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DO 2008 Commentary: Round 18

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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, After the Tournament.

Round 18

Orry Swift (Dayton, TX) vs. Keith Smith (Austin, TX). Keith is still sitting quietly at the board, zoning out. I zero in on fANDANGO and am delighted to see such a fun word! Keith isn't exactly indifferent to my presence... well... maybe he is. I look at Orry's scoresheet and see a 364-312 win for him. Better plays: fANDANGO through the second A for 59, DILUENT for 66, and UNSEATS for 71.

Cecilia Le (Cambridge, MA) is sporting another one of her cute T-shirts. This one is a "Trix is for kids, not for rabbits" style. She is ahead in a tense game with Brian Cappelletto (Chicago, IL). She looked up at me all wide-eyed and said, "I wonder if I'll make it?" I wasnt' sure what she meant. So I looked at her rack, AURAAIU, and at his rack, PWNVRJU, and pondered how the vowel/consonant thing was out of whack for them. Suddenly, she played AURA, and ran out of the room. Ah... she meant would she make it back from her restroom dash. In under two minutes, she was back, Brian had played and her clock was running on briefly. Prior to her dash, it was a 326-299 lead for her. A bit later, their game done and them long gone, I see that she won, 433-403. Plays I could pick out: PIGTAIL for 70, BOTANIES for 74, and HOGTIED (a fun nonbingo!) for Brian. Cecilia played TORSADE for 70, ACEtOSE for 67, and MEINIeS for 77.

In a room where equipment gets plopped down and where you often don't get to play with your own, I see George Viebranz (Strongsville, OH) playing at his very own board. I know this because his name is visible on the racks. The "home field" advantage was nonexistant as he lost, 364-469 to Lila Crotty (Metairie, LA). He did play WALLOPED, PERIDOT, and LATENING. Lila played STINTEd and CROQUET.

Tickled pink might just describe his mood. Darrell Day (Richardson, TX) turns in his result slip and says, "I just played REGISTRY through the second R for a 149-point triple-triple. It helped him get the win, 561-404, against Eric Harshbarger (Auburn, AL).

Amit Chakrabarti (Hanover, NH) vs. Nathan Benedict (Tucson, AZ), in what Amit refers to as a "nerve-wracking game." Nathan played tANAGERS and NONRATeD through the O for 70. Amit played EXPLOITs to the s for 69, FOLIATED through the L for 63, and bingos out with STUDIERS to the last S for 71. 457-364, Amit's win.

Wallace Schultz (Las Vegas, NM) vs. Jim Hughes (Austin, TX). It was a three-bingo game, one for Jim (CISTERN) and two for Wallace (SEXTaIN and pROPONES thorugh the R for a 168-point triple-triple, a new tournament high triple-triple score for him). Wallace won, 592-294. He explains that he had some high-point small plays, too, such as GEEZ for 54 and QIS for 42.

What happens when QUACKLE boys face off? I guess Jason wins, 573-397. Part of the key to his success that game was the 158-point triple-triple VEsICANT played through the C. Jason says he saw the same word, played as a triple-triple, and written down on the prize sheets in the hallway. I also spot some nice plays for John OLaughlin (Cambridge, MA): TORQUER (a 64-point nonbingo played through the OR) and REORIENT for 60. Jason played AUDIENTS for 80, SCATHED for 74, and fEDEXING through the N for 86.

Andy Bohnsack (Madison, WI) nudges me as he turns in his result slip. He says, "I had to ask someone to give me directions up here." I take it that he has not won many games so far.....