Issue 230 - National Scrabble Association

A publication of the National SCRABBLE ® Association 

ISSUE 230 2009 

World SCRABBLE ® Championship Update 

The 2009 World SCRABBLE® Championship 

(WSC) will be held on November 26–29 at 

the Zon Regency Hotel in Johor Bahru, 

Malaysia. This seaside hotel will host a 24round 

modified Swiss tournament, starting 

each day at 

8:00 A.M. The 

top two players 

will contest a 

five-game final 

on Sunday, November 

29 beginning 

at 10:00 A.M., with closed circuit coverage 

to an audience. The cash awards which will be 

awarded in US funds, include $15,000 for 1st place, 

$6,000 for 2nd place and $3,000 for 3rd place. Cash 

prizes continue through 10th place ($500). 

WSC 2009 will be played under World 

English-Language SCRABBLE® Players Association 

(WESPA) Game Rules. The dictionary 

of reference will be Collins SCRABBLE® 

Tournament & Club Word List, and as in past 

years unsuccessful challenges attract a 5-point 

penalty for each word challenged that is found 

to be in the dictionary. Wilma Vialle from 

Australia will be Tournament Director. 

In the first round, no two players representing 

the same country will be paired with each 

other. Tsh, a program created by NSA webmaster 

John Chew, will be used, as well as the pairings 

system found at http://www.math.utoronto.ca/ 

jjchew/software/tsh/doc/pairing.html#chew. 

The American and Canadian players have 

been determined based on a qualification 

system run by the National SCRABBLE® 

Association (NSA), with details listed at 

www.scrabble-assoc.com. Players representing 

other countries should contact their national 

player organizations or SCRABBLE® distributor. 

Team USA 

The NSA congratulates the following play- 

PERMIT NO. 101 Photo Credit: 

FIRST CLASS 

U.S. POSTAGE 

PAID 

GREENPORT, 

NY 11944 

John Chew 

World SCRABBLE Champion Nigel Richards (left) contemplates his next move during a recent match against 

American expert Rod McNeil (right). 

ers who have earned the right to represent the 

United States at the 2009 World SCRABBLE® 

Championship: Dave Wiegand, Jason Katz- 

Brown, Sam Kantimathi, John O’Laughlin, 

Nathan Benedict, Jason Idalski, Geoff 

Thevenot, Jim Kramer, Marty Gabriel, John 

Luebkemann and Sam Rosin, who qualify on 

the basis of their ratings. 

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 

2010 School Championship Site Chosen 

It may look familiar to many of you as the home of the 2008 National 

SCRABBLE ® Championship. This time, though, the resort is welcoming us 

back as the host hotel for the 2010 National School SCRABBLE ® 

Championship (NSSC). In past the event has been in Boston, MA or more 

recently Providence, RI, so this is an exciting announcement for the 

National SCRABBLE ® Association (NSA). April 8-11, 2009 is reserved and 

the NSA and Hasbro are in contract discussions right now. 

“We have been thrilled with the host hotel and convention centers in the 

Northeast,” says NSA’s Jane Ratsey Williams. “But time has come to 

start moving this event around the country and watch it grow. We 

cannot think of a nicer first venue than the Loews Royal Pacific Resort in 

Orlando, FL. It offers the most comprehensive meeting options as well as 

a backdrop for a perfect travel getaway.” The hotel features a lagoonstyle 

pool complete with sand beaches, 6 restaurants and lounges and 

complimentary resort-wide transportation via water taxi or shuttle bus. 

Participants in the NSSC will also receive special park benefits at the 

neighboring Universal Orlando Parks. Once contracts are signed, details 

will follow on www.schoolscrabble.com. CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

SCRABBLE ® News, Issue 230 

SEPTEMBER 

SEPTEMBER 26, BATTLE CREEK, MI: Sat: 

9:30 AM, 7 RDS. R-R/8. EF: $27. Walk-ins pay $5 extra. 

Westlake Presbyterian Church, 415 South 28th St. CT. Carol 

Ravichandran, 39757 Manchester Ct., Northville, MI 48167, 

(248) 305-7770, carolravi@msn.com. D 

SEPTEMBER 26, CHEHALIS, WA: Portland vs. Seattle 

Tournament. Sat: 9:30 AM, 7 RDS. Team challenge tournament 

open only to members of Portland and Seattle clubs. Kit 

Carson Bistro - Chardonnay Room, I-5 exit 76, Chehalis, WA. 

CT. Rich Moyer. D 

SEPTEMBER 26, EDMONTON, AB, CAN: Sat: 9:30 AM, 6 

RDS. R-R/K-H. EF: $25 (CAN). Must pre-register by 9/19. 

Stanley A. Milner Library, 7 Sir Winston Churchill Sq. CT. 

Huguette Settle, 112 Clareview Rd. NW, Edmonton, AB, CAN 

T5A 3Y3, (780) 476-8019, hsettle@hotmail.com. D 

SEPTEMBER 26, FT. LAUDERDALE, FL: Sat: 9:00 AM, 8 RDS. 

EF: $35. Must pre-register by 9/12. 36 player max. Ft. 

Lauderdale Bridge Club, Holiday Park. CT. Tim Wise, PO Box 

11533, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33339-1533, (954) 942-6319; (954) 

461-3333, WISE9778@gmail.com. D 

SEPTEMBER 26, RHINEBECK, NY: Sat: 9:00 AM, 8 RDS. EF: 

$50. Incl. LUN. Limit 32 players. Main Event 2: Sat: 9:00 AM. EF: 

$10. Limit 8 youth players. LUN. incl. if playing both 9:00 AM 

and 2:00 PM youth tournaments, $5 extra if not. Main Event 3: 

Sat: 2:00 PM. EF: $10. Limit 8 youth players. LUN. incl. if playing 

both 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM youth tournaments, $5 extra if 

not. The Woods in Rhinebeck (clubhouse). CT. Cornelia 

Guest, 6A Barry Ave., Ridgefield, CT 06877, (203) 244-5324, 

CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com. D 

SEPTEMBER 26-27, REGINA, SK, CAN: Sat: 9:00 AM, 8 

RDS. Sun: 9:00 AM, 6 RDS. R-R/K-H. EF: $50 (CAN). 

Registration deadline is September 24, 2009. Regina Duplicate 

Bridge Club, 349 Albert Street, Regina, SK, CAN. CT. Michael 

Bray, 2 - 31 Angus Rd., Regina, SK, CAN S4R 3K9, (306) 543- 

8961, mdbray@accesscomm.ca. D 

OCTOBER 

OCTOBER 2-4, WISCONSIN DELLS, 

WI: Early Bird: Fri: 2:00 PM, 6 RDS. 1 

DIV. NAST satellite. EF: $50. Main 

Event: Sat: 9:00 AM, 7 RDS. Sun: 9:00 AM, 5 RDS. 3 DIVS. 

1500/1100. EF: $80/$60/$50. Antiqua Bay Resort, Hwy 13 & I- 

90/94 Exit 87, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin 53965, (608) 254- 

8306. HP: $62.95 + tax/fees, ask for "SCRABBLE Tournament 

2009". CT. Steve Pellinen, 4330 Vernon Ave. S., Minneapolis, 

MN 55436, (952) 925-2440, steve@pellpro.com. D 

OCTOBER 3, BERLIN, NJ: Sat: 10:00 AM, 7 RDS. R-R/K-H. EF: 

$59. Incl. BK & LUN. Bud Duble Senior Citizens Complex, 33 

Coopers Folly Rd., Atco, NJ. CT. Betty McDaniel, 11 Pinewood 

Ln., Sicklerville, NJ 08081, (856) 728-9446 h/889-9111 c, 

Herb Lewis, herblewis1@comcast.net or Marty Fialkow, 

scrabman59@yahoo.com.D 

OCTOBER 3, CAMBRIDGE, ON, CAN: 7 RDS. CT. John 

Robertson, jgrobertson@sympatico.ca. D 

OCTOBER 3, PHOENIX, AZ: Sat: 9:15 AM, 8 RDS. R- 

R/8+KOTH. EF: $40. Must pre-register by 10PM, 10/1. PRZ: 75- 

80%. Chris Ridge Village, 6246 N. 19th Ave. CT. Larry Rand and 

Barbara Van Alen, 2544 W. Mesquite St., Chandler, AZ 85224, 

(480) 730-5031, larryrand@cox.net. D 

OCTOBER 3, TAMPA, FL: R-R/K-H. EF: $25. Register at door 

only, 9:30 - 9:55 AM. Play begins at 10:00 AM. CT. Stefan Huber, 

stefanhuber@tampabay.rr.com. D 

OCTOBER 3-4, CLEVELAND, OH: 13 RDS. CT. Dan Stock, 

DanielStock@aol.com. D 

OCTOBER 4, BERKELEY, CA: Sun: Noon, 6 RDS. R-R/6-8. EF: 

$20. Register only at door 30 minutes early. The Viceroy, 21 

Shattuck Square, Berkeley, CA. CT. Edward De Guzman, 

edwardd@gmail.com. D 

OCTOBER 4, LAGUNA WOODS, CA: Sun: 9:00 AM, 7 RDS. R- 

R/8. EF: $40. Extra $10 late fee if paid after 9/29. All players 

must be in rm. by 8:59AM. Walk-ins must call (949) 510-1673. 

Laguna Woods Village Bldg. 5 (Gate 9-10), 24262 Punta 

Alta, Laguna Woods, CA 92537. CT. Gary Moss, 3367 Punta 

Alta #3B, Laguna Woods, CA 92653, (949) 206-9822, 

JFTSOI@aol.com. D 

OCTOBER 10, CHARLOTTE, NC: Sat: 10:00 AM, 7 RDS. EF: 

$35. Entry fee incl. LUN. 100% of entry fees less expenses paid 

as prizes. Lieberman/Lezin Household, address/directions 

will be provided to registered entrants, (704) 458-1815. CT. 

Peggy Grant, 2318 Roper Street, Columbia, SC 29206, 

mmgrantnp@aol.com. D 

OCTOBER 10, RHINEBECK, NY: Sat: 9:00 AM, 8 RDS. EF: 

$50. Incl. LUN. Limit 32 players. Main Event 2: Sat: 9:00 AM. EF: 

$10. Limit 8 youth players. LUN. incl. if playing both 9:00 AM 

and 2:00 PM youth tournaments, $5 extra if not. Main Event 3: 

Sat: 2:00 PM. EF: $10. Limit 8 youth players. LUN. incl. if playing 

both 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM youth tournaments, $5 extra if 

not. The Woods In Rhinebeck (clubhouse). CT. Cornelia 

Guest, 6A Barry Ave., Ridgefield, CT 06877, (203) 244-5324, 

CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com. D 

OCTOBER 10-11, OKLAHOMA CITY (BRICKTOWN 

DISTRICT), OK: 13 RDS. CT. Matthew Hodge, 

matthewhodge@yahoo.com. D 

OCTOBER 11, GUELPH, ON, CAN: Sun: 2:30 PM, 6 RDS. 

