Strategy Small
10L (FE)Z +35
Emptying the bag didn't feel correct. Maybe 5C J(I)Z is better, I dunno, but 10L (FE)Z probably does make it harder for him to go out in 2. I didn't have the patience to wait for the PEG so I dunno what's best. #strategysad
Edgar Odongkara vs. Joshua Castellano (Game 61529)
Finding Large
12B ROQ(U)E +28
missing the huge 14J VERSO #findingsaddest
I didn't see much I was drawing after the Q drop, but reasoned it might still be better than this. Quackle says this is 6 points worse than QI, citing a 24% chance of a bingo, which is way higher than I thought. I missed OVERSHO(T) I1 and OVERSOO(N) G1 in my iteration, and didn't know CROOVES#, and missed ANS# against so didh't think HOOVERS would play. #visionsaddest
Josh Sokol vs. Adam Logan (Game 55713)
Vision Large
14J HE +31
i saw LETHIED, was 98% sure of it and then convinced myself it didnt fit. tried to convince myself later that i didnt wanna open myself up to a trip-trip but magpie has dashed all of my hopes and dreams ##sadgirlhours #visionsaddest
Nitya Chagti vs. Elise Bickford (Game 60903)
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 Medium
13J (FOR)GET +20
This play was quite sloppy. I didn't see 2J I(N)GLE which undoubles both my E and I. Even 6G GIE is fine if I don't spot INGLE. Did I FORGET how to play Scrabble for a turn? #findingmedium
Samuel Kaplan vs. Robert Desimone Jr (Game 58385)
Finding Large
B10 TOTAL +22
Sheesh, you know DOTAL. What a garbage play this was. I also missed 10I TROD, which I think I like best. Interestingly, TROD loses to TROT in that spot in the sim, and they both lose to TRAT. Keeping the DO for B10? DOTAL wins the sim. #findinglarge
Chris Lipe vs. Bill Rexhausen (Game 35558)
Endgame Large
14A (R)AISE +10
Unfortunately, 1 vowel too many will doom me. I have no wins. I only saw 14A (R)EBATO and missed C3 BOATE(L) for him. If I'm going to miss BOATEL, this play should be 12C OSSIA. #endgamelarge
Evan Chester vs. Samuel Kaplan (Game 56140)
Finding Small
I13 M(I)R +17
This isn't bad equitywise. But it does allow Joel to play 9s ending with -IER that can get him back in the game, namely GROUCHIER. I think a better move that still allows me to retain my only vowel is 9F T(E)N(NE)R for 14. Row 15 bingoes are not as scary as they normally might be since it's hard to end an 8 with -IE and there are no more unseen As, so Joel cannot extend from an E to the bottom right corner. Also, I eliminate 2x2s from the N in LAMINATED. #findingsmall
Samuel Kaplan vs. Joel Sherman (Game 56400)
Endgame Large
B10 FLO(C) +36
I only have two wins: N12 (T)OT and N12 (T)OD, keeping Eric from playing a word hooking MYXOS. Note for future self: play the endgame out for myself to see if it's possible for me to block the worst case scenario #endgamesaddest
Nitya Chagti vs. Erickson Smith (Game 57987)
Vision Small
6E (MA)N +5
I'm correct to play off fewer tiles. But this isn't the right way to do it. Quackle really loves the aggressive play of 7H D(I)N for 7, which sets up my E and T nicely and opens up a 2nd potent bingo line when I am close to something and Joel isn't closing the board down anytime soon. I might have given myself a better chance with DIN instead of MAN. #visionsmall
Samuel Kaplan vs. Joel Sherman (Game 60456)
Strategy Small
5C FEW +32
It's close between this and 5C WIFE. I think it's fine to keep a vowel normally, but there's also 7 more Is to draw, so that's why it sims a little ahead of few. #strategysmall
Mark Abadi vs. Samuel Kaplan (Game 60987)
Strategy Unspecified
K5 JEST +51
10G JoSTLED was tempting at first, but I'm very happy to spot this play. Passing up the bingo is the way to go here and was one of my best strategic decisions this tournament. I unfortunately cannot give Rafi Stern, who I just met at nationals, a shoutout with his infamous AAT* phony that he accepted with K5 JET saving my S. #strategysolid
