Scrabblers from all over the country assembled in the air conditioned splendour of the Revesby Workers Club on the Australia Day weekend. A large contingent of interstate visitors attested to the popularity of playing 18 games over two days. The $1,000 first and $500 second prize was also an obvious attraction. As might have been expected, given his ranking and reputation, Andrew Fischer emerged a triumphant victor with a magnificent record of 16 wins out of 18 games. He essentially led the field from start to finish. Bob Jackman, coming second after the 15th game, had the misfortune of facing Andrew for 2 of the last 3 games and finally finished in 5th place. Congratulations to Rod Talbot for a sterling effort in coming 2nd and Paul Cleary for his 3rd placing. A dubious record was achieved by Loise Kobler who managed to lose 12 games on the trot. She was encouraged by playing philtered as her opening move in the game that broke the drought.In the now traditional "best medical word" competition, Naween Fernando was the unanimous victor with has word "petechia" (bleeding into the skin, seen in meningoccal meningitis). Other good plays included paranoea, clitoral, trachoma and alveoli. Norma Tracey won the "smart move" prize for playing "requiting" through 2 floating i's .Michael Cameron was clever to place platinum through a floating a and nu. Anne Drew played 5 bonus words containing Q's in her first 5 games (squalour, questant, equates, unquiet, quintes)! Highest rating gain was achieved by Audrey Newman with an elevation of 87 points. Well done Audrey. The 2 days proceeded without a glitch, mainly thanks to the captaincy and efficiency of Wilma Vaille. Wilma, what would we do without you? A splendid time seemed to be had by all and we look forward to next year's event.
Game by game report from winner Andrew Fisher
Following on from the tradition of previous winners, I have put together a report on my win at the 2002 City of Sydney International Masters. There were no real internationals involved this time, unless you count either myself (ex-UK) or Naween Fernando (resident, but representing Sri Lanka in the 2003 WSC), but a strong field had assembled at the sumptuously-appointed Revesby Workers’ Club replete with its banks of pokies, including all of the Australian top ten bar Daniel Piechnik.
I was matched with a relative unknown in game one – Anthony Kaje, whom Naween had encountered in Bahrain in a previous life. He started strongly with POUTIER and then STRINGER on move three, and continued to flourish while I had REGIUSES disallowed. REGIUS is fine but it doesn’t pluralise. He was about 60 points to the good on a blocked final board, and opted to play HOI/CH which cleverly set up an unblockable QADI/ACH play. However, the final I of HOI was vulnerable, enabling me to get down a parallel seven [1] from ELNPSTY (after some thought) which enabled me to win by 21 on countback.
Next up was Queensland’s Olga Visser. I tried another phony on rack one – WAShMAN was disallowed, but I should have spotted the only possible seven [2]. Nevertheless, I got down INDUnAS/SCARRY on move three, swiftly followed by VENENATE, and was able to keep control through to the end.
Naween was my third opponent, and things were fairly close until he tried KINENES*. Somewhat wary of the 5-point penalty for an incorrect challenge, I nevertheless had it removed from the board and was able to take a strong lead thanks to CRENATED, sPITTER and SCOOPERS. A fifty-plus score for MIDRIB/DZO was the icing on the cake of a 130-point victory.
Joan Rosenthal, multiple former winner of the event, held a lead for most of game four, but with a promising rack of EKMNOU? I opened up with (T)OUK and managed a final-move bingo from AAEMNS? which doubled the M and attracted an additional five points to boot: CASEMAN.
Rod and Wilma were my generous hosts for the weekend, but I showed Rod no mercy in game five – although he got down DIRIGES, ORDINAND and a cute JINGOES/JALAP I was able to counter with ANTIARs, GUERITEs, TAILORED and the eight from ACEHMOST [3] to run out the winner of a high-scoring game 526-479.
Paul Cleary stopped my run of wins in game six, starting with three successive bingos aLERTER, rAREBITS and OUTDATE to which I could only respond with PRESAGES. Another former CSIM winner was my opponent in round seven – John Holgate. After a cagy start, the game exploded into life with AGENETIC, OPERATES and ARANEIDs from me, countered by John’s FOIsTED, the impressive INVEXED for 110 and the immediate APRICOT. Knowing John’s final rack (the unplayable BARRENS), I took advantage of the out-in-two possibility, winning by just six points in a 468-462 thriller.
