B'day Championship Spoilers For Wednesday February 6th 2013

[James Robinson]

So, after 143 reasons to talk about yesterday's interesting match, maybe there'll be a few more to follow that in today's matchup of youth and experience.

Our battle royale today sees the youth represented by the Series 54 champion Conor Travers and the experience represented by the Series 52 champion Mark Tournoff.

Here are the stats:

Firstly, Series 54 Champion & CoC XII Semi-Finalist Conor Travers - 15 Games, 14 Wins, 1,663 Points. (Average: 110.87) (I've not included the 12-round 25th Birthday Special)
Highest Score: 124 vs. Andrew Christley (6th Game), Paul Howe (Semi-Final) & John Hunt (CoC Prelim)
Lowest Score: 98 vs. Matthew Shore (Grand Final)
9's Achieved: 7/12
Total Points/Max/%: 1663/1913 (87%)
Letters Points/Max/%: 1173/1325 (89%)
Numbers Points/Max/%: 370/438 (84%)
Conundrum Points/Max/%: 120/150 (80%)

Secondly, Series 52 Champion & CoC XII Runner-Up Mark Tournoff - 16 Games, 15 Wins, 1,663 Points. (Average: 103.94)
Highest Score: 138 vs. John Gray (Quarter-Final)
Lowest Score: 79 vs. Keith Jones (7th Game)
9's Achieved: 7/12
Total Points/Max/%: 1663/2026 (82%)
Letters Points/Max/%: 1132/1395 (81%)
Numbers Points/Max/%: 401/471 (85%)
Conundrum Points/Max/%: 130/160 (81%)

Join Jack Worsley later on for the recap.

[Jon O'Neill]

Trivia: both only ever lost one game. Both against Paul Gallen in the CoC.

[David Barnard]

Could be a very tasty encounter, Conor is obviously a great player which I'm sure we've all seen on apterous but Mark's competitive instinct should kick in and I see it being a close one

[Jon Corby]

Yeah, really looking forward to this match-up. Again, two absolutely super-top blokes, and should be very close - can easily see there being less than 10 between them at the end.
.

[JackHurst]

Great stuff from conor so far, top number solve. Mark is still in it if he can pull out some tricks.

[Dan McColm]

COSECANT is a nice mathsy one I thought Conor would have in R9

[Dan McColm]

((75+3)*50-100)/25 alt in R10

[Jordan F]

Was that a 14 maxer for Conor? Whether it was or not, very well done regardless. And commiserations to Mark, clearly he's a very good player, but Conor was playing at a level today that very few could have beaten. I loved the way the second numbers game played out between you guys too.

[Adam Gillard]

Very well played there, Conor! Well played too Mark, you had some good chat with Nick too. Interesting that Rachel mentioned Kirk's max game, following the discussion whether it was Penelope-friendly at the time. I also enjoyed that numbers game where Mark went straight into the solution - nice quick wit, there, Conor!

[Jojo Apollo]

Good spirited game, well done chaps. Very well played Conor, unlucky Mark, a bit off form today, at your usual very high standard you would've taken it down to the crucial conundrum I bet.

[JackHurst]

I think Conor only dropped point in the SOIGNEES round, and I think his conundrum was unbeatably fast. I'd describe that as the most unbeatable countdown performance ever, so well done!
sad to see mark go out. A really nice guy, and the end score was a little harsh on him. Looking forward to next week

If Jonathan gets through on friday there'd be 3 students from our department in the last 16, amazing!

[Jack Worsley]

Fantastic performance by Conor, very few people would have got near you today! Unlucky with SOIGNEES, had you stuck with seven, it would have been a max game. Would you have risked it if Mark had declared seven?

Mark, regardless of what happened today, you will be remembered as an all-time great for what you've achieved on the show and rightly so. I'm sure most games between you two would be much closer but an off day can happen to anyone. Also you came up against someone in red hot form and it would have taken something truly special to have beaten Conor today.

