I actually composed this hours after returning home from the Piscataway tournament a few weekends ago, but never posted it for some reason. I've always enjoyed Evan Berofsky's detailed tournament logs, so I'm steal^H^H^H^H^H paying homage to his posting style here. Most of the bingos will be easier to spot than those found in his logs, but what the hell. Hopefully someone finds this interesting or insightful or terrifying or whatever. --- I'm not sure which aspect of the Embassy's playing area left a better first impression: the 8th grade dance party being held in the room next door, or the mirrored ceilings directly above the tables. "This is going to be interesting," says Phil. Surveyed the taps at the hotel bar -- looks like a Sammy kind of weekend. Could be worse. Off we go: Game 1 against Randy Greenspan: Yes, this opening rack of AEEIINU is just what I had in mind for round one of the toughest field I've played against so far. Exchange, watch Randy zip ahead with some good intermediate plays while I continue grooming. By turn four I've got ACEINRS to the E on the star [1], missing two nines through E_T for an extra three points [2]. I know the words, too, just didn't look at the spot. Randy's TONUSES puts him back in the game shortly after, but my ZINGY for 46 and YOD for 30 keep me a step ahead and mold ?BDEEKN onto my rack. I find the only playable bingo to a D [3]. Randy still wouldn't go away, but I found what Maven considers a perfect endgame to pull out a 27 point win. 411-384. Game 2 is Mitchell Brook, whom I know quite well from the Philly scene. After duelling exchanges, Mitch finally kills the board with ZONES for 48. I play the "if my F were a C I'd have CANZONES" game in my head for a few seconds before denying us all the opportunity with FOB/OZONES. After a few more decent plays by Mitch, I'm back in the game with the alphabetically first seven in ?AINRTU [4], but his OXID for 42 and one of AEGMRST thru an I [5] give me worries. My ADEIRTW to an R [6] pulls me back ahead, but Mitch's 59-point JOB tells me none of these guys are going down easy this weekend. Finally grab ?ADELTU through a D [7], pull an eminently playable Q, and close out another exciting game. 429-386. Game 3 against Scott Appel: I had a chance to win or at least appear competitive the first time I played Scott in March, but came down with a bad case of the retards mid-game. My goal was to play well this time around, and I did, if Maven's analysis is to be believed. Naturally, I lose by 160. Scott's strategy of 40-40-40-natural EGINPSW [8]-etc worked out well for him, while all I could salvage was the satisfaction of AELORST through an I and and E [9]. Even when the game was out of reach for me, Scott finds a way to score 20 pts and simultaneously block both of my big X plays; a pretty inspired move in a game most players would've phoned in. I make my last attempt to open a lane, Scott uses about four seconds to play ?CILOOT[10]. Glaven*. 310-470. --- Time to hit the bar. Chat with Jumbletime Johnson and some local club friends for a bit before Mavenizing the night's games and drifting off. --- Game 4 against Frank Romano: Pretty run of the mill game thru the first few turns. We exchange 20-point plays, then exchange blank bingos: Frank's ?AEILRU[11], my ?ACELOZ from a V [12]. I follow it up with the unbelievably stupid TOLUDINE*, which somehow doesn't get challenged. I thought I had finally broken myself of this habit, just like I broke myself of seeing TUXEDOES as OUTSEXED* and ANDROGEN as NONGRADE*, but apparently not. Fortunately (?), I got to utilize the equally phony S-hook for a big score instead of him. Not content with merely stamping "I DON'T BELONG IN THIS DIVISION" on my forehead, I don my bright yellow jumper and propeller beanie, and challenge his hooking ANTIC with an M. I stop the clock, call for the challenge, and Frank begins recording his score and tracking off his tiles. That's almost never a good sign. This oversight costs me the game. The Q-stick was just icing. 