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2011 King's Cup Commentary: Round 6

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Go to: 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 16, 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.

As the round draws to a close, Ravee is busily organizing carpooling from the tournament site to the evening reception, not letting any Thai players leave without passengers, and checking everyone off on a player roster to make sure no Scrabbler is left behind.

At Table 16, Leonora Labog (PHL) scores the highest win of the day so far, 723-288 vs. Shalyn Lim (MYS), thanks to SLANTED, DELUSIVE, SAnITIZE, RATHEST#, triple-triple TROWELEd and no bingoes by her opponent. She is surprisingly nonchalant about the game, saying that she has scored 800 points in a game before. Also, to be fair, she only gets to accrue 350 points of spread this round.

Chollapat Itthi-aree (THA) and Komol Panyasophonlert (THA) survive the day undefeated, 6-0 +728 and +463, and will face each other at Board 1 in the morning. In third place is Siu Hean Cheah (SGP) at 5-1 +830.

At 18:30, everyone gets into cars to drive to the Baiyoke Sky Hotel, about two kilometres north. Under normal traffic conditions it ought to be a twenty-minute drive, but everyone is surprised that it takes only five minutes, thanks to a political rally in the neighbourhood that has discouraged everyone from driving into the area. On the 43rd floor of the hotel is the Sky Lounge, which offers a buffet dinner and a beautiful panoramic view of the city as the sky fades from sunset to twilight.

A large video screen shows highlights from the 26-year history of the King's Cup tournament while Amnuay Ploysangngam (THA) thanks the players for their attendance, officially welcomes them to the event and invites them to eat. The buffet is extensive and culturally diverse: I think there are more dishes than players present! When we eventually finish eating, it's time for karaoke and dancing. Our hostess, Natty, gets things going by taking requests from players to hear other players sing. Among the more memorable songs were Mihoko Terasaki (JPN)'s spirited rendition of "Sukiyaki", Jason Katz-Brown (USA)'s "Smells Like Teen Spirit", Marlon Prudencio (PHL)'s version of "La Bamba" that had all the ladies dancing, Kunihiko Kuroda (JPN)'s emotive "Feelings", Jakkrit Klaphajone (THA)'s "Yu Kon Deaw", a Thai chorus of "Bao Bao" and Sanmi Odelana (NGA) and Natty's duet version of "Poker Face". I'm sure I've left several out, especially as the party was still going strong when I had to head back to my hotel: corrections and additions are welcome.