European Open Scrabble Championship Malta 2010 )

Go Romania! The European Championship has begun. Congrats to Dan Laurentiu Sandu for beating Harshan Lambadusuriya. I must say it took me 7 games to beat him once! Now Dan has to face the Uk National Champion en titre, Craig Beevers. I won 3 games and lost 2 to Craig.Not an easy game! Mihai started with easier draws, but I`m sure thing will change as he climbs his way to the top 10. I guestimate* Mihai will finish in top 15, Dan in Top 20, and Cata Caba, who plays in the B division, will finish top 10.

The Romanian Scrabble National Championship in English (second round)

Congratulations to Mihai Pantis, who beat Dan Laurentiu Sandu twice, to win the tournament. My father had his first win ever against Mihai in a tournament. Well done, old man! It`s good to see a new player on the Romanian Scrabble scene. Welcome, Iuliu Fabian! There will be a third tournament later this year, that will decide the new National Champion. Until then, good luck to Mihai, Cata and Dan in Malta, where they will join two tournaments: Malta International Scrabble Open and the European Scrabble Championship.
Standings:
1. Mihai Pantis (CS Universitatea Cluj-Napoca): 6 wins, 2 losses +868
2. Catalin Caba (CS Universitatea Cluj-Napoca): 5 wins, 3 losses (+628)
3. Dan Laurentiu Sandu (Locomotiva Bucuresti): 5 wins, 3 losses (+491)
4. Ovidiu Tamas (CS Universitatea Cluj-Napoca): 4 wins, 4 losses (+479)
5. Iuliu Fabian (CS Universitatea Cluj-Napoca): 0 wins, 8 losses (-2465)

1: Tamas-Sandu 311-358; Caba-Fabian 497-180;
2: Pantis-Sandu 428-417; Tamas-Fabian 464-193;
3: Pantis-Fabian 571-171; Tamas-Caba 436-333;
4: Pantis-Caba 322-426; Fabian-Sandu 178-528;
5: Pantis-Tamas 382-488; Caba-Sandu 365-345;
6: Tamas-Sandu 388-423; Caba-Fabian 490-231;
7: Pantis-Sandu 450-268; Tamas-Fabian 456-109;
8: Pantis-Fabian 521-244; Tamas-Caba 390-452;
9: Pantis-Caba 373-367; Fabian-Sandu 196-440;
10: Pantis-Tamas 503-301; Caba-Sandu 350-378;

The war of the blanks (Mihai Pantis vs Dan Laurentiu Sandu)

A couple of months ago, Mihai Pantis and Dan Laurentiu Sandu met in the final of the Qualifying Tournament for the World Scrabble Championship held in Johor Bahru. These two Romanian Scrabble players have met 20 times this year and the score is 10-10! I knew that either of them could qualify. It was Dan's experience versus Mihai's superior word knowledge. I named this article the war of the blanks since the two magic blanks decided the winner in the first 7 games. Dan drew the first 6 blanks to win the first 3 games. Mihai took the next 4 blanks and the score became 3-2. Dan took the next 2 blanks. It was 4-2 for him and he needed one more win in order to qualify for the WSC. This time it was Mihai' s turn to get the blanks. It was 4-3 for Dan. In the last 2 games they shared the blanks. Both games went Mihai's way and sent him to Malaysia.


Let's have a look at some statistics:
1.Mihai Pantis

5 wins, 8 blanks, 12 bonuses,8 phoneys(6 challenged off) 3693 points
Bonuses played: Aerobes, Longers, Betaken, Mausolea, Torrents,
Timider, Mudiria, Renoted*(Erodent is valid), Ooriest, Nidating,
Ecuries, Induviae

2. Dan Laurentiu Sandu

4 wins, 10 blanks, 12 bonuses, 6 phoneys(all challenged off), 3490 points
Overpast, Gardens, Toasted, Melodica, Soutanes, Bornite, Serafin,
Euglenas, Loiters, Areoles, Returned, Notates.




I have already congratulated Mihai on his win and sent my commiserations to Dan. Together we will try not to lose the 2 spots Romania has for the WSC. If the tile Gods are with us, we could even earn a third spot. Let's see what happens!