Throwback Suresh Chinnaiyah Pulverized Joe Edley at WSC 1999

Event: World Scrabble Championship (WSC) 1999
Round No.: 16
Lexicon: SOWPODS
Suresh Chinnaiyah vs. Joe Edley

The Previous Combined High Scoring Game Totaling to 1,157 between Phillip Edwin-Mugisha and Vannitha Balasingam Revisited

 This wordsmith guy who called himself the "Phenomenon" ecstatic about his Scrabble achievement after beating Vannitha Balasingam of Malaysia at the 10th World Scrabble Championship 2009 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Phillip Edwin-Mugisha who hails from Uganda smashed two nine timers ADENINeS (131) and AERIFIES (183) in this game, including two more bingos REBUILT (74) and READIEST (63), while Vannitha had three bingos, DEMOING (71), GETABLE (70) and rEENACTS (80) coupled with high scoring moves as you would witness in their record-breaking combined high scoring game, at that time!

This 1,157 combined scores stood nearly one decade as number 1 before, until it was broken by David Webb and Bob Violett according to WESPA Rated Tournament Records. There was another record of 1,210 points set in Australia in 2014 but their organizer did not apply to WESPA for their tournament to be rated, so it was not included in the WESPA list.

(Apparently, this game between Vannitha and Phillip appeared in John Chew's poslfit website, but when you click on the game itself, it is no longer available now. Good thing that yours truly was able to save that game, and I am sharing it for us to see once again this memorable game in our lifetime.)

Puzzle-Like Scrabble Endgames

 Scrabble Endgame starts when there are no more tiles left in the bag. And with proper tracking, a player would know the opponent's last rack. That's the time a player could plan for final moves that would win game or get a better spread.

Below are two examples of a puzzle-like Scrabble Endgames, based on actual games.

Game 1: Nigel Richards of New Zealand had just played GUTSIER emptying the bag. Olaiya Kabir from Nigeria knew that Nigel's last rack was NP, and there was only one spot to play. Find out what was stunning play he made to beat Nigel!

Game 2: Will Anderson of the United States had just played a bingo, NEOTENIC and drew DNRV from the bag. Thacha Koowirat from Thailand had to make a two-move play and try to outscore Will in order to win the game. 

Gerry Carter from Thailand had clues for this puzzle-like board position, as posted in his Facebook. Take a look at the pictures below before going through the game!

Photo courtesy of Gary M. Stolz - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, WO5642-007

Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto, April 22 2007

You can also watch this YouTube video to feel the intensity of their actual game:

2023 World SCRABBLE® Championship (WESPAC 2023 in Las Vegas)

 

Contents:

• WESPAC 2023 Details
• Complete Results
• Final Game 1
• Final Game 2
• Final Game 3
• Final Game 4
• Final Game 5
• Final Game 6
• Final Game 7
• Will Anderson's Analysis of the Final

WESPAC 2023 Details:
Venue: Westgate Las Vegas Resorts & Casino at 3000 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89109

Dates: July 22-26, 2023

No. of Players: 135

Dictionary: CSW21
Challenge Rule: 5-Point Penalty

Winner: David Eldar
Runner-Up: Harshan Lamabadusuriya

Top Prize: $ 10,000.00
Format:

The tournament began with a 32-round preliminary, whose top two players contested a best-of-seven final.

Complete Results:

(Standing after 32 rounds)

Best-of-Seven Final

Photo, courtesy of WESPA - World Scrabble (Facebook Page)

Final Game 1

Game 1:

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Final Game 2

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Final Game 3

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Final Game 4

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Final Game 5

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Final Game 6

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Final Game 7

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Final Recap:

Game 1: Harshan L. 461 David Eldar 378 (Harshan Led, 1-0)

Game 2: David Eldar 542 - Harshan L. 364 (Tied at 1-1)

Game 3: Harshan L. 458 David Eldar 444 (Harshan Led, 2-1)

Game 4: David Eldar 510 - Harshan L. 395 (Tied at 2-2)

Game 5: Harshan L. 475 David Eldar 385 (Harshan Led, 3-1)

Game 6: David Eldar 477 - Harshan L. 465 (Tied at 3-3)

Game 7: Harshan L. 439 - David Eldar 480 (David won 4-3)

Analysis:

Will Anderson, also one of the WESPAC 2023 Participants shared his insights on the Best-of-Seven Final, here's the video:

David Eldar received his prize and trophy for his second World Scrabble Championship Title!

