Strategy Medium
exch GNOQ +0
NC: Exch. NOQ I'm a dumbass. I saw the floating G and I thought "I don't need the G" but I can play 5F bingos ending in ING by keeping it #STRATEGYMEDIUM #VISIONSADDER
Nitya Chagti vs. Noah Slatkoff (Game 40846)
Vision Large
15G TELIA +25
Quackle burns the S for an extra 5 points with STELAI. I'm not sure why that is. Another superior play is OILCLOTH 8A, which I never would have seen. I'd find it as a bingo every time, but not as an extension. (-2% win chances, -10 valuation) #strategysmall, #visionlarge
Carl Johnson vs. Josh Sokol (Game 34480)
Knowledge Large
13L HAT(E) +31
I did not know 11D TACHIST(E). Funny thing is, I can substitute the T with an M for TACHISME, which has 3 anagrams. This is the best nonbingo play, but still, #knowledgelarge.
Bryan Richgruber vs. Samuel Kaplan (Game 56391)
Finding Small
11D VAIRS +31
This isn't bad, and I think this is fine to do over PAVIS to save scoring power. But 11H SPIV restricts Dustin's options more for the long haul and sets up my other S nicely which is not going to be easy for Dustin to block. I like that better. #findingsmall
Dustin Dean vs. Samuel Kaplan (Game 56683)
Strategy Large
J1 OF(T) +14
E4 FEO(D) is obviously best but we've already established that i dont know COWHEEL. i saw D11 (H)OUF but thought it was too easy to overlap/kill the S hook, but didnt take into account that i need to keep scoring/can bingo elsewhere #knowledgesaddest #strategysaddest
Nitya Chagti vs. Foster Tom (Game 60899)
Finding Small
C7 T(A)V +21
Playing through is better than exchanging, as much as it sucks that I could not pick a vowel. I think I had the right idea if I wanted to take away a key scoring spot and block the L. However, I also think that LAV is better than TAV since I have a more synergystic leave. But the play that sims the best is 2C TR(O)MM(E)L, which I did not know, and I might have even done that if I knew it and saw it. #findingsmall
Samuel Kaplan vs. Kevin Fraley (Game 56618)
Vision Medium
G8 (ZA)S +21
I correctly determined that this would be 2 more spread points than 11F DID, but I did miss I5 (A)D(ON)IS which is tricky to spot and is several spread points better than ZAS. #visionmedium
Samuel Kaplan vs. Samuel Moch (Game 60050)
Strategy Medium
G2 AUE +11
N6 EAU sims pretty well for something that's so scary. I like 9G A(R)EA. I guess with the former I set up my M and with the latter I score some points. Thinking this might be a #strategysadder
Nitya Chagti vs. Sanya Adebola (Game 58979)
Finding Large
I3 ZEE +27
10J S(L)EAZE is the play that was missed. That's definitely worth it. And even so, 11J Z(O)EAE gets rid of another vowel to improve my leave quite a bit. #findinglarge
Samuel Kaplan vs. Mark Miller (Game 59843)
Finding Small
J6 HO(L)E +21
I forgot if HAOLE was expurgated or not, so I didn't play that. Either way, I would play J7 O(L)EA in a do-over and save a much better leave of AEHS both for bingoing and for scoring potential. #findingsmall
Samuel Kaplan vs. Mark Miller (Game 59843)
Strategy Small
N6 XU +27
For only 7 more points, C12 EAUX just felt too reckless. I do keep better, but there's still too many things Paul could hit. A simulation actually does prefer C12 EAU setting up my X since I could hit 15A COX on my next turn. In addition, Paul actually averages the same after XU vs EAU. I should have given more thought to doing EAU despite the X not being very good immediately. #strategysmall
Paul Avrin vs. Samuel Kaplan (Game 58411)
Strategy Large
11B B(AN)GED +20
If I play 11B B(AN)GED, I can't leave O or L in the bag (provided Ben plays N2 WAX(IER)). After WAXIER, B(AN)GED still has a 60% shot. BUT even after drawing the L or O, B(AN)GED loses to perfect play. Ben has one move (from his POV) that wins 100% of the time: 11I UNRID because it goes out with every draw from the bag. So blocking doesn't work here.