[Martin Long]

Awesome performance from Conor, would have absolutely thrashed me today, beat me on the first numbers round too - very good 625 solve.

Also, well done to Mark. He across well on TV and (as Adam said) had some good conversation with Nick.

[Ryan Taylor]

Easier way for the 1st numbers:

(8-1)*100-(9*8)-3=625

[Grant Waters]

Another incredible game. I would have gone for JUDICATE in r1 but unfortunately it is not in. Amazing speed on the conundrum. I can't even read them that quickly let alone solve them!

[Conor]

Thanks everyone! Mark was one of my earliest Countdown heroes and to be able to play him on screen was an absolute privilege. The scoreline didn't reflect his ability at all, but games can go like that if you get behind the 8-ball. The first numbers was one where I saw 100/(3+1) for the 25 and luckily the rest added up to make 25. Mark had gone down a similar route instead doing 3*8+1 for the 25 leaving him stuck, and I'm only too aware of the difficulty of doing the numbers in the studio to know that on another day that could've been me. Was also a bit of a pity (though I was no doubt relieved at the time) the second numbers game was so easy.

r.e. SOIGNEES, for whatever reason I'd talked myself into thinking it was a noun and so was going for it unless Mark declared 6 or 9. My pronunciation wasn't too painful watching it on TV - it felt disastrous at the time. I think Nick said 'would you like to try that again?' and I got it completely wrong again. I did have COSECANT first in rd 9, but wasn't taking a risk with the new dictionary in case it was hyphenated or something.

It goes without saying that Mark is a top person, and it was great that this time he could stay and join us in the pub later on with all the other contestants.

[James Robinson]

Very well done, Conor. Following a 12-maxer with a 14-maxer is quite spectacular. I was just happy keeping up with you

LAUREATE and MORPHIA were very impressive spots.

Very unlucky, Mark. He's quite something though, isn't he.

Shame I'm not recapping this, but I'm sure Jack will do a fantastic job at it.

[Kirk Bevins]

Awesome performance, Conor. Great wit in the 2nd numbers game and two top gents of the game...got lots of time for you both.

[Mark Deeks]

The only problem with this 30th championship is you have to see some lovely people lose.

[Chris Davies]

Tremendous performance. A really enjoyable game - well done both.

[Conor]

I think Conor only dropped point in the SOIGNEES round, and I think his conundrum was unbeatably fast. I'd describe that as the most unbeatable countdown performance ever, so well done!

I'd say Kirk's recent max game or your grand final performance were just as (if not more so) unbeatable.

[Jon Corby]

The only problem with this 30th championship is you have to see some lovely people lose.

This - you could really sense Conor's discomfort at consigning Mark to that kind of defeat. Unlucky Mark, I would guess a lot of what happened was due to finding yourself in the unfamiliar position of being well behind fairly early on. But you also made my earlier prediction look really stupid, so you should feel bad for that. Congratulations though Conor, fantastic performance and played in a great spirit by both men.

[Jordan Leckonby]

Conor is in his early 20s, just like Jack Hurst
Conor attends Cambridge University, just like Jack Hurst
Conor wears uncool sweaters, just like Jack Hurst
Conor was gracious in victory and respectful to his opponent.

[Jon Corby]

[Graeme Cole]

Bad luck Mark, on another day that would have been a much closer game. Conor, well played. I think I'd have scored about 55 against you today. By the way, that strange object you keep curiously looking at is called a camera.

Conor is in his early 20s, just like Jack Hurst
Conor attends Cambridge University, just like Jack Hurst
Conor wears uncool sweaters, just like Jack Hurst
Conor was gracious in victory and respectful to his opponent.

Sigh. Is this really necessary?

[JackHurst]

Bad luck Mark, on another day that would have been a much closer game. Conor, well played. I think I'd have scored about 55 against you today. By the way, that strange object you keep curiously looking at is called a camera.