Photo, courtesy of WESPA - World Scrabble (Facebook Page)

Harshan Lamabadusuriya vs. David Eldar, Final Game 1 at WESPAC 2023

 Harshan Lamabadusuriya and David Eldar outlasted their respective opponents in the last round of the WESPA Championship 2023 to meet in the final word battle against each other!

Witness the breathtaking game until the very end.

Will Anderson vs. Harshan Lamabadasuriya, Round 26 at WESPAC 2023

 Will Anderson of the United States had a good 12-0 run to start in the tournament, but going to this Round 26, he had 19-6, +1044 Win-Loss-Spread Record currently on th top spot while his opponent, Harshan Lamabadasuriya of England had 18-7, +1138 in the 3rd spot.

This game was decided in the endgame, let us see.

Thacha Koowirat vs. David Eldar, Round 20 at WESPAC 2023

 Here's the exciting game between Thacha Koowirat and David Eldar fought till endgame!

WESPAC 2023 Las Vegas

The WESPA Championship in Las Vegas, USA has just begun.

Round 1: Christian Ntenge (Uganda) vs. Odette Rio (Philippines)

Analysis on Phil Appleby and Michael Gongolo's Game at 1999 WSC

I was looking at the old emailing list about this longtime post of Phil Appleby. This was his Round 6 game vs. Michael Gongolo of Kenya at the World Scrabble Championship, Melbourne on Nov-1999, wherein he played just one tile E at 3i from his rack of AEELRST hoping to draw either E or I then he'd drawn the E luckily, targeting the T(E)ASELER/ IT/ GAE spot. The word source at that time was the SOWPODS (TLW98+OSW3).

Here was the post of Phil Appleby:

 "I've since been analysing the position, to work out what Michael should ideally have played. Is there any way he can guarantee a win, even if I play a bonus? And if not, what gives him the best chance of winning? Here's the situation after (R)E, from his perspective:"

Phil's last play: R(E) 3h +3

Phil's Score: 312

Michael's Rack: ABINNOT

Michael's Score: 359

Unseen: ACDEEGLRST (3 in the bag)


"Firstly, let's consider the potential for bonus plays, given the remaining tiles:
Play                     Score In bag
DECREASE at 14g 90 GLT
DEGREASE at 14g 88 CLT
TEASELED at 2g 78 CGR
TEASELER at 2g 76 CDG
EAGEREST at 2h 80 CDL
DECREASED at 5a 76 GLT
DEGREASED at 5a 74 CLT
DELEGATED at 5a 74 CRS
SCARLETED at 5a 74 DEG
RELEGATED at 5a 72 CDS"

"So OBTAIN(ED) did block the most threatening bonus spot, but would lose against 5 possible racks (and it's reasonable to assume that I'm close to something good, after my single-tile play-off.)"

"Perhaps the 2g/2h bonus spot is the one to block, since there's an implication that I'm fishing for a bonus there? BOTANIC at n2 would be a very elegant play, but would obviously lose to any bonus."

"Looking at it another way, is there any way of playing off two tiles, leaving one in the bag, and scoring sufficient points to win even if I do play a bonus? Some sort of set-up play, perhaps? How about AB at n13 for 10? Now, if I play DECREASED at 5a for 76, and Michael picks GL, he can play TIGLON/ABO for 32, taking a lead of 401-388; now, my best play of JOT loses by 1. And if I play DELEGATED for 74 and Michael picks CS, SCION/ABO wins by 3."

