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2007 Dallas Open Commentary: Round 5

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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 5

Back from lunch and there is a slight whiff of onion in the air, and the players are sitting at their tables chomping to begin. Chris Cree (Dallas, TX; 1870) takes to the microphone to make some announcements; such as who is working here and the like. While I'm taking a call from Bob Linn about the Thomas ORourke (Alpharetta, GA; 1311) played GINNERS for 66 and went out, capturing 34 in unplayed opponent tile points to score 100 total and win the game, 346-333." Glenda Short (Oklahoma City, OK; 1432) was on the short end of that stick!

An ever-so-quiet Dave Wiegand (Portland, OR; 1961) patiently waits for me to look up from the keyboard. He gestured behind him and said, "Want to see some great plays Ben Withers (Houston, TX; 1714) made?" Camera in hand, I head over to the board. Turns out it was Ben's game against Dave, a 495-410 win for Ben. He played the double-double MARRIEDS for 94, CENACLES through the first E for 82 (which Dave said was a good find), and PyRROLE for 88. Dave played TENTERED for 70. Ben wandered back and said, "I played MARRIEDS instead of DISARMER, because it gave a few more points." He also told me that Dave held him for three minutes on CENACLES, and looked at me intently and repeated, "Me playing a word that Dave spent three minutes holding...." almost as if he didn't believe it himself.

From the "I'm not always a good sport but what do you want?" department, Chris Cree (Dallas, TX; 1870) fell to Terry Kang Rau (Newington, CT; 1419) this round. When I asked who won, Chris said, "She didn't just beat me, she beat the s*** out of me! She beat me like I was a rented mule!" Terry, indeed did win, 465-318. She admitted she was terribly lucky in the game. She got down LECTERNS for 63, ALTHEAS for 67, and EXpIRES (as a double-double) for 120. In the most condescending faux polite manner, Chris said, "yeah, Terry showed incredible rank balancing skill when she left no tiles in her rack after playing this (gesturing toward ALTHEAS) when she drew this (gesturing toward EXpIRES)." This of course tore everyone and a big old guffaw was shared by everyone.

Cheryl Tyler (Lubbock, TX; 1652) waves me over to her completed game against Mady Garner (Sevierville, TN; 1192). It was a six-bingo battle with Mady making three in a row: HEISTING for 74, TOASTER for 73, and REENROLL for 68. Cheryl got down REBUILT for 73, SNACKED for 80, and the lovely triple-triple OVERTIRE for 140. Mady also made played QI for 64 and Cheryl opened with EXPAND for 48. In the end, it was Cheryl's win, 521-482.