DIVS. of 6-10. EF: $25 (CAN). PRZ: $80%. Registration closes at 

11:30 AM on day of tournament. Squirrel Tooth Alice's, 649 

Scottsdale Drive, Guelph, ON, CAN. CT. Andy Saunders, 

82 Clairfields Drive West, Guelph, ON, CAN N1G 5H8, 

(905) 246-8748, andy@andysthoughts.com. D 

OCTOBER 11, PORT JEFFERSON, NY: 7 RDS. CT Ginger 

White, kewlcatz@msn.com. D 

OCTOBER 15-18, LAKE GEORGE, NY: 8/5/15 RDS. CT. 

Annette Tedesco, 101ted@nycap.rr.com. D 

OCTOBER 17, DALLAS, TX: Sat: 10:30 AM, 6 RDS. R-R/6-8. 

EF: $25. Incl. buffet LUN. Golden Corral, 4675 Hwy 121, The 

Colony, TX 75056, (972) 668-7550. CT. Bryan Pepper, (817) 

538-7750, screamingmonkeys3@yahoo.com. D 

OCTOBER 17, PINELLAS PARK, FL: 6 RDS. CT: JC Green, 

jcgreen00@tampabay.rr.com. D 

OCTOBER 17-18, BATON ROUGE, LA: Sat: 11:00 AM, 7 RDS. 

Sun: 9:00 AM, 5 RDS. R-R/K-H. Three DIVS. split at approx. 

1500 and 1100. EF: $75/$65/$55. Hotel information: Group rate 

available ($89) at Crowne 

Plaza Baton Rouge, 4728 

Constitution Ave., Baton 

Rouge, LA 70808. Baton 

Rouge Bridge Club, 3033 

All tournaments are 

NASPA sanctioned. 

Old Forge Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70808, (225) 926-3033. 

CT. Annette McCaffery or Mike Waugh, 40269 Abby 

James Rd., Prairieville, LA 70769, (225) 202-5833 (cell), 

mikewaughbr@yahoo.com. D 

OCTOBER 18, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA: Sun: Noon, 6 RDS. R- 

R/6-8. EF: $10. Register only at door 30 minutes early. Food 

order required. Round Table Pizza, 157 E. El Camino Real, 

Mountain View, CA. CT. Bennett Jacobstein, (408) 506-0407, 

bjacobstein@hotmail.com. D 

OCTOBER 18, PORTLAND, OR: Sun: 11:30 AM, 7 RDS. EF: 

$20/$10. $20 DIV. will have place prizes and class prizes. 

Prizes for $10 DIV. will be minimal. Anyone can play in either 

DIV. Max 40 players due to size of room. Round Table Pizza, 

10070 SW Barbur Blvd. OK to pay at the door, but must contact 

director beforehand. CT. Dave Wiegand, (971) 404-5205 

(cell), dcw@aracnet.com. D 

OCTOBER 21-25, CALGARY, AB, CAN: Early Bird: Wed: 9:00 

AM, 8 RDS. EF: $40. Early Bird 2: Thu: 9:00 AM, 8 RDS. EF: $40. 

3 equal DIVS. divided at 1500 and 1100. Main Event: Fri: 9:00 

AM, 8 RDS. Sat: 9:00 AM, 8 RDS. Sun: 9:00 AM, 5 RDS. EF: 

$100/$80/$60/$40. 3 equal DIVS divided at 1600, 1300 and 

1000 ratings. Coast Plaza Hotel and Conf. Centre, 1316 

33rd St. NE, (403) 248-8888. CT. Siri Tillekeratne, 16 

Cedarwood Pl. SW, Calgary, AB, CAN T2W 3G6, (403) 281- 

2459, sirit@shaw.ca. D 

OCTOBER 24, ANNAPOLIS, MD: Sat: 8:30 AM, 7 RDS. EF: 

$55. $10 late fee applies to entries received after Oct. 14 and 

before Oct. 17 - no entries accepted after Oct. 17. Anne 

Arundel Community College, 101 College Parkway, Cade 

Bldg. (Cade*219), Arnold, MD 21012. CT. Mary Lou Goetz, 705 

Linden Grove Place, Apt. 203, Odenton, MD 21113, (410) 695- 

0575, mlgoetz@juno.com. D 

OCTOBER 24, FT. LAUDERDALE, FL: Sat: 9:00 AM, 8 RDS. 

EF: $30. Must pre-register by 10/10. 36 player max. Ft. 

Lauderdale Bridge Club, Holiday Park. CT. Tim Wise, PO Box 

11533, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33339-1533, (954) 942-6319; (954) 

461-3333, WISE9778@gmail.com. D 

OCTOBER 24-25, GRAND HAVEN, MI: 13 RDS. CT. Jeffrey 

Clark, bgscrabble@aim.com. D 

OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 1, SAN FRANCISCO, CA: 

Second California Open - 19 rounds. Fri: 9:00 AM, 8 RDS. Sat: 

9:00 AM, 7 RDS. Sun: 9:00 AM, 4 RDS. PS/K-H. EF: $100. 

Commuter fee: $25. All entries must be received by October 

26. Limit of 140 players. San Francisco Sheraton, Fisherman's 

Wharf, 2500 Mason St, (415) 362-5500. HP: $129. CT. Bennett 

Jacobstein, info@californiaopen.org. D 

OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 1, BRANDON, MB, CAN: Sat: 

8:30 AM, 8 RDS. Sun: 9:00 AM, 4 RDS. R-R/K-H. SAT. - 8 games 

RR; SUN. - 3 games RR and 1 game K-H. EF: $50 (CAN). Entry 

fee incl. SUN. LUN. Entry fee increases to $60 (CAN) after 

October 23, 2009. Assiniboine Adult Collegiate, 725 Rosser 

Ave., Brandon, MB, CAN. CT. Amy Knight, 811-15th St., 

Brandon, MB, CAN R7A 4W9, (204) 728-3271. D 


VISIT WWW.CROSS-TABLES.COM FOR TOURNAMENT FLYERS OR EMAIL CONTACT LISTED. 

TOURNAMENTS 

As of July 1, 2009 to play in a rated tournament all contestants 

must be members of NASPA. First-time players 

may choose not to join until their second event. 

Please arrive at least 30 minutes prior to starting 

time. When reserving a hotel room, always mention 

that you are with a SCRABBLE tournament, as there 

may be a special rate (which will be indicated here 

by the abbreviation RC). 

Directors are advised that players may choose to 

play in a higher division if they are rated within 100 

points of the lower rating limit. Example: A 1600rated 

player may choose to play in a division with 

players rated 1700 and above. However, some tournament 

formats do not allow for this, with divisions 

strictly defined by rating from highest to lowest. 

Abbreviations commonly used on the 

Tournaments listings 

and throughout SCRABBLE ® News 

< Less than 

( Greater than 

(>1000) Above rating of 1000 

Site accessible to physically 

D challenged 

? Blank tile 

BK Breakfast 

BRUN Brunch 

COMM Commuters, those who do not stay 

at or use hotel package 

CT Contact 

CM Tournament Meeting Change 

DEP Deposit 

DIN Dinner 

DIVS Divisions 

EB Early Bird 

EF Entry Fee, beginning with highestrated 

division and descending in 

order 

FOTD Friend of the Director 

H8, 4D, F6 Initial square of word. When letter 

is first the play is vertical. When 

number is first the play is 

horizontal. 

HP Hotel package 

K-H King-of-the-Hill pairings 

LUN Lunch 

MIN $1000 Minimum dollar amount to be 

awarded in total prizes 

MOD R-R Modified Round-Robin pairings 

NAST National American SCRABBLE ® Tour 

NSA National SCRABBLE ® Association 

NASPA North American SCRABBLE ® 

Players Association 

PPDO Per person double occupancy 

PRZ Prize 

PRZ=70% 70% of Entry Fee to be awarded 

as prize money 

PS Portland Swiss pairings 

RC Reservation Code for hotel use 

RD(S) Round(s) 

R-R Round-Robin pairings 

R-R/# Round-Robin pairings with a 

specified # of players per division 

RTG Tournament Rating 

SIM(S) Computer analysis used to 

SIMMING determine the value of a play. 

SIMULATION}(See annotated game) 

SN SCRABBLE ® News 

SP Speed pairings 

SPR Cumulative +/- point spread 

SWISS Swiss pairings 

TBA To be announced 

W Wins 

W/I Within 

WSCQT World SCRABBLE® Championship 

Qualifying Tourney 

In order to be sanctioned and rated, all open 

tournaments must be scheduled with 

NASPA at www.scrabbleplayers.org.

Executive 

Director’s 

Report 

by John D. Williams Jr. 

Someone asked me recently if I had ever sat 

down and made a list of some of my most 

memorable SCRABBLE® games. Not really. I 

like to think any game I just completed is 

memorable in its own way. As I write this 

column, in fact, I just completed a stirring 

online game where I'd had the slimmest of 

chances to win. My opponent had pretty 

much shut the board down and had a 60+ 

point lead. About three moves from the end, 

it was clear my only chance to win was to 

play a bingo. The only viable spot was a play 

beginning with the letter C which could 

front-hook off the word HIC, forming CHIC. 

It had been hanging open for much of the 

game, albeit somewhat obscurely. But I 

could not balance my rack and had to dump 

tiles for a couple of moves until I was lucky 

enough to get a final rack of ?ORNIES with 

no tiles left in the bag. I was able to bingo 

out with CRONIES and won by a couple of 

points. 

We've all had these moments. It's what 

keeps us coming back for more - that 

experience where the board and tile 

universe is somehow magically aligned, 

and you feel as if you are almost channeling 

your inner Brian Cappelletto. It’s almost an 

Worlds CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 

A qualifying tournament resulted in 

Nick Ball, Robert Linn and Mark Kenas 

also qualifying to represent the US. 

For qualifying details please see 

http://www.scrabble-assoc.com/tourneys/2009/wsc/usa/index.html. 

The following players have also registered 

their intention to play if eligible: Amit 

Chakrabarti, Brian Bowman, Puneet 

Sharma, Steve Polatnick, Stu Goldman and 

Tim Adamson. 

out-of-body experience, where it all comes 

together just as it's supposed to! 

At any rate, I got to thinking about some of 

my more memorable games and decided to 

share a few. The first would have to be my 

one and only game against SCRABBLE® 

inventor Alfred Butts. It was in Chicago in 

1983 at the first National SCRABBLE® 

Championship. We were just hanging out 

between rounds and killing time. I do not 

remember a single play, but it remains memorable 

for all the obvious reasons. He also 

signed a board for me then, and it hangs in 

our Greenport office. 

Another one was playing a couple of games 

against the great David Gibson on a plane 

ride in 1995 from Las Vegas to New York. 

