(Aditya: SUBRACE 85, UNFEARED 81, QUOP 75, ETATisT 89, Hyder: RETAINS 71, ZO 64)

Hyder is one of the veterans of the Indian Scrabble scene and has played international tournaments including the Causeway. I had never played him before this, so I was looking forward to the challenge in the first game of the tournament. The start is pretty ordinary as both of us try to balance our racks. I take the early lead with NAGAP(I)E as a 4X, one of those words I find tricky to spot. A decent score for JEE is followed by my first bonus - SUBRACE, which draws the challenge. I follow it up with UNF(E)ARED - briefly considering ENFRAUD* if the floating E were to be blocked. He manages to pull one bonus back with RETAINS, but I end up scoring more with Q(U)OP and WI(N)K - almost missing OK for the latter play! More scores follow with H(E)X and BETTED.

With the game drawing to a close, I increase the spread further with ETATiST, a slick fit given that GREY was already on the board. Did consider TATTERS one square to the left as a more defensive alternative however decided to go for score, given that the spread would be capped at 250 and the spread would exceed it regardless of whether he managed to score off my bonus. Fortunately, I draw the last blank as well to reach my highest score ever in a WESPA rated tournament - the fifth time I’ve managed to notch a 600+ score in little more than a year!

(Aditya: mEDIGAP 76, BRISKENS 85, Varisht: MEaLIES 72, IODATED 79)

Having won four games in a row before this one, scoring 500+ in all, I was really looking forward to this match-up. Varisht is a veteran of several WSCs and Causeways and is a part of the Indian team at WESPAC, besides that, he has contributed a lot to the youth scene in Mumbai, coaching several WYSC prize winners. He is one of my favourite opponents as his style of playing open, high-scoring games leads to lovely games, including the record 451-655 game we had last year.

My record against him isn’t great at 4-9 before this, but all my wins have come in our last six meetings so I fancy myself here. I start off by spotting the only playable bonus in ADEGIP?, following it up with QAT for 47 to take the early lead. I struggle thereafter with poor racks and he takes the lead with MEaLIES. The bonus provides an S and I’m able to reply with BRISKENS, another nice find. He ramps up the pressure scoring with the J and Z as the game reaches the end. With a Y and an S unseen, he plays MUT parallel to BRISKENS, leaving me in a bit of a bother. I play VLOG, mainly as I can’t do anything better, hoping to draw the S, which I, fortunately, manage to. With the final S, the rest of the game is straightforward and I play RE(ST)S and VORTEX to seal the fifth win on the trot to end the first day third, at 7-2.

(Aditya: tOKENED 81, FOOTIES 79, LETtERMAN 67, Kala: CARNIES 68)

Although I have played the same tournaments as Kala for the last few years, haven’t actually played her in a WESPA rated tournament. She has been doing well so far, beating a few of the top seeds, so I have to be wary. The start is a bit sedate as she has an abundance of vowels, whilst I have none. I break the deadlock with tOKENED, another case where despite having the blank, only one bonus plays! She plays CARNIES but I reply with FOOTIES right away. She is a bonus away until the end, cancelling my J and Z scores with the X and a couple of other plays. I play EV(E) leaving four in the bag, the only way I can lose is if she bonuses with the blank and I get stuck with the Q, a horrendous tile on this board. Fortunately, I dodge the Q and the V and draw the blank.

Seeing that she was Q-stuck, I sense the opportunity to bonus out and grab the full monty from her rack. Somehow, I manage to spot L(ET)TERMAN, a word I am uncertain of, but with nothing to lose I try it, and it stays! I score a mammoth 115 points including countback to cap off an immensely satisfying game. Oh, and neither of us even noticed TOS*, a contrast from the other flashy words on the board.

This was my game # 10 of the tournament against the to-be champion Hasham.

I had a rough start, played OLEO keeping ORE, while Hasham played GEM keeping IEST. After 4 moves and Hasham’s 2 bingos (DEPoSits and COBAEAS) the scores were 116 – 202 in his favor. With WANNDLG on the rack and 8 I’s unseen, it was the right time to save NG and try for an -ING bingo at 9H connecting AGO(G).

I played DAWN and picked up CIEU which resulted in CLUEING/LUCIGEN. I chose the aggressive spot for LUCIGEN as I was behind and it rewarded me the 45-point ETHYL in the next turn.

The best part of this game was playing the new CSW19 word AJIES for 54(+5). It is always fun learning and playing new words. Final scores: Moiz 426 – 388 Hasham.

(Aditya: SDEINEd 68, INVASIVE 80, Udayan: DEPORTEE 86, DAMEWORT 104, REGAINED 86)

Starting the final day top meant that I played the top seed Udayan, who was second, only behind me on spread. Udayan was the top seed here and is one of India’s top players. He started playing before I was even born and has attended the WSC in 2011 and WESPAC in 2015.

My record against him isn’t great either at 5.5-11.5 but interestingly my only other tie in a tournament was also against Udayan. (with almost identical scores : 446-446!) I start with SDEINED but my joy is short-lived as DEPORTEE and DAMEWORT come down right away. In between, I manage to elicit five points from him for GUYED, something that gives me a valuable half point at the end!

I’m really happy to spot (I)NVASIVE with NAVVIES playing nowhere, but he replies with REGAINED and makes things really difficult for me. Fortunately, he slows down after the early flurry and I am able to pull things back with KUFI, SCRAWL and EXILE. With scores almost level, the homeless UNSOOTE on my rack and HOAC?ZIN unseen, I have no choice but to block HOATZIN/APHONIC with NOO. Somehow I pick the Z and I’m able to score just enough to match his scores of CHAIN and yO and snatch a thrilling tie. Turns out if he had played CHIAO instead of CHAIN, he would’ve won. An absolute cliffhanger. The tie actually backfired for both us, as we ended up playing five times in all at the end, splitting the games, thereby letting players overtake us - considering both of us had a much better chance playing against others but ourselves.

(Aditya: STEENED 70, Samrath: INlAYeRS 77)

Samrath, a fellow WYSC alumnus, has always proved to be my bogey player. He’s the only one, apart from Nigel, who I haven’t been able to defeat in three or more attempts, and like Nigel, all our games have been super close.

Also, I had lost my last two before this and there was a serious possibility of finishing outside the top ten, if the next two games didn’t go according to plan. So, this was the perfect time to set the hoodoo right. The start goes according to plan with STEENED. With DAVY, ZIT, CAGY and STEENED on the board, I cheekily play A(V)I(D) keeping the P for score.

Fortunately, the setup works and I score well over the two turns. His bonus with both blanks, a nice spot, makes the game interesting towards the end. With scores dead level, I play NEG to go about 15 points up, keeping the final S. He sees the opportunity to play (G)OJI but hesitates as the remaining tiles are bonus-friendly. Surely enough, I had REARISE but his worst fears wouldn’t have come true as GOJI wouldn’t have provided me a chance to bingo. In the end, he keeps the J and I immediately block the spot with SER. The board is so bad at the end that he is stuck with three tiles, the J and two Is.

Being J, V or Q stuck is reasonably common, but this was the first time I’ve had a game where even a vowel wouldn’t play! Regardless, I manage to eke out a win and place myself in prime position to finish in the top ten, while also breaking my streak against Samrath!