Results after game 18
Results after game 23
CHANNEL NEWSASIA WSM99 -- MASTERS
Rank Player Wins Mar
--------------------------------
1 Andrew Fisher UK 17 1248
2 Naween Fernando LK 17 874
3 Paul Cleary AU 17 775
4 Pakorn Nemitrman TH 16 1036
5 Joel Sherman US 15 1072
6 Mark Nyman UK 15 1068
7 Harshan Lamabadu LK 15 1038
8 Steve Polatnick US 15 680
9 David Webb UK 15 496
10 Gerry Carter TH 15 483
11 Odette Rio PH 15 134
12 Nigel Richards NZ 14 1170
13 Charnwit Sukhumr TH 14 663
14 Manop Phipatboon TH 14 578
15 Howard Warner NZ 14 557
16 A Ganesh MY 14 506
17 Tawano Rabong PH 14 294
18 Phil Appleby UK 14 193
19 Tan Jin Chor MY 14 -180
20 Bob Jackman AU 13 1164
21 Terry Kirk UK 13 590
22 Joe Edley US 13 552
23 Renante Abellano PH 13 516
24 Ricardo Gonzalez PH 13 419
25 Femi Awowade NG 13 357
26 Darryl Francis UK 13 236
27 Brian Sugar UK 13 222
28 Amnuay Ploysangn TH 13 -4
29 Alex Tan MY 13 -17
30 Dean Saldanhna UA 13 -30
31 Joan Rosenthal AU 13 -67
32 Kong Chock Heng MY 13 -302
33 Taewan Suthasila TH 13 -393
34 Thong Liew Kee SG 12 550
35 Evan Simpson UK 12 454
36 Ricky Purnomo ID 12 390
37 John Holgate AU 12 335
38 Thavachai Tivava TH 12 286
39 Trevor Halsall AU 12 212
40 Mario Miranda PH 12 164
41 Michael Tang SG 12 121
42 Esther Perrins AU 12 109
43 John Lam MY 12 90
44 Antonio Malonzo PH 12 -14
45 Ismail Kassim SG 12 -66
46 Austin Tan K H SG 12 -348
47 Tengku Asri MY 12 -481
48 Krishna Kumar MY 12 -483
49 David Ng SG 12 -564
50 Pui Cheng Wui MY 11 729
51 Jakkrit Klaphajo TH 11 282
52 Natthagrit Keska TH 11 229
53 Cheah Siu Hean SG 11 196
54 Roland Filio BH 11 67
55 Gan Cher Siong SG 11 61
56 Azmil Aziz MY 11 35
57 Tolani Awojobi NG 11 5
58 Sam Kantimathi US 11 -15
59 Tan Tiam Chai SG 11 -206
60 Chim Wai Main MY 11 -278
61 Jasmi Zainal SG 11 -295
62 Emy Yap MY 11 -364
63 Mauricio Polinar PH 11 -520
64 Leon Rethual MY 11 -569
65 Mohan Chunkath IN 10 380
66 Tony Sim SG 10 210
67 Joe Muhd SG 10 135
68 Jocelyn Lor MY 10 75
69 Jessie Lim SG 10 -79
70 Gerardo Onate PH 10 -89
71 Quek Sim Ho SG 10 -94
72 Norbert Saldanha UA 10 -208
73 Joanne Craig AU 10 -233
74 Santi Cherdchaid TH 10 -234
75 Rod Talbot AU 10 -299
76 Alan Chua SG 10 -450
77 Liz Jackman AU 10 -474
78 Douglas Reyes SG 10 -789
79 Kenneth Lim SG 10 -1085
80 Fidelis Olotu NG 9 120
81 Eugene Goh SG 9 -56
82 Richard Andabwa KY 9 -319
83 Mohd Ali Ismail MY 9 -323
84 John Tan MY 9 -442
85 Aloysious Conzag SG 9 -477
86 Tan Kiat Ann SG 9 -599
87 Dylan Sharma SG 9 -756
88 Mohd Saleh Yusof SG 9 -776
89 M Ganapathy SG 9 -962
90 Sarah Law SG 9 -1405
91 Mohd Salahudin MY 8 -473
92 Zamri Majid MY 8 -597
93 Leonard Wong MY 8 -641
94 Rahul Goswamy SG 8 -1053
95 Philip Tan SG 7 -573
96 Irene Lim MY 7 -1003
97 Goh Soo Hang SG 6 -409
98 Wong Soon Lee SG 3 -2062
HIGH GAME: Brian Sugar UK 686
HIGH WORD: David Webb 190
"WILDFIRE"
I came into the tournament with about 5 months of moderate word study but couldn't really get going during the last couple of weeks.
