And the New Champion is............Paul Cleary. Well done to Paul for a brilliant come back and winning all 3 of his last KOH, (or to some MOM)..I'm not going to expand that.
Basically the setting was 15 straight games against different opponents and a final 3 KOH for the 60 players that took part. John Holgate had only to win 1 out of his 3 last games after a tremendous early run and a Mammoth Spread. Hats off to Cleary to winning 3 straight games against John and Commisserations to John, Myself and the 58 others...including Mr. Bye of course!
I had a great start to the tournament winning my first 4 but then I began to blunder with plays like "CHAMFER/WHAPE" and "MURTH" hoping my opponent wouldn't challenge....it's actually 10 points if you challenge 2 words and both are good....but I underestimated the Aussie Scrabble Power. Further mistakes included not playing "TROULED" and "UNWARDED" and playing "VELSKOEN" too confidently so that it actually didn't draw a challenge!..lost that one by 1pt..ouch. I simply made too many mistakes to stand a chance really and while Cecilia Ruto topped the Overseas Rankings in 4th place, Paul, Bob Jackman and John Holgate came in 1st 2nd and 3rd.
The tournament again was wonderfully run by Wilma Vialle this time actually baking and serving us Cookies during games. Oh, she is full of surprises and from what I hear she's to be running a big international tournament pretty soon. Surprisingly we managed to get through 10 games on Day One without any difficulty at all although as in any tournament the pressure was on during the last couple of games on Day 2.
There are some very good up and coming players in Australia and I was particularly impressed with a certain Edward Oculicz, (hope I got the name right), an 18 yr old who had only been playing since October '98 and was already plunking down "ECLOGITE" "HIRSTIE" "PRENTICE" and GRECISED" to name a few and not to mention the 15 year old Chris May who put up a good show as well.
Bob Jackman should be posting the full results up shortly. So its off to Melbourne and down to Studies for me.
Report from Graeme Lock Lee
This was a thoroughly enjoyable tournament for me for several reasons:
1) The prestigious venue
2) The international and interstate field of competitors
3) The well-run organization behind the two days of competition
4) The efficient and convivial tournament direction that we have come to
expect from the indefatiguable Wilma.
5) The emergence of a number of future stars in Chris May, Ed Okulicz, Dylan
Sharma and John Spaan.
6) Lastly, my overdue return to the form and luck I enjoyed prior to 1999.
I'd just like to make a few observations for now.
a) The 5 point penalty for challenging each allowable word seemed to be a worthwhile rule. It certainly stopped a lot of frivolous challenges whilst rewarding the players with unusual word knowledge. Not once did any of my opponents use the smallish penalty to successfully bluff their way past me with a false word. Conversely, I certainly gave away around 40 points to players (mainly John Holgate) who played unusual but allowable words that drew a challenge from me. The only time I resented losing the 5 points was when an opponent played the unlikely bingo ENGRACED, collected the 5 extra points on top of its score of 102 and then admitted that it was a hopeful guess. To add insult to injury, he then picked up a blank and an S to score a second bingo to seal up the game.
b) The anticipated "Great Queensland Heist" was in fact realized when every banana bender took home some rating points - a total of 432 points spread amongst their gang of 6. Congratulations to the Northerners - we're looking to rescue some of that plunder when we Southerners come a'marauding at the Queensland and Australian Championships.
c) For we "older" hands, it's good to see so many younger enthusiasts do so well. I agree with Naween who believes it was no fluke. The gossip is that Ed, Dylan and Chris have achieved success through hard work as well as great natural ability. The fifteen-year old Chris May did not get great letters against me but displayed a superior word knowledge and an excellent tactical sense whilst using his tile tracking intelligently. But what impressed me most about him was his even temperament and courteous demeanor - these are the winning characteristics which he shares with Masters like Paul, Bob, John, Joan and Rod that he will now join in tournament play.
