TLW 111 - Nomads Results

to win them with a total spread of 285 points. He duly won games 13 and 14, but narrowly,
meaning that he needed to win the final game by 234 points to win the match on spread. It
was a forlorn hope, and Richard duly wrapped up the match win by 8.5-6.5.
Semi-finals
The first semi-final between Phil and Richard was a mirror image of Harshan’s quarter-final
against Neil; Phil won 6 of the opening 7 games, but Richard nibbled away at the lead
reducing the deficit to 7-5 before Phil won a tight 13 th game. In Game 14 Phil had the
chance to wrap up the match, but slipped up in the endgame and a final-move bonus enabled
Richard to tie, 438-438, thus keeping the match alive. However a shell-shocked Phil
fortuitously picked most of the goodies in Game 15, to close out the match 9.5-5.5. In the
second semi-final between Harshan and Femi, the first eight games were shared 4-4, and it
looked likely to be a titanic struggle that would go down to the wire. But instead Harshan
took control, winning the next three games, and going on to complete a 9-5 victory to set up
a final against Phil.
BEST Final, 2006
As for the previous two Finals, game-by-game coverage was provided on the Internet Scrabble
Club. However on this occasion the coverage wasn’t live; after each game a photo of a
scoresheet showing both players’ racks and moves was sent by e-mail to the ISC inputters,
Evan Simpson and Paul Allan, who took it in turns to transmit the information on ISC. It
seemed to work very well, and by the end of the match over 300 people were watching, and
making their views known! Harshan was quick off the blocks, winning the first four games
and playing some lovely words in the process, including SUMOTORI, PENSILE, EQUIPAGE,
ENSTEEPS and NAPOLEON. At this point his average score per move was an impressive
44.3. But Phil gradually worked his way into the match, with the help of two nine-timers,
EMULATES for 122 and PARKIEST for 176. By the end of Day 1, with eleven games completed,
Phil led 6-5.
Undaunted, Harshan won the first two games on Day 2, the second with a remarkable
endgame sequence when the situation looked hopeless. A key moment in the match came in
Game 14. With two tiles left in the bag, Phil put ABORTED on the board, with the A in the
seventh-position of a nine-timer, a move that would have given him a 117-point lead. But
after checking the remaining tiles, and seeing the possibility of a 149-point RESIDUAL for
Harshan, he changed ABORTED to BORATED. It was a good
choice; Harshan’s rack was RESIDUL, and although RESIDUAL
was still playable, it didn’t score enough. Instead of a potentially
decisive 8-6 lead, the match was level at 7-7. Phil went on to
win the next two games, to move within a game of victory.
And it should have come in game 17, but he fell into the trap of
attempting, and failing, to prevent Harshan playing out in the
endgame, when there were enough points available elsewhere
to guarantee the win regardless. A comfortable win for Harshan
in Game 18 set up a deciding 19th game. It was unbearably
tense, with the initiative going first one way, then the other.
But when the dust had settled it was Phil who emerged the
winner, to become the first two-time BEST Champion. You’ll
find an annotation of the final game on page xx. 21.
Harshan and and Phil Phil
12
Elgin
28th October
Results from Chris Hawkins
Shipley Autumn Matchplay
29th October
Report from Robert Pells
The day went well. There were a couple of drop outs, but nothing I couldn’t handle. I had
to make changes to the groups just before the first game which meant a couple of players
went into a higher group. My software also ran successfully, which I’m delighted to say.
The first game started just a few minutes late. Everyone turned up just in time. The fire
alarm went off after just 10 minutes after the start of the first game. Someone burnt the toast.
But it only caused a minor delay. We finished the day well ahead of time.
No rated player finished on 5 wins. The highest win tally was 4 wins. The only player on 5
wins was in the unrated section. The groups were mostly very tight right up to the end. In
addition, there was a highest word score prize for the rated section which went to Mark
Goodwin who got 131 for ENATIONS. The highest word score in the unrated section when
to Joyce Beck who got 105 for DITCHER.
I would like to thank Cyndy with helping to organise today’s event and also David Wilson,
all the runners and other helpers. I hope everyone enjoyed the day, I know I did. I look
forward to seeing you all again next year.
Shipley A
Lee Hartley 4 245
Phil Robertshaw 4 31
Shipley B
Neil Rowley 4 363
Mark Goodwin 3 198
Shipley C
Jason Carney 4 260
John Hardie 3 350
Luton
11th November
Luton A
George Gruner 5 401
Diane Pratesi 5 365
Jackie Mcleod 5 311
Ratings: Abraham Sosseh
Elgin A
Amy Byrne 4 306
Marion Keatings 4 303
Ray Tate 4 107
Shipley D
Rosalind Wilson 4 266
Carol Sienkiewicz 3.5 99
Shipley E
Geoff Goodwin 4 248
Barbara Hill 4 118
Shipley F
Irene Atkinson 4 189
Barbara Lukey 4 132
Luton B
Theresa Cole 5 380
Richard Woodward 5 297
Nick Jenkins 5 -30
Ratings: Jackie Adams
Luton C
Yvonne McKeon 6 490
J. Clifford 5 278
A. Eames 4 272
Ratings:Helen Sandler
13
Elgin B
Michael Harley 4 373
Margaret Harkness 4 350
Isla Wilkie 4 273
Shipley G
Betty Bates 4 345
Remie Salazar 3 166
Shipley H
Joy Hodge 4 326
A. Widdington 3 73
Shipley unrated group winners
Brenda Baxter
Val Richardson
Luton D
Jacqui White 5 466
Cindy Hollyer 5 326
Anne Corpe 4 284
Ratings:G. Simpson (unrated)