As originally posted to the crossword-games-pro (CGP) mailing list.
From: jac@doe.carleton.ca (James A. Cherry)
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 18:43:03 -0500 (EST)
Subject: WSC97 final, game 1
Message-id: <199711242343.XAA03073@paraguay.doe.carleton.ca>
Here's my annotation of the first game of the 1997 World (English Language) Scrabble Championship finals between Matt Graham and Joel Sherman. I've sent it to cgp and the SOWPODS mailing list only; please feel free to forward it elsewhere of interest.
Matt: Turn 1 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o -> Matt AFINSTU 0 ----------------------------- Joel DIJLNRZ 0 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " " - | 8d FUSTIAN +76 76 3| - ' ' - | 4|' - ' - '| Matt might choose FAUNIST#, FIAUNTS#, or 5| - - | INFAUST#, but FUSTIAN turns out best in 6| " " " " | 2000 1-move sims. It's 0.6 better than 7| ' ' ' ' | FAUNIST#, 0.8 better than INFAUST#, and 8|= ' - ' =| 1.4 better than FIAUNTS#. 9| ' ' ' ' | 10| " " " " | 11| - - | 12|' - ' - '| 13| - ' ' - | 14| - " " - | 15|= ' = ' =| ----------------------------- Joel: Turn 1 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Matt ??HMOTW 78 ----------------------------- -> Joel DIJLNRZ 0 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " " - | j5 DJIN$ +28 28 3| - ' ' - | 4|' - ' - '| DJINN j5 (29) is preferable, but in sim, 5| - - | DJIN$ 7b (27) is the clear winner, coming 6| " " " " | out 4.4 over DJINN j5 and 5.1 over DJIN$ 7| ' ' ' ' | j5. 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| 9| ' ' ' ' | 10| " " " " | 11| - - | 12|' - ' - '| 13| - ' ' - | 14| - " " - | 15|= ' = ' =| ----------------------------- Matt: Turn 2 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o -> Matt ??HMOTW 78 ----------------------------- Joel ADILNRZ 28 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " " - | f6 MiSTHrOW$ +78 156 3| - ' ' - | 4|' - ' - '| A nice find with those letters. Plays 5| - D - | that score the same are WarMOUTH$ e3 and 6| " " J " | MOsTWHaT# f6, while HAWkMOTh$ i7 (82) 7| ' ' ' I ' | does four points better. WARMOUTH$ wins 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| slightly in simulation, 0.8 over 9| ' ' ' ' | HAWKMOTH$ (which opens row 15), 1.1 over 10| " " " " | MISTHROW$, and 1.9 over MOSTWHAT#. 11| - - | 12|' - ' - '| 13| - ' ' - | 14| - " " - | 15|= ' = ' =| ----------------------------- Joel: Turn 2 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Matt CLNNRRW 156 ----------------------------- -> Joel ADILNRZ 28 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " " - | k2 ZILA# +32 60 3| - ' ' - | 4|' - ' - '| When down by two bingos, ZILA# is 5| - D - | reasonable to keep the board very open 6| " M J " | for comebacks. In simulation, FRAZIL 7| ' i ' ' I ' | d8 (36) turns out to be 2.5 better, and 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| ALDRIN 14a (35) is about 1.0 better too, 9| ' T ' ' ' | but board openness is important. DARZI# 10| " H " " | k1 (36) and DRAIN 14b (33) fare slightly 11| - r - | worse than ZILA#. 