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WPC 2008 Commentary: Round 21

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 21

So, lunch was quick. Before I knew it, everyone was back. To keep things prompt, SEVERAL clocks were started and a player at table 1 was not so happy about it.

Nigel Richards (MYS), who had opted to NOT be interviewd by NBC, wandered into the playing room and we teased him mercilessly about his inherent shyness. He blushed, but stood his ground. He'll talk to one person, but no more and that is that!

We put out some of CDs that Chris Cree (USA) made a couple of years ago. On this CD, which contains only two cover songs and a bunch of originals, he sings a song for his dad. It is a really terrific song. Touches your heart. Nigel grabbed one of the CDs and said, "I suppose now I'm going to have to buy myself a CD player so that I can listen to this." We all were kinda shocked. He keeps trying to make us believe that he only owns a bicycle and nothing else! Well, should he decide to get a CD player, his winnings from this event, ought to cover it and a housewide sound system, too, so he can hear it from every room.

Chris Cree (USA) was showing off the winning Kelly Smith board. He explained how much he likes her work, how happy he was that she chose a different color scheme for this event (to contrast what she did for the Players Championship). We all hope that Nigel wins it, so that he will finally own a board. I suppose getting it home to Malaysia might present some troubles.....

We all watched table 2 more than any other this round. David Eldar (AUS) was playing Nawapadol Sayavesa (THA) and the Thai player couldn't have known that this whole event was resting on his shoulders. Should he win, Nigel Richards (MYS) would NOT be Gibsonzed, should he lose, Nigel would win the WPC and be Gibsonized for the ensuing rounds. Nawa, champion that he is, fell to David Eldar (AUS), 322-473. David had a bingo-bango-bongo in that game: NORITES for 88, THALIOU for 90, and MIRADORS for 72. Later on he played EARINGS for 76. Poor Nawa appeared to only keep score that game, his tiles were pretty terrible.

At a nearby board, Bob Jackman (AUS) had a wonderous 530-420 win against Trevor Halsall (AUS). Early on, they traded bingos: Trevor's MATURES and Bob's ONSTAGE. But then another Bob bingo crept in: OUTsHONE for 86. Thinking he'd gotten the lead, he was surprised to see CLIQUE for 86 come down on the triple for Trevor. They were now tied at 286-286. Then the gates of heaven unleashed and god looked down favorably upon Bob and he got a bingo-bango-bongo: HEISTING from the H for 74, ETIOLATE for 70, and the lovely PRIORATEs through the P and T for 72. In an effort to catch up, Trevor got down JNANA for 56, but it just wasn't enough. This is the second game at this event that Bob has called me over to see before the game has been finished! :)

So, our 1st WPC Champion is Nigel Richards (MYS). I heard one player at the top of the pack say, "Well, this is good, now we can have a pure fight for 2nd!"

Geoff Thevenot (USA) vs. Adrian Tamas (ROM). Geoff's win, 476-348. Both players are gone, but since I can now read Egyption, having done this reporting for years, I glean that LANDSIDE from the L went down for 86 +5 (challenge) and TAENIAS for 74, both by Geoff. Adrian played PETUNIA for 73 and ERRANTS for 63.

Adrian was chatting with Phil Robertshaw (Eng) outside and both had lost this last round. Phil was a bit down as his opponent, Chris Cree (USA), had put down two later-game 100-point bingos and there was nothing he could do. I ran into Chris on the way back into the room and asked about them. Chris said, "I have AAKSTY? and I played with a B on the board." Can you find his play? A bit later, he found PACIEST for 96 (he could have played SPICATE for 100 and probably others, but the one he chose was a better play overall). Chris won, 507-404.

We have Gibsonized Nigel Richards (MYS) and he is slated to play the next game with the player just outside of any prize money potentiality. And it happens to be Sam Kantimathi (USA). A game I'm sure Sam will enjoy!

*Chris played BACKSTAY for 113.