A dream start awaited me in game eight against a nervy Ed Okulicz – the rack CDEOSTY [4]. I fell a little behind to his quickfire plays of DOGATES and PARANOEA, but regained control with qUERIDA until his thought-provoking play of STEALINg for 72 as a nine-timer round TEA. Thankfully I could take advantage of the few openings remaining, and won by 35.
Chris May was up next, and although he achieved GOATIER and MUTATION on moves two and three, I had CHINARS and STELLED , soon followed by WEIRDIES. Picking up both blanks towards the end enabled me to win comfortably.
Anne Drew was my final opponent on day one, and after her fishing paid off with a play of SURLOIN I was able to respond immediately with DISPONE/SURLOINS for 97. Aided by BLOWZE for 60, this remained about the size of my lead throughout the rest of game.
So, after a hot night in Wollongong, we reconvened for game eleven on Monday morning. Bob Jackman awaited me, and I had a poor game with only SLATHER to his MANTLING, BETtIES and VERTiNG. All efforts at rack-balancing went unrewarded on this occasion, allotting me my second loss.
The dangerous Michael Cameron was next. I had been impressed with plays of his such as HALFTIME against Trevor, and alongside JAUNTIES, he achieved some interesting interlocking plays against me such as S(ED)ATIONS and the surprising PL(A)TI(NU)M. However, I was able to play PEREIRAS and CAVItATE, and also got away with the phony TENNEE* which enabled a narrow win.
The tiles continued to flow my way against Trevor Halsall. We started off very tightly, but his play of RATTEENS enabled me to come back with CONSOLES and the immediate CANISTER, soon followed by the not-so-tricky EATERIes from AEIRT?? – and next was another Victorian resident, David Lloyd. This was one of my best comebacks, as David had taken a strong lead with an early POXIEst for 100 points, shortly followed by JOE for 53 while I had the plausible-seeming ACTUM* disallowed. Later in the game, I couldn’t find a bingo with EIRRSTU using the available floaters, and opted to play RUI(N) for a meagre eight points on the basis that I might pick the remaining B (to use the BRUIN hook). I picked ADH and made HARDSET for 94, taking seven of the last eleven tiles, but was still 29 points behind David. He knew the unseen letters were ABEEEELOPRT, and blocked possible sevens underneath HARDSET such as BLEATER, BLOATER, BEETLER, ABORTEE, PRELATE and others with his play of FINNED/HE/AD. However, to my delight I had picked ABELOPT which allowed me to go out with an 86-point bingo using the RUIN hook [5], winning in the end by 33.
Esther Perrins picked no E’s at all during our game, and struggled to counter my opener MIDYEAR swiftly followed by PURITANS. I was pleased to find the seven from EEEISU? [6] to cement my lead. This was the last of the Swiss-paired games, and the first King of the Hill round (redubbed Sovereign of the Sierra by Wilma after Al Kane’s suggestion) saw me rematched with Bob Jackman. Bob took the first bingo with DELATED, hooking at both ends, but my rack of HIMNNU? enabled an INHUMaN response. I attracted a bonus five points from the next play ARAME, and took advantage when Bob had a move disallowed, ultimately winning by over 100. Bob’s win record meant that we were matched once again for round seventeen - this game went well for me too, and on rack two I was able to play UNEVADEd, with ASTUTER (78), VARIX (63) and PRIZEMAN (94) following in quick succession. Bob struggled until a late play of STIPULAR narrowed the spread.
Rod Talbot had snuck up on the field, and for the final round faced me on table one. The tone was set by my first rack of AFINTU? which allowed an easy ANTIFUr; an even easier TRAILER gave me a 100-point lead which was solidified by a play of TRACHOMA, and I ultimately won by 122 to give me a flattering 16-2 record. I was reminded by various contenders that the winner traditionally shouted a drink for everybody else, and was delighted to do so in the cavernous bar with part of my winnings (paid in cash).