If I assume Ben sees:
-11I UNRID but not INSURED (or doesn't see either), 11B B(AN)G or V(AN)G are probably OK since UNRID only works because it guarantees an out for him next turn and CDEVN is pretty good for the bag (by playing 2 instead of 4, I might get first-mover advantage in the endgame). Buuuut OBANG is a thing and it doesn't look entirely blockable. So my opponent would have to assume I'm setting up an O that I don't actually have (and a 2/5 shot is not incredible). My opponent is probably forced to find INSURED then.
-INSURED but not UNRID, then B(AN)GED might be OK? It would still lose to something like 11I SURED, but would win as long as he draws the U if he plays UNRED/URNED/RUNED.
-both INSURED *and* UNRID, then V(A)C maximizes my chances of drawing a bingo (there's 6/10 draws that work, which is the same shot as B(AN)GED as long as WAX(IER) is played). BUT, Ben's likely playing 11G INSURED for 72, so BONDAGE and BANDAGE (70) tie; BUNGLED, BLUNGED and BANGLED (69) lose by 1; and DOGBANE loses by 2.
Instead, if I play 2G B(A)NG keeping CDEV, I can sometimes draw into 11F COUVADE and 11G ALCOVED (or B5 ALCOVED and B5 COUVADE depending on where he plays).
V(A)NG draws into BECLOUD or CODABLE, but BECLOUD only fits on the B column and CODABLE goes in both spots, so Ben might play INSURED on the B column to block BECLOUD if I draw it.
B(A)NG might just be my best bet so #strategysaddest
Ben Thompson vs. Nitya Chagti (Game 53562)
Strategy Large
B12 OO(F) +9
OOF is right. at least i didnt throw away a win by missing 10G E(M)OTICON. i saw N10 COOTI(E) but thought i could still make up spread if i bingoed next turn #findingsaddest #strategysaddest
Nitya Chagti vs. Mohammad Sulaiman (Game 61557)
Finding Medium
F2 CORN +14
I only thought of the SCORN hook and not the ACORN hook, which is why this move sucks. I'm not in a very good spot with this board shape either way, but a better way to open a 2nd area of the board is to play 12I CO(R)NEL. And no, I was not trying to give Cedar Rapids a shoutout. That's the site of the 2026 SPC. #findingmedium
Jay Levin vs. Samuel Kaplan (Game 61353)
Knowledge Large
M1 D(O)NNARtS +0 (Lost challenge)
I knew DONNART meant stupid but i couldnt remember if it was an adjective or a noun (i.e. a stupid person) #knowledgesaddest NORLANDS fits in this same spot
Nitya Chagti vs. Nancy Bowen (Game 58980)
Strategy Small
F2 ZE(P) +34
I did underestimate how good H1 BET(H) is here despite giving up 7 immediately and allowing Dustin a vowel to play through. There is merit to doing that since I can draw into J5 ZETA to keep the board tight and continue to score. Worst case, if Dustin did not improve his rack, I can always respond with 2F ZE(E) on the following turn to block the board even more. It's a couple valuation points back of ZEP. #strategysmall
Dustin Dean vs. Samuel Kaplan (Game 56683)
Tactics Large
15C WINgB(A)TS +63
Absolutely and horribly inexcusable. This is invalid and I held for a while, unable to remember if BATWING or WINGBAT* is valid. I remembered that Reid had a history of knowing a lot of words and I know that I don't know anything at all and eventually accept and make the spread-cutting move but WINGBATS* ISN'T A WORD ASDAFSD
Literally when the only way to lose is to accept a word that looks funny to you, you should probably challenge that word. Guhhhhhh. This is one of many, many times where I show absolutely no faith in my word knoweldge this tournament.
