing much wrong and 475 wins most games.
Game 2 was close all along. I had a slender 6 point lead going into endgame but had poor letters. I could only manage 28 points in 2 plays and I couldn´t go out whereas he had 70 from his final 3 being able to place Y and F on premium squares for solid scores. Chalk up a second defeat 375-415. Sigh, not the start I envisioned.
Game 3 was tight until my opponent jumped ahead with SUBHEAD (69) but I clawed some back scoring 20´s while she scored 9,10 and 14 and I bingoed with RESENTED with 3 letters in the bag to take a 23 point lead. She couldn´t bingo and I went out with KOS next play to win 389-369 and break my international scrabble duck. Woohoo, 1-2.
Game 4 my opponent bingoed second play with both blanks and I was quickly 87 points down. He changed letters and that changed his luck too. He had no more bingoes and only 2 scores over 30 in a mixed bag. I got back on level terms midway with RECORDED (62) scored well with YAK (41), AQUA (45), LUZ (36) and IMAGES (35) to pull away to a comfortable 410-332 win. 2-2 at the lunch break.
Game 5 and my luck turned ice cold. My opponent was pretty good and jumped out early with ASTARTED (77) and THANAGES (62). I countered with LARGEST (77) but that´s where it ended. He scored solidly with Z, X and J and I played BAM but hooked my A onto EL to make ELA that is a phoney. I got the last blank but literally had 6 vowels with it. Offloaded 3 vowels and picked up 3 more vowels. Demoralised 311-456.
Game 6 was equally poor. I phonied with NOTEABLE and they had 2 bingos. I did have 1 moment of self doubt. I had played THIO and was fairly sure it didn´t take an S but thought it took some unusual hook. Later on I checked and THIOL is good and I could have played NOTABLE hooking the L instead of the phoney. Ugh. 319-456 and blown away again. 2-4 and a huge negative spread.
Game 7 was a doozy. Opened with ORATION (66) and ZOIST (43) and played HINDPART but that´s a phoney and was challenged off. I scored well with JADE (57) and OX (52) for an 87 point lead. Here´s where it goes weird. I played EYEMASK (75) and my opponent thought about challenging but my play opened up the TW lane. I should point out there´s also a 5 point penalty for a challenge if the word is legitimate. She chooses not to challenge and plays SINGLES (84) into TW. Next play we are into the endgame and I eventually win 428-375. Afterwards we check and EYEMASK is a phoney. Plus she realises she could have scored almost as much with SINGLES where I´d played EYEMASK. That would have evened up the scores but I still had the blank and reckon I might still have won but in a much tighter finish. Phew. 3-4.
Game 8 I was always slightly behind. I played one obscure bingo SILURIDS (62) which I was rather happy with. The pivotal play was CAZ (77) late in game with Z two ways on TL space that took me from 15 behind to 37 ahead and a handy 398-363 win for 4-4.
Game 9 was close most of the way. My opponent bingoed with OLEANDER stopping 1 square short of bottom row. With a bit of doubt, I hooked it with an S playing SHAITAN into TW for 100 points (the doubt was SHAITAN obv, not OLEANDERS). That gave me a 29 point lead which I gradually extended and closed down all bingo lanes to win 397-321 for a 5-4 day and 27th place out of 56 players in intermediate group. Hopefully I can get off to a decent start tomorrow.
Other highlights so far have been a ride from Singapore to the hotel with David Webb (Dweebovision). We got stuck in traffic for 3 hours so had a lovely chat with him and another Australian player about lots of things but mostly scrabble. Also seeing Nigel Richards in person as well as other notable champions such as breakfast with Mark Nyman, Andrew Fisher and Esther Perrins. More tomorrow. Cheers.
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30/11 2016 22:35:35
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Monty022
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Thanks Be.en, I´ll do my best both in a playing the games sense and also posting an update after each days play. I´m usually a bit drained after playing 7 games in a one day tournament. Here we start with 9 games on day 1 followed by 10 games each day on days 2,3 and 4. They are very long days starting at 8:30am with the final round ending around 7-7:30pm. Hopefully I´ll feel like writing about it after that but I may just want to veg out too lol. Thanks again for the well wishes. Exciting times ahead.
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25/11 2016 21:44:52
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Be.en
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Wishing you every success, Monty. I hope you achieve your goal in the tournament, and have a wonderful time in Malaysia. Am looking forward to reading your ´blurb/s´ on the experience. Cheers.
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25/11 2016 21:16:24
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Monty022
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Seems I am to be the sole WLoH representative at the tournament. A little surprising as I thought the $US10,000 first prize for the Premier group might have enticed a genius or two from division 1 or 2 to have a crack at it. All you would have had to do is beat world champion Mark Nyman and living legend Nigel Richards and the booty is yours. Easy peasy. I´m only in the Intermediate group which I am comfortable with for my first major live international tournament. Hopefully I´ll be in contention for a top ten finish or better but my primary aim is to enjoy each contest, and to do the best I can with each rack. If I do that, well that´s the best I can do anyway and the results will take care of themselves. Starts Wednesday and I will try to provide daily updates if wifi/internet permits. Cheers.
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25/11 2016 08:39:48
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Monty022
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Only a couple of weeks to go until the Causeway Challenge. There´s about 300 scrabble players from all corners of the globe signed up to play including yours truly (intermediate section), plus the elite of the elite including Nigel Richards and David Webb (Dweebovision) and a number of others. 45 games of scrabble over 5 days and arguably one of the biggest, if not the biggest, scrabble tournaments in the world, and some handy prize money too. I´m not sure if they are handing out glory points though lol. So out of the thousands of WLoH folk, is there anyone else who will be playing there too? It would be nice to put a face to a name. Cheers.
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12/11 2016 16:51:33
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Monty022
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Thanks. I´m only in the intermediate group here. The elite are really elite here. I´ll post something when the time comes.
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21/09 2016 19:34:39
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WLoH Int Official
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Hi Monty. Thanks to you my foray into live scrabble has begun. I´m enjoying my games but it´s a very different ´beast´ to Wordfeud. Unfortunately, I´m not anywhere near your standard so I´m going to give the Causeway Challenge a miss this year.....lol. I will, however, look forward as ever to hearing about your experiences and I wish you the very best of luck.
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21/09 2016 10:16:30
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Monty022
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http://www.causewaychallenge.com/index.html
I know we all play word games but it appears not many play old school live scrabble. Was just curious if any WLoH folk are going to be at the Causeway Challenge event in Malaysia this year (30 Nov-4Dec). I´ll be there. It´s my first ever overseas trip. I´d be very happy to have a beer or a coffee with you and trade stories of the unloseable games we´ve lost as well as the miraculous bingo escapes we´ve pulled out of the bag. If not, I´ll probably post a blurb on my experience here in the forum so you can read all about it. Cheers
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21/09 2016 09:50:24
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