Round 16

Joel Wapnick beat Adam Logan this game, 414-386. Joel got down 
GUESSING and STEARIC and Adam played OUtrANG and 
MEIOTIC. Joel mentioned that this is his sixth game with no blanks. 
He hopes he doesn't have to play Dave Boys this round as he is 
wiped out from the last two rounds. Joel told me that when Adam 
played MEIOTIC to the triple, he thought he was toast, both 
because the play was brilliant and because his tiles were awful. A 
crucial play in the game was Adams TRIP that Joel hooked to make 
STEARIC and STRIP. Before Joel went out to the foyer for a break 
he told me that if he is the finals tomorrow and playing against 
Adam, he'd be exhausted at the end of five games.

At board 1, Andrew Golding just got a big win over James Cherry, 
433-262. Andrews tells me it is his first landslide of the tournament. 
He got down TIGLONS and INTAKES. Andrew's well-though-out 
play of EQUID blocked James' outplay of BLINTZE for 129 points. 
They don't show it endgame skill for nothing. . . .

Met with Adam in the break room and he says he'll have to win the 
next two games and garner some spread in order to make the 
finals.  I'm crossing my fingers. He said of upcoming round 17, "At 
least I won't be playing Joel again!" 

Glenn Mosher has lost 4 of his 5 games today and is now 8-8. 

An interesting phenomenon: 4 women are currently 9-8. Linda 
Espallardo, Christina O'Sullivan, Lisa Kessler, and Lisa Deift. Sary 
Karanofsky is almost there with 8-8.

Gene Rawlins just won a game, thrwating his 8 game losing streak. 
The sad thing is, it isn't even his only losing streak this tournament. 
Earlier on he had a stretch of 5 losses in a row. This win will make 
reaching his goal of  -1000 cume a difficult one to achieve.

Linda Gomes, who earlier on had such trouble, is now at 6 wins 
and very happy.

We are being visited by Sharmaine Toussaint, who used to run a 
club in Trinadad. One of her club members, Albert Chune, 
represented Trinadad at WSC 97 in Washington, DC.  She credits 
Albert with being a far better player than herself and she is very, 
very proud of him. She is sitting by and quietly watching the 
unfolding.