Coming into the tournament itself, I was a bit overawed by some of the big names taking part but then I realised that as per the last WSC, I was about the 5th seed & the butterflies settled a bit.
As most of the others have already mentioned, the tournament playing conditions were probably as good as I've ever seen (not that I've been around that much though!). Here are my experiences from DAY 1:
Going into my first game against Mark Nyman, I was glad that I hadn't lost much sleep the previous night (when the draw for the first round had been done). Mark bingoed* first with TAIVERT and then I countered with HUNKIEST onto the last T. I wasn't sure about adding a "C" onto my bingo, but Mark confirmed it was good. Mark then went into a late game lead with SOUNDMAN and I was lucky to get ROSOLIO onto a "J" Mark had opened. Having almost messed up the endgame after a false move of PEESE*, I ran away by 21 points.
Second up was Leon Wong from Malaysia, The game didn't really get started until I got down EPIGONUS, then two more bingos of BIASEDLY and CORDIAL wrapped up a comfortable victory by about 200+. (Sorry about the approximations, but I'm sending this from my college computer & I forgot to bring the scoresheets!)
Third game was against Phil Appleby. He played the impressive ENTRALL which I challenged. Phil then put down SEALINE/ENTRALLS* (phoney) which I didn't challenge. A late bonus of SHANTEY, and a few lucky picks towards the end swung the game in my favour by about 60 pts.
4th Game was against, Amnuay Ploysangnam from Thailand. Half way into the game, I was sitting with WHOObuB, but couldn't find a place (yes 2 blanks!) Having dropped a blank for about 42 points, I got into a lead with DIATRIBE and managed to hang on to it to win the game.
I was sitting pretty having all four so far & then it was crunch time against Joe Edley. Joe started off with GNARLIER and I replied with CARPETED. Things were going pretty close until I made the fatal error of not challenged WOXES*. He then put down MURLIEST and despite a late bingo of IRENICON, I lost by 11.
6th game was against another American, Steve Polatnick. I had two early bonuses (can't remember what!), but then Steve played a couple of high scoring moves including DORTIEST & BLUSTERY in his winning repertoire. Again I failed to challenge the phoney MERCED* & went down by about 80 points.
At this point I was getting a bit worried about my challenging. 7th game was yet another American, Sam Kantimathi. After 5 moves he was leading 169 to my 16. GESTATE & a couple of high scoring moves kept a bonus behind throughout. An endgame error on his part, enabled me to get down EYELInER & scrape home again by about 13 points.
8th up was my countryman Harshan. An early bingo of ORIGANE & followed by another by Harshan kept me behind most of the way, until two late bingos DAFTARS & MOREENS helped me snatch away another close game.
9th Game & last for the day was the "rising star" from Malaysia, Ganesh. An opening bingo followed by DEGRADES, SAKERET & another helped me to pull of a big victory despite Ganesh's SERENITY & GAZEBOS (40 pts). Ganesh has a lot of potential & is a player to watch for the future.
I finished off at 7-2 on the first day & was lying in 4th place with Pakorn, Fisher & Cleary just ahead on 8 wins.
First game against Pakorn who was going great guns. I managed FINICKy on my opening move & after some thought Pakorn let it go. (It's good). Pakorn had STRAYING & REEChOES. I then had ORALIST & despite a late bingo from Pakorn I went on to win 495-421.
Game 11 was Paul Cleary. STARCHED, HUItAINS & UNGORGED & ZEX for 71 won me 465-391. Cleary managed CAROTID.
Next up was the man from Philippines, Mr Rabong. This was a major game with ShOUTeD, DUSTING, READMIT & another to Rabong, while I managed REVOICES, DEBONERS, another bingo & the phoney QUOYLE. I won 552-463.