Evan Chester vs. Samuel Kaplan (Game 56140)
Strategy Large
A10 VU(M) +8
thought for what felt like an hour, didnt know A7 VISCU(M) and didnt generate A8 LOCU(M). even B9 VIC(I)OUS (which i saw) is better than my play #knowledgesaddest #strategysaddest
Adam Logan vs. Nitya Chagti (Game 61559)
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)
Tactics Small
6E MONO +11
saw 7H NO(G) but hated the leave. saw H2 KON(D)O but didnt stop to consider that, given that it scores as much as MONO, i should probably play it. silly billy mode activated, i say. can i call this a decision paralysis mistake? #tacticssad
Rob Robinsky vs. Nitya Chagti (Game 59494)
Strategy Small
7I HOOD +29
HOOD isn't terrible. I will say that an improvement is to play 7H OHO. Keeping the D actually provides nice stability in my leave to reduce the toxicity of the IJ combo and OHO also does a better job of setting up my J. #strategysmall
Frank Tangredi vs. Samuel Kaplan (Game 61287)
Vision Large
12B ROQ(U)E +28
missing the huge 14J VERSO #findingsaddest
I didn't see much I was drawing after the Q drop, but reasoned it might still be better than this. Quackle says this is 6 points worse than QI, citing a 24% chance of a bingo, which is way higher than I thought. I missed OVERSHO(T) I1 and OVERSOO(N) G1 in my iteration, and didn't know CROOVES#, and missed ANS# against so didh't think HOOVERS would play. #visionsaddest
Josh Sokol vs. Adam Logan (Game 55713)
Strategy Large
L2 TOON +16
I couldn't accept how sad all my options were and I tanked for a while then gave up and made this sad play. 15D ROAN(S) is best followed by plays at 1H starting with the P. #strategysaddest
Samson Okosagah vs. Joshua Castellano (Game 59501)
Strategy Large
exch AIIY +0
(exch AIIIRY) is better even if it bingos less because i draw into J plays on column D and through the K on row 12. It also goes for the blanks more aggressively. #strategysaddest
Foster Tom vs. Nitya Chagti (Game 60900)
Strategy Large
5C P(I)EZ(O) +32
My best sequence is 8A ESP(Y) -> 2F U(T) -> 6B ZE(N) -> 14H (R)EEL but I wasted all of my time trying to find some Z setup or an out in 2. #strategysaddest #timesaddest
Daniel Blake vs. Joshua Castellano (Game 59305)
Knowledge Large
12D AXE +0 (Lost challenge)
big miss, ANNEXES, surprisingly I get a chance to play ANNEXES a little later too.
don't know why I thoughty ADA was good.
#findingSADDEST #knowledgeSADDEST
Danielle Barker vs. Wayne Clifford (Game 33586)
Knowledge Large
G2 HEST +26
I put down CRAVATS and SHTETL, saw that it gave back WAI, and then did HEST instead. #knowledgesaddest for CRAVATE this entire game #timesaddest for this entire game
Matthew O\'Connor vs. Nitya Chagti (Game 57984)
Tactics Small
N7 HAE +22
14B HIREE is best here according to sim. I just didn't want to give eric free points for overlaps, especially with such a dead board. I think I correctly deduced that playing QI (for equity) is wrong because it murders the board and leaves me in a 30-point hole that will be impossible to climb out of. #tacticssad
Eric Goldstein vs. Emmett Brosowsky (Game 57746)
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)
Vision Medium
12B GOATEE +19
Sucks that K11 QAT got blocked. I would call this a mistake- yes, it is the right idea to turn over more tiles in the hopes of improving the Q. I should have played GOATEE at 10B for only 1 less point so that I potentially give myself 2 spots to dump the Q next turn if needed, in this case 11A QI and 12E QAT. It also blocks the O in DUOMI better, and that's why 10B GOATEE sims better than my play. #visionmedium
Joel Sherman vs. Samuel Kaplan (Game 60511)