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#character-encoding UTF-8
#player1 JB Julia Bogle
#player2 JJB John J. Bulten
>JB: AGINRVY 8H GRAVY +32 32
#note 1:02 [23:58] (varying 8d 86 +54.8) JB has won only one game so far in two days, and she knows the question of how much the tiles are to blame has had mixed answers (as analysis has agreed). After consideration, she opens this game by taking the most points without a bingo (vying is slightly better leave), but shortly after making the standard-looking play notes to herself that she has missed a simple enough bingo. (This creates an immediate opportunity to practice attitude adjustment, at which her success may be indicated by her later bingo-finding skills.) JB is to be complimented for supplying her racks for analysis, as they have been instructive in some exciting play tactics.
>JJB: EEIMNRT H1 METERIN. +86 86
#note 0:52 [24:08] JJB also draws a natural 86-point -ing bingo. What poetic evenness!
>JB: BEEHINN G2 BEN +15 47
#note 0:46 [23:12] (henbit 3c 24 +8.8) Early in the game, the doubles are still good for turnover and win chances: henbit is almost common enough, while theine and hyenine both score 26 while retaining the B. JB's leave is superior to these but can be improved on with bine in the same place; still a sacrifice of points, though.
>JJB: ACGLSTX J7 C.LX +29 115
#note 0:50 [23:18] The only triple X is not hard to find, 10.5 ahead of galax j7 and the rest.
>JB: EHILNRT I2 EH +24 71
#note 2:11 [21:01] (eth i1 29 +4.7) Fruitlessly searching for alternatives to hotliner, JB takes the right approach of valuing score over fishing prospects, and her leave is better than eth 29, but again the points are better with the longer overlap (eth) and slightly inferior leave. Available doubles that also rate well include thinly (best leave of ER +3.9), ethinyl, lither/bene, ither/xi, hinter/bene, and yirth. An even better leave, though, if bingo is the biggest consideration, would be beth/bel 2g (EILNR +9.8, EHINRT +21.4).
>JJB: AEFFGST 5C GAFFE. +32 147
#note 0:34 [22:44] Conscious of time, JJB recalculates the score at 23:10 then quickly puts down another easy play.
>JB: ILNRRST D3 TR.IN +10 81
#note 0:22 [20:39] (lar d4 6 +6.2) Now an excessive amount of similarly valued plays appear, and JB knows not to obsess over selecting among them. It would take a very trained intuition indeed to recognize that lar 6 will get the best static value with INRST hands-down the best leave, worth +20.5. JB's leave LRS is +10.3, though it can be slightly improved to NRS +11.4 (trail/trial), and then again by hitting the double with the common ratlin/trinal (RS +11.9).
>JJB: AEERSTU C7 AUSTERE +71 218
#note 1:07 [21:37]
>JB: DILLORS L4 DOIL. +18 99
#note 0:31 [20:08] (droll 14b 24 +2.8) Time for hooking austerer (droll/drill). Dolly/dilly retain a vowel and are better leave than lordly/drolly.
>JJB: CIKMOPV K3 COMP +35 253
#note 3:50 [17:47] (vim k3 27 +1.7) JJB cannot score any spelling of mikva (at least 3 singulars and 6 plurals) but seizes on the best premium, which JB just graciously made available. He takes a big leave sacrifice for the points, though, and could have maintained a positive leave of CKOP by scoring vim in lieu of his play.
>JB: ADINRSU 14A DURIANS +78 177
#note 0:18 [19:50] JB uses JJB's time wisely and knows this bingo cold, possibly even saving the hook for this opportunity. Time to begin recovering from a 154-point deficit.
>JJB: IKNOTVW 12A WO.K +30 283
#note ~3:47 [~14:00] Now the standard quadruple line makes the best score/leave combination easy again, over alternatives like vrow with positive leave.
>JB: AABDPSW M3 DAW +26 203
#note 1:04 [18:46] (wab m3 27 +8.4) JB elects to keep both B and P in the leave, possibly a hasty oversight because many alternatives in this column do not (starting with wab/s, paw/s, bawd/s, wasp, wap/s). Here the S usually scores 7 points more and using it is often superior (e.g. daws 33).
>JJB: ?INTTUV K10 UNIT +17 300
#note ~1:27 [12:33] (ut k10 13 +2.6) With JJB pulling the first blank and feeling assured of victory, many waiting plays are acceptable here, even including vitrain 14. He writes down, but rules out, gravying* 42, way behind on leave even if valid.
