Only a 'Jaguh Kampung'

If there was a word to describe how my stint in Penang went, it was this.

Pathetic.

I was like the suicide bomber there..except the bomb exploded before i can reach anybody else..

I am talking, of course, about my recent participation in the MSA Nationals 2011 in Penang. Fresh from winning the Subang Scrabble Challenge the week before, I thought I would try my luck in the Nationals in the hope of earning more money. The RM400 that I gained from my winnings was used to fund my trip to Penang.

And what a despair it was.

First, I booked my hotel stay at the wrong date and only realized it two days before I was supposed to head up to Penang. Then, I had to rush and pack up my things for Penang.

Well, at least the trip down was rather nice. I followed Ramaraj's family to Penang and we stayed at the same hotel; Copthorne Orchid Hotel Penang.

The hotel room was nice too.

Here are some pictures of the hotel room i was staying in.. Coincidentally, my room was 1802, my exam number..

The room door number :P

The door -.-

The bed..I had the whole bed to myself since i'm living alone

Nice..I left my teaspoon there though...

The corridor.. its actually a very nice hotel all in all..

I have no SS skills..

So, that was the hotel..

We come to the games.. I had planned to take photos of all the games i had played...but i was too depressed after each game to bother taking them..There are some though..

Game 1.

CCW vs Lim Sha Lyn [Win 419-375]

Current status - 1/0 Bingoes - 3/3 S's - 3/3 Blanks - 2/2

In this game, i missed WOMANISE, TANGELOS and COAGENTS as well as phoneyed GAUSSED..correct was DEGAUSS.

Game 2.

CCW vs Ng Chee Eng [Lose 318-436]

Current status - 1/1 Bingoes - 1/4 S's - 2/5 Blanks - 1/3

Played badly.. Missed INVESTOR, RIVIERAS, ANNECTENT, CONATURE, ENCURTAIN, CONNATE, CANDENT, NASCENT, PRIVADO and VIDENDA.. terrible..

Game 3.

Pui Cheng Wui vs CCW [Win 532-423]

Current status - 2/1 Bingoes - 5/9 S's - 3/8 Blanks - 2/5

Despite playing 5 bingoes, I still missed many bingoes.. my first rack of AEELMRT had LAMETER, ATREMBLE, MATERIEL, REALTIME, EREMITAL, LAMENTER and TELEGRAM from his first move of BLING.. I also missed FLAVINES, TESTRILL, TESTRILS and KLISTER albeit bingoing BARONET, STERLING, HEJIRAS, SEWERAGE and OUTSHINE.

Game 4.

Martin Teo vs CCW [Lose 349-396]

Current status - 2/2 Bingoes - 1/10 S's - 3/11 Blanks - 1/6

Made a wrong judgement in the endgame which did not help me in reducing my spread. Missed the hook of WIRRA to make WIRRAH.

Game 5.

CCW vs Yeap Gim Sai [Win 466-327]

Current status - 3/2 Bingoes - 3/13 S's - 3/14 Blanks - 1/7

Played fairly okay in this game. Missed words like KAIZEN, HORME and MERCH for higher-scoring moves..

Game 6

Muhammad Ali vs CCW [Win 475-309]

Current status - 4/2 Bingoes - 2/15 S's - 1/15 Blanks - 2/9

First time i got both blanks in the same rack..and last time i guess..Chickened out of REEDSTOP which I was 75% sure..Bingoed POTTERED though.. Missed HOWFF, FANWORT, ANTIFUR and OUTSPREAD.

Game 7

CCW vs Aaron Chong [Lose 407-442]

Current status - 4/3 Bingoes - 2/17 S's - 2/17 Blanks - 1/10

Played a very bad move in this game..choosing not to block the only bingo spot, I opened another spot to get hit with OREADES, causing me to lose the game. Missed the beautiful ALKOXIDE.

Game 8

Ramaraj vs CCW [Lose 333-450]

Current status - 4/4 Bingoes - 1/18 S's - 2/19 Blanks - 0/10

Bad luck here.. Missed BELEAPT and MAUNGIER.. Ram changed to bingo twice and took the two blanks.. really not my game..