"Is there any realistic chance of Michael setting up a winning bonus of his own? Four of my bonues involve leaving G in the bag; how about AN at g7 for 13, leaving BIONT, or AB for 17 leaving INNOT? I'm not sure this really helps. After DECREASE at 14g there's the possibility of BOLTING or BOTTING, but DECREASED at 5a kills them stone dead."

"Is there a way of playing off one tile, and leaving the potential for a winning play? Plus the possibility that I won't be able to play out with, say, CG on my rack?"

"At this point I gave up, but it certainly seems like an interesting position; perhaps even more so if Michael's lead had been slightly greater. My initial thought is that BOTANIC is probably the best play, given my previous move. Although I don't suppose computer analysis would see it that way."

"I'd certainly be interested to see further analysis..."

-Phil Appleby

Somebody replied from this post and answered back by Phil:

"Sam suggested that TOEA at f1 might be a good play at this point, blocking 70% of the playable bingos. Possibly, but bearing in mind that I'm likely to have all of the remaining vowels if I *do* have a bingo, it could potentially lose to a non-bingo endgame."

"For example, consider the actual situation, with me holding AEELRST. With CDG in the bag, if Michael picks DG, the best sequence of plays is:"

"Phil LETS 4a 39
Michael BING n12 20
Phil CEDAR 8a 27"

"This gives me a 1-point win."

"I suspect there are other scenarios where I can win the game without a bingo, but I'll leave that to the computer people!"

"So is TOEA the best play? Or BARONIC? Or something else??"

-Phil Appleby

Blogger's Analysis:

Running the Quackle Engine Simulation after 80,000 Iterations, here are the results:

The top choice would be ANE 2f (96.97% chance of winning) blocking one potential bingo lane along 2nd row, like T(E)ASELER, (E)ARLIEST in case of an E or I pickup based on unseen tile after the RE move, as planned by Phil, although this would leave the -ED spot opened for bingo in case Phil drew the letter C. Let us see:

>Michael: ABINNOT - AN(E) 2f +12 -> 371

>Phil: AELRST+C - SCARLET(ED) 5a +74 -> 386

    Variation 1: If Michael drew DG

        >Michael: BINOT+DG - OB(S)IGN d3 +36 -> 407 (BO(D)ING 8a also wins by fewer spread)

        >Phil: E - (JO)E 10b +10 -> 396

        >Phil: (DT) +3 -> 399

        >Michael: (DT) -3 -> 404 wins

    Variation 2: If Michael drew DE

        >Michael: BINOT+DE - BI(D)DEN 8a +36 -> 407

        >Phil: G - (JO)G 10b +11 -> 397

        >Phil: (OT) +2 -> 399

        >Michael: (OT) -2 -> 405 still wins

    Variation 3: If Michael drew EG

        >Michael: BITON+EG - BO(D)GIE 8a +36 -> 407 (OB(S)IGN d3 also wins)

        >Phil: D - (A)D(S) 6i +8 -> 394

        >Phil: (NT) +2 -> 396

        >Michael (NT) -2 -> 405 still wins

In case of an E pickup by Phil as per the actual game, let us see further:

>Michael: ABINNOT - AN(E) 2f +12 -> 371

>Phil: AELRST+E - LETS 5a +39 -> 351

    Variation 1: If Michael drew DG

        Michael: BINOT+DG - BO(D)ING 8a +33 -> 404

        Phil: CARE - CARE l1 +22 -> 373

        Phil: (DT) +3 -> 376

        Michael: (DT) -3 -> 401 wins

    Variation 2: If Michael drew CD

        Michael: BINOT+CD - B(A)NC 12l +37 -> 408

        Phil: AEGR - RA(D)GE 8a +27 -> 378

        Phil: (DIOT) +10 -> 388

        Michael: (DIOT) -10 -> 398

    Variation 3: If Michael drew CG

        >Michael: BITON+CG - CO(D)ING +33 -> 404

        >Phil: ADER - DEAR l12 +20 -> 371

        >Phil: (BT) +8 -> 379

        >Michael: (BT) -8 -> 396

The only way that Michael would lose based on unseen ACDEEGLRST if Phil had the following combination:

1) ACDEERS - D(E)CREASE 14g +90

2) ADEEGRS - D(E)GREASE 14g +88 even if C was the last tile, there are several out play like LIMBIC, COOP, CHUM.

