From: MBaron1949@aol.com
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 1998 23:49:17 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Re: Duplicate
Message-id: <980122234916_-2071539017@mrin54>

Charles, Jerry, Bob, et al.

In Feb 1984 Scrabble Players News (SPN) 53 announced "First national Duplicate Tourney May 19-20 Weekend," with the lead in line: "How would your words compare with those played by an expert Scrabble crossword game player if both of you had the same racks at the same time?" It went on to state that "the concept was first proposed by contestants at the 1978 Invitational [NSC]."

In SPN55 (June 1984; received just five weeks after the event ended!), the headline read: "First Nationwide Duplicate: Michael Willis [TX] Outscores Them All, Wyer-Baker Is Best Combination [945], Robert Schoenman Is Top Single [602]." It went on to add the Willis "compiled the highest total score - 2787 points - for the six games played," a 464 average. "Goldstein, Reeves, and Pratt Close Behind," with 2625, 2616, and 2600 totals. Hmm, I even see that a player by the name of Cheryl Cadieux participated, during the pre-telling-it-like-it-is era.

"The top performers at each duplicate site recieved Duplicate edition Scrabble crossword games or the new Scrabble brand PRONTO fast paced word game."

For the historically bent, the next issue (SPN56, Aug84) announced "Computer Rating System Starts With September Tournaments." It suggested that, "Soon [after the 1978 Invitational NSC] mathematical rating systems were proposed by members of Scrabble Players nationwide," and went on to tell of Dan Pratt's seminal work, with subsequent refinements made by Charlie Southwell. "Research by Ron Tiekert...and Alan Frank...helped to hone the program so that it now will reflect the true capacity of all contestants as they participate in upcoming sanctioned tournaments." "True capacity?" Who then could predict the teeth-gnashing provided, since its inception, by a unidivisional WSC format? ;)

Mike Baron