12|' - O ' - '| 13| - W ' ' - | 14| - " " - | 15|= ' = ' =| ----------------------------- Matt: Turn 3 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o -> Matt CLNNRRW 156 ----------------------------- Joel ACDNORT 60 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " " Z - | 12d CROWN +22 178 3| - ' ' I - | 4|' - ' L - '| Best. 5| - D A | 6| " M J " | 7| ' i ' ' I ' | 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| 9| ' T ' ' ' | 10| " H " " | 11| - r - | 12|' - O ' - '| 13| - W ' ' - | 14| - " " - | 15|= ' = ' =| ----------------------------- Joel: Turn 3 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Matt DEHLNPR 178 ----------------------------- -> Joel ACDNORT 60 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " " Z - | h2 TORNADIC +62 122 3| - ' ' I - | 4|' - ' L - '| TORNADIC 3e (63) is one point more, but 5| - D A | again, Joel needs the board to be open if 6| " M J " | he wants to win. The h2 placement gives 7| ' i ' ' I ' | him more to play through. 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| 9| ' T ' ' ' | 10| " H " " | 11| - r - | 12|' C R O W N - '| 13| - W ' ' - | 14| - " " - | 15|= ' = ' =| ----------------------------- Matt: Turn 4 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o -> Matt DEHLNPR 178 ----------------------------- Joel EEIIOPU 122 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " T " Z - | 3c NEPHROL* +28 178 3| - ' O ' I - | 4|' - R L - '| Matt played a phony which was challenged 5| - N D A | off. Legitimate plays worth considering 6| " M A J " | are DELPH# e2 (29), PH# e5 (21), and 7| ' i ' D ' I ' | PHEW 13c (33). DELPH# wins in sim by 2.0 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| over PH# and 5.1 over PHEW. 9| ' T ' C ' ' | 10| " H " " | 11| - r - | 12|' C R O W N - '| 13| - W ' ' - | 14| - " " - | 15|= ' = ' =| ----------------------------- Joel: Turn 4 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Matt DEHLNPR 178 ----------------------------- -> Joel EEIIOPU 122 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " T " Z - | g8 TIE +15 137 3| - ' O ' I - | 4|' - R L - '| Normal strategy might say POI g3 (19) is 5| - N D A | best here, but keeping bingo lines open 6| " M A J " | is still necessary for Joel. In sim, 7| ' i ' D ' I ' | POI wins over other reasonable candidates 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| LOUIE$ 4k (12) by 2.6, LOIPE# 4k (16) by 9| ' T ' C ' ' | 4.0, and TIE g8 (15) by 4.8. 10| " H " " | 11| - r - | 12|' C R O W N - '| 13| - W ' ' - | 14| - " " - | 15|= ' = ' =| ----------------------------- Matt: Turn 5 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o -> Matt DEHLNPR 178 ----------------------------- Joel EIOPRUV 137 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " T " Z - | e5 PH# +21 199 3| - ' O ' I - | 4|' - R L - '| DELPH# e2 is still the best play, and PH# 5| - N D A | is still second best. 6| " M A J " | 7| ' i ' D ' I ' | 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| 9| ' T I C ' ' | 10| " H E " " | 11| - r - | 12|' C R O W N - '| 13| - W ' ' - | 14| - " " - | 15|= ' = ' =| ----------------------------- Joel: Turn 5 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Matt DELLNRT 199 ----------------------------- -> Joel EIOPRUV 137 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " T " Z - | h12 NOUP# +18 155 3| - ' O ' I - | 4|' - R L - '| Only PERVIOUS, PREVIOUS, and VIPEROUS 5| P N D A | would bingo with that rack. I see Joel's 6| " H M A J " | rationale for NOUP# keeping the nice 7| ' i ' D ' I ' | EIRV, but that gives up too many points 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| compared to alternatives. The top sim 9| ' T I C ' ' | move is TOUZIER# 2h (36), 1.5 over 10| " H E " " | POOVIER# 3g (32), 2.8 over VIREO d1 (28), 11| - r - | 6.1 over ENVOI h11 (24), 7.2 over NOUP#, 