The event was run in her usual efficient and good-humoured style by Wilma Vialle (I look forward to being dominated by her in Kuala Lumpur), and everybody had a good time despite a scoring controversy in round 18. Can’t wait for the CSIM 2004…
Results after game 18
COSIM03 -- MASTERS
Rank Player Wins Mar
---------------------------------
1 Andrew Fisher 16 1221
2 Rod Talbot 13 150
3 Paul Cleary 12 939
4 Naween Fernando 12 750
5 Bob Jackman 12 660
6 David Lloyd 12 453
7 Edward Okulicz 11 815
8 Joanne Craig 11 547
9 Chris May 11 402
10 Esther Perrins 11 257
11 Carmel Dodd 11 222
12 Zina Costanzo 11 29
13 Sal Costanzo 11 -104
14 Joan Rosenthal 10.5 659
15 John Holgate 10 616
16 Alistair Kane 10 321
17 Michael Vnuk 10 216
18 Michael Cameron 10 214
19 Ivor Zetler 10 131
20 Norma Tracey 10 33
21 Jean McGiffen 10 -123
22 Pat Schuberg 10 -342
23 Barbara Berlin 9.5 530
24 Anne Drew 9 563
25 Sue Gergelifi 9 441
26 John Barker 9 110
27 Trevor Halsall 9 14
28 Audrey Newman 9 -2
29 Alison Pollard 9 -56
30 Alastair Richards 9 -85
31 Karen Richards 9 -138
32 Hanne Marks 9 -218
33 Peter Shaw 9 -262
34 Graeme Lock Lee 9 -283
35 Moana Nepia 9 -715
36 Jean Noonan 8.5 167
37 Olga Visser 8 -7
38 Paul Richards 8 -26
39 Frank Csarics 8 -86
40 Anthony Kaje 8 -114
41 Jan Serisier 8 -219
42 Dianne Davis 8 -234
43 Raya Wilkinson 8 -452
44 Liz Jackman 8 -624
45 Teresa Dean 8 -672
46 Ian Close 7.5 -259
47 Jenny Templeton 7.5 -352
48 Richard Birch 7.5 -444
49 Edie Mueller 7 -342
50 Betty Foreman 7 -384
51 Margaret Andrews 7 -920
52 Victor Tung 6.5 -599
53 Margaret Berliner 6 -200
54 Gary Pollard 6 -383
55 Judy Hay 6 -492
56 Gordon Meggs 6 -642
57 Louise Kobler 5.5 -663
58 A Bye 0 -18
HIGH GAME: Paul Cleary 602
HIGH WORD: Esther Perrins 149
"REVERSED"
Stats for Tournament : COSIM03
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| state Name | National | State | Wins | Rating Points |
| | Old New | Old New | Exp Act | Old Change New|
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
+Section: *MASTERS + + + +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| VIC Andrew Fisher | 1 1 | 1 1 | 12.1 16.0 | 1899 +62 1961 |
| NSW Rod Talbot | 12 4 | 5 2 | 8.7 13.0 | 1770 +86 1856 |
| NSW Paul Cleary | 3 3 | 1 1 | 11.6 12.0 | 1876 +6 1882 |
| VIC Naween Fernando | 2 2 | 2 2 | 12.2 12.0 | 1891 -3 1888 |
| NSW Bob Jackman | 10 5 | 4 3 | 11.0 12.0 | 1816 +15 1831 |
| VIC David Lloyd | 7 9 | 4 3 | 13.6 12.0 | 1834 -26 1808 |
| QLD Edward Okulicz | 11 10 | 1 1 | 10.2 11.0 | 1792 +15 1807 |
| NSW Esther Perrins | 5 6 | 2 4 | 12.0 11.0 | 1846 -17 1829 |
| NSW Chris May | 30 16 | 9 6 | 7.8 11.0 | 1678 +64 1742 |
| NSW Joanne Craig | 15 18 | 6 7 | 11.6 11.0 | 1748 -13 1735 |
| SA Carmel Dodd | 25 30 | 3 3 | 13.3 11.0 | 1714 -47 1667 |
| VIC Zina Costanzo | 90 84 | 50 46 | 10.4 11.0 | 1508 +12 1520 |
