It's Dave Costello's last game and he'll be hoping to finish as an octochamp.
C1: Champion Dave Costello (7 wins, 621 points.) A pensions actuary from Bath. Enjoys riding his motorbike, running and badminton.
C2: Challenger Thomas Wade, a student from Blackwood in Caerphilly. An avid gamer and cuber.
DC: Susie Dent and Greg Rusedski.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: H G N O E A W T U
R02: G Y F I U E S A N
R03: 25, 8, 3, 1, 2, 4. Target: 650.
TTT: ENDCRUSH - "He does this in the morning, and the whole of the night before comes back to him."
R04: J T G N U E A R I
R05: N T R H L E A E R
R06: 50, 10, 5, 6, 8, 4. Target: 408.
R07: N R F A U A L O D
R08: T S W C E O I N E
R09: 75, 2, 8, 6, 10, 1. Target: 536.
TTT: BUNFLIES - "No old game show here, but you can name that tuna."
R10: R D M U E I S N O
R11: T S P U E O R Z S
R12: K Q R T A E O R E
R13: A M V O L D A T S
R14: 50, 100, 75, 25, 6, 10. Target: 526.
R15: T R I E D Z O O M (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Round 1: H G N O E A W T U
Dave: TONGUE (6)
Thomas: HANG (4)
DC: TOUGHEN (7)
OT: TOHUNGA (7)
Score: 6–0 (max 7)
An unpromising start for Thomas who offers HANG. Dave has a solid 6 while DC has 7, TOUGHEN. There was also TOHUNGA, a Maori priest or learned person.
Round 2: G Y F I U E S A N
Dave: SAYING (6)
Thomas: FUSING (6)
DC: -
RR: GUINEAS (7)
Score: 12–6 (max 14)
Not much joy to be had from an ING round. Both players get a 6 and DC can do no better. Rachel treads on their wordy toes by spotting the unique max.
Round 3: 25, 8, 3, 1, 2, 4. Target: 650.
Dave says he's lost confidence in the harder numbers selections and goes 1-large. It's a pretty easy one and both players solve it with time to spare.
Dave: 650. (3 × 8 + 2) × 25 (10)
Thomas: 650. (3 × 8 + 2) × 25 (10)
Score: 22–16 (max 24)
Teatime teaser: ENDCRUSH -> CHUNDERS
Round 4: J T G N U E A R I
Dave: TEARING (7)
Thomas: TEARING (7)
DC: JAUNTIER (8)
Score: 29–23 (max 32)
Another ING selection which both contestants exploit for 7 but the solitary 8 was an IER.
Round 5: N T R H L E A E R
Dave: HEARTEN (7)
Thomas: RELEARN (7)
DC: LEATHERN (8)
OT: RELEARNT (8)
Score: 36–30 (max 40)
Two excellent 7s from the contestants and Thomas seems to have found his feet now. DC has an 8, LEATHERN, which is an archaic term for "made of leather".
Round 6: 50, 10, 5, 6, 8, 4. Target: 408.
Dave: 408. (50 + 6 − 5) × 8 (10)
Thomas: 408. (50 − 6 − 4) × 10 + 8 (10)
Score: 46–40 (max 50)
Thomas goes 1-large and it's another easy one. No dramas for either player.
Greg talks about the state of British tennis and a programme he’s involved in that aims to increase participation on the back of the recent British win at the Davis Cup.
Round 7: N R F A U A L O D
Dave: FRAUD (5)
Thomas: FAUNA (5)
DC: UNLOAD (6) AROUND (6) UNFOLD (6)
OT: FOULARD (7) NODULAR (7)
Score: 51–45 (max 57)
DC has 6s while both contestants are stuck on 5. There were 7s to be had, including FOULARD, a thin, soft material of silk or silk and cotton, typically having a printed pattern, or a tie or handkerchief made of foulard (thus making it pluralisable).
Round 8: T S W C E O I N E
Dave: SECTION (7)
Thomas: NEWTS (5)
DC: SEICENTO (8)
Score: 58–45 (max 65)
Dave gains a little breathing space with SECTION while Thomas just has NEWTS. DC have SEICENTO, which is the style of Italian art and literature of the 17th century.
Round 9: 75, 2, 8, 6, 10, 1. Target: 536.
Dave: 535. (7)
Thomas: 536. Mistake in working.
RR: 536. (75 − 6 − 2) × 8 (10)
Score: 65–45 (max 75)
Yet another 1-large and this time it works well for Dave. He's one away as Thomas declares an exact solution but realises he's made a mistake. Rachel has the solution.
Teatime teaser: BUNFLIES -> BLUEFINS
Round 10: R D M U E I S N O
Dave: REMINDS (7)
Thomas: sniper
DC: INSURED (7)
OT: DIMEROUS (8) DRUMINES (8) MODERNUS (8) NURSEDOM (8)
Score: 72–45 (max 83)
Thomas seems to have lost his way a little as he imagines a P in this selection. Dave powers on with REMINDS. There were four 8s available, including:
DIMEROUS: Having parts arranged in groups of two.
DRUMINES: A substance extracted from the Australian spurge Euphorbia drummondii and claimed to act as a local anaesthetic.
MODERNUS: An advocate of modern ideas or theories; a person characterized by modernness of thinking.
Round 11: T S P U E O R Z S
Dave: SPROUTS (7)
Thomas: SUPERS (6)
DC: POSTURES (8) TROUPES (7)
OT: SPOUTERS (8)
Score: 79–45 (max 91)
Dave pulls further ahead thanks to his SPROUTS while DC has the max.
Susie talks about the name of the marble-playing community (“mibsters”), and words and phrases such as “knuckle down” that come from that community.
Round 12: K Q R T A E O R E
Dave: RETAKE (6)
Thomas: retear
DC: RETAKER (7)
Score: 85–45 (max 98)
Thomas fails to score for the fifth round in a row as his optimistic RETEAR is disallowed which means Dave has the game in the bag with his RETAKE. DC stick the R on for RETAKER.
Round 13: A M V O L D A T S
Dave: ATOMS (5)
Thomas: MODALS (6)
DC: VOLTS (5)
OT: ADATOMS (7)
Score: 85–51 (max 105)
A good 6 for Thomas wins him the round but it's too late. There was a 7 available: ADATOMS, which are atoms that have been adsorbed on a surface.
Round 14: 50, 100, 75, 25, 6, 10. Target: 526.
Dave: 525. 6 × 75 + 50 + 25 (7)
Thomas: 525. 50 × 10 + 25 (7)
RR: 526. (50 + 100 ÷ (75 − 25)) × 10 + 6 (10)
Score: 92–58 (max 115)
Thomas, with nothing to lose, goes 4-large. It's a slightly tricky one to solve exactly and both players are one away. Rachel, as usual, has the answer.
Round 15: T R I E D Z O O M
No one buzzes. The answer was MOTORIZED.
Final Score: 92–58 (max 125)
No-one gets the conundrum so it's left to a bloke from the audience to solve.
So we have back-to-back octochamps as Dave becomes the fifth octochamp of the year and finishes his run with a comfortable win and an octototal of 713 (officially 723, presumably including the tie-break conundrum from his first game). Thomas stayed with him until halfway and then faded. Congratulations to Dave, who hasn't scored as heavily during his run as some we've seen but has been consistent enough to see off everyone who's come his way.
Join James next time for two new contestants.
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=74
Tuesday 3rd May 2016 (Series 74, Prelim 65)
Moderator: James Robinson