Game 9

Jocelyn Lor vs CCW [Lose 345-435]

Current status - 4/5 Bingoes - 1/19 S's - 2/21 Blanks - 0/10

I had a first turn CARMINES for 95 which I should have thought longer and played CREMAINS, a much safer move. I missed SALVIFIC, RITTERS, TERRITS, ARBORES and BRASERO..talk about losing a game after missing simple words like that.

Game 10

Zeenath Ariff vs CCW [Win 446-408]

Current status - 5/5 Bingoes - 3/22 S's - 1/22 Blanks - 2/12

Thought i had an easy game.. but it wasn't to be. Missed CANTRAIP and RADDING.

Game 11

CCW vs Alex Tan [Lose 376-439]

Current status - 5/6 Bingoes - 1/20 S's - 2/23 Blanks - 1/13

I think i'll remember this game vividly. Imagine changing thrice in a single game. That was how bad my tiles were. In all due fairness, Alex played well in this game.

Game 12

Sean Chung vs CCW [Lose 417-437]

Current status - 5/7 Bingoes - 2/21 S's - 0/23 Blanks - 1/14

Its his revenge. I think this game goes to the one with the better set of end game tiles.

Game 13

CCW vs John Lam [Win 507-315]

Current status - 6/7 Bingoes - 3/24 S's - 4/27 Blanks - 1/15

My second time I beat him. By a big spread at that. Had quite good tiles. I made sure i scored consistently with my rack. I believed this and the game earlier against Pui were the only two games which I played my best in this tournament.

Game 14

Sean Chung vs CCW [Lose 358-429]

Current status - 6/8 Bingoes - 3/27 S's - 4/31 Blanks - 1/16

After bingoing 3 times in a row, my tiles became inconsistent. I could not score with the racks I had while Sean had balanced racks and was able to take the lead with his last minute bingo and a high scoring play.

Game 15

CCW vs Sreepathy [Win 448-355]

Current status - 7/8 Bingoes - 2/29 S's - 3/34 Blanks - 1/17

Played okay. Nearly missed the bingo for ADENNORT [NONRATED].. finally managed to play SUIVEZ in a tournament.

I'm getting too depressed talking about my games. Here are the final two.

Game 16

CCW vs Pui Cheng Wui [Lose 341-407]

Current status - 7/9 Bingoes - 1/30 S's - 4/38 Blanks - 1/18

Game 17

Yeap Gim Sai vs CCW [ Win 408-323]

Current status - 8/9 Bingoes - 2/31 S's - 2/40 Blanks - 1/19

So in the end, i was eleventh..very dismal performance by someone who just won a tournament barely a week before. Aaron Chong went on to win the tournament, showing grit to get the better of Khoo Beng Way. As a result, Aaron Chong and Yeo Kien Hung will lead the pack of hopeful Malaysians in the upcoming World Scrabble Championship which will be held in Warsaw, Poland. I wish them both all the best in the tournament. May they be in top form there.

On another note, it would seem that my top ten rank which I've just gotten after winning the previous tournament will disappear gloriously in smoke after this abysmal tournament. I would expect a deplete in rating by the same amount I gained before this.

Am I all that sad though? Penang was a worthwhile trip. Aside from the tournament, I enjoyed food that I can never hope to get back in Subang. There are two restaurants which I would like to point out and I urge anyone who has not tried them, to give it a shot.

First

Seafood..many nice XD

The restaurant, Bali Hai Seafood Restaurant

An outdoor restaurant located in Gurney Drive is a very good restaurant with good food. Here is the website. http://www.balihaiseafood.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

I went there with Ram's family and I really have to thank them for this one. At the same time as we were eating, the Singapore vs Malaysia football game was going on. Its really depressing to sit there for the first two minutes to watch Singapore score twice in rapid succession to bring the match to 4-1 at halftime. But the food! It was awesome. Honey chicken, Kai Lan, Assam Red Grouper, Claypot Homemade Tofu and Fuyong Egg with prawns were scrumptious. It did manage to take my mind off the games for a moment.

Second.

The front door to the restaurant, Salsas

Nice, isn't it?