I was sitting pretty on 10-2, but then came the World Champion, Mr Sherman. His SHIRKED, BIRAMOUS, JUVENAL & ESSONITE effectively put an end to my 6 game winning streak and I went down 302-520.
I then had a tight game with Evan Simpson from UK. He started with POWERING , then I blundered with XANTRAs. Luckily he didn't block the opening & followed up with ANThRAX. Some good picks in the end helped me squeeze 377-375
I had a great game with Brian Sugar with TENURIAL, MINSTREL, CIRCLING, INTUITS & PSHAWED. Brian couldn't really do much & I ended up 545- 303.
Next up was another Brit, David Webb. David had MELANOS & YESTREEN. I managed DIETISTS. A late try of AGRAPHICA wasn't good & I went down 354- 397.
Then came the man I was to meet in the finals, Andrew Fisher. Andrew started well with PERSONA & followed up later on with SOAPERS, but some good picks again in the late game with ENTErED & IKeBANA won me 453-399.
Day 3 & I was facing the Asia Pacific Champion Gerald Carter. This was a very high scoring game. I started off with VaNPOoL & followed up with HAWK/KHET - 67, AGRISED - 96 & TOTITIVE - 77. Gerry managed INSECTS -79, RAINIEST - 66, QUA - 67, DETOX - 88 but I pulled off an exciting game 593- 457.
Game 19 and I was facing Pakorn again. I started off well with ERUPTION & OUTAGEs but Pakorn came back with IRENICAL & SYNDETIC. I carelessly challenged IRENICAL & then the brilliant ASYNDETIC. A late bingo of TOASTIE in the end swung the game in my favor 509-501.
Game 20 was against Paul Cleary with whom I shared 4 games in the tournament. I managed ISOTROPY, Paul had RATIONED, but my phoney of EGGMEN went unchallenged and that was the decider as I won 475-394.
Sitting on 16 wins, the butterflies were beginning to creep in. Facing Mr Cleary again on Table 1, we had a great game. Paul started off with the impressive FIBROIN, followed by CRASHER - 115, RETURNIK - 63 & GRANTERS - 83. I managed SPONGID-84, CRASHERS/POTS-70+ & DERATES for 74. Final score 546-489 in Cleary's favor.
Round 22 & surprise, surprise, it was me and Mr Cleary again. In a very tight end game, I managed to secure an important victory despite Paul early bonus & then JELUTONG. I made JELUTONGS/HYPES for 102.
Round 23 & almost assured a place in the finals, I was playing Andrew again. I got hammered by 130 in a blocked game after my AGONIST & Andrew's MASCLED. Luckily for me Paul had beaten Mark by only 4 pts so I ended up doing battle with Andrew again.
The finals of course are history. I thought that Paul Cleary & Pakorn did extremely well sitting at the top tables through out the tournament, just missed out during the later stages.But then Andrew had won his last 6 games of the tournament which showed great poise & temperament. And as for Andrew Fisher, not only is he a great player but also a great Sportsman.
The following morning in the sultry heat, I toured the colonial buildings (cricket club, parliament etc) and enjoyed a cruise on an imperial junk in the harbour together with David Webb. We ended up with a Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel (also expensive, like much in Singapore). That evening was the registration and get-together - we were given a generous selection of gifts, including a handsome crystal globe paperweight and snazzy calculator. I also chatted with Australia's Dr Wilma Vialle, the tournament director, for the first time. She would run the event extremely well, with good humour but very firm and decisive control (hope to see her in action in Melbourne).
The games began on the Friday, and I was paired with Singapore's Douglas Reyes. This proved to be a nerve-calming opener which I won by 216 thanks to WOOLENS and SINICISE. Curiously, I managed an identical spread against David Webb in round 2, including THEORBO and a 100-point VOMITOS among my four bonuses (I caught myself referring to bingos a few times). After a narrow defeat of NZ's Howard Warner, I had an error-strewn game with Pakorn. Not only did I refuse UNBUSTED, I tried the phoney SAUCERED which eventually came off after Pakorn had thought about it for a while. Later on, I made an incorrect challenge of FRIZER, but didn't dare challenge his bogus follow-up move of VIGNON. I then played the erroneous VIMENS which went unchallenged as well. Pakorn emptied the bag, but inadvertently left a tile lurking in the corner which confused both of us for a while. He ran out the winner by 86.