I personally, can relate a few "war stories" from this tournament but I'll save them for later. In the meantime, I can't wait for Michael Vnuk's account of the tournament from his and the other Queenslanders' viewpoint. If anyone else has any amusing tales to tell from this tournament (or from other Scrabble happenings) I would be glad to collate them for a publication in the future. Just e-mail them to me at glocklee@hotmail.com and I'll see if I can assemble them into something sensible.
Report from Paul Cleary
Hello to all
Thanks to Naween, Michael and Bob for their earlier posts re this tournament. This is the official report...
59 people contested this year's City of Sydney International Masters at the superb Landmark Park Royal Hotel in Potts Point. We were pleased to welcome Naween Fernando, Cecilia Ruto and Dylan Sharma from overseas, so there was in fact an international flavour to the tournament. Players from all over Australia were in attendance also.
ASPA NSW again decided to put up a first prize of $1,000 for this competition. The structure was a 15 game Swiss pairing (no repeats) followed by 3 rounds of King of the Hill pairings. At the end of the 15th round, John Holgate led the field with 12 wins, followed by Paul Cleary on 10.5 wins and Joan Rosenthal also on 10.5 wins. Paul and John then played the 3 King of the Hill rounds against each other. Paul won all 3 to win the tournament, with Bob Jackman edging past John to get second (and $400) with 13 wins in the final placings. John took third, having the best margin of those players on 12 wins, and got $200 for his troubles- this should cover the $181 speeding fine he copped for trying to get to the tournament on time on Sunday morning : )
Globe-trotter Cecilia Ruto came in 4th and relative new-comer Edward Okulicz grabbed 5th position and a hike of 182 in the ratings. Dylan Sharma also had a nice rise of 137 points in coming 6th. Chris May had a ratings increase of 175 points and continues his meteoric rise.
Joan Rosenthal took high word with THYROIDS for 176, and I thought John Holgate's double double play of FRUITAGES (~TA~) for 102 was one of the best plays of the tournament.
All players are to be congratulated on the spirit in which the tournament was played and a special mention must again go to Wilma Vialle who organised and directed this flawlessly run tournament.
Results after game 18
SYDNEY MASTERS 2000 -- OPEN
Rank Player Wins Mar
---------------------------------
1 Paul Cleary 13.5 1037
2 Bob Jackman 13 895
3 John Holgate 12 1391
4 Cecilia Ruto 12 863
5 Edward Okulicz 12 535
6 Peter Shaw 12 405
7 Dylan Sharma 12 226
8 Joan Rosenthal 11.5 371
9 Naween Fernando 11 946
10 Marie Knight 11 569