Neat and elegant

The dessert is small and delicious

This is the Salsas, a restaurant located in Continental Hotel but its actually a standalone restaurant, having no affiliations with the hotel. The restaurant only serves set meals to increase efficiency and the food is excellent. There are set meals at different prices, arranged neatly in a menu. The manager is a very young, well-mannered lady, enough to earn many praises from Pui Cheng Wui, whom i was eating together with. (Yeo Kien Hung, Pui and me went for lunch here on the last day). It is just a stone's throwaway from City Bayview Hotel, the venue of our tournament and apparently, according to Henry[Yeo Kien Hung], this is Cheah's favourite restaurant in Penang.

I am satisfied on making the trip up to Penang. I have learnt many new things here as well as gained further experience in my games. I may be performing badly now, but two years from now, I promise I will be better.

A special thanks goes to the Sundraraj family who has helped me make my trip to Penang a very enjoyable one. I apologize if I have done anything rash during the stay in Penang. It has been a nice trip and certainly, one which I will not regret.

CCW

Silence

And then, there was none,

No sound, just movement, slick,

And then, it was gone,

Quiet, just whisperings, weak,

The unsettling silence, empty,

The momentary quiet, slowly,

There was no sound, no one spoke,

There was no one about,

Eerie, disturbingly, quietly,

Dreamily, pin-drop silently,

The silence that descends,

Human senses that ascends,

As though you are alone,

As though there is no one,

Pin drops, you stop, your throat stuck,

The silence as you scream in the dark.

Reaching The Top..At Last

During the Chinese New Year tournament in Berjaya last year(2010), I had the chance of winning the tournament with one game ahead of the pack. Then, I faced Alex Tan in the last two rounds. Result? I lost both the matches and finally i had to settle for third place. After that mistake, I never got close to winning anymore tournaments, the nearest being seventh place in the recent ASTAR tournament.

Until now.

On the 9th of July, K.Sundraraj (father of my Scrabble mentor) organised the Subang Scrabble Challenge for the second year running. It was a great tournament as the number of participants doubled the amount from the previous Subang Scrabble Challenge. In the Open Division, more Scrabble whizzes pitted their wits against each other. Even Australian Scrabble players, the Richards family, came to support the event. The event also witness the return of former World Youth runner-up Sean Chung, as well as the usual Scrabble masters like veterans Pui Cheng Wui, Tan Jin Chor, Jocelyn Lor and rising youngsters Khoo Beng Way, Ramaraj and William Kang.

After 15 grueling games, yours truly emerged the winner of the tournament winning 11 out of the 15 with +585 spread, one game ahead of 2nd place Khoo Beng Way and 3rd place Pui Cheng Wui. Truth be told, I had absolutely no idea how I managed to claw my way back from 7th place after round 9 to lead the table.

But, more of that later. For now, here are the games i played.

Game 1. Kang Eng Lee vs CCW [ Win 513-323]

Bingoes played - SIDERAL, UNICORN, REAMIER

Bingoes against - AWAItERS

Current status - 1/0 Bingoes - 3/3 S's - 3/3 Blanks - 0/0

My only mistake for this game is not playing REREMAI instead of REAMIER which would have scored more.

Game 2. CCW vs Martin Teo [Win 455-304]

Bingoes played - MEANIES, LEPROSE

Bingoes against - TReNTALS

Current status - 2/0 Bingoes - 2/5 S's - 3/6 Blanks - 1/1

PUCInG is not a word, could have done CUING, CAY and AR which scores more. Martin missed the hook for IZAR (making IZARD) and therefore lost the chance of closing the spread with his last-minute bingo rack CDDELRU. #1.Can you spot the bingo? (There are 3..and all fit)

Game 3. CCW vs Khoo Beng Way [Lost 306-497]

Bingoes played -

Bingoes against - INVOICES, EVAsION, FORMATE

Current status - 2/1 Bingoes - 0/5 S's - 2/8 Blanks - 0/1

RERANK, my starting play is a non-word. Had I not played it (I had AEEKNRR, my original plan was ERK keeping AENR, a high bingo-probable rack leave), I would not have been hit with the successive INVOICES and EVAsION and the game might have went differently. I missed two bingoes here with the rack AEHLOPT, opting instead to play HOP. [Bingoes were TAPHOLE and PLETHORA hooking the first R of RERANK]