Conor is in his early 20s, just like Jack Hurst
Conor attends Cambridge University, just like Jack Hurst
Conor wears uncool sweaters, just like Jack Hurst
Conor was gracious in victory and respectful to his opponent.

Sigh. Is this really necessary?

Yeah, how dare you call our sweaters uncool!

[Richard Adams]

This championship is just top stuff. Wonderful entertainment. Thank you Mr Team and all the players.

What is the rationale behind allowing 'soigne' or 'soignee' but disallowing 'soignees', when all three are valid French words?

Would 'fiance' be allowed in all four forms (-e, -es, -ee and -ees) or just one or two of them?

Sorry I can't do the acute accent on this laptop. Can't find NumLock

[Peter Mabey]

While fiancée has been naturalised as a noun, soignée has only come in as an adjective. (Really only posted this to see if AltGr e does the business )

[Chris Davies]

While fiancée has been naturalised as a noun, soignée has only come in as an adjective. (Really only posted this to see if AltGr e does the business )

I learnt something today. Swéet.

[Rhys Benjamin]

Sorry I can't do the acute accent on this laptop. Can't find NumLock

You don't need to. Just hit "Alt Gr" (or some variation of that) whilst pressing down the vowel for the acute accent. Observe: á, é, í, ó, ú.

[Richard Adams]

AltGr does the business all right when it comes to acute accents. Thank you.

Anyone know how to do a grave accent (the other way around)? Using ASCII codes both (and other foreign characters) are easy, hold down Alt and type either 130 or 138 for e-accents, but this method is problematic on laptops without separate keypads.

And I agree that fiancé is a noun and soigné an adjective (such fun doing these accents! Thank you, Peter) but I still don't understand why, if Susie would allow soigné (masculine, singular) and soignée (feminine, singular) she would not allow the plural feminine form, soignées.

Racism? Grammarism? Frenchism?

[Eoin Monaghan]

Superbly played Conor! A 14-max is awesome, only a matter of time before there's another max game!

It was great to see Mark on the TV again and the scoreline really doesn't reflect how much of a true champ he is. Always a pleasure to play on Apterous!

[Brian Moore]

Anyone know how to do a grave accent (the other way around)? Using ASCII codes both (and other foreign characters) are easy, hold down Alt and type either 130 or 138 for e-accents, but this method is problematic on laptops without separate keypads.

As I do quite a lot of stuff with accents etc., I switch the keyboard to French layout, then you've got the full range there. Though it always screws my head up for a bit, once when I switch over, then again when I switch back. If I type my first sentence with French layout, it comes out like this:

Qs I do auite q lot of stuff zith qccents etc:; I szitch the keyboqrd to French lqyout; then youùve got the full rqnge there:

The numbers row (1 to =) gives you & é " ' ( - è _ ç à ) = and the key to the right of the p gives you umlauts and circumflexes.

Quite handy, if you can cope with switching to and fro, and you need these characters frequently.

[Mike Brown]

And I agree that fiancé is a noun and soigné an adjective (such fun doing these accents! Thank you, Peter) but I still don't understand why, if Susie would allow soigné (masculine, singular) and soignée (feminine, singular) she would not allow the plural feminine form, soignées.

Racism? Grammarism? Frenchism?

I'd guess the reason is that both singular forms are listed in the dictionary so have to be allowed, whereas English doesn't generally allow plural forms of adjectives to take the 'S'. So, probably a mixture of Frenchism and grammarism, but this is Countdown after all, not Des Chiffres.

[Brian Moore]

I'd guess the reason is that both singular forms are listed in the dictionary so have to be allowed, whereas English doesn't generally allow plural forms of adjectives to take the 'S'. So, probably a mixture of Frenchism and grammarism, but this is Countdown after all, not Des Chiffres.

And maybe add in a bit of showing off by people who want to show they know French know masculine and feminine endings.

Actually, do any English adjectives (imported or not) take plural forms when used as adjectives? I was going to say 'none', but then thought someone was bound to prove me wrong, so wimped out.