He'd just won the $50,000 SCRABBLE® 

SUPERSTARS, and we were on our way to 

one of the morning television shows for an 

appearance. It was a time when I'd been 

starting to take my game up a notch and 

wanted to test my skill against the reigning 

king of SCRABBLE®. I don't remember much 

of those matches, either - kind of in the way 

one blocks out a car accident or getting hit 

over the head with a falling piano. The only 

thing I do remember is that I'd never seen 

anyone score and shut down the board with 

such efficiency. It was, as they say, over 

before it started. I also remember David 

being amazingly gracious about my play, 

which is kind of what you expect from a guy 

who'd just won $50,000 playing SCRABBLE® 

and then divided the prize money up among 

the other competitors. 

Another memorable game was the first time 

I met Stefan Fatsis, author of the classic bestseller 

Word Freak. He'd called me and said 

he thought he was pretty good at the game 

and was thinking about writing a book. 

Would I consider playing a game with him to 

assess his play? No problem, I told him, fresh 

off my new 1554 rating and certain he was 

just another "living room player" about to get 

a reality check. Well, anyone who's read the 

first chapter of Word Freak knows that he 

beat me in that first game, displaying an 

impressive natural talent for SCRABBLE®. I'd 

like to say I "took one for the team" in the first 

game, but it was not the case. But I was 

happy to serve as a springboard to Stefan’s 

illustrious SCRABBLE® career. 

Team Canada 

Since Adam Logan won the 2008 Canadian 

National SCRABBLE® Championship 

(CNSC), he won a place on the 2009 

Canadian WSC team. He is, however, 

unable to play in this year’s event. 

Five players qualify by having the highest 

peak tournament ratings (QR) during the 

qualification period: Tony Leah, Joel 

Wapnick, David Boys, Max Panitch and 

Dielle Saldanha. 

Qualified by Tournament: A qualifying 


EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: 

John D. Williams Jr. 

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS: 

Jane Ratsey Williams 

ART DIRECTION: 

Fifth Street Productions, Inc. 

ART & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR: 

Patricia A. Hocker 

MEMBERSHIP MANAGER AND 

DIRECTOR OF RETAIL SALES: 

Theresa J. Bubb 

MARKETING AND MEDIA MANAGER: 

Katie Schulz 

RESEARCH AND 

COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR: 

Meghan T. Mills 

PROOFREADER: WEBMASTER: 

Jim Kramer John J. Chew 

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: 

Joe Edley 

A one-year membership to the National SCRABBLE® Association 

includes 8 newsletters throughout the year. Cost is: US and Canada 

Online: $20. Outside North America Online: $25. US and Canada 

Non-Online: $25. Outside North America Non-Online: $30. 

SCRABBLE News is a publication of the National SCRABBLE 

Association. Price per 12-page issue: $3. Included as part of annual 

membership. No part of this newspaper may be reprinted without 

prior written approval of Hasbro, Inc., owner of the registered trademark 

SCRABBLE. SCRABBLE, the associated logo, the design of the 

distinctive SCRABBLE brand game board, and the distinctive letter tile 

designs are trademarks of Hasbro in the United States and Canada. 

©2009 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. "SCRABBLE® Brand Crossword 

Game" is the proper way to refer to this unique group of word games 

and related properties marketed by Hasbro, Inc. "SCRABBLE" is not a 

generic term. To use it as such is not only misleading but also does 

injustice to the company responsible for the trademark's longtime 

popularity. All we ask is that when you mean SCRABBLE brand word 

game, you say so. 

HASBRO 

PO BOX 700 • GREENPORT • NEW YORK 11944 

(631) 477-0033 FAX (631) 477-0294 

info@scrabble-assoc.com 

www.scrabble-assoc.com 

Past World SCRABBLE ® Champions 

1991 Peter Morris, United States 

1993 Mark Nyman, England 

1995 David Boys, 

Canada 

1997 Joel Sherman, 

United States 

1999 Joel Wapnick, Canada 

2001 Brian Cappelletto, United States 

2003 Panupol Sujjayakorn, Thailand 

2005 Adam Logan, Canada 

2007 Nigel Richards, New Zealand 

tournament (QT) on July 18-19, 2009 determined 

the three (normally two, but 

one more to replace Adam Logan — see 

above) remaining places on the Canadian 

team, as well as the precedence order of 

all team alternates. 

Ron Hoekstra, Mark Schellenberg and 

Andrew Golding qualified as the winners 

of the QT. Dean Saldanha is the 

team alternate. 

Qualifications rules, event details and 

live coverage can be found at 

http://www.wscgames.com/2009/.

Chapel Hill 

“We considered the tournament a success as 

it was the first tournament EVER to be held in 

Chapel Hill, and the first tournament to be held 

under the auspices of NASPA. The 32 players in 

attendance made it our best ever turnout for a 

one-day event. We attracted 11 new NASPA 

members. We also used a new venue, 

the University Mall, who placed us right 

in the open main court area of 

the mall. Despite this central location, 

things were fairly quiet, 

apart from the cheers from a 

brief fashion show held at 

a nearby department store. 

Many curious passers-by 

stopped to watch us play, and 

we think that we will recruit 

many new club members as a result 

of playing in such a high-profile 

location.” 

AA R OO U NN D TT HH E BB O AA RR DD 

AA RR OO U NN DD TT HH E B OO AA RR D 


DIVISION 1 

NAME W SPR 

1. KURT DAVIES 6 +387 

2. EVANS CLINCHY 5 +258 

3. FRANCIS ANUM 5 -179 

4. RAHN MCKEOWN 4 +452 

5. TOBEY ROLAND 4 +132 

6. BRUCE SHUMAN 3 -86 

7. EVE ENGELBRITE 3 -363 

8. ROBB GRIFFITH 2 -601 

DIVISION 2 

NAME W SPR 

1. QUENTIN READ 6 +364 

2. LIZ GOTTLIN 6 +160 

3. SANDEEP BALA 5 +301 

4. KATYA LEZIN 4 +61 

5. ANNE HAY 3 +88 

6. TERESA SCHAEFFER 3 -195 

7. RICHARD PRICE 3 -246 

8. MARILYN POMEROY 2 -533 

DIVISION 3 

NAME W SPR 

1. FLORA TAYLOR 6 +478 

2. PEGGY GRANT 6 +146 

3. NOAH LIEBERMAN 5 +351 

4. BARBARA MEYER 4 -171 

5. ADAM FINE 4 -200 

6. MARY CAVINESS 3 -251 

7. ERIK SALGADO 2 -163 

8. GLENN AERY 2 -190 

PHOTO CREDIT: Teresa Schaeffer 

Robb Griffith, 8th Place, Chapel Hill Div. 1 


Hannah Lieberman, 2nd Place, Chapel Hill Div. 4 

DIVISION 4 

NAME W SPR 

1. SEAN AERY 6 +527 

2. HANNAH LIEBERMAN 6 +344 

3. WENDY INTRATOR 5 +468 

4. AMALAN IYENGAR 4 +177 

5. KATHRENE BERGER 4 +94 

6. LIAM HOPFENSPERGER 4 -260 

7. M. BEATRYCE M SHAW 2 -357 

8. ESTELLE RAINSFORD 1 -993 

Cross-Tables as a Resource 

Be sure to check out www.cross-tables.com 

for all of the latest SCRABBLE® tournament and 

results data. One terrific addition to the site in 

the last year has been the calculation of various 

records for the year. Thanks to both Keith Smith 

and Seth Lipkin and volunteers for their continuing 

work on this comprehensive site. 

Through the month of August, here are some 

great statistics and current standings we 

thought we would share. Enjoy the sampling 

and make sure to visit there yourself. 

Player of the Year: Dave Wiegand (362.520) 

Highest Win % Division 1: David Gibson (0.801) 

Highest Win %: David Gibson (0.801) 

Highest Spread: Dave Wiegand (+16727) 

Most Division 1 wins, multi-day: David Gibson (5) 

Most lower-division wins, multi-day: Doug Stone (4) 

Most Division 1 wins: Winter Zxqkj (10) 

Most lower-division wins: Doug Stone (6) 

Most games: Linda Wancel (553) 

Most different states: Denise Mahnken (16) 

Longest winning streak: Steve Glass (26) 

High single-tourney spread: Bradley Robbins (+2758) 

TOP 20 RANKED PLAYERS 

RANK RATING NAME 

1 2066 David Gibson 

2 2018 Brian Cappelletto 

3 2007 Dave Wiegand 

4 1981 Nathan Benedict 

5 1973 Adam Logan 

6 1961 Scott Appel 

7 1947 Carl Johnson 

8 1941 Jason Katz-Brown 

9 1935 Joel Sherman 

10 1932 Rob Robinsky 

TOP RANKED PLAYERS CONTINUED 

11 1915 Orry Swift 

12 1914 Joe Dackman 

13 1912 Tony Leah 

14 1910 Conrad Bassett-Bouchard 

15 1902 Ian Weinstein 

16 1899 Chris Cree 

17 1898 John O'Laughlin 

18 1897 Geoff Thevenot 

19 1896 Kate Fukawa-Connelly 

20 1890 Jim Kramer 

Reached 1900 for first time 

Rob Robinsky Chris Lipe 

Conrad Bassett-Bouchard 


Alex Fiszbein Andrew Friedrich 


Matthew Tunnicliffe Pete Zeigler Noah Walton 

Andrew Solomon Will Anderson 


Tyler Hannan Paul Mulik David Jones 

Joey Krafchick Charles Reinke 


Jeremy Hall Michael Fleck Jacob Bergmann 

Samuel Smith Peter Dolgenos 

Evan McIntyre Scott Jackson Chris Bonin 

Doug Stone Deen Hergott 

Top Ratings Gains 

in Last 12 Months 

NAME RATING CHANGE RANK 

Noah Walton 1759 +920 1 

Jason Keller 1723 +613 2 

Steve Brown 1113 +456 3 

Phil Wertheimer 1716 +417 4 

Bruce Shuman 1468 +412 5 

Brian Miller 1285 +406 6 

Judy Smith 1299 +398 7 

Adam Townsend 1279 +378 8 

Bradley Robbins 1457 +378 8 

Scott Garner 1557 +366 10 

Shan Abbasi 1153 +362 11 

Wayne Yorra 1199 +362 11 

Heather Steffy 1224 +358 13 

Tobey Roland 1329 +353 14 

Janet Elliott 1203 +346 15 

Robb Griffith 1334 +340 16 

Matthew Nelson 1057 +335 17 

Zbigniew Wieckowski 1166 +318 18 

Michael Perl 1423 +317 19 

Ben Schoenbrun 1542 +317 19 



Evans Clinchy, 2nd Place, Chapel Hill Div. 1

UZZLES & ONTESTS 

EXTENSIONS 

by Joe Edley 

Many small words can be extended to the right or 

left, or both the right and the left, to form longer 

words. Such extension words are sometimes 

difficult to find and not always available, but when 

they are, and they reach to Triple Word Score or 

Double Word Score squares, you’ll find yourself 

one happy camper! 