Game 4. CCW vs Pui Cheng Wui [Lost 421-447]

Bingoes played - HELiPAD, SOLATED, LITERATO

Bingoes against - STEEPING, ARAbIZE

Current status - 2/2 Bingoes - 3/8 S's - 2/10 Blanks - 1/2

A game full of mistakes. I missed two easy bingoes with my beginning rack of AEIIMP? (IMPErIA and lIPEMIA) and chickened out of PLAsHED on the next move. I think the game might have been in my favour if I had played something at the top right corner, preventing his 49 point VEXT move. But, this was a hard game to see.

Game 5. Jocelyn Lor vs CCW [Lost 325-468]

Bingoes played - WARIEST

Bingoes against - BANTING, MARBLEs

Current status - 2/3 Bingoes - 1/9 S's - 3/13 Blanks - 0/2

Another game full of mistake. Phoneyed twice which resulted in me losing the chance to bingo.

Bingoes missed - BODGIEST, DISSEAT, SAIDEST, STAIDEST

After this game, I had very little confidence of making it into the top 3, knowing that I only could afford to lost only one more game.

Game 6. Tengku Asri vs CCW [Won 509-369]

Bingoes played - PETIOLES, AGISTED, DESYAtIN

Bingoes against - TINNERS

Current status - 3/3 Bingoes - 3/12 S's - 3/16 Blanks - 1/3

A convincing victory but yet again, I missed a first-turn bingo of CURARINE. I played DESYAtIN instead of opting for cYANIDES because I've always wanted to play DESYATIN in a tournament game. Missed good plays like KITTUL, DUETTI and CURLI

Game 7. Sean Chung vs CCW [Win 410-366]

Bingoes played - vEINULET, VOLUmES

Bingoes against - ACTINITE(phoney! X.X)

Current status - 4/3 Bingoes - 2/14 S's - 1/17 Blanks - 2/5

Missed a first turn bingo AGAIN with the tiles EEILTU?, phoneying with pETULINE which was challenged off. Missed dILUTEE, UNBORNE which was the best play. It was a lost game but Sean's mistake of phoneying SAUS to block my open bingo line allowed me to clinch the point with a last-minute bingo. Incidentally, his rack of AINOSSU had SANIOUS and SAUSION which was the doom of me. Thankfully, he did not spot the bingos and instead phoneyed, giving me the winning bingo.

Game 8. Cedric Stewart Lewis vs CCW [Win 481-474]

Bingoes played - REHEATS, ARRIvING, SMALLEST

Bingoes against - REVOTING, NEOBLAST, DIVINITY, SIrENIAN

Current status - 5/3 Bingoes - 3/17 S's - 2/19 Blanks - 1/6

Very close game, with Cedric playing very unique bingoes, playing NEOBLAST and DIVINITY consecutively. Missed QUIPSTER when I played QUOP but oh well, at least, i bingoed after that.

That was the end of Day 1. With 5 wins, i was at 7th place and my next game was against Tan Jin Chor. To those that do not know, Tan Jin Chor is actually the actor of the Malaysia sitcom Kopitiam back in 1997. My record against him is fairly even, I think we have played about 8 games in tournaments and each have a share in losses and triumphs over one another. Still, he is not a player to be taken lightly. At the end of Day 1, William Kang holds pole position with 7 wins, only losing his first game to Sean Chung. Trailing closely are Khoo Beng Way, Tan Jin Chor and Ramaraj, all on 6 wins.

And we move on to the next day.

Game 9. Tan Jin Chor vs CCW [Lose 335-450]

Bingoes played -

Bingoes against - TAENIAs, LOWEREd, PELOIDS

Current status - 5/4 Bingoes - 0/17 S's - 1/20 Blanks - 0/6

A very bad game with terrible tiles. Fun fact, 90% of my moves are best moves after I analyzed my game with Quackle, a Scrabble simulation program. Jin Chor missed a 100 point bingo when he played PELOIDS, missing SOLIPED, LI, OP, WE, RED at C13. I have lost 4 games now. The only way of breaking into the top three is by winning all of my next 6 games. Shall we proceed?

