Quiz - Top 20 Toughies (16,000)

Elise is a new Scrabble programme that has impressed even the inventors of Quackle and received many compliments from the wider Scrabble playing community. I'm busy downloading the 160MB application and will let you know how it plays.

Meantime, I've fallen behind in my studies but nevertheless, I'm forging ahead bravely. If you're in for a challenge, check out these words from the probability group 15,000 to 16,000. I missed them all. And then I missed them again. And again. If you get even 1 correct I will be impressed.

1) AAHIKOR
2) AAGKORT
3) AHINTUU
4) ACDIMOO
5) CDEKNOR
6) AAEIMMT
7) AACLNST
8) AEEKMNS
9) ALLOSTU
10) AAEGPRR
11) AAEGMTT
12) CEGIRRS
13) ACISTTU
14) EEHLLOT
15) EEEMSTU
16) ACOOPRT
17) ACCINOT
18) ACIILSU
19) DEEGRSW
20) ACFINOV

Killer Quiz - Top 20 Toughies (14,000)

I found these words horrendously difficult from the probability group 13,000 to 14,000. Hope you enjoy the quiz.

1) EHILOSS
2) AILSSTU
3) ABHIOSU
4) AAGIRSW
5) AEHKOOR
6) CILOOST
7) AILMOSY
8) CCEEIOR
9) EEGGIRS
10) BEIOSSU
11) BINOOSU
12) AEHNSWU
13) AELPRUY
14) BINORWU
15) HIOORSU
16) HIMORST
17) DEIMRSY
18) DEIMOSS
19) ADILMOP
20) AMNOPTU

Quiz - Top 20 Toughies (13,000)

In the probability group 12,000 - 13,000, my top 20 toughies in order of increasing difficulty are:

1) DDEEILS
2) EEILSSU
3) ABCENOW
4) AEHMOPT
5) AHIORSS
6) BCEHIOT
7) ABGNOOR
8) EGNNOOS
9) ACDENNU
10) ACIOSST
11)  ABDDEIL
12) AELRRSW
13) BDEERSU
14) AILLNOP
15) IIOSTUV
16) ABCEORV
17) CDIIORS
18) EGLNOOV
19) AHIIRTW
20) ABEEGRR

128 days to go

Have not been playing. Studying my ass off for SCT. Determined to get a top 30 result! Covered 15,000 bonus words since May. I started from scratch (from OTARINE onwards). It's depressing to see how much I've forgotten over time. I forget about 2%/month. So I've been looking at long-term memory techniques but that slows me down so I'm behind schedule. Need to do top 20,000 7s and 8s, all 3s, 4s and 5s in the next 128 days.

The US National Champs was won for the 4th time by Nigel Richards who narrowly beat Komol. The Collins Section was won by John O'Laughlin (inventor of Quackle). Great website thanks to John Chew. I downloaded some games. The standard is high but it's encouraging to see even the champs making mitakes.

I love Michael Thelen, inventor of Zyzzyva who brought us the meanings. It makes such a difference knowing the definitions. It has changed study from brute force rote memorisation to an interesting read. The abridged defitions can be humorous at times like "exciton" [n] the combination of an excited electron and a hole. That had me in stictches for days.

Pop quiz hotshot: find all 27 words with STEAMER+1. Hint: STEAMER goes with "MAGICKING HAPPILY INTO HOGWARTS"

Masters Quiz

I missed these words. Some of them were game changers. See how many you can get.

AADIQS;   AAHLLO;   AAHMS;   ABDLNS;   ACDEHIX;   ACEEOR;   ACGNOU;   ACINNT;   ADEHJLOT;   ADEHNPTU;   ADEHNRTU;   ADEHPSTU;   ADENR;   ADIILNSTW;   ADIILNSW;   AEEGNN;   AFHIOS;   AGINT;   AIKNS;   BDII;   CDEHIR;   CEIOPRTU;   DEEFGIRT;   DEFGIOOW;   DEOPU;   EEIILORS;   EFGIU;   EFINX;   EGIKLN;   EGILNRUY;   EGIMNRUY;   EIMPU;   EINT;   FIINX;   ILOR

Gauteng Masters 9 - Trevor

Going into the final game Trevor had already won the tourney with a game to spare. I was playing for second, competing against Steven. Trevor has had a good run against me of late and I was hoping that it was over. How wrong I was! I have seldom seen him play so well.

Trev opened with REtUNED for 64. I held EGIOOW? and missed GOODWIFE for 96. Instead I played WOODIER (40). From move 4-8 Trevor played NARASES (87), HETAIRAI (72), VINY (57), TOUCH (30) and CALIX (76). The best I could manage was ZINEB for 70. As my rack matured into a bonus, Trevor played diagonally to destroy the whole board and I was left watching my own execution as if somehow separated from my body. Dylan 324 vs Trev 554. Trevor was the deserving winner of the Gauteng Masters. Steven was a worthy runner up and I came in 3^rd which was lucky because I forgot my wallet at home and needed the prize money to pay for parking. Howard made a great return to form by coming 4^th. Clearly I have a lot of work to do before WSC. 3 of my losses may have ended differently if I had known/seen certain words.

Gauteng Masters 8 - Harry

With an opening rack of AHJLOOV I managed to find the best play, OVAL, which simmed 3 points better than HAJ. Harry took an early lead with TOLLY and DIATRONS. I missed JOLTHEAD (suspected it but wasn't sure) but came back with UNHATTED and never looked back. I played the nonword UNEARING, inferring it from UNEARED and luckily it remained on the board. Harry played SOSATIE and I responded with ROSACEA. Holding DIILNW? I missed a 9-letter bonus through A and S. I felt like a real WILI when I checked the answer afterwards. Final score Dylan 526 vs Harry 357. 5-3

Gauteng Masters 7 - Ros

Please don’t tell Ros that I played a nonword (JANNIE) on the first move of what was possibly one of her worst nightmares this tourney. We were equal after 3 turns but my next 4 moves were PASHA (60), AROUSED (64), OTARIES (81) and GLEAMERS (89) while Ros had to change 5 tiles. Her highest score the whole game was 50 for HEX. I was happy with CLINK on move 8 (which Quackle did not even suggest) as it gave me a 99,9% chance of winning. In desperation Ros used her blank for VIADUCT (26) and  I rubbed salt into her wounds by playing out with RETINOID through it. Final score Dylan 556 vs Ros 331. 4-3