I then had a reasonably easy win over UAE's Dean Saldanha, and was paired with "the bingo king", Ganesh of Malaysia. I foolishly let him get away with NEEDABLE (although I could score 50 in reply) - I need to work on my penalty challenge technique. However, he challenged me on ALVINE and then LEPTONIC and I ended up the winner. Next, I defeated Brian Sugar with the help of three bingos in a row (STAPLED, AGGRACED, AMATIONS), and then had a narrow victory over the dangerous Joe Edley. My final game of the day was a win over Mark Nyman, thanks to PAISLEY and an outplay involving pASHM for 41.
This put me on top of the pile, and I felt optimistic about the following day's play.
Inevitably, my run of luck deserted me, and I suffered successive defeats by Paul Cleary (he scored a nice DETACHING for 102 with a rack of ACDEGHT), Tawano Rabong (the tournament's ray of sunshine awardee), Phil Appleby and Steve Polatnick. This didn't really affect my outlook - you have to bounce back and forget that the tiles/skills were against you for a while. I was able to defeat Tony Sim, and was then paired with Darryl Francis whom I beat with a pickup of OOGENIES straight after GEOMANTS. The charming Tan Jin Chor was my next opponent, and I got away with the phony TICKETER although I challenged off his attempt to pluralise it. Won by about 200 to set up my first meeting with Naween. After we had both changed, I went down with PERSONA and picked up DEHIRTY - I could see DITHERY in several places, as well as THYREOID around the O, but Naween bloced everything with his play of OOZING across the top (his rack leave was M!). Ultimately he won the game with a pick of iKEBANA immediately after ENTErED.
My run of losses had put me down at tenth overall after day two, still with a chance of doing well but a long road ahead if I wanted to make the final.
I think that was the night a group of us went out to Little India for a meal - we ate off outspread banana leaves, and Mark enjoyed a fish-head curry (the head was the size of a dinner plate).
At the start of Sunday's games, I was on 11/6 and lying tenth.
Game 18 against Manop of Thailand turned into one of my best comebacks - he started with three bonuses in four moves, while I had been forced to change on move 2. My play on move 4 of FLETTONS attracted an erroneous challenge, but I was still well adrift until slotting in ELOINER followed by APAY for 54 as Manop himself changed. His racks deteriorated and I was able to take advantage and win by two points (courtesy of the earlier five-point penalty).
After a reasonably routine win over John Lam of Malaysia, I faced Joe Edley again. I was able to win through heavy midgame scoring despite his outplay of URINALS/SODOMIZES.
My next two games were very fortunate - firstly against Phil Appleby, notably with a play of SOLATES involving five other words for 95. I had all the best tiles against Pakorn as well, although I missed both available eights from the rack EEMNOPR?
This sequence of 5 in a row put me back on table one, for the first time since Saturday morning. I was facing Naween again, and basically I had to win it to get to the final. Paul Cleary and Mark Nyman both had chances depending on result/spread, but any victory on my part would suffice.
The game went well, my first bonus of MASCLED putting me 100 ahead. I was fully in control throughout, and was pleased to find the outplay of COEHORN round HO from CENO? which allowed a +130 win.
After six in a row, I was drained and emotionally confused (but only briefly). I had regained my usual composure by the time Naween and I met again in the playing room for the final - so much so, that after game one Mark commented that he was unable to tell from my demeanour whether I had won or lost (there was some confusion over the score in the viewing arena).
I greatly enjoyed the final, which has been extensively mulled over already - thanks to Mark Watkins for a very interesting analysis. Fascinating to note that changing the E was so much better than playing NOETIC as an opener from CEEINOT - I have to say that I never considered that. I have known Naween for a few years now, and I consider him a very worthy champion with fine endgame technique in particular.
I close with thanks to Michael Tang for organising a memorable tournament so efficiently and smoothly, in conjunction with his elegantly-attired boss Woon Tai Ho. We are all looking forward to Singapore 2000 already.