12|' C R O W N - '| and 10.0 over PIVOT 2d. Better to take 13| - W ' ' - | 36 for TOUZIER# keeping PV, given how 14| - " " - | many vowels there are still to come. 15|= ' = ' =| ----------------------------- Matt: Turn 6 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o -> Matt DELLNRT 199 ----------------------------- Joel AEIKQRV 155 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " T " Z - | 3f TROLLIED +22 221 3| - ' O ' I - | 4|' - R L - '| A nice find, though 1.4 worse in sim than 5| P N D A | DOLLIER# 3g (22). Again, with so many 6| " H M A J " | vowels to come, NT is a better keep than 7| ' i ' D ' I ' | L. Turnover slightly favors TROLLIED: 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| when ahead, Matt wants to end the game 9| ' T I C ' ' | quickly, and a six-tile play does better 10| " H E " " | than a five-tile play. 11| - r - | 12|' C R O W N - '| 13| - W ' O ' - | 14| - " U " - | 15|= ' P ' =| ----------------------------- Joel: Turn 6 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Matt EGGNSST 221 ----------------------------- -> Joel AEIKQRV 155 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " T " Z - | 14g QUAKIER +30 185 3| - T R O L L I E D | 4|' - R L - '| A reasonable choice. QI# 7c (26) sims 5| P N D A | 2.6 better, but AEKRV doesn't do much 6| " H M A J " | for getting back into the game with a 7| ' i ' D ' I ' | bingo. QUAKE, QUAVER, QUIVER, and 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| QUAKER are all 2 to 5 points worse than 9| ' T I C ' ' | QUAKIER. 10| " H E " " | 11| - r - | 12|' C R O W N - '| 13| - W ' O ' - | 14| - " U " - | 15|= ' P ' =| ----------------------------- Number of bingos in AEIKQRV: 0 Matt: Turn 7 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o -> Matt EGGNSST 221 ----------------------------- Joel ELNORVY 185 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " T " Z - | 15l TEGG# +26 247 3| - T R O L L I E D | 4|' - R L - '| Damn that infernal Joel, blocking 5| P N D A | SNUGGEST 14f (83)! TEGG# is the best 6| " H M A J " | play that remains. 7| ' i ' D ' I ' | 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| 9| ' T I C ' ' | 10| " H E " " | 11| - r - | 12|' C R O W N - '| 13| - W ' O ' - | 14| - " Q U A K I E R - | 15|= ' P ' =| ----------------------------- Joel: Turn 7 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Matt EEINSSU 247 ----------------------------- -> Joel ELNORVY 185 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " T " Z - | 13l LEVO +23 208 3| - T R O L L I E D | 4|' - R L - '| I can't say I agree with this play. 5| P N D A | Joel might as well play VERY 13l (32) in 6| " H M A J " | the same spot, score more points, and 7| ' i ' D ' I ' | ditch the unhelpful Y. In sim, it turns 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| out LEVY 13l (29) is better (NOR vs. LNO 9| ' T I C ' ' | keep), beating out VERY by 2.3, VON by 10| " H E " " | 5.0, VOL by 6.0, and LEVO by 7.3, all in 11| - r - | the same place. 12|' C R O W N - '| 13| - W ' O ' - | 14| - " Q U A K I E R - | 15|= ' P T E G G| ----------------------------- Matt: Turn 8 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o -> Matt EEINSSU 247 ----------------------------- Joel ANORXYY 208 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " T " Z - | 2k ZEES +31 278 3| - T R O L L I E D | 4|' - R L - '| It happens that ZEIN 2k (31) wins in sim, 5| P N D A | though it would take a gutsy player to do 6| " H M A J " | this with an S unseen. TICES# 9f (24) is 7| ' i ' D ' I ' | a close second by 0.6, ZEINS 2k (33) is 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| 1.1 worse, and ZEES is 2.9 worse. ZEES 9| ' T I C ' ' | shuts down the top corner of the board 10| " H E " " | nicely and puts Matt up by 70, leaving 11| - r - | only l5 for Joel's bingos. 