361-452. Game 5 against Frank Tangredi: I've played Frank several times online, and have never beaten him. So of course, I'm cocky heading into the game. I'm somehow keeping pace despite some go-nowhere racks and Frank's early ADEFIRT thru I [13], until his WIZ for 50 makes it look like our real life matches will follow suit. More dreck follows until Frank plays ?AENSTU from the I [14] at k7, putting him up by 109. I'm holding ?AELPRS and somehow find a bingo in that mess [15], taking advantage of the 3x lane hook. We trade jabs, and I squeeze in a 40-point JE(TO)N, emptying the bag. Frank leads by 14. I'm holding GOLFERS. Frank's holding INTTTVW. Ouch. Can't play the bingo, but I can score well and get out quickly while he struggles to find plays of any kind on the tight board. 392-375. Game 6 against Webster Phillips: Web opens with the commonest of ?GOORST [16], I respond with ROSE for 6. You see where this is going. In the end, I outbingo him with EIILMSU [17] and EGINNRT from an E [18], but my dinky plays and exchanges kept me a step behind his steady intermediate-play onslaught. Pull a late blank in order to get AQuA for 42, and make a lopsided game look half-respectable. 391-438. Game 7 against Larry Sherman: I dislike Y's. I somehow space out on my opener ?EGIRTY [19], and exchange the offending letter. Terrible. Pull a Z in its place, score nicely, and bingo-bango with ?AEGRRT and ADELRRU [20] to take a commanding lead that I'm thinking I don't deserve. Larry invokes justice with his own back-to-back AINORST and the nice ?ADLLMO thru an I [21] to wipe it all out. A big J play keeps me comfortable, but it's back to the seesaw I go, trying to score/leave well with non-bingo racks while interfering with the openings Larry creates. Leaving one in the bag, Larry opens his last lane with ROOD. I'm holding EINSTUY. There's that Y again, laughing at me. Again, I see nothing, but this time I have nothing. TYEE seals it off, and I win another close one. 392-375. Game 8 against David Koenig: My online sparring partner has been gunning for this moment since I pulled the bag and walloped him at Danbury a few months back. I go first and pull something like 9 N's and a B. Exchange. A few turns later I get EENOOST through R [22], while Dave catches the exchange bug. Without the open O for a 20-point VOODOO, I'd be joining the party too. Pull ahead by 100 until his AEIILST from a C [23], but it gives me FOIST for 36. Now Dave's pissed. OK, probably not, but here comes BERTH for 33, GREATLY for 30, OBOE for 27, and my once impressive lead is down to about 45. I then proceed to make a play that would make players of all skill levels vomit in rage. Get this: I played HM, abutting a triple lane. One M and two blanks were unplayed. You can probably guess how many of these I held in my hand. WTF? I don't know who just grabbed the wheel, but I want him out of my car before someone gets hurt. Dave jerks me around for three turns, then finally uses my Christmas gift to play the only one of ?DEILMN I would have to hold on [24]. I'm pretty certain it's good but I want to stew in my vat of self-loathing for a bit. I let it go to get the loss over with. Justice finally prevails, 345-378. Game 9 against Verna Richards Berg: Before the tournament began, Verna delighted in pointing out that she beat both myself and Dewk early on at Danbury, where we both had strong finishes. After that last game, I needed a big pick-me-up to end the day, so maybe a loss here would catapult me to the top on Day 3. An early ?AELTVW [25] nixed that plan. Score, score, then toss down AIMNSSU through my previously declared blank [26]. A nice find, but Dr. Board Vision here overlooks the G [27]. Verna holds, likely wants to challenge but lets it go for the 48-point ZAIRE response. Towards the end, Verna desperately opens an alley, and I pounce upon it with ?AEILOP[28], running away with my first sizable win of the tourney. 