What makes an expert: Thinking of Winning Nationals?
Posted on Monday, August 14 @ 01:08:17 EDT
Topic: Preparing to Compete
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I'm glad I decided to not play in our National Championship for the
first time in 17 years. Instead, recording the games at Table 1
throughout the tournament was a wonderful opportunity to observe
firsthand what happens at the top table.
I highly recommend it for
any of you who want to be inspired anew. While it's a bit more
demanding now that the games are webcasted more or less live
via computer data input, it's not as psychologically draining as playing
the game.
Of course, the most rewarding aspect of the week for me was seeing
my club-mate Jim Kramer come out on top at the end. I love watching
him play. He gives each and every play serious consideration, often
finding something better than his initial thought. I've never seen him
more nervous than he was in the finals (understandably), and he still
played great. He is such a good player and classy human being that,
except for my darling wife Lisa O, there's nobody I'd rather see on the
podium. Even so, I'd have to say that the most inspiring and amazing
play in the main tournament came from his fellow finalist, Geoff
Thevenot, largely because he's so new to the game. He held up under
the greatest pressure our game offers, staying at or near the top
throughout the entire tournament. Jim did that, too, but he's had more
experience with that sort of pressure, at least up to the cloistered finals.
At that point, I think all bets are off, but more on that in a bit.
I think the main difference between playing at Table 1 and any other
table is the situational pressure. The level of play, especially this year
with top players littered throughout the field, was probably as good at
any given table. But Table 1 adds a few elements the rest of the players
don't have to endure. Players who have been here before have an edge,
at least until the tiles are drawn.
First, there's the simple knowledge of being at Table 1. No matter what
you've done up to this point, now you start to think that maybe you'd better
play like a champ. Second, now there are a couple of people sitting next
to you, recording your every rack and move on clipboards. It doesn't
matter whether you're used to shooing observers away from your other
tables. At Table 1, you can't shoo us away. We're watching, and we know
if you've been bad or good (well, sometimes we know). Third, those same
observers are entering your racks and plays into computers that are hooked
up to the World Wide Web. It's not only two, but hundreds and perhaps
thousands of others who are watching. They, too, know if you've been bad
or good. Worse yet, the games are recorded for posterity, so simulations
and debates can occur over every play for weeks and months afterward.
All of that requires Table 1 players to use part of their brains to block out,
as best they can, those extraneous thoughts that interfere with optimal play.
Some players do that more successfully than others, but it's a drain on all
Table 1 players that players at other tables don't have to worry about. For
a player fairly new to tournament Scrabble, Geoff's coolness under pressure
was extraordinary.
Once two players get to the finals, it's a whole new ballgame in more ways
than the best-of-five format. The pressure of Table 1 gets ratcheted up a
notch or two. The players have already played 28 games, most likely
rendering their overused minds suboptimal. The players get miked, so now
not only does the world see, it hears the players. The board is centered on
the table, with instructions not to move it other than to rotate. The racks are
glued to the table so they can't be moved, and they're not centered on the
board or players' chairs as a concession to TV requirements. There are
very bright lights on the players and table, adding to glare and sensory
distractions. The players are provided with a list of nasty words that will
not be allowed for play on television, and it's not exactly the same list as
our expurgated words. Both players have had a night to think about this day,
with sleep a decided loser. The playing area is not removed far enough from
the audience, so that crowd reactions are very much discernible, which
bothers both players. Earplugs are employed, yet another atypical distraction.
For some reason, the game recorders' computers keep losing connection
with their server, requiring a bunch of manual passing of racks and plays via
slips of paper that provide another peripheral distraction.
Given these conditions, I think the level of play was more than good, it was
great. Some mistakes were made, but not, I think, any more than is typical
in a game between top experts. Anyone can miss a bingo, a better play, a
better exchange now and then. Phoneys are rare, but they do happen - it
simply adds to the suspense and excitement. Kudos to Jim and Geoff for
giving us such a good show. And now maybe Jim will have the momentum
and confidence to improve on his current 6th place position in our club
standings (really - you can check it out).
Steve Pellinen
August 2006
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