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2009 King's Cup Commentary: Round 6

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Go to: Before the Tournament, Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5, Round 6, Round 7, Round 8, Round 9, Round 10, Round 11, Round 12, Round 13, Round 14, Round 15, Round 17, Round 18, Round 19, Round 20, Round 21, Round 22, Round 23, Round 24, Round 25, Round 26, Round 27, Final Round 1, Final Round 2, Final Round 3, After the Tournament.

Immediately after games finished yesterday players proceeded to the Panthumwan Princess Hotel, where they were joined by dignitaries and members of the local crossword game community for the annual Hall of Fame reception. After the customary video presentation and speeches, we enjoyed an outstanding meal while local players received certificates, medals and prizes for their achievements in the past year.

We were scheduled to start this morning at 11:30, another late start to accommodate Thai players who find it easier to take an afternoon off work than a whole day. The curious result of this was that all the foreign players showed up between 10:30 and 11:00, long before we were set up with laptops, monitors and printers. I wrote out the pairings by hand (first names only for the Thai players, and that was long enough) so that those who were ready could get started, and as I write this at 11:27, almost all of the games are already now in progress.

And as of 11:35, all but one of the players is present, and rumour has it that Atiruth Sakdiyakorn (THA) is stuck at work. 18-year-old Youth Champion Charnrit Khongthanarat (THA) is playing 24-year-old 2005 World Champion Panupol Sujjayakorn (THA) at Board 1, and I'm surprised the rest of the room isn't crowded around their table kibitzing.

Ravee asked me for help with an adjudication issue this round. A Thai player with 16 minutes left on his clock watched as his foreign opponent spent two of their remaining three minutes thinking until he bent down to pick up something from the floor, whereupon his opponent appeared to reach toward the tile bag and then play the word NASTIER. He thought his opponent might have traded a tile before making the play.

After hearing his side of the story, I asked his opponent to confirm that they had taken a long time to think (yes), asked why (they weren't sure about OTARINES*, and were concerned about a big J response to NASTIER), asked if they had worked out how much OTARINES* and NASTIER scored (no), asked if they had made any notes while trying to decide (yes, and showed me the words OTARINES* ANOESTRI# ARSONITE# NOTARIES NOTARISE# ROSINATE# SENORITA scrawled on scrap paper).

I conferred privately with Ravee, and we agreed that the opponent had a reasonable explanation for their actions, and that it was unlikely that they could have executed the illicit trade successfully. As we approached the table again, the Thai player apologized, said that he accepted his opponent's explanation, withdrew his accusation and shook his opponent's hand. If only all adjudications could be so easy or so happily resolved.

Charnrit Khongthanarat (THA) beat Panupol Sujjayakorn (THA) 416-415 to remain undfeated. Adrian Tamas (ROM) climbs to 2nd place at 6-0 +459 on the strength of a 100-point forfeit win over 4th place Atiruth Sakdiyakorn (THA), who is still stuck at work. The only other player left undefeated is Marut Siriwangso (THA) at +304.