453-295. --- Hit the bar, hoping to find the Flyers game. I'm informed the hotel doesn't get ESPN2. This upsets me. Drinking commences. Stumble over to the afterhours game room and get a couple games in with Randy Greenspan. I pull a ridiculous game in the first match -- AEELSTX [29] out of the bag and on the board in a matter of seconds -- but we have a close, competitive rematch, earning him his first lifetime win against me. I later discover the game was only close because I did have a 3x3 after all: ?AADEGR with a G in the fourth position [30]. Should've known it. I settle for playing elsewhere through an I [31]. At any rate, it's fun to be someone else's nemesis for once. Can't get a SOWPODS Clabbers game going, so I head back to the bar for a few more, discover the Flyers lost, and shuffle off to bed. --- Game 10 against David Engelhardt: Out comes ?ELOSTU [32] to put me in a 64-point hole off the bat. Clean up some R issues until EEFNORT [33] happens, keeping me involved in the game. Immediately follow it up with a 40-point J play and never look back. Until turn 10. I'm up by 25, with only one viable bingo lane and few scoring resources otherwise. I have a few mediocre defensive plays, but 3 U's are gone, so I shed my Q with QAT for 13. Down comes ?AAEISV through the C that I did nothing about [34]. The Z helps me jump back ahead briefly. After a little jockeying for position, we enter the endgame with full racks and me trailing by 4. Long story short, I badly botch the endgame and lose by 8 when I could've made a painfully simple play to win by 1. I've botched plenty of endgames in my short career, but they don't get any easier to stomach. Consider quitting forever, but somehow get my shit together and move on to the next round. 344-352. Game 11 against Paul Avrin: Paul responds to the opener with EEGINSS through my O [35]. With ?EMORTX I'm able to pop off the X for 36, pull an I, and bingo down to a C [36]. So far, so good. Time to refresh my rack. DGHHIIQ. Oh good. I reach for the shovel while Paul scores decently and quickly builds himself an ?AORRST [37]. The bingo gives me a 42-point ABOIL, keeping AE, which magically becomes AEEEIII. Oh good. The board is quickly becoming unfriendly, and I ultimately nickel and dime my way to the finish line, refreshing my rack with a new duplicate I each time. Yeah, I know, shed a tear for me. 339-385. Game 12 against Rose Kreiswirth: The final day's not going so well, but I still have a chance to finish above .500. An autopilot opener like URALItE helps, slotted in a non-volatile spot. Rose has a decent X play, but I have DEEOPTT from my R [38]. Still unfazed, Rose drops AZOTH for 44, and I come back with AACGIOU to an L [39]. I glance at my clock. 24:04. Nice. I take a quick breather before slapping down EIINRRS through the P [40]. Four bingos in six turns sorta makes up for the last two games. Of course, this game isn't quite over. Rose's well-scoring plays leading up to ?AFHINT [41] for 95 kept her quite involved, but I had just enough firepower to stave off the threat. 432-385. [I'd like to interrupt this post to point out that I'm well aware of my inability to maintain tense from one sentence to the next. If you've made it this far, you've probably forgiven me.] Game 13 against Dominic Grillo: JADING right off the bat sucked for me, but my JACKY eased the pain. Solve some E issues but allow his ORGeATS in doing so, and I'm close but not quite there. I'm trying to score/balance, but he's doing the same and seems to be doing a better job. In the meantime, the board's getting unfriendly to the trailing player. Halfway thru, I have sole ownership of esses, and play off a single H forming HOD in an area that opens real estate but is difficult for Dominic to interfere with. Of course, the sevens weren't happening, and before too long I'm forced to kill my spot with a 36-pt QUINS. That's when Dominic throws down ?AIINTV to a G [42]. I'm holding a relevant AIOPRST [43], but neither it nor its 8-letter friends will play, so this flight takes off without me. 335-415. Game 14 against Howie Greenspan: Howie opens with MOLLIE. BEIIOUU, eh? Six, please. I get EFGILOS. The A's obvious, but I'd love a G right here [44]. Neither resource is available, so I regroup. Soon enough I have an easy DENOTES, which of course allows Howie's ?ABDRST through one of my E's [45]. More double-I nonsense forces HIN for 26, forming SH, and Howie's eyes bug out of his head. He slaps down EEGINOR through the two [46]. He has XU for 46, I have QUERIED with nowhere to go. Then he's got ?AEMSTT starting with a vowel [46]. Make a cute setup with the case S, and this time it works -- CDERSTU [47]. I pull crap but Howie gives me good scoring spots for it, so I manage to close the gap and make another lopsided game look good on paper. 