Below are ten racks. Each one may be used 

to extend at least one of the words shown on 

the right to form a longer word. We’ve printed 

the blank spaces surrounding each word to 

show you exactly how many and where the letters 

need to be placed. When you’ve successfully 

finished, each rack will be used exactly once, 

and each word will have been extended once 

as well. Answers on page 10. 

1. AACCNTY A. _ _ _ _ ACT _ _ 

2. AACHIRP B. _ _ BRO _ _ _ _ _ 

3. ABDIRUY C. _ _ _ DEB _ _ _ _ 

4. EEIMPRT D. _ _ _ BLEW _ _ _ 

5. ACEHLRR E. _ _ ACE _ _ _ _ 

6. CIMNOOT F. _ _ _ GET _ _ _ 

7. EEILSTW G. _ _ _ BAN _ _ _ 

8. DEEMNTU H. _ _ _ _ MED _ _ 

9. DEEIMRY I. _ _ _ BUS _ _ _ _ 

10. DEHRSUY J. _ _ _ DID _ _ _ 

Official SCRABBLE ® Players Dictionary, 4th Edition, (OSPD4). 

For a book of SCRABBLEgrams go to 

www.wordgear.com 

Answers on page 10. 

know the rules 

by Texas Director Mary Rhoades 

Player A draws very quickly after making her play. 

Should Player B have a chance to challenge? 

Answer on page 10. 

ANAGRAM GRIDS 

by Carol and Ravi Ravichandran 

Across 

1. GHHORTU 

5. AABBSTY 

9. AEGILLLLY 

10. AGLOR 

11. AEEHLX 

12. ABEGMNOY 

14. AACEGOPSST 

16. DEFL 

18. ABHS 

19. ADDEHINNOR 

22. AAILMRST 

23. BKOSXY 

26. ALNOZ 

27. EIJNNNOOR 

28. ADEERST 

29. AENORRV 

Answers on page 10 

Down 

1. EILORST 

2. AHLPR 

3. ADEGLLNU 

4. EHLP 

5. BCGINOOTTY 

6. ABDEGG 

7. ABCDELMRS 

8. ADELNOT 

13. CEINOOPRRS 

15. AABDEINST 

17. ABBCEKNO 

18. ABEIRSZ 

20. ADENRTX 

21. AELMTU 

24. BENOR 

25. DNOU 

H4 O1 T1 S1 P3 O1 T1 

by Joe Edley 

Find the highest-scoring 

play that includes 

the G on the given 

mini-board with each 

of the 5 racks below 

it. To help you, the 

5th square is a 

Triple Letter Square 

and the 9th 

square is a Double 

Word Square. 

Answer on page 10. 

Average Score: 163 

Good Total: 195 

Expert Total: 211 

Best Total: 220 

_ _ _ _ _ _ G _ _ _ _ _ 

TLS DWS 

1. ACCENOW 

2. AAENRVY 

3. BENOTUY 

4. AGITUZ? 

5. BEHILOT 

R1 

A1 

C3 

T1 

I1 

C3 

E1 


by Diane Firstman 

FURBEARER: what a woman might hope her 

spouse will be come the holidays 

FURROWER: 1) a canoe piloted by a beaver; 

2) archenemy of “Botoxman” 

PRERETURN: the state after you preorder an 

item and realize you actually 

don’t want it 

PROGRAMER: a computer software coder with 

spelling issues 

QUARTERER: a collector of state quarters 

RARERIPE: the status of a banana harvest 

after a particularly harsh winter 

season 

REARGUARD: “bumper” for the “junk in your 

trunk” 

REROLLER: paintbrush apparatus used to 

touch up spots missed the first 

time 

RESORTER: obsessive-compulsive arranger of 

sock or underwear drawers 

RIVERWARD: 1) Irish troupe famous for 

dancing to “Take me to the 

River”; 2) a river under the 

protection of a larger body of 

water 

RUMRUNNER: sprinter whose elixir of choice is 

not Gatorade, but Bacardi 

SORROWER: a very sad canoeist 

TRIERARCH: a person who samples a certain 

fast food restaurtant and decides 

to never return there 

ULTRARARE: steak that is still moving when 

served 

FAR-SIGHT 

During a SCRABBLE ® game most people find it 

both challenging and exhilarating to form one word 

that incorporates several letters already on the 

board that are separated by one or more spaces. 

Here is your rack: 

H4 I1 M3 N1 P3 T1 V4 

In each case use only the letters on the rack above 

to fill in the blanks below to form a common word. 

Do not use a letter more than once if it doesn’t 

appear more than once above. Answers on page 10. 

1. S _ A _ _ _ A 

2. _ _ P _ E S _ 

3. _ A _ C _ U _ 

4. _ Y _ _ _ E _ 

5. _ _ G _ E _ _ 

6. C _ _ _ _ U _ K 

7. _ U _ A _ _ S _ 

8. _ _ _ D _ O S _ 

9. S _ _ _ _ E _ _ 

10. _ _ _ C _ _ A _

B 

SCRABBLE ® News, Issue 230 UZZLES & 

I 

N 

SKILLS 

G O 

Probably 90% of all the bingos you will ever 

play have common letter groupings at the 

beginning or end. Finding those words is a 

skill that can be developed with very little 

memorization! Learn the common letter 

sequences and look for them on your racks. 

Each combination of letters in the “A” and “B” 

lists below can be rearranged to spell a common 

word that either begins or ends with one 

of the letter groupings listed below. 

You might want to place tiles on a rack in front 

of you and rearrange them as you would during 

an actual SCRABBLE® game. Answers on 

page 10. 

Beginnings: CL, GR, PRO, SH, UP 

Endings: AST, ILE, ION, ONE, OR 

A. 1. EHIRSVY B. 1. CFINNOTU 

2. EEMNOOS 2. AEILLOTV 

3. ACELNPU 3. ABCEHLOR 

4. AABLLST 4. EHIMNPST 

5. ADLOPSU 5. ACCELRTU 

6. NOOPRSS 6. ACENSSTW 

7. ACEGIMR 7. EOPPRRTY 

8. BEEGILU 8. EEFGNOOR 

9. EIMNNOT 9. CDGIKLOR 

10. EMNOPPR 10. AEMPRSTU 

OPENING RACK RACK 

TALK ALK 

You begin first and draw 

UICK LIST 

Here are all of the 8-letter 

words found in the Official 

Tournament and Club Word 

List (OWL2) that have have two Ls and two 

Ns. Courtesy of Michael Thelen’s Zyzzyva, 

downloaded for free at www.zyzzyva.net. 

Q10 

ANNUALLY 

ANNULLED 

BALLONNE 

FLANNELS 

KNELLING 

KNOLLING 

LANDLINE 

LANOLINE 

LANOLINS 

LONGLINE 

MONELLIN 

NONLEGAL 

NONLEVEL 

NONLOCAL 

NONLOYAL 

NOUNALLY 

SNELLING 

UNFALLEN 

VANILLIN 

DD22 II11 NN11 SS11 

UU11 VV44 WW44 

What do you play? See page 10 for analysis. 

CHALLENGE BOARD 

by Joe Edley 

For beginners (✰), intermediates (✰✰) and experts (✰✰✰). The Challenge Boards will test 

your abilities and teach you how to find more scoring opportunities. We suggest novices set 

these challenges up on an actual game board. Answers on page 10. 

DIAGRAM 1 

R 

E 

O 

R 

D D R Y 

E Z O E A 

P A R K A 

A 

G 

E 

R 

✰ 

1. Where on Diagram #1 can each of the following 

words be played to score the most points using the 

bonus squares listed? You may (but need not) use 

letters already on the board to help form the words. 

1. SIGNAL (DWS parallel) 4. CAIRN (DLS parallel) 

2. PAROLE (DLS-DWS) 5. IRK (TLS) 

3. LAYER (DLS-TWS) 

DIAGRAM 2 

L 

F A N U M 

N 

G 

F 

U 

V A L E T H O L T 

M I D D L E S 

U 

G 

✰✰ 

2. Place the following words on Diagram 

#2 in order to score the most points. As in 

#1, you may (but need not) use letters 

already on the board. Can you beat our 

total of 167pt.? 

1. EVERY 4. TWA 

2. ROYAL 5. BANANA 

3. EXACTA 

DIAGRAM 3 

✰✰✰ 

3. Find the highest-scoring commonword 

play that uses all the given letters 

and plays on Diagram #3. Can you beat 

our 5-play total of 171pt.? 

DIAGRAM 4 

H 

O 

S 

P 

I 

T 

P L A N 

O L U N C H 

O O X O 

A R 

Q I 

U 

D I A L 

1. EEIMRT 4. CHNOP 

2. FHILOO 5. ITY 

3. EMOSW 

R 

F I G H T K I T T E N 

O Y O G A U 

O T N 

L H E 

I M U 

N I P 

G C 

✰✰✰ 

4. Find the highest-scoring play with each 

rack that may be played on the above 

diagram. None are bingos, as far as we 

know. Can you beat our total of 205pt.? 

1. DGIKLNO 4. CELLMSU 

2. AINNOOP 5. ACFHIOV 

3. BCILMRU 

Welcome NYC Parks 

and Recreation 

After-School Program. 

After a training in Bronx, NY, 

all 5 boroughs will be introducing 

SCRABBLE ® as an after-school activity 

this fall. The program was met 

with great success in the 

Summer Camps Program, 

and we hope this initiative will next grow 

into the NYC School system next.

The following is a compendium 

of game positions. While there 

may be better plays, these 

positions show high-level 

game play. What would you 

play? The more *s, the 

harder the play. A ? 

represents a blank tile. 

See page 10 for the actual 

plays and further comments, 

when applicable. We’ve also 

listed how common the 

answer word is and the name 

of the tournament in which 

it occurred, if any. 

E 

A N 

D I L A T I O N 

F W 

R U T 

E 

S K 

S C A N N E R 

O U 

R 

DIAGRAM 2** 

ONTESTS 

YOUR 

MOVE 

D2 E1 H4 R1 S1 T1 Y4 

Your Score: 118 Opp. Score: 154 

Your Play:__________________ 

Played by Geoff Thevenot (TX) 

Dallas Open, March 2009 

Word Status: common 

L 

A V O S 

K I 

H A I L E R 

C A N E E 

M E T H I O N E 

U 

B A R F Q U A Y S 

R D O 

Z O E A L F O U 

A M N I O T E 

A R O I L Y 

J E W 

DIAGRAM 4**** 

D2 E1 I1 S1 W4 X8 ? 