#knowledgesaddest #tacticssaddest (idk if I can tag two things but I'll try)
Reid Hattaway vs. Matt Canik (Game 32971)
Finding Large
13F SOUtANE +63
1st key miss this game. I completely missed the SPAVIN hook, but I also had a 3x3 of A8 SUbO(C)EAN, which Mack immediately found after the game. If I'm going to miss the SPAVIN hook and the 3x3, at least spot N7 ApO(L)UNES. He dodged a bullet, didn't he? #findinglarge
Samuel Kaplan vs. Mack Meller (Game 60593)
Strategy Unspecified
K11 FEZ +40
XED in the same spot seems like the play according to the initial valuation. I think the situation dictates that I play FEZ over XED since there are fewer Ts left than Os for Zach to reparallel on Column L. Zach averages about the same whereas I will average several more- I hope Zach makes a play at L12 with an A so that I can hit him back with my X. #strategysolid
Samuel Kaplan vs. Zachary Ansell (Game 56655)
Strategy Large
12K JAR(K) +30
shit the pool is wayyyy too bingo-friendly for me to leave the SPEW hook open. i just figured i get to bingo/play for a lot on the triple if SPEW bingos do come down. #strategysaddest
Foster Tom vs. Nitya Chagti (Game 60900)
Strategy Small
7F HOP +25
He just fished off two tiles, so I'm too chicken to do C11 TOUGH, but maybe F12 PUG could be okay to set up my H (provided I don't think he has an S). Though, even if he has an S, it has to hit just right, so it's probably not too dangerous. #strategysad Also, this play was miscounted as 27
Robert Linn vs. Nitya Chagti (Game 59593)
Knowledge Small
8B RAMTILS +74
Sterling, April 2026, Round 6. I wasn't 100% sure of 8D MISTRAL but if I knew how much worse 8B RAMTILS was (~4 points) maybe I would have played it. #knowledgesad
Joshua Castellano vs. Rob Robinsky (Game 59506)
Strategy Large
11B TI +6
I'm supposed to shoot for my own bingo here. The only way I lose is if he bingos and I don't. I can't close the lanes here. Something like 8M AI(R) is nice because EISTT works really well with the floating A, T, and O (even though I draw into a lot of 7s with AEIST) in the scenarios where my opponent plays SCOG. Even with the worst possible draw (CW), I sitll get SC(A)WTITE #strategysaddest
Chris Ten Den vs. Nitya Chagti (Game 59605)
Endgame Large
10I AF(T)ER +16
Thankfully Wes went overtime by less than a minute. I didn't see E2 (WO)OF but I was nervous I was going to miss out bingoes through the T. Neither one of us knew that AFTER took an S, and while this is a winning play since N7 CHAsTEN would not quite score enough after accounting for my remaining tiles, Wes actually had no playable bingoes before I played AFTER. Therefore, WOOF really should have been the play! #endgamelarge
Wes Eddings vs. Samuel Kaplan (Game 56814)
Strategy Small
11G COXES +45
EXED much better, fewer points, but blocks Wendy's best chance at winning COXES making LORDINGS also good, didn't know that was valid. #endgameSAD #knowledgeSAD #strategySAD
Wendy McGrath vs. Danielle Barker (Game 35343)
Strategy Small
5G ANU(R)A +10
It appears that exchanging does sim ahead of my play and G9 (F)AUNAE, which I was not a fan of. I'd probably exchange down to EN if I had to do this over again. #strategysmall
Samuel Kaplan vs. Marlon Hill (Game 56972)
Strategy Small
15G TELIA +25
Quackle burns the S for an extra 5 points with STELAI. I'm not sure why that is. Another superior play is OILCLOTH 8A, which I never would have seen. I'd find it as a bingo every time, but not as an extension. (-2% win chances, -10 valuation) #strategysmall, #visionlarge
