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NSSC 2008 Commentary: Round 3

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Go to: Before the Tournament, Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5, Round 6, Final Round 1.

Round 3

At table 1 this round, Westport SCRABBLE Club (CT) is playing Windham Nesmith Library (NH). Check out their annotated game (which I'm told by the annotators was an exciting, well-played battle) at the annotated game section!

Emerson Middle School Team 3 (CA) is playing Winterhaven Elementary School (OR) at table 3 this round and I see TRAINEE for 76 on their board.

Pennichuck School (NH) faced off against Atlanta Tucker Community Center (GA) this round. I see MEANINGs for 68, played by Pennichuck, and SLOWEST for 65 and DIOPTRES for 86 played by the team from Atlanta.

SORRIeS was the play of note in the table 5 game, but it wasn't enough to give the win to the team that played it, CPRD-Oak Creek (OR). They fell to Hopkinton Middle School Team 1 (MA), 328-400. The winning team had no remarkable plays, they tell me.

Event volunteer and zebra-clad worker bee, Christine Economos and I find ourselves peering at a word on a Walter C. Young Middle School Team 3 (FL) vs. Evangelical Christian School Team 1 (TN) board. SaTINeT. We admit to having to think a bit about what the blanks were and we even took a gander to the lookup laptop to check out our assumption. It is what they played!

Some students find their height to be a big disadvantage when they play. Most of this round, Mount Pleasant Christian School Team 2 (MD) stood in their game vs. John Glenn Middle School (MA). Eventually the event director, Ben Greenwood, asked them to take their seats, since their vantage not only made seeing the board clearer, but also might have afforded a view of their opponents' tiles! I doubt they were doing the latter, but to fair to all, students should sit during game play, even if that means atop folded legs to get themselves up that needed inch or two!

On an Our Lady of Victory (MD) Team 2 (MD) vs. Emerson Middle School Team 1 (CA) board, I see HOIStERS and CORNERS. Christine Economos, also a bit weary from the long day, confessed that she saw that second bingo an said to herself: CORN-ERS, one who corns? How crazy is that? Just one of those moments when the brain totally freezes, like seeing RESTING as RE-STING and not REST-ING.

I check out a finished game between Ruth Keeler Library Team 3 (NY) vs. Randolph Middle School (NC). This was one of those crazily off-balance games where the tiles flow to one side and ignore the other. The red-headed Randolph siblings won, 689-198. I see POLICIEs played through the first I for 94, ROASTER for 76, QUIRE for 68, and the phonies: SkIMMLY* for 91 and TORPINE* for 85. In the endgame, the losing team got away with REBIKES*. Phoney city!

In 2003, half of the winning NSSC team was John Ezekowitz. John's younger brother, William Ezekowitz, has also turned out to be a terrific SCRABBLE player. He played for a couple of years in the Boston area and last year relocated to Princeton, NJ, with his parents. As with other School SCRABBLE stars who have moved and then just jumped back into the program from their new locale, William found himself a partner, Ben, and started the Princeton Day School (NJ) club. This is Ben's first year at the NSSC and as a first-year player, perhaps he was going to learn the ropes, soak in the atmosphere, feel his way into the competitive scene. However, these assumptions would be totally wrong. At the end of this round, I see William making his way over to me. He said, "Ben just won a game for us and you have to come see what he did!" I went over to find Solomon Schechter Day School (Newton) Team 2 (MA) standing, shaking their heads, smiling, congratulating Ben, and then just repeating all of that over again. I glean that Princeton was down by 86 and they held IUHSTT?. Through an N on the board, Ben found UNSTITcH for 74 points. The opponents challenged and the outplay was ruled acceptable. Thus, based on the tiles left in Solomon Schecter's rack, AENRRY, Princeton went on to win the game by 6 points, 309-303. Clearly impressed, Joe Edley commented, "Way to sew up the win!" I may have been the only one that laughed, but I'm easily amused! Looking over the board, it is clear that all four of these young players know their stuff. Toward the endgame, sensing that they had to close down the board, Solomon Schecter picked the right time to play CREELED through the R, blocking the bottom middle triple lane. Sure enough, Princeton held VIPERS at that time and had planned to play it for 60 points or so in that spot. The losing team made a high-scoring X play for 50 points: EX/XU, which Princeton admits, "hurt a lot."

I see NSA member and coach Linda Oliva on the sidelines during this round. She tells me that she is coaching two teams this year: Mount Pleasant Christian School Team 1 (MD) and Mount Pleasant Christian School Team 2 (MD). This full-time college professor is certainly busy and she volunteers as a School SCRABBLE coach to boot. Way to go, Linda. And way to go to all the coaches in the room who dedicate time to encourging the next generation of elite SCRABBLE players!

Speaking of SCRABBLE coaches, Kathy Hummel, tells me about one of her teams, Hampton Bays SCRABBLE Team White (NY). They faced Arizona Cactus-Pine Council Inc. Team 1 (AZ) this round and lost, 219-326. As they approached their coach after the game, one of the boys said, "They not only know how to sell cookies, they also know how to play SCRABBLE!" Chalk one up for the Girl Scouts! If you haven't had time to check out the pre-event photos, I took several shots of the Girl Scout teams and their badge-covered vests. The best badge, in my not so humble opinion, is the largest one: the new SCRABBLE badge! Girl Scouts can now earn them! I'm looking forward to this event in five years. Who knows? Maybe we can have a team of Girl Scouts from every state!

This evening, we'll be enjoying an Ice Cream Social on the mezzanine level of the host hotel, the Providence Biltmore. We're expecting lots of calories and lots of fun!

Three games tomorrow and then a final game to be filmed by ESPN to be featured in a show about this event in the fall. Keep your eye on the NSA web site for the airing dates when they are announced!