Your Play:__________________ 

Played by Rob Robinsky (MN) 

Dallas, TX, March 2009 

Word Status: uncommon 

DIAGRAM 3**** 

DIAGRAM 5**** 

C 

A 

A U 

Z E R O S 

I E 

D 

I 

G L I T T E R S 

R Y 

O 

U 

T 

E 

D 

DIAGRAM 1*** 

A3 E1 J8 


Your Play:__________________ 

Played by Mark Pistolese (HI) 

Friendly game, October 2008 


A1 E1 G2 I1 R3 S1 


Your Play:__________________ 

Played by Ted Rosen (NY) 

Friendly game, April 2009 


If you would like to see your play in the SCRABBLE® News, email it to je@scrabble-assoc.com or post to YOUR MOVE, National SCRABBLE® 

Association, Box 700, Greenport, NY 11944. Please include the whole board position, your rack and play, both the scores and your opponent's last 

play, if possible. We'll also occasionally publish constructed positions that illustrate useful or clever game strategies. However, for such non-played 

positions, please make sure that all the words used appear in the Official Club and Tournament Word List (OWL2) or the Long List (LL). 

A1 

N1 N1 P3 

V 

M E 

A N C F U R Y 

I D L O O F A 

L O S O X U 

R E V N 

S W A G E D C H I N 

R N A 

O P G 

B E E 

B I N D 

E N 

T 

WR I S T 

Z 

F A 

L 

R O 

Q I T 

U N S 

G R I P E I D A G 

V O E E M P T Y M I 

G H E E R 

N A O I U N L O C K S 

F E L I N E S A H 

X D O J O 

T O E A W E B O 

A R R I V E R F A N N Y 

T W A S T U 

A1 B3 C3 D2 E1 I1 ? 


Your Play:__________________ 

Played by Nigel Richards (Malaysia) 

Rd. 21, NSC, August 2009 

Word Status: common/uncommon 


Spotlight o n Strategy 

While learning and playing obscure words is an integral 

part of the game, what keeps many players coming back 

for more is the challenge of deciding upon the best 

strategic play in a complex position. Strategic thinking is 

very different from word searching. We invite expert players 

to contribute positions and analyses and to share 

their knowledge with all of our readers. See page 10. 

DIAGRAM 1 

B A N D A 

YOUR SCORE: 0 OPP. SCORE: 22 

YOUR RACK: CIJPRRU 

CHOICES: JUN F6 26; PUNJI F6 22; CURARI E5 16; 

JURA E5 22; CARPI E7 18; PUJA E5 26 

F G 

G L U E Y E 

O N 

W D 

E L A 

R A R 

E N M 

T O O N I E 

S 

I 

T 

Y 

DIAGRAM 2 


YOUR RACK: CFNTUVW 

CHOICES: EXCH. FNUVW; EXCH. FTUVW; 

VAW 5G 9; TUNIC 10B 15; CUIF 10C 17; 

VAUNT 5G 16 

DIAGRAM 3 

X I S 

H U N H 


YOUR RACK: ELNOSTW 

CHOICES: HOWL G8 11; NEWT 9I 18; NEW 9I 17; 

SHOWN J7 19; SHOW J7 18; WINO I6 8; WIN I6 6 

ACROSSWORDS 

When unscrambled onto the empty boxes below, each letter across this strip (except the last one) begins at least one 2- to 9-letter word. To unscramble all 60 words, each letter can 

either be switched with the letter next to it, or it can be left unmoved. Each letter can only be moved one time. Each number indicates the length of word that begins directly above it. 

Answers on page 10. 

TM SCRAMBLER by Robert Agnew 

T1 

OPP. 

RACK: 

DEILTM


SCRABBLE ® 

Virtually Everywhere 

Apple has decided to include the 

Electronic Arts (EA) SCRABBLE® app as a 

part of the ‘There’s an App for that’ campaign. 

It looks great and sales for the 

SCRABBLE® application shot up overnight 

in response to the placement. As of late 

August, it was the 3rd most popular application. 

EA’s SCRABBLE® app can also connect 

to the Facebook app, offering users the 

ability to play head-to-head against anyone 

accessing the game on Facebook or the 

iPhone. 

SCRABBLE® for the iPhone can be purchased 

for $5 through the App Store on the 

iPhone or through www.itunes.com. 

EA has also launched SCRABBLE® on 

iGoogle. iGoogle users can play head-tohead 

games against any of their Google 

contacts, with the ability to play up to five 

games at one time. Visit www.google.com 

2010 Nationals Announced 

The 2010 National SCRABBLE ® 

Championship will be held 

August 7-11, 2010 at the 

Hotel Intercontinental Dallas, 

Addison, Texas. 

Organizer Chris Cree 

says this is a wonderful space 

and has signed up 

there for the 2011 NSC as well. 

For details and updates, go to 

the NASPA website at 

www.scrabbleplayers.org. 

TOURNAMENTS 

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 

NOVEMBER 

NOVEMBER 1, LAGUNA WOODS, CA: Sun: 9:00 AM, 7 

RDS. R-R/8. EF: $40. Extra $10 late fee if after 10/27. All 

players must be in rm. by 8:59AM. Walk-ins must call (949) 

510-1673. Laguna Woods Village Bldg. 5 (Gate 9-10), 24262 

Punta Alta, Laguna Woods, CA 92537. CT. Gary Moss, 3367 

Punta Alta #3B, Laguna Woods, CA 92653, (949) 206-9822, 

JFTSOI@aol.com. D 

NOVEMBER 6-8, AURORA, CO: 5/17 RDS. Angela 

Dancho, 13110 Clayton Ct., Thornton, CO 80241, (303) 452- 

6928; coscrabble@earthlink.net. D 

NOVEMBER 6-8, FT. LAUDERDALE, FL: Fri: 6:30 PM, 4 

RDS. Sat: 9:00 AM, 8 RDS. Sun: 9:00 AM, 8 RDS. EF: Div. 1: 

$135, Div. 2-4: $85. $25 Late Fee after 10/13. Must pre-register. 

4 DIVS. Courtyard by Marriott Ft. Lauderdale N., 2440 

West Cypress Creek Rd., (954) 772-7770. HP: $89 + 14% tax, 

mention SCRABBLE. Must pre-register. CT. Tim Wise, PO 

Box 11533, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33339-1533, (954) 942-6319; 

(954) 461-3333, WISE9778@gmail.com. D 

NOVEMBER 7, BAYSIDE, NY: 8 RDS. CT. Ginger White, 

kewlcatz@msn.com. D 

NOVEMBER 7, BRANTFORD, ON, CAN: Sat: 9:30 AM, 7 

RDS. R-R/2K-H. EF: $40 (CAN). 5 DIVS. divided at 1600, 

1300, 1000, 800. Late fee $5 after 10/25. Must pre-register 

by 6PM 11/5. Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 90, 21 Oak St. 

CT. Glenn Dunlop, 7 Winter Way, Brantford, ON, CAN 

N3T 6E5, (519) 752-2242. D 

NOVEMBER 7, TAMPA, FL: R-R/K-H. EF: $25. Register at 

door only, 9:30 - 9:55 AM. Play begins at 10:00 AM. CT. 

Stefan Huber, stefanhuber@tampabay.rr.com. D 

NOVEMBER 7-8, ASHEVILLE, NC: Fourth Annual 

Veterans Day Books-A-Million SCRABBLE Tournament. 

Sat: 9:00 AM, 8 RDS. Sun: 9:00 AM, 6 RDS. R-R/K-H. EF: Div. 

1: $100, Div. 2 and lower: $80. DIV. 1 for ratings 1700+, four 

lower DIVS. at director's discretion. 100% prize return after 

expenses. Gibson rule in effect. Senior Opportunity Center, 

36 Grove Street, Asheville, NC 28801. CT. Bill Snoddy, (828) 

252-8154 home (828) 713-1076 cell, drwilliamr@aol.com, 

Grace Schmidt, (828) 628-3746 home (828) 279-8940 cell, 

tongrac@charter.net or Joann Goddard, (828) 252-4895, 

artichokes58@yahoo.com. D 

NOVEMBER 8, BERKELEY, CA: Sun: Noon, 6 RDS. R-R/6- 

8. EF: $20. Register only at door 30 minutes early. The 

Viceroy, 21 Shattuck Square, Berkeley, CA. CT. Edward De 

Guzman, edwardd@gmail.com. D 

NOVEMBER 8, RHINEBECK, NY: Sun: 9:00 AM, 8 RDS. EF: 

$50. Incl. LUN. Limit 32 players. Main Event 2: Sun: 9:00 AM. 

EF: $10. Limit 8 youth players. LUN. incl. if playing both 9:00 

AM and 2:00 PM youth tournaments, $5 extra if not. Main 

Event 3: Sat: 2:00 PM. EF: $10. Limit 8 youth players. LUN. 

incl. if playing both 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM youth tournaments, 

$5 extra if not. The Woods In Rhinebeck (clubhouse). 

CT. Cornelia Guest, 6A Barry Ave., Ridgefield, CT 

06877, (203) 244-5324, CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com. D 

NOVEMBER 8, WILMINGTON, DE: Sun: 10:30 AM, 7 RDS. 

Bridge Studio of Delaware, 1409 Foulk Road, Wilmington, 

DE 19803. CT. Richard Popper, rjapopper@verizon.net. D 

NOVEMBER 13, BLOOMING- 

TON, MN: Early Bird NAST 

Satellite Tournament. NAST 

Satellite pairings - for more information see www.bachster.com/scrabble/NAST. 

EF: $50. Holiday Inn I-35W, 1201 

W. 94th St. (35W), Bloomington, MN 55431, (952) 884-8211. 

HP: Ask for the Twin Cities SCRABBLE® rate of $69/nt, 1-4 

people per RM. CT. Steve Pellinen (tournament director) or 

Janice Kaye (registration contact), 1893 Highland Pkwy., St. 

Paul, MN 55116, (651) 592-3178, janicekaye@hotmail.com. 

D 

NOVEMBER 13-15, ESSEX, VT: 5 

NAST/15 CT. Jane Whitmore, 

Jwhitmore1@myfairpoint.net. D 

NOVEMBER 14, CHICAGO, IL: Sat: 11:00 AM, 7 RDS. R- 

R/8. EF: $50. 1233 N. Wells, Chicago, IL 60610. CT. Marty 

Gabriel, 2941 Whitetail Drive, Charleston, IL 61920, (217) 

348-9230, daivamart@mchsi.com. D 

NOVEMBER 14, TUSCON, AZ: Sat: 9:30 AM, 8 RDS. R- 

R/8+KOTH. EF: $35. Limit 24 players. Entries must be 

received by 11/11. $5 cancellation fee, no refunds after 9PM 

11/12. FOTD rule in effect. Denny's Restaurant, 3655 E. 