Carl Johnson vs. Josh Sokol (Game 34480)
Finding Medium
8A DE(B) +18
The idea here was for me to save my C to eventually score with the COHO hook, which is why I didn't want to part ways with it. The best equity plays are 1J CEE, which I passed up since I saw significant value for the C, and 3L DEE, which I passed up since I didn't want to give Brendan free points with Column O plays. Quackle doesn't seem to mind parting ways with the D since I already have an open D with BOXED. The play I needed to spot was 13B LE(ER)ED for 18. It cleans up the rack better, gets rid of the D, and also sets up another scoring area on the bottom of the board in case Brendan set up Row 2 plays for himself underneath MEOW. DEB is a small to medium sized mistake. #findingmedium
Brendan McClanahan vs. Samuel Kaplan (Game 60260)
Strategy Large
exch AAIOOY +0
i knew the Y was useful on this board but i got tunnel-visioned on bingoing. i gotta just take 10D AIA for 16 and fish for 8H (EVER)YONE #strategysaddest
Samson Okosagah vs. Nitya Chagti (Game 61563)
Knowledge Large
I8 (E)NFITTED +0 (Lost challenge)
ok you know what? im still baffled that this is not a common english word. i dont even feel like this should be a #knowledgesaddest because clearly this is just a twilight zone moment
Nitya Chagti vs. Melissa Routzahn (Game 58972)
Strategy Small
4L FOY +32
i saw D# VI(LI)FY and then convinced myself you need two Ls to spell it. N12 D(IVI) does slightly better than FOY, probably because having 3 Is is something that only Odysseus dreams of (if you know, you know) #strategysad
Joe Roberdeau vs. Nitya Chagti (Game 58976)
Finding Large
K8 D(E)RO +17
this Barbie decided to check out instead of generating K7 OV(E)RDO or K6 LIV(E)DO in this position. B9 (C)ORVID is best tho. #findingSADDeST
Nitya Chagti vs. Shan Abbasi (Game 60921)
Knowledge Large
C5 DWEE(B)ING +0 (Lost challenge)
this will be the last time I confuse WEEDBED and BEDEWED for BEDEWED and DWEEBED* and BEDEWING and BEWINGED for BEDEWING and DWEEBING* (I hope) #knowledgelarge
Joshua Sokol vs. Kenji Matsumoto (Game 33137)
Tactics Small
exch EIOQ +0
This was a very interesting turn. Sim slightly prefers exchanging town to OT and/or exchanging down to ET to this -- I felt like keeping an O was necessary, and given the makeup of the bag, I wanted to keep an E for vowel/consonant balance. #tacticssmall
Eric Goldstein vs. Emmett Brosowsky (Game 57746)
Finding Medium
4L IAMB +29
this is actually a pretty counterproductive play. I need to admit I am at a disadvantage and play FIB 7K. This gives back too many bingos and scoring plays. I am setting up points on row 8, but also on row 4 with TEFF. Cool play that I should have seen. I saw BE(D)IM, which is also a lot better. #findingmedium #strategymedium
Jason Li vs. Joshua Sokol (Game 41484)
Finding Large
E8 (A)DhESION +66
this play was MISDONE, I spent too much time trying to find a bingo through the A of BARKED, panicked and went with the worst possible BINGO.
#findingSADDEST
Danielle Barker vs. Peter Maas (Game 35342)
Finding Medium
6F HU(T) +14
I think I sacrificed too much short-term equity even if I made a board conducive to my S hook. 4G U(P)HOVE is not an easy play to spot and I think that's better to minimize risk. Evan is more unlikely to hit 2x2s from the V after he just picked 6 tiles, and me picking 2 vowels could potentially kill me for several turns. #findingmedium
Samuel Kaplan vs. Evan Chester (Game 55022)