>JB: AABEEPS 14J BEEPS +35 238
#note 0:33 [18:13] (abuse 8a 31 +3.3) While the sextuple is often indicated for S usage, double-A is such an infertile leave that even pease 31 is better. But the S can also be used effectively in row 8 (abuse/pause), and JB also invites 15l risk. Yet, in general, most of the quibbles raised are over minor considerations rather than serious stylistic omissions.
>JJB: ?HNOOTV A8 NOHO. +33 333
#note 1:25 [11:08] (hoot 15l 48 +16.2) JJB makes a more serious error by not analyzing responses to JB, when he could get the rare nonuple value for the H with hoot 48. His elegant play is second, not shabby but a big missed opportunity.
>JB: AAILLOQ C2 QI +26 264
#note 1:15 [16:58] (qat 13i 26 +4.3) JB takes her time now, beginning by putting down aalii but rightly noting how terrible the leave is (laari and aioli are better). Doubling the Q is indicated, and she gets the same value as qat/ab but without undoubling the A.
>JJB: ?EGIRTV F8 RiVETI.G +69 402
#note 1:56 [9:12] (riveting 12f 80 +11) JJB takes the obligatory extra minute looking for additional bingos, of which there are a few, but somehow he does not straighten the two Is into riveting 12f 80.
>JB: AAILLOS 15F .OAL +17 281
#note 0:31 [16:27] (aioli 13e 12 +.1) JB's play is almost equal to the improved score of aioli at 13e. Still lacking the blank, her rare simulation wins are only found by desperation moves: power play in N/O (e.g. ollas, salols, alias); nonuple (e.g. lias 7l 5); or exchange (e.g. to I or O). Besides the necessary bingo, her hopes are that J and Z fall well for her.
>JJB: ADEIJTY 12H JAD.TE +44 446
#note 3:31 [5:41] JJB mars his game by convincing himself of another phony, unnecessarily (jadeite doesn't play; bad leave is only 3.7 ahead of jape m12). While padding spread points is a conscious practice of some players and can unconsciously tempt others, it should only be considered (if ever) when one's opponent is both fully expert in Scrabble norms and fully attentive in the moment without being distracted by game considerations: that is, a player not immediately alert to the possibility of phonying should not be phonied against intentionally. JB surely qualifies as an expert, and her qualification as undistracted may be judged by her response.
>JB: ?AILOSZ N10 ZAS +47 328
#note [13:46] (challenge, zoa n1 27 +87.9; challenge, zas n2 32 +29) JB adopts the excellent Northeastern strategy of turning around and pluralizing the phony to great effect. This certainly outpoints JJB on the immediate turn (by 3), but if one were certain of a challenge one could outpoint much more directly. Most important, the challenge gives her one more bingo chance with a fertile rack (acceptance doesn't), and acceptance only gives her an easy outplay against a difficult opponent rack, not enough to win. JJB's tactical error has allowed JB to challenge and then play the setup zip or zap m12 28, meaning she might find an unblocked 7 ending with A to win the game, which in Quackle's play gives odds around 20% all of a sudden.
>JJB: AEIOUY O8 YEA +29 475
#note 0:39 [5:02] (challenge, oi 15n 8, zine m9 22, yet 13i 25, sola n6 17+4 +35) If he doesn't challenge for his own part, JJB should still run for points, given JB's two outplays at n5 and 15l. His two best both influence her response value: yeti 29 lessens row 15, but incompletely so, allowing soil 18+6, net of 5 to JJB; and yea 29 allows loin 21+6 (increasing silo also to 18), net of 2. But of course challenging is better, even though with all six vowels JJB cannot form any out in two. JB's best out is to cash sloid 15k 30 with 23/25 in slots for za (total up to 55), so JJB must interfere with this if possible. JB's next best outs involve n1 but give much setup to JJB in column O, so JJB has some leeway there too. If JJB tries yeti 29, JB can still reply with soil 26 and hold zas or equivalent as essentially unblockable. JJB's best pair appears to be to block with oi 15n 8 (15m also works), threatening yet 13i 25. JB's outs are then reduced to zine 22 for which sola 17+4 (or 15+4) is not worth blocking. Thus oi nets -10 to JJB, plus the 47 gained by challenging, to total +37 (compared to +2 for yea after accepting the phony).
>JB: ?ILO 15L LIOn +21 349
#note 0:26 [13:20]
>JB: (IOU) +6 355
#note Both players had a chance to challenge a misspelling of jadeite to advantage, and didn't. However, JB had more missed opportunities, starting with a missed bingo and ending with a chance to bingo by challenging, while JJB made more optimal plays and primarily missed the use of row 15 premiums in addition to not challenging when needed. Tiles were even enough, but JJB got more synergy and JB got her blank very late. Known points available: JB 29, JJB 46. Overall points available: JJB 66.5, JB 180.8.
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