Speedway Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85716. CT. Ed Saunders, 223 

W. Weisshorn St., Oro Valley, AZ 85737, (520) 575-6734, 

ed@tucsonscrabble.com. D 

NOVEMBER 14-15, BLOOMINGTON, MN: Sat: 10:00 AM, 7 

RDS. Sun: 9:00 AM, 5 RDS. EF: Div. 1: $85, Div. 2-4: $70. 4 

DIVS.: 1600+ / 1300-1599 / 950-1299 / under 950. Holiday 

Inn I-35W, 1201 W. 94th St. (35W), Bloomington, MN 55431, 

952-884-8211. HP: Ask for the Twin Cities SCRABBLE® rate 

of $69/nt, 1-4 people per RM. CT. Janice Kaye, 1893 

Highland Pkwy., St. Paul, MN 55116, (651) 592-3178, 

janicekaye@hotmail.com. D 

NOVEMBER 15, GUELPH, ON, CAN: Sun: 2:30 PM, 6 RDS. 

DIVS. of 6-10. EF: $25 (CAN). PRZ: $80%. Registration closes 

at 11:30 AM on day of tournament. Squirrel Tooth Alice's, 

649 Scottsdale Drive, Guelph, ON, CAN. CT. Andy 

Saunders, 82 Clairfields Drive West, Guelph, ON, CAN 

N1G 5H8, (905) 246-8748, andy@andysthoughts.com. D 

NOVEMBER 15, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA: Sun: Noon, 6 

RDS. R-R/6-8. EF: $10. Register only at door 30 minutes 

early. Food order required. Round Table Pizza, 157 E. El 

Camino Real, Mountain View, CA. CT. Bennett Jacobstein, 

(408) 506-0407, bjacobstein@hotmail.com. D 

NOVEMBER 15, SHERWOOD, OR: Sun: 1:00 PM, 6 RDS. R- 

R/6+KOTH. EF: $20. 24 players maximum. Entry fee incl. 

snacks. Participants may buy LUN. from the menu. No outside 

food. Sherwood Station Bistro, 16147 SW Railroad St., 

Sherwood, (503) 625-9737. CT. Ruth Hamilton, PO Box 144, 

Lake Oswego, OR 97034. D 

NOVEMBER 21, DALLAS, TX: Sat: 10:30 AM, 6 RDS. R-R/6- 

8. EF: $25. Incl. buffet LUN. Golden Corral, 4675 Hwy. 121, 

The Colony, TX 75056, (972) 668-7550. CT. Bryan Pepper, 

(817) 538-7750, screamingmonkeys3@yahoo.com. D 

NOVEMBER 21, EDMONTON, AB, CAN: Sat: 9:30 AM, 6 

RDS. R-R/K-H. EF: $25 (CAN). Must pre-register by 11/14. 

Stanley A. Milner Library, 7 Sir Winston Churchill Sq. CT. 

Huguette Settle, 112 Clareview Rd. NW, Edmonton, AB, 

CAN T5A 3Y3, (780) 476-8019, hsettle@hotmail.com. D 

NOVEMBER 21, PINELLAS PARK, FL: 6 RDS. CT: JC 

Green, jcgreen00@tampabay.rr.com. D 

NOVEMBER 21, VANCOUVER-SEATTLE: Vancouver- 

Seattle Interclub Challenge. Sat: 9:30 AM, 8 RDS. 

R-R/K-H. Club Challenge/Championship - limited to members 

of Seattle and Vancouver clubs. CT. Jane 

Bissonette, gqbison@comcast.net or John Aitken, 

john_aitken@shaw.ca. D 

NOVEMBER 21-22, OSHAWA, ON, CAN: Sat: 7 RDS. Sun: 

5 RDS. CT. Trevor Sealy, sealy_trevor@durham.edu.on.ca. D 

NOVEMBER 28, BATTLE CREEK, MI: Sat: 9:30 AM, 7 RDS. 

R-R/8. EF: $27. Walk-ins pay $5 extra. Westlake Presbyterian 

Church, 415 South 28th St. CT. Carol Ravichandran, 39757 

Manchester Ct., Northville, MI 48167, (248) 305-7770, 

carolravi@msn.com. D 

NOVEMBER 28-29, ELMHURST, IL: 11 RDS. CT. Tom 

Tremont, tomtremont@hotmail.com. D 

2010 CRUISES 

APRIL 11-26, PANAMA CANAL CRUISE: 35 games (7 

days at sea, 5 games per day at sea). 100% prizes 

returned after NASPA fees. EF: $75. Celebrity Infinity. 

HP: Cabin rate $1700-$3400; airfare not incl. 

CT. Larry Rand/Barbara Van Alen, 2544 W. 

Mesquite Street, Chandler, AZ 85224, (480) 730-5031, 

vanrandtravel@cox.net. D 

SEPTEMBER 22-OCTOBER 5, HOLY LAND CRUISE: 

Fri: 6 RDS. Sat: 5 RDS. Sun: 6 RDS. Mon: 5 RDS. EF: $60. 

Celebrity Equinox. HP: Call or email for stateroom 

quotes. CT. Larry Rand, 2544 W. Mesquite Street, 

Chandler, AZ 85224, (480) 730-5031, larryrand@cox.net. 

D 

OCTOBER 18-31, EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN 

CRUISE: This cruise appears to conflict with the Holy 

Land Cruise, which was booked earlier. The question of 

whether or not this event can be rated will be discussed 

by the AB in June 2009. Thu: 6 RDS. Sat: 6 RDS. Fri: 6 RDS. 

Sat: 6 RDS. EF: $75. Send cruise and SCRABBLE® payments 

to Tim Wise, but make cruise payments payable to 

Steven Wolf. Celebrity EQUINOX, Reservations c/o 

Steven Wolf, (954) 370-1039. HP: $2110.91-$4960.91, $900 

DEP. due by 2009-10-15. CT. Tim Wise, P.O. Box 11533, 

(954) 942-6319, wise9778@gmail.com. D 

A COMPLETE LIST WITH ALL TOURNAMENT DETAILS CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.CROSS-TABLES.COM

Annotated 

GAME 

Notes by Joe Edley (NY) 

T 

O 

T T J E F E 

Q U E A N E I L 

A I M B A R R A N C O 

I O Y K O 

D C S I O 

I N C R E A T E A B 

V E Y A T I 

I D W L W H O 

G U S T O E S L H P 

F O P E X V I G A L 

E R E I N A 

Z D N G U R U S 

E M 

Nigel Richards vs David Wiegand, 

2009 National SCRABBLE® Championship 

Rd. 30 

NAME: RACK PLAY SCORE/TOTAL 

1. NR: CLLNRSY 

CRY H7 16 T: 16 

Though the leave, LLNS, isn't pretty, the 

board isn't conducive for opponent scoring 

well unless he has a bingo. Note the front Shook 

(SCRY). CRY is best because 

it scores points and there aren't 

any other S-less threes. 

1. DW: ACEEINT 

INCREATE 8E 61 T: 61 

Because there is no hook to his 

bingo, it is the best of the four 

there (ITERANCE, CREATINE, 

CENTIARE). 

2. NR: AGILLNS 

STALLING K7 68 T: 84 

Good drawing, but never underestimate the 

power of an S leave! 

2. DW: ERSSUUU 

GURU 14K 10 T: 71 

ULU 10J 6 sims a whole 8pt. better! Saving 

ERSSU is going to produce many more and 

DAVID WIEGAND 

quicker bingos. In general, if you have a very 

strong 5-tile leave, it's often best to fish, 

assuming that you can usually find all of its 

incipient bingos. 

3. NR: ABLMPRS 

PLASM O11 36 T: 120 

Would Wiegand play GURU without an S? If 

you assume he has one, PLASM shoots to the 

top of the simulation. And there is another 

reason to make this play… 

3. DW: EESSTUW 

NEW F8 14 T: 85 

Despite the advice on the previous play, 

ESSTU is not the same as ERSSU, and is not 

as strong. SEW 6H 23 wins 3% 

more of the time than NEW. Here, 

because ESTU is not much weaker 

than ESSTU, it's better to take 

the 9 extra points 

4. NR: BDIOORV 

BIOPLASM O8 42 T: 162 

The OTHER reason for PLASM, 

should he draw an I and O. 

4. DW: EGOSSTU 

GUSTOES 11C 73 T: 158 

Played at 6B, GUSTOES is a tad safer, due no 

doubt to the DLS on H12. 

5. NR: DGKORVV 

VIG 12J 14 T: 176 

Better than VUG or GUV at D10, likely 

because VIG keeps the board a little open 

(VIGA), while blocking a bigger 

hotspot 12H-L. If he draws an E 

he has EVOKE H11 48. 

5. DW: AELOORX 

EX 12G 36 T: 194 

The points make it a tad better 

than OXO 10M 26, which 

improves the leave. 

6. NR: DIIKORV 

VIGOR C9 26 T: 202 

Best because of the points and leave. There 

aren't any other reasonable choices. 

6. DW: AFILOOR 

FLOOIE I3 20 T: 214 

Nice dump, and easily best! 

7. NR: DDEEIKP 

DUPED D10 31 T: 233 

The winning board 

from Round 31 

of the 2009 National 

SCRABBLEfi Championship, where 

Nigel Richards 

and David Wiegand 

faced off 

in Dayton, OH 

for the 

$10,000 1st prize. 

Dave won 433-398. 

NIGEL RICHARDS 


The perfect overlap for this rack! 

7. DW: AABNR?? 

BARrANcO 5E 82 T: 296 

Or GARBANZO. 

8. NR: EEEIIJK 

INK J4 17 T: 250 

From the few games Richards has been annotated, 

this seems like a typical play for this 

kind of rack that he likes to make, and is 

often best. He sets up JEFE/JINK for next 

turn. However, if he takes JEFE this turn, 

along with the 11 extra points, a simulation 

suggests that he might do better in the long 

run, winning 8% more. Likely that's because 

the K will be joined with one or 

more consonants and earn extra 

points. 

8. DW: AEIIOOY 

OY 6E 30 T: 326 

It may seem unintuitive, but getting 

rid of an extra vowel with 

AYE 6E 33, even saving IIOO, 

would be an improvement. There 

are many Es and As to draw, and 

few Is and Os. 

9. NR: EEEEFIJ 

JEFE 3J 43 T: 293 

As predicted. 

9. DW: AEIINOT 

EXINE H11 36 T: 362 

He rightfully takes the points. 

10. NR: EEEFIQZ 

FEZ B12 41 T: 334 

Too many points to pass up. 

10. DW: AHHIOTT 

OATH N7 34 T: 396 

Given the number of vowels left, THO is just 

a tad better, but both are excellent plays. 

11. NR: AEEINQU 

QUEAN 4B 39 T: 373 

His best play and score! 

11. DW: AHINRTW 

WHA M10 26 T: 422 

He has nothing to fear now given that there 

are no playable bingos remaining. 