11 Trevor Halsall 11 431
12 Graeme Lock Lee 11 353
13 Gloria Gallagher 11 46
14 Joanne Craig 10.5 459
15 Susan MacGillivray 10.5 274
16 Norma Tracey 10.5 -269
17 Esther Perrins 10 670
18 Rod Talbot 10 529
19 Anne Drew 10 225
20 Chris May 10 219
21 Jean McGiffen 10 -45
22 Audrey Newman 10 -132
23 Alison Rae 10 -185
24 John Spaan 10 -312
25 Cheryl Michler 10 -446
26 John Barker 9 499
27 Barbara Berlin 9 324
28 Angie Pearse 9 -52
29 Zina Costanzo 9 -92
30 Judy Hay 9 -164
31 Trish Windhurst 9 -178
32 Sue Gergelifi 9 -195
33 June Stephenson 9 -214
34 Sal Costanzo 9 -221
35 Jan Serisier 9 -343
36 Olga Visser 9 -349
37 Rene Chelton 8 122
38 Kris Logan 8 50
39 Karen Richards 8 33
40 Michael Vnuk 8 -142
41 Ron Baginski 8 -173
42 Louise Kobler 8 -176
43 Jean Noonan 8 -276
44 Gary Pollard 8 -372
45 Dianne Davis 8 -417
46 Margaret Berliner 8 -557
47 Hanne Marks 7.5 -623
48 Ivor Zetler 7 -214
49 Nan Smith 7 -256
50 Ros Gibbons 7 -357
51 Eileen Seaborn 7 -427
52 Jenny Templeton 7 -446
53 Ian Close 7 -448
54 Elizabeth Ho 7 -605
55 Jean Balmer 6 -293
56 Betty Foreman 6 -374
57 Nanette Reynolds 6 -429
58 Gordon Meggs 6 -556
59 Liz Jackman 6 -774
HIGH GAME: John Holgate 602
HIGH WORD: Joan Rosenthal 176
"THYROIDS"
Stats for Tournament : SYDNEY MASTERS 2000
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| state Name | National | State | Wins | Rating Points |
| | Old New | Old New | Exp Act | Old Change New|
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
+Section: *OPEN + + + +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW Paul Cleary | 1 1 | 1 1 | 14.3 13.5 | 1953 -9 1944 |
| NSW Bob Jackman | 3 3 | 2 2 | 13.1 13.0 | 1880 +2 1882 |
| NSW John Holgate | 9 5 | 5 3 | 10.7 12.0 | 1811 +22 1833 |
| OS Cecilia Ruto | 20 9 | 2 1 | 10.5 12.0 | 1754 +49 1803 |
| QLD Edward Okulicz | 130 48 | 3 2 | 4.8 12.0 | 1456 +183
1639 |
| QLD Dylan Sharma | 179 96 | 10 4 | 6.2 12.0 | 1391 +138
1529 |
| NSW Peter Shaw | 22 15 | 10 5 | 10.9 12.0 | 1748 +24 1772 |
| NSW Joan Rosenthal | 18 14 | 8 4 | 11.5 11.5 | 1768 +5 1773 |
| OS Naween Fernando | 16 12 | 1 2 | 11.0 11.0 | 1773 +4 1777 |
| NSW Marie Knight | 59 45 | 14 12 | 9.0 11.0 | 1597 +47 1644 |
| NSW Graeme Lock Lee | 118 70 | 32 18 | 7.4 11.0 | 1487 +75 1562 |
| VIC Trevor Halsall | 5 6 | 3 3 | 12.9 11.0 | 1849 -25 1824 |
| NSW Gloria Gallagher | 149 111 | 38 29 | 7.9 11.0 | 1436 +67 1503 |
| NSW Joanne Craig | 25 38 | 11 11 | 14.4 10.5 | 1741 -72 1669 |
| NSW Susan MacGillivr:act | 214 120 | 53 32 | 4.1 10.5 | 1332 +151
1483 |
| NSW Norma Tracey | 67 53 | 18 13 | 8.7 10.5 | 1578 +39 1617 |
| NSW Esther Perrins | 7 18 | 3 8 | 13.3 10.0 | 1817 -50 1767 |
| NSW Jean McGiffen | 21 28 | 9 10 | 12.0 10.0 | 1748 -36 1712 |
