Ding Ding, Day 2 of US Open 2006

Day 2 started with me in a daze.... sleepy.... yawn......

Just found out today that I am rated 13th in Division 6.

Round 8 - Opponent: Susan Bertoni, rated 954, seeded 8th

Was sleepy, but managed to phoney with a believable 'DANcABLE', which should be 'DANCEABLE' to be good. Won 332-305.

Round 9 - Opponent: Ben Lam, rated 971, seeded 4th

Man, this was a tough one. He had both blanks, 3x 'S', the Q,X,Z. I challenged off his phoney 'OuTWINE(S)' and closed up the board, leaving him bingoless, and of course, me too. Made a bad mistake, playing VOL#, a British only word, and lost by a mere 11 points, 296-307. If I played right, could have won by 2 points by playing out first!!! Man, I am so cheesed with myself.

Round 10 - Opponent: Susan Watrous, rated 698, seeded 94th

Change of luck from previous game. This time, I got the good tiles. She bingoed with 'REmO(V)ING' early, and I replied immediately with 'LORRIES' and later on, with 'GRADINES'. Played the 'X' and 'Z' well. Won 445-328, with a +117 spread.

Round 11 - Opponent: Robert Collins, rated 919, seeded 25th

Man, luck changes like the tide, and Robert got the lion share of it. He bingoed with 'STaRERS', and later phoneyed me with 'OUTG(L)IDE', which I did not challenge after thinking over a minute. I put in all I could to catch up, playing well overall but lost 331-342, another loss by -11 spread, like Round 9!! By the way, Robert ended the day on top of Division 6, with a 12-2 record.

Round 12 - Opponent: Ronald Millard, rated 844, seeded 54th

After lunch, I developed this splitting headache, probably from overuse playing Ben Lam and Robert Collins earlier. Tried to sleep it off during lunch break, and took a 'Extra Strength Panadol' but didn't work. Anyhow, still have to play. Bingoed with 'MUSTIER' and led most of the way. He bingoed with 'REPUgNE(D)', which I challenged but lost. At this point, I was still leading. Won the game 395-311.

Round 13 - Opponent: Jack Allard, rated 906, seeded 31st

Still with a splitting headache, and the noise in the room doesn't help. Learnt a new 'Z' word, 'FURZE', which my opponent played. I bingoed with 'MONStER' and later, 'TOWNIES', leading through to win 395-296, a +99 spread.

Round 14 - Opponent: Angela Dancho, rated 687, seeded 96th

Now, the headache is quite unbearable, but the game goes on. No luck this time. My opponent bingoed 2 times consecutively with 'STUNNER' and 'MaLIGNS'. I played 'ZA' for 55, and tried bingo with 'REF(I)LERS' which got challenged off. Lost 339-406.

Ended the day with a 9 win - 5 loss record, and at 17th position. Since I am ranked 13th, my rating will actually drop. Leading the pack is 4 leaders with 12 wins-2 losses, 1 with 11W-3L, and 11 people with 10W-4L. I am the first of the 9W-5L, with my spread of +785, is way ahead of the next person at only +177. Actually, I am ahead in spread compared to most of the people 10W-4L. So, I still have a chance to jump ahead of the pack if I do well tomorrow.

Time to bed, prepare for tomorrow!!