12. NR: AEIMOTT 

AIM 5A 20 T: 393 

12 DW: DDINRRT 

TUMID C3 20 T: 442 

13. NR: EOTT 

TOTER H1 15 T: 408 

+10 = 418 

WIEGAND 

442 

RICHARDS 

418

SCRABBLE ® Club 

Makes History 

Club #44 of Los Angeles, CA, one of the oldest 

SCRABBLE® clubs in the country, was 

founded some 25 years ago and meets 

AROUND THE BOARD 

regularly on Wednesdays in West 

Hollywood. Directed by Alan Stern, it 

is probably the oldest SCRABBLE® 

club in Southern California. The 

attendance runs between 25- 

30 players a week, and 

some of the top players in 

the country are regular 

attendants. 

Recently, a young man by the 

name of Cooper Komatsu has 

joined. He is six years old and immedi- 

ately became the darling of the club. 

AROUND THE BOARD 


He’s compiled an 18-14 record and some 

of his opponents were 

indeed “seasoned” SCRAB- 

BLE® players. One of these, 

88-year-old Ralph Crosby, 

was pitted against him and 

the veteran Crosby won 

narrowly by a score of 386- 

377, after Cooper had taken 

an early lead with an 88point 

bingo. After his victory, 

Crosby commented, 

“Watch this kid, he will go places. Make no mistake 

about it.” On July 15 th Cooper celebrated 

the “hat trick” (three games in a row), after 

ANSWERS TO “ANAGRAM GRIDS” ANSWERS TO “EXTENSIONS” 

1J CANDIDACY; 2H PARAMEDIC; 3F BUD- 

GETARY; 4E PEACETIME; 5A CHARACTER; 6I 

COMBUSTION; 7C WILDEBEEST; 8D TUM- 

BLEWEED; 9B EMBROIDERY; 10G HUS- 

BANDRY 

ANSWERS TO “CHALLENGE BOARD” 

DIAGRAM 1: 1. SIGNAL 11D 48PT. 

2. PAROLE C9 40PT. 3. LAYER 11A 40PT. 

4. CAIRN F7 24PT. 5. IRK 10H 26PT. 

DIAGRAM 2: 1. EVERY 12K 35PT. 2. ROYAL 

2B 28PT. 3. EXACTA E6 44PT. 4. TWA 7L 

28PT. 5. BANANA 4D 32PT. 

DIAGRAM 3: 1. RETIME 10J 41PT. 2. FOOL- 

ISH 3C 36PT. 3. SOMEHOW L4 30PT. 

4. PONCHO 8A 48PT. 5. HOSPITALITY H1 

16PT. 

DIAGRAM 4: 1. DOGFIGHT 8A 51PT. 

2. OPINION E6 28PT. 3. CRUMBLE N2 38PT. 

4. MUSCLE 14J 41PT. 5. FINCH 10J 47PT. 

ANSWERS TO “BINGO SKILLS” 

A. 1. SHIVERY 2. SOMEONE 3. CLEANUP 

4. BALLAST 5. UPLOADS 6. SPONSOR 

7. GRIMACE 8. BEGUILE 9. MENTION 

10. PROPMEN B. 1. FUNCTION 2. VOLATILE 

3. BACHELOR 4. SHIPMENT 5. CLEARCUT 

6. NEWSCAST 7. PROPERTY 8. FORE- 

GONE 9. GRIDLOCK 10. UPSTREAM 

ANSWERS TO “FAR-SIGHT” 

1. STAMINA 2. HIPPEST 3. MATCHUP 

4. NYMPHET 5. PIGMENT 6. CHIPMUNK 

7. HUMANIST 8. HINDMOST 9. SHIPMENT 

10. PITCHMAN 

“Watch 

this kid, 

he will go 

places. 

Make no 

mistake 

about it.” 

Ralph Crosby 

Credit: Ralph Crrosby 

One of our senior members, Ralph Crosby, poses 

for a quick shot with one of SCRABBLE’s ® newest 

talents, Cooper Komatsu. 

which feat his mother, also an avid SCRABBLE® 

fan, took him home. “He must go to bed now,” 

she said, thus preventing Cooper from 

making a clean sweep of the evening’s festivities. 

Submitted by Ralph Crosby, CA 

ANSWER TO “OPENING RACK TALK” 

It boils down to WUD 8G 14 or exchanging, 

preferably getting rid of at least the U, V and 

W, keeping DINS. For 14pt., the INSV leave is 

not all that bad, and so WUD is the clear 

favorite by a few winning percentage points. 

Should you feel the urge to play WINDS, keeping 

UV, please hold it in, or draw very well 

indeed! The UV combo is pretty bad, and will 

haunt your rack for at least a couple of turns, 

while the random bingos you'll draw after 

WUD, one or two turns down the road, make 

WUD much superior. 

ANSWERS TO “YOUR MOVE” 

1. JNANA B10 92 2. SHYEST C8 41 3. AGEN- 

TRIES 13B 80 4. QUAYSIDES 8G 69 5. BI 9C 

14. This quiet looking play is actually a killer. 

There is no way that his opponent can win this 

game now. Richards followed it up with 

DECAGONAL E3 24 for a small win. Any 

attempt to block it allows a different, but winning, 

out-play. An incredible find by the former champ! 

ANSWERS TO “HOTSPOT PRACTICE” 

1. COGNAC 34 2. VAGARY 42 3. BYGONE 

36 4. ZIGZAG 72 5. HOGTIE 36 

ANSWERS TO “ SPOTLIGHT ON STRATEGY” 

Note: Strategic decisions usually attempt to answer 

the following two questions: 1) If you play a position 

many times, testing several different plays each time, 

which play would lead to a win more often? 2) What 

words will likely appear in the next few moves that 

influence the outcome of the game? Computer simulations 

(or “simming”) and the experts’ own experience 

are the keys to understanding and answering these 

questions. Notes by Joe Edley. 

1. Your initial goals are to get rid of the J and 

an R without sacrificing points. Only JURA 

accomplishes this goal. You get rid of the J 

because it's a clunky and inflexible letter, while 

duplicating Rs only hinders your rack. 

2. While exchanging FTUVW (best exchange) 

is a good play, you don't expect to bingo drawing 

five, and so it makes sense to play VAUNT 

for 16 (not CUIF, VAW or TUNIC) because 

VAUNT, leaving CFW, is a combination of a 

better leave than after the other plays and 

worth enough points more than the exchange. 

3. ELNST is a strong leave. Draw one more 

vowel and you'll often have a bingo. That's why 

SHOW J7 18 is your best play here. The negative 

is that you're setting up an S and N hook 

for your opponent. The odds are that your 

opponent has an S (otherwise XI looks more 

the point for his/her last play), but you have 

both the S and the N, and usually it's right to 

set up your own good tiles. None of the other 

plays are as dramatic and afford you as many 

positive chances. 

ANSWER TO “KNOW THE RULES” 

If a quick draw does not allow your opponent 

5 seconds to consider holding or challenging, 

s/he may petition the Director to allow a hold 

or challenge to proceed. If the play is successfully 

challenged, unmixed tiles are simply 

returned to the bag (and shown to your opponent 

if you have seen them). If any new tiles 

have been mixed with old tiles, the Overdraw 

Procedure (Rule IV.B.4.a.) shall be invoked, 

where X is the number of new tiles on your 

rack. 

ANSWERS TO “ACROSSWORDS TM SCRAMBLER” 

The Final Word on No Vowels 

Terry Hammond (WA) took up the challenge to 

find the most plays one can make without 

using an A, E, I, O or U, and without using a 

blank as any of them. He found a 27-play game, 

shown below. We believe this record will 

stand, at least until the next Official SCRAB- 

BLE® Players Dictionary (OSPD) update! 

Congratulations, Terry! 

1. WYN H6 

2. WYND H6 

3. WYNDS H6 

4. PST 10G 

5. PLY G10 

6. BY 12F 

7. BYRL 12F 

8. BYRLS 12F 

9. BRR F12 

10. BRRR F12 

11. BRR 15D 

12. BRRR 15D 

13. WYN 7G 

14. WYND 7G 

15. WYNDS 7G 

16. PST K6 

17. PFFT 6K 

18. NTH N5 

19. HM 7N 

20. MM O7 

21. TSK J11 

22. TSKS J11 

23. S(Y)N 14J 

24. S(Y)NC 14J 

25. S(Y)NCH 14J 

26. NTH N12 

27. L(Y)NX 12L 

ATTENTION 

All NSA Clubs that appear 

on the www.scrabble-assoc.com 

website in December will 

be added to the New Casual 

Clubs roster in January 2010. 

We feel they are a great 

place for casual players to learn 

more about our game and 

become more serious players. 

Should you NOT wish to be 

added kindly email 

ks@scrabble-assoc.com. 

If you feel your club may 

be more challenging 

than usual email 

ks@scrabble-assoc.com and let 

us know and we will add 

(Challenging) after your listing. 

Subway is doing a SCRABBLE ® 

promotion again this year. 

Check it out! It kicked off Friday, 

August 21st and runs through early 

October. Consumers can win 

prizes instantly or they can 

collect letters to play online. 

Prizes include cash, beach 

vacations, Toyota Prius Hybrids or 

VIP access to Live Nation 

concerts. More delicious details at 

www.subway.com.

ORGANIZATION EVOLVES 

This is a newsletter feature that will report to National 

SCRABBLE ® Association (NSA) members the transition 

teamwork with the Steering Committee of NASPA. To 

cover as much information as possible the points will be 

in concise bullet fashion. For more details we suggest you 

follow the referenced links. 

Making words, building friendships 

• The NASPA team 

did an amazing job 

of hosting their first 

National SCRABBLE® 

Championship, and 

they look forward to 

next year's event in 

August 2010 in Dallas, Texas. 

• The NASPA online newsletter is now available 

to members on a monthly basis, and contributions 

and suggestions are welcome by contacting 

CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com. The first edition was 

prepared completely by volunteers and has many 

exciting features including links to other websites 

and even videos. The first issue features a 

piece on Wendell Smith, a long-time SCRABBLE® 

tournament director and player; an article 

on families who play SCRABBLE®; the introduction 

of "The Tile Bag," where readers' questions 

are answered; a game analysis by threetime 

National Champion Joe Edley; a look at the 

successful Jerusalem Club and much more. 

Congratulations to Cornelia Guest for her organizational 

talents pulling this effort together 

and to Aaron Daly, who designed and created the 

interactive web site. Watch soon for what's coming 

next. 

* As of this writing NASPA's membership was at 

1965. Remember if you sign up now, your membership 

will run through December 2010. 

* The newly formed Canadian Committee of 

NASPA (which deals with matters pertaining 

Player Spotlight 

Mary 

Rhoades 

State or Province: Texas 

Current Occupation: Retired, but still active in 

the SCRABBLE ® world! 2009 Director of NSC. 

What occupation would you love to have but 

may not be practical for your lifestyle? Don’t 

have a clue! “Occupation” is not something I’ve 

thought about since I retired. 