By taking the mathematical combination C(n,r) of the possible racks that can be formed from ACDEEGLRST in 7 out of 10 tiles, this would give us 120 combinations. So 2 racks out of 120 rack combination or almost 2% chance that Michael would lose in the ANE play.

2019 World SCRABBLE® Championship, Torquay

 Contents:

• WSC 2019 Details
• Complete Results after 35 Rounds Preliminaries
• Quarterfinals Results
• Semifinals Results
• Final Game 1
• Final Game 2
• Final Game 3
• Final Game 4

WSC 2019 Details:
Venue: Westfield Shopping Centre in London

Dates: November 19-24, 2019

No. of Players: 46

Dictionary: CSW19
Challenge Rule: 5-Point Penalty

Winner: Nigel Richards
Runner-Up: David Eldar

Top Prize: $ 8,000
Format:

The tournament began with a 35-rounds preliminary over a period of four days, whose top eight players contested a best-of-three quarterfinal (#1 vs #8, #2 vs. #7, #3 vs. #6 and #4 vs. #5), then best-of-five semifinal and the remaining two players battled to a best-of-five final.

Preliminaries:

Knockout:

Quarterfinals (best of 3)					Semifinals (best of 5)					Final (best of 5)
	1	Nigel Richards (NZL)	2
	8	Syed Imaad Ali (PAK)	1
						Nigel Richards (NZL)		3
						Paul Gallen (NIR)		1
	4	Jason Keller (USA)	1
	5	Paul Gallen (NIR)	2
											Nigel Richards (NZL)		392	416	496	516
											David Eldar (AUS)		428	402	363	463
	2	Harshan Lamabadusuriya (LKA)	1
	7	Peter Armstrong (USA)	2
						Peter Armstrong (USA)		1
						David Eldar (AUS)		3
	3	Dave Wiegand (USA)	0
	6	David Eldar (AUS)	2

Final:

Nigel Richards vs. David Eldar at WSC 2019 Final

Game 1:
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Game 2:

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Game 3:

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Game 4:

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2018 World SCRABBLE® Championship

 Contents:

• WSC 2018 Details
• Complete Results after 35 Rounds Preliminaries
• Quarterfinals Results
• Semifinals Results
• Final Game 1
• Final Game 2
• Final Game 3
• Final Game 4

WSC 2018 Details:
Venue: Westfield Shopping Centre in London

Dates: October 23-28, 2018

No. of Players: 75

Dictionary: CSW15
Challenge Rule: 5-Point Penalty

Winner: Nigel Richards
Runner-Up: Jesse Day

Top Prize: 6,200 euros
Format:

The tournament began with a 35-rounds preliminary over a period of four days, whose top eight players contested a best-of-three quarterfinal (#1 vs #8, #2 vs. #7, #3 vs. #6 and #4 vs. #5), then best-of-five semifinal and the remaining two players battled to a best-of-five final.

Preliminaries:

Knockout:

	Quarterfinals (best of 3)					Semifinals (best of 5)					Final (best of 5)
	1	Nigel Richards	2
	8	Paul Allan	0
						Nigel Richards		3
						Brett Smitheram		0
	4	Paul Gallen	1
	5	Brett Smitheram	2
											Nigel Richards		3
											Jesse Day		1
	2	Kevin McMahon	2
	7	Wellington Jighere	1
						Kevin McMahon		0
						Jesse Day		3
	3	Chris Lipe	1
	6	Jesse Day	2

Final

Jesse Day and Nigel Richards at WSC 2018 Torquay

Game 1:
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Game 2:

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Game 3:

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Game 4:

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Final Results:

Players	Country	1	2	3	4	5	Remarks
Nigel Richards	New Zealand	391	536	445	575	-	Champion
Jesse Day	USA	541	307	423	452	-	Runner-up