Go to: Commentary Games Players Teams Photos Reports Standings Scoreboard

Back to WPC 2010 Live Coverage

WPC 2010 Commentary: Round 13

[ ]

Go to: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5, Round 6, Round 7, Round 8, Round 9, Round 10, Round 12, Round 13, Round 14, Round 17, Round 18, Round 19, Round 20, Round 21, Round 22, Round 23, Round 24, Round 25, Round 26, Round 27, Round 28, Round 29.

Round 13

Trailing by 150, Chris May (AUS) managed to cut that down to 50 by playing SIGNALeD through the I in his game with Nathan Benedict (USA). I see Chris' TRICEPS and Nathan's TARLETAN, kILOTON, and SPARTAN. Nathan wins, 487-432.

Game in progress, Eric Kinderman (USA) vs. Marty Gabriel (USA): MELODIA, KAOLINEs, and MIsTUNES.

Judy Newhouse (USA) impresses two people and they find me to point out her 9 in the endgame. From MO, she put down MODErNITY. As a tribute to Wilma, I see KOALA on their board! Pakorn got down STOTIOUs, DUSTINGS, and MOLERATS (all I can think is MALLRATS* and giggle to myself. Pakron's win, 476-339.

STOP THE PRESSES: Tapani Lindgren (USA) has a half win and joins the plus side! Small fireworks (we've got a low ceiling here) and dancing ladies come out to celebrate! He managed a fun tie with Nick Ball (CAN), who seems less charmed by the dancing and merriment. I see ETAERIOS, CRINATED, DELATiONS, and ATELIEr. It turns out to have been a brutal endgame for Nick: five turns with no vowels. So, he played where he could, but got low on time. After all was said and done and the paperwork was handed in, he saw that he'd played ORBS and if he'd played JIGS instead, he would have won by one point. Oh well, hearty congrats to Tapani!

SINCE THEY ARE ALREADY STOPPED: grats to Kunihiko Kuroda (JPN) for defeating Travis Chaney (USA) this round, 435-433, to earn his first win so far, too. The combination of the game being picked up and all the blood loss from the wound to Travis' stomach, it was hard to get the whole story, but it centered on a Q in the endgame, Travis needing a U or an I, and it not working out AT ALL. I think I am getting the essential gist when he says, "losing by two was the absolute best I could do." I decided to let him go at this point.

Ebikeme Adowei (NGA) has a laptop with a power cord that doesn't agree with our American prongage*. I'm aware, not good in SCRABBLE, but I like it! I let our visitor from Nigeria get his yahoo mail on my laptop between games. I ask him how he's doing and says, not so well, but I expected this. I'm an average player. I just wanted to see the best. Ekimeme works as a Chevron petroleum engineer in his real life. He says of his countryman, Fidelis Olotu (Eng), "Oh, he is a real good SCRABBLE player. Since he lives in England, we have never met until this competition. He is doing far better than me." I like this guy, humble, polite, kind. And he has a Nike "just do it shirt" on today.

Wilma is an active director. She rarely sits. She stands, strolls, and will kneel on a chair every so often, but she just doesn't sit that much. Today she is resplendent in a purple silk outfit that she calls "cool." Even her shoes match.