When and where was your first rated SCRAB- 

BLE ® tournament? Late 70s or early 80s in 

Lubbock, Texas. If I had beat my last opponent 

by over 600 points, I would have won the 

Novice Division. 

How many rated tournaments have you played 

in? The best I can figure, looking at www.crosstables.com, 

is 169. 

What is the highest rating you ever achieved? 

1771, according to www.cross-tables.com. It’s 

so much easier to go down than up, especially 

when you don’t study. 

Do you have a memorable SCRABBLE ® tournament 

and why? I registered for the Grand 

Division at a Grand Canyon tournament, believ- 

to Canadian players only) will have its first election 

in November. There are 6 members currently, 

and two spots will be up for election annually. 

For information on the new committees visit 

the NASPA wiki: www.scrabbleplayers.org/w/ 

Canadian_Committee. 

• Speaking of 

newsletters, the 

NSA is in the midst 

of redesigning our 

newsletter as well. It is going to be chock full of 

puzzles and challenges with several new features 

added. There will be NASPA tournament coverage 

as well. Stay tuned! 

• The NSA staff of 6 flew to Dayton to be 

part of NASPA's first National SCRABBLE® 

Championship. John D. Williams Jr. and Katie 

Schulz were there in official capacity to handle 

media/PR for the event; Patty Hocker was taking 

photos and assisting Theresa Bubb at the NSA 

Word Gear sales table; Jane Ratsey Williams and 

Meghan Mills, along with Theresa, helped Mary 

Rhoades set up the event ballroom. This championship 

has been very dear to us all here, and it 

was our way of passing the torch while saying 

goodbye. 

• Our summer camps program was such a 

success that the NSA did 

another workshop September 

9th for NYC Parks & 

Recreation. This time we 

trained approximately 75 

parks personnel to use 

SCRABBLE® in their afterschool/homework 

program. 

ing that someone would bump me out because 

the limit was 48 highest-rated players. No one 

did, and I got to play players like Bob Felt, Joe 

Edley, and others, including Les Schonbrun. 

Les handed me my biggest defeat ever, winning 

by over 400 points, but my moral victory 

was that he challenged one of 

my fours and lost the challenge! 

What is the one word in the 

Official SCRABBLE ® Players 

Dictionary, 4th Edition 

(OSPD4) you wish you could 

play yet haven’t had the chance 

to? NONINERT 

What is the highest scoring play 

you have ever made? 194 for 

DROWNERS, which my opponent 

challenged. We were both 

surprised when it was good. 

Who is your favorite SCRABBLE ® 

opponent and why? Matt DeWaelsche, 

because for years when we would meet one or 

both of us would say, “It’s MY turn to win!” The 

funniest game with Matt was when he made a 

play, hit the clock, and I immediately said, 

“Challenge!” He blurted out, “My finger is still 

on the button!” A good director will say at that 

point, “Whose clock is running right now?” 

What are your favorite activities besides 

SCRABBLE ® ? Activities with my 8 grandchil- 


• The Casual Clubs & Players directory at 

www.scrabble-assoc.com has crossed 430 listings, 

and we have added a special map and roster 

for Canadians as well. By adding your name or 

club to this list you will encourage new players to 

join the tournament fold. We can think of no better 

place for a "living room" player to start than at 

one of our NSA Clubs! It's FREE, so help spread 

the word. To add your club or name please go to 

www.scrabble-assoc.com and click on the fun 

red couch. 

Championship 

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 

Salem Elementary’s team of Erik Salgado 

and Andy Hoang are the reigning NSSC 

Champions, 

and we 

hope to see 

them back 

in 2010. 

The event 

is open to 

adding 

more students in grade 5-8 and we are 

thrilled to be able to include another 

few dozen participants in Orlando! 

KNOW A TEAM THAT 

MIGHT BE INTERESTED? 

Have them visit the website or 

contact us with specific questions at 

school@scrabble-assoc.com. 

dren and 2 great-grandchildren, as well as 

singing in our church choir. Of course, computer-related 

activities, which can be both my 

favorite and sometimes most perplexing. 

Name three of your favorite movies: “The Other 

Sister”, “Crimes of the Heart”, “Dream Team” 

What book are you reading now? 

“Lost Boy” 

What is your favorite 

destination to relax? Mountains 

anywhere. 

Who inspires you? The NSA staff. 

I would have never been able to 

plan and implement something 

like the NSC without having 

had their inspiration, advice 

and help over the years 

since I first worked at a 

Nationals in 1994. 

If you could have dinner 

with five people (living or 

deceased) who would be 

at the table? Other than 

Hugh (my husband), I’ll pick 

five others. Hugh will smoke a brisket and 

serve us. My Dad (gone since 1996), Jesus 

Christ, Mark Lowry, Ray Romano and Jeff 

Foxworthy. Oops, I just realized I’ve invited NO 

women to my party!


Toronto Hosts Annual Event in Honor of Michael Wise 

by John Chew, Director Club #3 Toronto 

This year's tournament was made up of four 

different events: an eight-game early bird (the 

Leah Katz Memorial, after a fondly remembered 

club member who was always asking to play 

more games), a three-round unrated pairs 

match, a twelve-round main event (the Mike 

Wise Memorial) and an eight-round unrated 

speed competition. It was codirected by John 

Robertson (Cambridge, ON, CAN) and myself, 

which led to many players shouting "John!" 

instead of the usual "Director!" Over $4300 

worth of prizes were awarded, and more than 

$500 was raised in support of the Michael Wise 

Memorial Fund at the Princess Margaret 

Hospital, the leading cancer hospital in 

Toronto. 

The two rated events included unrated divisions 

who played using the international dictionary 

Collins (formerly SOWPODS) lexicon 

and World SCRABBLE® Championship (WSC) 

rules: making a bad challenge costs five points 

per acceptable word challenged, but no loss of 

turn. Those divisions were more popular than 

ever, with ten people playing in the main event, 

from British Columbia, California, Illinois, 

Michigan, Ontario, Quebec and Texas. All ten 

will be representing Canada or the United 

States at this year's WSC in November in Johor 

Bahru, Malaysia. 

As players registered, they were offered a 

complimentary copy of the new red Toronto 

SCRABBLE® Club T-shirt. One player asked me 

why we had switched from the previous navy 

blue design: I told him it was because RED- 

SHIRT was more acceptable. (The Offical 

SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, 4th Edition 

(OSPD4) defines it as "to keep a college athlete 

out of varsity play in order to extend his eligibility".) 

By the end of the first day, the room was 

a sea of red cotton, with many players wearing 

the new shirt over their other clothing, especially 

those who hadn't thought through what 

playing in a meeting room at a skating rink 

would be like. 

The Collins players received all of their 

entry fees back in prizes, less an amount held 

in reserve pending North American SCRAB- 

BLE® Players Association's (NASPA) possible 

implementation of a Collins rating system. In 

the last round of the main event, former World 

Champion David Boys (Dorval, QC, CAN), 

playing against doctor's orders after a head 

injury from a baseball, needed to lose by no 

more than 38 points to local player Max Panitch 

Photo Credit: John Chew 

The Ball-Gabriel speed game board. 

Photo Credit: Roger Cullman 

A group of Toronto SCRABBLE ® Tournament players sporting the new red T-shirt. L to R: Koushik Ganguly, John 

Chew, Gabriel Gauthier-Shalom, Ross Brown, Jean Wolin, Diane Brown, Sam Kantimathi, Vivienne Muhling, Risa 

Horowitz, Mark Przybyszewski, Irene Kennedy, Shelley Ubeika, Kevin Gauthier, Vera Bigall, John Robertson, 

Sharmaine Farini and Sean Baizana. 

(Toronto, ON, CAN) to retain first place. Max 

won by only 21 points, giving Dave his 

third victory in the history of this event 

and placing him in the same company as 

Robin Pollock Daniel (Toronto, ON, CAN), 

Lloyd Mills (Georgetown, ON, CAN) and former 

World Champion Joel Wapnick (Montreal, 

QC, CAN), the first of whose three 

victories was at the very first tournament. 

The Collins Early Bird was 

won by Marty Gabriel (Charleston, IL), 

who similarly lost his last game to second 

place Nick Ball (Victoria, BC, 

CAN), but not by enough points to slip 

out of first. 

The unrated pairs competition was 

won by the team of Ross Brown 

(Kanata, ON, CAN) and Donna Balkan 

(Woodlawn, ON, CAN), both members 

of the Ottawa SCRABBLE® Club, 

the only undefeated team. I failed to 

defend my own Speed title, finishing third 

behind second place Marty Gabriel and winner 

Nick Ball, who apparently told me they practiced 

regularly after last year's event. Nick 

scored an impressive 601-315 win over Marty to 

decide the title using 2:53 of his allotted three 

minutes. 167 of his points came from tripletripling 

DEILRTW through a D. 

The remaining winners were: Tony Leah 

(Ajax, ON, CAN), Early Bird Open; Sinna 

Vijayakumar (Mississauga, ON, CAN), Main 

Photo Credit: John Chew 

World Champions meet at Toronto SCRABBLE ® 

Tournament: Joel Wapnick (left) vs. David Boys (right). 

“Codirected 

by John 

Robertson 

and myself, 

led many 

players shouting 

"John!" instead 

of the usual 

"Director!" 

John Chew 

Event A; Gabriel Gauthier-Shalom (Montreal, 

QC, CAN), Main Event B; Sharmaine Farini 

(Toronto, ON, CAN), Main Event C; Steven 

Karp (Waterloo, ON, CAN), Main Event D. Karp 

won the special $100 Greg Jacobs Newcomer 

Prize for highest-ranked previously unrated 

competitor, making this the fifth consecutive 

year in which that prize has been 

awarded to the winner of the D 

division. 

Various merchandise prizes, 

including SCRABBLE® page-a-day 

calendars, SCRABBLE® crossword 

puzzle books, SCRABBLE® travel 

sets, SamTiles and a Pocket Sam- 

Timer donated by Sam Kantimathi 

(Sacramento, CA, USA), a popular 

cartoon poster of all the bingoes 

ending in -FISH published by Jeremy 

Hildebrand (Ottawa, ON, CAN) and 

a set of alphabet fridge magnets 

sold online by Amanda Edmonds (a member of 

the NSA's NSC data entry squad). The most 

hotly contested category was as usual the Most 

Outrageous Phoney, which was dominated this 

year by members of the Ottawa club, who recognized 

the value of that FISH poster. 

The annual Toronto SCRABBLE® Tournament 

is held each year in September, on a 

weekend that varies with religious calendars. 

For details about upcoming events, please visit 

scrabbleplayers.org or cross-tables.com. 

Photo Credit: Roger Cullman 

Toronto SCRABBLE ® Tournament director John Chew 

with division winners: Sinna Vijayakumar, David Boys, 

Sharmaine Farini, Gabriel Gauthier-Shalom and Steven 

Karp.

Issue 230 - National Scrabble Association

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