The first day saw 14 Scrabble players.
I hurdled my 1st two games, 477-337 vs Madhu and 499-383 vs. Ralph.
Round 3 vs. Akshay
We reached this endgame board position after his last play of QI at a1, I was trailing, 398-438 (40 points) with no more tiles in the bag.
Ronald: ?BDEELY - 398
Akshay: LMNNOP - 438
Actual plays went this way:
Ronald: ?BDEELY YEDE d1 24 -> 422
Akshay: LMNNOP COMP c2 30 -> 468
Ronald: ?BEL BELs l2 16 -> 438
Ronald: (LNN)+3 -> 444
Final Score: 444-468 Loss
After a thorough post mortem analysis at home, I discovered that I missed the winning move!
There were two solutions:
1) Quackle finds LYsE 14a +22 -> 420, setting up DEB 15h. If he plays POM 1d +23 -> 461, then DEB 15h +36 -> 456 + 6 (LNN) would have given me a 1 point victory 462-461. If he blocks with IMP k13 +7 -> 445, then BED 1d +21 -> 441 + 8 (LNNO), wins 449-445.
2) The other solution is the simplest one:
The key move would have been ED 14h +10 -> 408 setting up BLEYs 15d!
Variation 1: If he plays OLM 15i +9 -> 447 blocking the spot, then the winning move would be BLEYs l1 +30 -> 438 + 10 (NNP)= 448, winning by 1 point 448-447.
Variation 2: If he plays POM or MOP 1d +23 -> 461, then BLEYs 15d +48 -> 456 + 6 (LNN) = 462, wins by 1 point as well, 462-461.
The lesson here is not to lose hope even when you are trailing by 40 points or so in the endgame. There could always be a solution. We need to optimise our scoring in the endgame to reduce the spread. This endgame reminds me of a Chess puzzle like, White to play and mate in 2 moves!
Round 4 vs. M. Sulaiman
M. Sulaiman visited Dubai who came all the way from Pakistan. He was one of the 2007 WSC reps from Pakistan.
Another endgame blunder saw me losing this game. I need to feature it here so that it will serve as a good endgame lesson.
The board position was this:
Ronald: ADENNRT - 410
M.Sulaiman's Score: 379
Unseen Tiles: ADEILNOSTT (3 tiles on the bag)
M.Sulaiman's last play: OW o14
I did'nt analyze the possibility that my opponent could play a bingo along n-file. So, I maximized my scoring and played TONED m10 and drew the reamining tiles in the bag. Then M.Sulaiman with AINOTTS laid down, STATION n2! I lose, 438-467.
Going back to the board position, the bingo could have been prevented if I only blocked with TENDRON m6 or simple TENDON m7.
I won the round 5 game vs Prasad, 418-397 to finish the first day with a 3-2 win loss record in the 7th spot.
Standing after day 1 (5 rounds)
1. Akshay 5 +538
2. Robins 4 +356
3. Sulaiman 3 +294
4. Prasad 3 +287
5. Ralph 3 +258
6. Nikhil 3 +246
7. Ronald 3 +225
8. Madhu 3 -39
9. Roopa 2 -37
10.Makbul 2 -312
11.Diana 2 -393
12.Kushan 2 -494
13.Mecha 1 -236
14.Waseem 0 -509
In the second day, other players did not come back. M. Sulaiman needs to leave the tourney due to emergency call from his relatives in Pakistan. I won the first 2 games of the day before facing Akshay anew.
Round 8 vs. Akshay
Our second meeting of this tourney. Akshay was 2 wins ahead of me before this game started. He had 7-0 win-loss record and mine at 5-2. With 3 rounds to go including this game, I need to win one game at a time. Final Score: 477-395 Won
Here is the link of our game encounter: Round 8 Ronald vs. Akshay
Round 9 (Penultimate) vs. Akshay
I was pulverized by more than 200 points. Final Score: 294-546 Loss
Here is the link of the game: Round 9 Akshay vs. Ronald
Round 10 vs. Ralph Lobo
Akshay was Gibsonized in the last round. So, the fight for 2nd place finish was between me and Ralph Lobo. I was again pulverized by more than 200 points sending me to the 4th position in the Final Standing. Final Score: 296-510 Loss
Final Results after game 10
FEBRUARY 27-28, 2009 -- 2009 03
Rank Player Wins Mar
---------------------------------
1.Akshay 9 899
2.Ralph 7 798
3.Robins 6 33
4.Ronald 6 -49
5.Prasad 5 450
6.Nikhil 5 421
7.Madhu 5 -94
8.Makbul 5 -535
9.Roopa 4 -258
Link on the Photos:
1.) EAIFL Day 1
2.) EAIFL Day 2
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