Game 10. CCW vs Karen Richards [Win 479-420]

Bingoes played - BRISKENS, DECAYERS, aWARDER

Bingoes against - LEOTARD, DEvIATED

Current status - 6/4 Bingoes - 3/20 S's - 4/24 Blanks - 1/7

Quite an okay game in my opinion. Learnt BRISKENS from Cheah when he played the move against Ramaraj during the 2008 Penang ICT. Wasn't sure it took an S though. Was very lucky to hold the last D for hooking DJINS, without which I would have not bingoed at the final moment to win the game.

Game 11. CCW vs Sean Chung [Win 407-310]

Bingoes played - ThRONING, INSNARER

Bingoes against -

Current status - 7/4 Bingoes - 2/22 S's - 2/26 Blanks - 1/8

Sean phoneyed twice in the beginning with EMF(was valid in the old dictionary) and UMBU(probably confused with UMBO and OMBU). I missed 3 bingoes before ThRONING; CITRININ, TRINING and TINNIER. Chickened out of the latter two. Not a good game for Sean.

Game 12. William Kang vs CCW [Win 460-375]

Bingoes played - VOTARIES, RESTORE, oVERLIES

Bingoes against - CENTRaL, MESOLITE

Current status - 8/4 Bingoes - 3/25 S's - 3/29 Blanks - 1/9

A very bad game played by yours truly. First off, I phoneyed ADAY (mixed it up with ADAW). Then, i missed a double-double with AEIOSTV through the R. Can you guess it? #2 Missed TETRAPLA and RATTERS before settling with a low-scoring RESTORE. William phoneyed IMPLANED which I challenged off, thankfully.

Game 13. Alastair Richards vs CCW

Bingoes played - AVENIRS, SCANTEST

Bingoes against - CALOrIE

Current status - 9/4 Bingoes - 2/27 S's - 3/32 Blanks - 1/10

My first nine-timer in a tournament. Another badly played game. Phoneyed LUPE(must have mixed it up with tonnes of words) and EPUIRAS(Its EPEIRAS the anagram for this is UPRAISE and SPURIAE). Thankfully, i have better tiles after that. During the end game, Alastair could have won had he not played BA, leaving DE. Had he played AG, setting himself up for a 36 point DEB, i would have lost the game. On a happier note, 4 wins in a row! Can i go on?

Game 14. Alex Tan Ken Seng vs CCW

Bingoes played - POWnDING, DEITIES

Bingoes against - OUTGOES

Current status - 10/4 Bingoes - 2/29 S's - 1/34 Blanks - 2/12

My games with Alex have always been one-sided. None of the games were actually fair. If I had good tiles, I win. If not, I lose. Well, except for that game in Johor where I really should have challenged ABYED. This game, I missed my last-move bingo with the tiles AAENPR? #3 There's three and again all could fit. Alex phoneyed his last move bingo of CEEINOS(#4 whats the bingo?) at AMENES which is no good.

So, I've won 5 games in a row and i'm currently second. WTF?? Second-place?? I could hardly believe myself as I looked at the Round 15 pairings. I had managed to claw my way from 11th place after round 9 to be right behind the leader. And who is the leader? Well, after 3 rounds of playing each other, Pui Cheng Wui won 2 out of it against Khoo Beng Way to be at the top. And thus, the battle for the first prize was on. Pui Cheng Wui with 10 wins and 729 spread and me with 10 wins and 466 spread. Whoever wins will be crowned 2011 Subang Champion. Whoever loses will have to be content with third place. Very much deja vu for me as this was the case during my 2010 CNY tournament.