12|' C R O W N - '| 13| - W ' O ' L E V O| 14| - " Q U A K I E R - | 15|= ' P T E G G| ----------------------------- Joel: Turn 8 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Matt AEGINSU 278 ----------------------------- -> Joel ANORXYY 208 1|= ' = ' =| 2| - " T " Z E E S | 1m NOX# +36 244 3| - T R O L L I E D | 4|' - R L - '| Best, despite the wretched YY keep. It 5| P N D A | beats NOY# 1m (24) by 4.7 in simulation. 6| " H M A J " | 7| ' i ' D ' I ' | 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| 9| ' T I C ' ' | 10| " H E " " | 11| - r - | 12|' C R O W N - '| 13| - W ' O ' L E V O| 14| - " Q U A K I E R - | 15|= ' P T E G G| ----------------------------- Matt: Turn 9 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o -> Matt AEGINSU 278 ----------------------------- Joel AAIORYY 244 1|= ' = ' N O X| 2| - " T " Z E E S | l5 GUINEAS +64 342 3| - T R O L L I E D | 4|' - R L - '| Best. 5| P N D A | 6| " H M A J " | 7| ' i ' D ' I ' | 8|= F U S T I A N ' =| 9| ' T I C ' ' | 10| " H E " " | 11| - r - | 12|' C R O W N - '| 13| - W ' O ' L E V O| 14| - " Q U A K I E R - | 15|= ' P T E G G| ----------------------------- Joel: Turn 9 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Matt EEEINOS 342 ----------------------------- -> Joel AAIORYY 244 1|= ' = ' N O X| 2| - " T " Z E E S | k10 YAY +27 271 3| - T R O L L I E D | 4|' - R L - '| It's very hard to see anything better for 5| P N D A G | Joel; he almost surely can't win this 6| " H M A J U " | game. 7| ' i ' D ' I I ' | 8|= F U S T I A N N =| 9| ' T I C ' E ' | 10| " H E " A " | 11| - r - S | 12|' C R O W N - '| 13| - W ' O ' L E V O| 14| - " Q U A K I E R - | 15|= ' P T E G G| ----------------------------- Matt: Turn 10 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o -> Matt EEEINOS 342 ----------------------------- Joel AFIORRV 271 1|= ' = ' N O X| 2| - " T " Z E E S | i8 AEONS +24 366 3| - T R O L L I E D | 4|' - R L - '| ENOKI j11 (17) might have been my play, 5| P N D A G | though AEONS surely isn't bad. Unseen 6| " H M A J U " | are AAAEIIOOU BBDFMRRTV, so keeping EES 7| ' i ' D ' I I ' | after ENOKI is better than EEI. 8|= F U S T I A N N =| 9| ' T I C ' E ' | 10| " H E " Y A " | 11| - r A S | 12|' C R O W N Y - '| 13| - W ' O ' L E V O| 14| - " Q U A K I E R - | 15|= ' P T E G G| ----------------------------- Joel: Turn 10 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Matt ABEEIIU 366 ----------------------------- -> Joel AFIORRV 271 1|= ' = ' N O X| 2| - " T " Z E E S | 8l NOVA +21 292 3| - T R O L L I E D | 4|' - R L - '| Unseen: AAEEEIIOU BBDMT Bag: AEO BDMT 5| P N D A G | If Joel plays ORF# m5 (27) keeping AIRV, 6| " H M A J U " | his hopes rest on drawing BEE to get 7| ' i ' D ' I I ' | BREVIATE# 2b (88). His actual play 8|= F U S T I A N N =| might let him have AIRFRAME o3 (64) or 9| ' T I C E E ' | BIRDFARM$ o3 (67), though Matt will 10| " H E O " Y A " | surely block... 