| NSW Rod Talbot | 8 16 | 4 6 | 12.8 10.0 | 1813 -41 1772 |
| QLD Anne Drew | 57 52 | 2 3 | 9.4 10.0 | 1601 +19 1620 |
| NSW Chris May | 203 94 | 50 24 | 5.3 10.0 | 1355 +175
1530 |
| NSW Alison Rae :act | 88 95 | 23 25 | 10.8 10.0 | 1543 -14 1529 |
| NSW John Spaan :act | 201 114 | 49 31 | 4.0 10.0 | 1358 +143
1501 |
| NSW Audrey Newman | 114 83 | 31 22 | 7.9 10.0 | 1497 +47 1544 |
| NSW Cheryl Michler | 141 129 | 36 35 | 9.5 10.0 | 1443 +14 1457 |
| NSW John Barker | 10 23 | 6 9 | 13.4 9.0 | 1803 -65 1738 |
| VIC Barbara Berlin | 14 34 | 7 17 | 14.2 9.0 | 1776 -101
1675 |
| VIC Sal Costanzo | 80 75 | 40 37 | 8.9 9.0 | 1548 +5 1553 |
| VIC Zina Costanzo | 116 123 | 56 55 | 9.7 9.0 | 1489 -9 1480 |
| VIC Angie Pearse | 64 84 | 31 41 | 11.0 9.0 | 1582 -38 1544 |
| NSW Trish Windhurst | 199 154 | 47 42 | 5.8 9.0 | 1366 +65 1431 |
| QLD Olga Visser | 229 208 | 17 14 | 6.7 9.0 | 1301 +46 1347 |
| NSW Judy Hay | 233 215 | 58 53 | 6.7 9.0 | 1291 +46 1337 |
| NSW Sue Gergelifi | 63 90 | 17 23 | 11.3 9.0 | 1584 -44 1540 |
| NSW Jan Serisier | 119 133 | 33 37 | 10.6 9.0 | 1486 -32 1454 |
| NSW June Stephenson | 293 243 | 78 62 | 5.0 9.0 | 1193 +79 1272 |
| SA Karen Richards | 69 98 | 5 6 | 10.8 8.0 | 1575 -52 1523 |
| QLD Michael Vnuk | 136 136 | 4 5 | 7.8 8.0 | 1447 +5 1452 |
| NSW Kris Logan | 157 169 | 40 45 | 8.7 8.0 | 1422 -14 1408 |
| QLD Ron Baginski | 180 184 | 11 11 | 8.0 8.0 | 1389 +1 1390 |
| NSW Rene Chelton | 98 127 | 25 34 | 11.0 8.0 | 1521 -61 1460 |
| NSW Louise Kobler | 95 137 | 24 38 | 12.0 8.0 | 1530 -79 1451 |
| NSW Jean Noonan | 190 186 | 45 48 | 7.6 8.0 | 1377 +7 1384 |
| VIC Dianne Davis | 76 142 | 38 65 | 13.8 8.0 | 1556 -112
1444 |
| NSW Margaret Berliner | 273 239 | 72 61 | 5.0 8.0 | 1221 +59 1280 |
| NSW Gary Pollard | 237 212 | 60 52 | 5.4 8.0 | 1286 +53 1339 |
| NSW Hanne Marks | 200 196 | 48 49 | 7.0 7.5 | 1362 +12 1374 |
| VIC Nan Smith | 115 126 | 55 58 | 8.2 7.0 | 1489 -21 1468 |
| NSW Ivor Zetler | 30 66 | 12 17 | 14.1 7.0 | 1717 -140
1577 |
| NSW Ros Gibbons | 188 203 | 44 51 | 8.0 7.0 | 1378 -20 1358 |
| NSW Ian Close | 111 152 | 30 40 | 10.4 7.0 | 1503 -69 1434 |
| SA Eileen Seaborn | 228 228 | 17 17 | 6.9 7.0 | 1304 +1 1305 |
| NSW Jenny Templeton | 267 252 | 69 64 | 5.3 7.0 | 1229 +34 1263 |
| NSW Elizabeth Ho | 272 267 | 71 72 | 6.4 7.0 | 1224 +13 1237 |
| NSW Jean Balmer | 285 261 | 76 69 | 3.7 6.0 | 1199 +46 1245 |
| NSW Gordon Meggs | 211 233 | 51 59 | 8.1 6.0 | 1338 -42 1296 |
| NSW Betty Foreman | 85 166 | 22 43 | 12.8 6.0 | 1544 -135
1409 |
| NSW Nanette Reynolds | 258 253 | 66 65 | 5.2 6.0 | 1246 +17 1263 |
| NSW Liz Jackman | 255 275 | 63 74 | 7.5 6.0 | 1253 -29 1224 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+