Game 15. Pui Cheng Wui vs CCW [Win 506-387]

Bingoes played - DEAERATe, AUDITED, STONIER

Bingoes against - YEASTING, SOFTENER

Current status - 11/4 Bingoes - 3/32 S's - 4/38 Blanks - 1/13

A very unhappy game for Pui Cheng Wui. Both of us missed nine-timers with our racks. I missed mine through the Y of YEASTING and instead played the double-double DEAERATe. I could have played BAYADEER or BAYADERE. Pui's niner was a very simple miss. Choosing instead to play SOFTENER, he had REFASTEN through the A of AUDITED which I played, the A at a very dangerous spot. I was lucky to have all the S's in the game albeit having to balance vowel-heavy racks for 3 turns.

And so, with the win, I was champion of the 2011 Subang Scrabble Challenge. RM400 and a nice trophy was in the bag.

Here's the results.

http://www.penster.com.my/standings.php?tou_path=archives%2F2011%2Fmasters%2F110709+-+Subang+Scrabble+Challenge+2011%2FSSC2011.TOU&section=OPEN&round=16&rank_limit=24

I will be heading to Penang for the MSA Nationals. Hopefully, I am able to improve my performance. For now, I am content with my winnings.

CCW

#1. CUDDLER, CURDLED, CRUDDLE

#2. VIATORES

#3 PARPANE, PREANAL, HANAPER

#4 SENECIO

Battle for Control

I am not a person who is easily provoked. I am not a person who is easily brought to the point of snapping. Unlike the rest of my family members, I have the ability or trait to be very patient, even when heaps of insults are thrown at me. I have never snapped in front of anyone. At least, not for the time being. Every insult that was thrown at me was bearable. Even those that came out from the mouth of my enemies. I remained patient, taking it in, hopefully learning from those insults.

But.

All those times have their limits. Maybe I won’t snap now. Maybe not in the near future. I’m only 19. Who’s to say that I won’t snap when I turn 25? Who is to say that I won’t inherit the god-awful rage that my parents have? I am, essentially, only human. Humans are unpredictable. At times, it may seem that doing wrong may be the best thing to do. At times, it may seem as though you are in the wrong when others may see differently. At times, rage may be the best medicine, not laughter.

When will that time come?

I do not wish for rage to consume me. I do not wish to succumb to it and become a mindless savage whose only aim is to smash and scream and nothing in particular. I hate that. However, there are times when rage is absolute. There will be times when patience will not be a virtue and rage would ultimately be the solution.

I do not want that ending to happen. Not now. Not ever.

Are you sure about that?

Even as I convince myself that I can control myself, the other half of me chuckles snidely.

Are you sure you can continue taking such insults? I am the voice in your heart. I know your emotions. You may not show it but in your heart, everything is shown clearly. The crimson colour of fire. The sign of rage. You have it in your heart. Why not release it?

No. I will not express my anger on the exterior. Doing so during such a period of time would serve no purpose.

Then, what about in the years to come? Will you use the same reason you are using now? Patience and the desire to not disturb the peace in your life will only bring you more pain. You do not want to make a stand. You are done making your point? Bullshit.

You might be right. I may be a coward. I may give the same reason in the next 5 years. I will keep my wrath at bay. I do not plan on using it, nor do I plan to show it.

Right. So I guess your wrath is not fit for someone who is regretting you ever existed? Is your rage not fit for someone who insults not your actions, but your very self? Is it okay for someone who is seems to teach you a lesson in life but is in fact insulting you at the very core?

Enough. I do not wish to have this talk. For that somebody who thinks like that, there is no point in trying to make my point. There is no point in wasting my energy for something so trivial.

Trivial, you say? You might be okay with it. But you are outnumbered two to one. I am not okay with that. Neither is HD. You may think that such insults will not affect you. Think again. There is a reason why you created HD. There is a reason why you created a being that has no heart of his own. A being whose reasoning is based on the reasoning of reality itself. The fire will never stop burning, Andrew. As long as, your unsettling emotion lingers in your heart, the flame will keep going. Even if you can hide it, you know it is there. You know that we are always waiting for the chance to emerge.

Maybe it will not happen now. Maybe not in the near future. But someday, rage will beat me. One day, I will succumb to madness that is in my blood. But, for now, I shall leave it as it is. I am still in control. The blade has not struck. The blood bath has not commenced.

For now, there is peace.

CCW