11| - r N A S | 12|' C R O W N S Y - '| 13| - W ' O ' L E V O| 14| - " Q U A K I E R - | 15|= ' P T E G G| ----------------------------- Matt: Turn 11 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o -> Matt ABEEIIU 366 ----------------------------- Joel DFIMRRT 292 1|= ' = ' N O X| 2| - " T " Z E E S | n6 BIVIA# +18 384 3| - T R O L L I E D | 4|' - R L - '| ...which he does nicely. This seals the 5| P N D A G | game. 6| " H M A J U " | 7| ' i ' D ' I I ' | 8|= F U S T I A N N O V A| 9| ' T I C E E ' | 10| " H E O " Y A " | 11| - r N A S | 12|' C R O W N S Y - '| 13| - W ' O ' L E V O| 14| - " Q U A K I E R - | 15|= ' P T E G G| ----------------------------- Joel: Turn 11 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Matt ABEEEOU 384 ----------------------------- -> Joel DFIMRRT 292 1|= ' = ' N O X| 2| - " T " Z E E S | 15e DRIPT +21 313 3| - T R O L L I E D | 4|' - R L - '| Best. 5| P N D A G | 6| " H M A J U B | 7| ' i ' D ' I I ' I | 8|= F U S T I A N N O V A| 9| ' T I C E E ' I | 10| " H E O " Y A A | 11| - r N A S | 12|' C R O W N S Y - '| 13| - W ' O ' L E V O| 14| - " Q U A K I E R - | 15|= ' P T E G G| ----------------------------- Matt: Turn 12 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o -> Matt ABEEEOU 384 ----------------------------- Joel FMR 313 1|= ' = ' N O X| 2| - " T " Z E E S | 2d BEAUT +15 399 3| - T R O L L I E D | 4|' - R L - '| Interestingly, if Matt plays EE# o10 (4), 5| P N D A G | Joel gets stuck with the M, after IF 7n 6| " H M A J U B | and URB 6l. However, Matt was in time 7| ' i ' D ' I I ' I | trouble, so he played BEAUT. If he wants 8|= F U S T I A N N O V A| to go out in two, ABCEE# d10 (9) leaves 9| ' T I C E E ' I | him unblockable EURO g1 (8). 10| " H E O " Y A A | 11| - r N A S | 12|' C R O W N S Y - '| 13| - W ' O ' L E V O| 14| - " Q U A K I E R - | 15|= ' D R I P T T E G G| ----------------------------- Joel: Turn 12 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Matt EEO 399 ----------------------------- -> Joel FMR 313 1|= ' = ' N O X| 2| - B E A U T " Z E E S | 9l EMIR +18 331 3| - T R O L L I E D | 4|' - R L - '| Best. 5| P N D A G | 6| " H M A J U B | 7| ' i ' D ' I I ' I | 8|= F U S T I A N N O V A| 9| ' T I C E E ' I | 10| " H E O " Y A A | 11| - r N A S | 12|' C R O W N S Y - '| 13| - W ' O ' L E V O| 14| - " Q U A K I E R - | 15|= ' D R I P T T E G G| ----------------------------- Matt: Turn 13 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o -> Matt EEO 399 ----------------------------- Joel F 331 1|= ' = ' N O X| 2| - B E A U T " Z E E S | d2 BEE +10 409 3| - T R O L L I E D | 4|' - R L - '| Best. 5| P N D A G | 6| " H M A J U B | 7| ' i ' D ' I I ' I | 8|= F U S T I A N N O V A| 9| ' T I C E E M I R| 10| " H E O " Y A A | 11| - r N A S | 12|' C R O W N S Y - '| 13| - W ' O ' L E V O| 14| - " Q U A K I E R - | 15|= ' D R I P T T E G G| ----------------------------- Joel: Turn 13 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Matt O 409 ----------------------------- -> Joel F 331 1|= ' = ' N O X| 2| - B E A U T " Z E E S | o7 FAR +11 342 3| - E T R O L L I E D | (O) +2 344 4|' E R L - '| (time penalty) -10 334 5| P N D A G | 6| " H M A J U B | Final score: Matt 409, Joel 334 7| ' i ' D ' I I ' I | 8|= F U S T I A N N O V A| Matt received 95.0% efficiency from DDBot 9| ' T I C E E M I R| this game, and Joel got 86.6%, though it 10| " H E O " Y A A | missed the point of several of his plays. 11| - r N A S | 12|' C R O W N S Y - '| 13| - W ' O ' L E V O| 14| - " Q U A K I E R - | 15|= ' D R I P T T E G G| -----------------------------
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