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MOST 2010 Commentary: Round 14

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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 11, Round 12, Round 13, Round 14, Round 15, Round 16, Round 17, Round 19, Round 21.

Round 14: The situation at the top of the Leader board is very tight and very interesting. Edward Martin (Eng) is lying 1st with 11-2 and a spread of 907. There are 4 players with games score of 10-3, with the following spreads: Nigel Richards (NZL): 1309, Mohammad Sulaiman (PAK): 1130, Craig Beevers (Eng): 883, and Evan Cohen (ISR): 813. Elie Dangoor (Eng) is in 6th place with 9-4 and a spread of 998. As one can see, a game lost or won can make a massive change in position for all of the six top players and there is still a long way to go!! There are 8 players including Ellie with a game score 9-4, although he has the highest spread of the group - as no-one has runaway from the Leading pack it is possible for any of the top 15-20 players to win at this stage of the Tournament. Changing the subject from the politics and gamesmanship of top International Scrabble it's worth considering the electoral system in Malta as compared to the UK, which as you probably know have just had an election with a hung Parliament. In Malta, with a population of 400,000, 49% are born Nationalist (Conservative) and 49% are born Labour and either group would rather be dead than vote for the opposition! That leaves a 2% (8,000) floating vote who decide the government of the day every 4 years!! The majority in the House is often only one Member! Back to Round 14, Ed lost his game to Craig Beevers 383-419 and has now moved down to third on spread while Mohammad Sulaiman won his game against Nigel and has moved into 1st with Craig a close 2nd on spread.