[Mark Deeks]

I think PROBLEMATIC can.

[Mike Brown]

Actually, do any English adjectives (imported or not) take plural forms when used as adjectives? I was going to say 'none', but then thought someone was bound to prove me wrong, so wimped out.

This.

[Brian Moore]

I think PROBLEMATIC can.

Well, I've learnt a new noun. But I'm pretty sure (there, I'm wussing out again) that one wouldn't say (sober) "those are problematics questions" (or whatever). There are plenty of adjectives that are also nouns (e.g. 'principal') so can be pluralised as such, but I'm not aware of any adjectives in English that agree with the subject in number, apart from in a fully foreign phrase (e.g. 'faits accomplis'). It would be quite fun to know of any, so I can amaze my pupils next week. (The fact that they come in to learn the trumpet is beside the point.)

[Brian Moore]

Haha, the perils of getting nouns and adjectives mixed up:



Or perhaps Cheltenham Town Council really is employing someone to plan the morals of the town.

[Gavin Chipper]

Conor is in his early 20s, just like Jack Hurst
Conor attends Cambridge University, just like Jack Hurst
Conor wears uncool sweaters, just like Jack Hurst
Conor was gracious in victory and respectful to his opponent.

Sigh. Is this really necessary?

As I said yesterday, Nina Boyd nailed it. Eveything that came after was just hot air.

[Gavin Chipper]

Easier way for the 1st numbers:

(8-1)*100-(9*8)-3=625

Is it easier though? When the target is a multiple of 25 but the big number doesn't go into it, the division/multiplication trick is often the first thing I try. I got it Conor's way today (and probably when it was on originally, but I can't guarantee I didn't fuck it up) and also in the remaining time did 100*(3*(9+8)-1)/8 = 625.

[Fiona T]

Conor is in his early 20s, just like Jack Hurst
Conor attends Cambridge University, just like Jack Hurst
Conor wears uncool sweaters, just like Jack Hurst
Conor was gracious in victory and respectful to his opponent.

Sigh. Is this really necessary?

As I said yesterday, Nina Boyd nailed it. Eveything that came after was just hot air.

Lay off the lad. Bad enough (appalling actually) that a 20 year old was made to feel shit about it at the time when he was already upset, but regurgitating it 7 years later is bordering on bullying.

Incidentally, like me, DS viewers clearly didn't notice anything amiss when the watched the re-run
https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussio ... t_96630284

[Gavin Chipper]

Sorry. I don't think he probably minds these posts now though. We've met several times since the incident and not come to blows. I never even cared that about it.

[Adam Dexter]

Solved 625 this way (would never have managed this or even thought of it 7 years ago, so that's progress).

((8-3)*(9+1)*100)/8

Just thought... the target ends 25, how many do I need to make it end in a 00? 4 or 8... there we go

[Toby McDonald]

^ Same as Adam for the 625 numbers.
GENOISES in R4
ALUNITE in R13

[Tom S]

I had an alternative for 625, too: ((8 - 1) × 100) - (9 × 8) - 3

[Gavin Chipper]

Same as Ryan above!

[Rhys Benjamin]

Turns out we won't be seeing Conor next week. Not sure how that got left in.

[James Robinson]

First Round Game 14 2020 Word Update

The max would have increased by four (from 119 to 123), if played today, as there was a 7 available in Round 13 and there were 8's available in Rounds 1 and 4, that weren't available in 2013.

New Words Now Allowed:

R1: JUDICATE (increases MAX from 6 to 8!)
R3: PERULATE
R4: GENOISES, MESOGENS (increases MAX from 7 to 8)
R6: NILGAUS, SOULING, ZONGALS
R7: TRADIES, VISTAED
R8: OPHIURA
R9: ACESCENT, NECTOSAC
R12: FIREPOTS, FIRESTOP
R13: ALUNITE, TELLINA (increases MAX from 6 to 7)