400-426. Game 15 against David Koenig: Now it's my turn for revenge. Hold EIMORTZ to open and have to think for a bit. I don't like Kibbitzer's recommendation, but my PC doesn't like 100-ply sims on opening racks, so I'll give it a whirl when I have 6 hours to spare. Briefly considered MOZ# before remembering Koenig isn't an idiot. Went with ZIT. Shrug. Play proceeds with some decent scoring on my part, although not of the bingo variety. Dave strikes first on turn 9 with ?ABEISU through an L [48]. We exchange decent scores, with his being a little bigger, and suddenly we're locked at 281. I've got ?AEGIMO. Survey the board. There's a C, five spaces, and an R. Amazingly, I quickly spot what I'd have if my G were a D [49]. Resisting the ~ 1 in 5 chance of fishing for a D (or S) was easier than I'd thought. All that's available is a play through a different R for 62 [50]. Dave doesn't know it. Holds for a while, studies his tracking, and decides to challenge. It's good. I pull EENQOOO. Gee, I wonder if that last U is in the bag. I manage to find perhaps the worst possible play at the position -- not only missing my only spot to play off the Q, but blocking it! How I win games at all is a mystery. Fortunately, I have a big enough lead and a decent endgame sequence to keep the spread respectable. 391-345. --- So that's Piscataway. I came in hoping to win 9, maybe 10 games, but had to settle for 7. I played rather well in some of my losses, and -- all moderately humorous self-deprecation aside -- flat out deserved to lose a few games I won, so 7 wins was probably about right. I have a lot of work ahead of me if I want to stick around in these expert divisions over the long-term, but hey, I'm 26 years old; I have a LOT of time to figure out how to play this game. No rush. On to the goodies: [1] INCREASE. [2] CENTIARES or NECTARIES were playable here. [3] DEBuNKED. [4] ANTIfUR. [5] MIGRATES was the only playable bingo of the four. [6] TAWDRIER. [7] ADULaTED. [8] SPEWING. [9] AEROLITES. [10] COpILOT. OOLITiC would've been cool, but didn't play. [11] URALItE was played. [12] VOCALiZE. [13] RATIFIED. [14] INSUlATE is all that starts with I here. [15] REPeALs was played. Several others are possible here, like PARLIES#. [16] GROTtOs was played; TROGOnS and GOSpORT are the others. [17] MILIEUS. [18] ENTERING. [19] RETYInG is the only bingo here. [20] GARTERs and RUDERAL. [21] AROINTS and ALLODIuM. [22] OESTRONE. [23] CILIATES. SILICATE didn't play. [24] MILDENs. Also possible: MELDINg, MIDLiNE, MINgLED. [25] WAVeLET. [26] ANIMUSES. [27] ASSUMING, making an ass out of me only. [28] PELOrIA was played; OEdIPAL and OPALInE are the others. [29] LATEXES. [30] sAGGARED. [31] bIGARADE was the only one that fit. [32] OUTLEtS was played; "Out comes...", right? Hyuck. [33] OFTENER, in a spot where the front hook wouldn't be happening. [34] AVArICES was played, thankfully, instead of the higher scoring CAVIArES. [35] GENOISES. [36] METeORIC. [37] ORAToRS. [38] REPOTTED. Wasn't 100% sure of POTTERED, but it's good, and a better play here. [39] GUAIACOL. [40] INSPIRER. [41] HAFTINg. uNFAITH is good too. [42] aVIATING. [43] AIRPOST. 8s abound, some of which are less obvious than AIRPORTS. [44] FOLIAGES of course, but I actually saw SOLFEGGI first. [45] BREASTeD, instead of its anagram DEBATERS. [46] RESHOEING. [47] CRUSTED. Could've also played CRUDEST. [48] SUItABLE was played. Also: AUDIbLES, bISEXUAL, IsSUABLE. [49] COADMIREs! Or COADMIREd. [50] ARMIGErO.