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2007 Dallas Open Commentary: Round 4

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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, After the Tournament.

Round 4

The first three rounds were paired using the Portland swiss method of breaking the division into quartiles and randomly picking one person from each to create a group of four that plays three games. Starting with round 4, the pairings begin to be performance-based and players in the top tables (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) will have better records than those players at the lower tables. So, the randomness of being caught at board 1 is now over. It may still be terrifying, but it is an earned trip of terror.

And with this in mind, at table 2, Terry Kang Rau (Newington, CT; 1419) squared off against Wallace Schultz (Las Vegas, NM; 1513). The game started stongly for Wally with AVENTAIL. A few turns later he got down the fun NOUNAL. This was the first game I noticed in round 4, but the absolute last to finish, as the two decided on a recount. In the end, a bit of smart gameswomanship won Terry the game. She played swiftly, which caused Wally to go over on his clock by 23 seconds. The 10-point time penalty took him from a 9-point win to a 1-point loss, 358-359. Ouch.

I catch Michael Thelen (West Jordan, UT; 1637) heading toward an adjudication computer equipped with his software (Michael wrote the program Zyzzyva) for his opponent's challenge of SLOSHIER played through the H for 76. Thomas Conrad (Rio Rancho, NM; 1400) wasn't as happy as Michael was to find the play acceptable. On their board, I see TROLANDS played through the L for 68 by Michael, DUVETTE* (a phoney played by Tom), and FUSIBLY. In the end, it was Michael's win, 371-258.

David Johnson (New Rochelle, NY; 1433) vs. Chris Lipe (Rome, NY; 1717). Some very pretty words: DEFILER for 73, REJOICED for 71, and DERATING for 74, played by Dave. Chris got down the lovely AEQUORIN for 84. I catch them as the game ends and it is David's win, 463-387. Later in the game, Chris found InSINUATe through the AT. Nice find!

I walk by Mark Milan (Laguna Niguel, CA; 1767) who looks at my plaintively and begged me to take a photo of his rack, I did. I bore witness to the fact that he did indeed hold JITNEY? but couldn't get it down on his late-game board vs. Siri Tillekeratne (Calgary AB; 1637).

Smart woman, already headed off to lunch I bet, Carol Ravichandran (Northville, MI; 1521) has a completed board left standing (often the tiles get immediately shoved into the four corners). I know nothing about the plays, but I will say that her tile bag matches the top surface surrounding the board and boy is it pretty!

Sam Kantimathi (El Dorado Hills, CA; 1800), equipped with his aircraft-carrier-sized clipboard resting on his knees and tilting up and leaning against the table's edge, is "holding" Doug Riblet (Austin, TX; 1679). I hear a quiet "challenge," and the pair pads up to a lookup computer. In moments, tiles come off the board and Doug gets some more time to mull over SAFFIRE*. Plays on their board are ASOCIAL, sEVENTY, and GAMBOID.

In first place after round 1, Fran Silver (Cote Saint-Luc QC; 1734) squares off against Mike Baron (Corrales, NM; 1755) this round at table 5. I see OUTDrAGS, AEONIC, CAREERS, and the very un-Fran-like of UNSEXY.

Carla Cree (Dallas, TX; 1610) and John OLaughlin (Sun Prairie, WI; 1882) are at table 4 picking up their tiles. I ask her how she fared and she said, "It's funny. I beat the #4 seed (John) and the #8 seed (Jim Geary (Phoenix, AZ; 1854)), but I lose to the #108 seed (Mary Pastore (Pearland, TX; 1092)), go figure."

Orry Swift (Dayton, TX; 1806) and Paul Avrin (New York, NY; 1742) are doing an endgame analysis. I snap a shot and ask about a few of the board's pretty plays. Turns out it was Orry all the way. Although Paul got down FAcIALS for 73, Orry played MIAOWInG through the I for 77, DEWATER for 71, ROcKETED for 80, and ADIEUX for 32.

Michael Stevens (Salt Lake City, UT; 1590) defeats Geoff Thevenot (Austin, TX; 1854) this round, 416-401. The both agree it was a hard-fought game. Geoff got down THErEMIN, DONATES, and FIERIEST, and Michael played AMNESIA and SINNERs. Geoff said, "I know, nice bingos, but I had a bunch of really low-scoring plays."

Jeff Reeves (Woodworth, LA; 1713) loses painfully to Brian Cappelletto (Chicago, IL; 1974), 355-561 this round. Plays on their board: HALATION, OUTFINDS, SUaSORY, ROMAJIS, DIATRIBE through the R, and the fun DOGNAP.

Peter Noom (Santa Fe, NM; 1085) is here for his first time in Dallas. This is only his fifth tournament, and he is seeded #109. At 6' 6" (even taller in shoes), this man is seriously tall. He wandered over to ask if there was a "high loss" prize. John Chew and I confer and we think not. He explains that he just this round lost to Sheri Justice (Kansas City, MO; 1227), 451-466. We commiserate and agree that it is indeed a painful and high loss. Eyes sparkling, he recounts his 17-point loss to Brian Cappelletto (Chicago, IL; 1974) in round 1. It is so nice to see someone who is 0-4 and still happy about it!

We break for a sunshine-filled lunch and then four more games this afternoon.