| VIC Sal Costanzo | 57 50 | 32 25 | 9.7 11.0 | 1572 +25 1597 |
| NSW Joan Rosenthal | 22 20 | 7 8 | 10.0 10.5 | 1716 +11 1727 |
| NSW John Holgate | 6 7 | 3 5 | 10.9 10.0 | 1838 -15 1823 |
| SA Michael Cameron | 16 14 | 2 2 | 9.7 10.0 | 1744 +7 1751 |
| QLD Michael Vnuk | 50 35 | 6 4 | 7.7 10.0 | 1600 +47 1647 |
| NSW Jean McGiffen | 91 54 | 19 13 | 6.1 10.0 | 1506 +79 1585 |
| VIC Alistair Kane | 8 12 | 5 5 | 13.6 10.0 | 1827 -58 1769 |
| NSW Norma Tracey | 96 77 | 21 19 | 8.7 10.0 | 1502 +26 1528 |
| NSW Ivor Zetler | 76 64 | 18 16 | 9.3 10.0 | 1531 +15 1546 |
| NSW Pat Schuberg | 214 180 | 57 48 | 8.5 10.0 | 1337 +29 1366 |
| VIC Barbara Berlin | 40 38 | 20 19 | 9.2 9.5 | 1631 +6 1637 |
| QLD Anne Drew | 23 28 | 2 3 | 10.9 9.0 | 1716 -38 1678 |
| NSW John Barker | 27 41 | 8 10 | 12.2 9.0 | 1697 -65 1632 |
| VIC Trevor Halsall | 4 11 | 3 4 | 12.0 9.0 | 1846 -49 1797 |
| NSW Alison Pollard | 119 95 | 31 21 | 7.0 9.0 | 1461 +40 1501 |
| WA Karen Richards | 70 74 | 4 3 | 9.4 9.0 | 1539 -8 1531 |
| NSW Hanne Marks | 109 96 | 26 22 | 8.1 9.0 | 1479 +18 1497 |
| NSW Moana Nepia | 114 115 | 29 29 | 9.1 9.0 | 1468 -3 1465 |
| NSW Audrey Newman | 233 150 | 61 42 | 4.7 9.0 | 1317 +87 1404 |
| NSW Sue Gergelifi | 97 101 | 22 24 | 9.2 9.0 | 1497 -5 1492 |
| NSW Peter Shaw | 65 55 | 15 14 | 7.3 9.0 | 1551 +33 1584 |
| NSW Graeme Lock Lee | 61 68 | 13 17 | 10.1 9.0 | 1558 -23 1535 |
| WA Alastair Richards | 208 147 | 20 11 | 5.7 9.0 | 1342 +65 1407 |
| NSW Jean Noonan | 189 197 | 50 51 | 8.9 8.5 | 1355 -7 1348 |
| VIC Dianne Davis | 64 78 | 35 40 | 9.4 8.0 | 1555 -28 1527 |
| QLD Olga Visser | 116 121 | 9 10 | 8.4 8.0 | 1464 -7 1457 |
| VIC Frank Csarics | 42 62 | 22 34 | 11.4 8.0 | 1628 -68 1560 |
| WA Paul Richards | 121 108 | 8 7 | 7.0 8.0 | 1461 +19 1480 |
| SA Teresa Dean | 224 163 | 12 7 | 5.1 8.0 | 1331 +58 1389 |
|*NSW Anthony Kaje | 0 153 | 0 44 | 8.0 8.0 | 1401 1401 |
| NSW Jan Serisier | 69 110 | 16 27 | 11.3 8.0 | 1541 -66 1475 |
| NSW Raya Wilkinson | 306 260 | 79 66 | 3.7 8.0 | 1191 +85 1276 |
| NSW Liz Jackman | 282 267 | 68 67 | 6.1 8.0 | 1227 +38 1265 |
| NSW Jenny Templeton | 190 207 | 51 54 | 8.0 7.5 | 1354 -11 1343 |
| NSW Ian Close | 236 221 | 62 59 | 6.3 7.5 | 1308 +24 1332 |
| NSW Richard Birch | 295 286 | 75 72 | 6.7 7.5 | 1208 +15 1223 |
| WA Edie Mueller | 62 128 | 2 8 | 12.5 7.0 | 1557 -110
1447 |
| NSW Betty Foreman | 105 149 | 25 41 | 10.8 7.0 | 1482 -77 1405 |
| NSW Margaret Andrews | 311 298 | 82 78 | 5.5 7.0 | 1182 +29 1211 |
| NSW Victor Tung | 195 254 | 52 64 | 9.9 6.5 | 1351 -68 1283 |
| NSW Gary Pollard | 182 231 | 47 61 | 8.0 6.0 | 1361 -41 1320 |
| NSW Margaret Berliner | 283 290 | 69 74 | 6.4 6.0 | 1226 -9 1217 |
| NSW Judy Hay | 305 308 | 78 81 | 5.8 6.0 | 1191 +4 1195 |
| NSW Gordon Meggs | 292 297 | 74 77 | 6.1 6.0 | 1213 -1 1212 |
| NSW Louise Kobler | 146 259 | 40 65 | 12.5 5.5 | 1417 -139
1278 |