The Last Word JAN - The Last Word Newsletter

Emails to the EditorE M A I L S T O T H E E D I T O RHi Corny,I've been enjoying the latest issue of theNewsletter and came across a photo, one Ihad seen before, with Steve Tier, StevePfeiffer and myself. The next people in thatrow are Josh Silber, Jeff Kastner (they bothstill play occasionally), and directly aboveSteve Tier's head, in another row, isCharlene White.Hope all is well !!!Paul Avrin_____________________________A question to players:Copyright © 1979 by Ann SanfedeleIn the "Last Word" online newsletter, there's an article with one of Ann Sanfedele's photos of a 1979tournament. Several sand timers can be seen on the table; it appears that each player had his own.Was there a strict 3-minute time limit in which to make your play (assuming they were the standard3-minute timers)? Here's what I can't figure out - let's say Player A goes first, turns his timer over tostart it, and takes 90 seconds to make his move. He now has half the sand left in his timer. Player Bturns his timer over to start it and makes his play in 30 seconds. That means there is still 60seconds of sand left in Player A's timer, so how was the time limit figured for his next turn (and allsubsequent turns) since sand was still running through his timer? What happened if you didn'tmake your play within three minutes? Any of the veterans like Stu want to clue us in on this?-Pete ManzolilloLI, NYPete and all--In answer to your question, Pete, it didn't matter how much sand was left in the top half of yourtimer. Each turn was started with three minutes to play. For that reason there were usually threesand timers used per game; if there was very little time used on the turn, the player was supposedto invert the timer so it wouldn't take long for the sand to run back.The timers supplied by Selchow & Righter were notoriously inaccurate, sometimes as much as halfa minute off either way, and almost all of them had less than three minutes worth of sand. At my4

E M A I L S T O T H E E D I T O Rclub a female player once left the board in tears and headed to the ladies room. When I went toadjudicate the problem, I was told that her sand timer ran out while she was playing and heropponent insisted that she had lost her turn for that reason. I told her that she should have calledme over, and I would have timed the length of time allowed by the timer. I don't remember how thatsituation was ended except that the obnoxious opponent had previously been warned that if therewere one more complaint about him he would be banned from the club, and this one was it.Stu Goldman_____________________________________________________________________Hi Cornelia,I've been trying to train up to become a more competitive Scrabble player and am hungry formaterial. Read Fatsis's Word Freak, which inspired me. I'm going through Brian Sheppard's thesison Maven. Fascinating. And I just ordered a used copy of Wapnick's book on strategy.I've found some basic word lists online--gone through my 2s and 3s, short JQXZs, UNs, INGs, REs.All great stuff! Wondering if The Last Word had any collections of strategy or if you there were wordlists, stems/anamonics, etc. that your club members found especially useful. Would reallyappreciate it!Eugene LinI’ve sent Eugene some suggestions--many listed in our SCRABBLE® Resources. I encouragereaders to send in their ideas to help Eugene. Thanks! --Cornelia Guest_______________________________________________________________________________CORRECTION: In the December issue of The Last Word it was incorrectly noted that the lateJoseph Capalbi had played in SCRABBLE® tournaments in the 1990’s. His son (also namedJoseph Capalbi) was the SCRABBLE® player. Apologies to Susi Tiekert and Mary Capalbi for theediting mix-up. The copy has been corrected in the archived issue. 5

2 0 0 9 : T H E Y E A R I N R E V I E W2009: The Year in ReviewNo doubt about it: 2009 was a year of enormous change in tournament SCRABBLE®. With thedeparture of Hasbro and the NSA, Chris Cree stepped to the plate and formed NASPA: the NorthAmerican SCRABBLE® Players Association. Hailed as a hero in Charlotte at thefirst of many of his “Town Hall Meetings,” Cree shortly learned there was trouble inparadise when Jeff Weidergren and Rick Wong announced they were running theprestigious Reno tournament in June independent of NASPA. Lengthynegotiations took place, and Reno and Albany ran as NASPAʼs first officialtournaments over the 4th of July weekend.Certainly one of the high points of the year was Dave Wiegandʼs thrilling win over Nigel Richards atthe National SCRABBLE® Championship in Dayton, Ohio, in early August. Wiegand took home$15,000 for the win.Dave Wiegand also was named “Player of the Year,” for games playedstarting with the 2008 NSC. Kate Fukawa-Connelly, winner of theAlbany 4th of July Tournament, was named “Female Player of theYear,” and 16-year-old Sam Rosin “Youth Player of the Year.” InNovember Rosin joined Wiegand and 13 other players on the U.S.team at the World SCRABBLE® Championship in Malaysia--theyoungest player to represent the United States at the WSC.6At the National School SCRABBLE®Championship, the North Carolina team of 5th graders Andy Huong and EricSalgado bested a field of 101 teams to win $10,000, the largest prize everawarded for this event.The Newsletter was launched July 21st as the “NASPA TournamentSCRABBLE® Newsletter.” After two well-received issues it was discontinuedby NASPA. November 1st it reemerged as the independent publication “The Last Word.”Pakorn Nemitrmansuk of Thailand won the World SCRABBLE®Championship in Johru Bahra, Malaysia, over Nigel Richards, winning$15,000. The following week Richards won the Causeway Challengeover Nemitrmansuk at the same venue, taking home $20,000.Suanne Ong, a 17-year-old Malaysian player, wonthe World Youth SCRABBLE® Championship. U.S.players Christopher Walleck (17) and NicholasVasquez (11) played in the WYSC, with Vasquez winning the prize for “BestPlayer Under 12.”As we go to press, Annette Tedescoʼs Albany tournament has seen the old yearout and is welcoming in the new. May 2010 be the best year ever fortournament SCRABBLE®!

2 0 0 9 : T H E Y E A R I N R E V I E WJanuary• The National SCRABBLE® Association announces that it will no longer be thesanctioning body for tournament play after the end of the year. Chris Cree reportsthat he will be heading a new players organization, with a Steering Committeechosen by the NSA.• Revised rating curve goes into effect.• Scott Appel wins Atlantic City.• Rob Robinsky wins Twin Cities Redeye.• Joe Dackman wins Reno.• Publication in The New Yorker of Judith Thurmanʼs “Spreading the Word,” an articlebased on the 2008 Big Apple Tournament directed by Ira Freehof. The article alsoappears as a podcast: “War of Words.” http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/01/19/090119fa_fact_thurman#ixzz0ZEmviZLZFebruary• Rules updated.• NASPA announced as new organization to take over from the NSA on 1/1/2010.• Orry Swift wins State of Texas Championship• The Eastern Championship, formerly in Danbury, CT, is revived in Charlotte, NC, withRyan Fischer directing. David Gibson wins the inaugural tournament.• Chris Cree holds “Town Meeting” at Eastern Championship. Announces NASPA willtake over 7/1/09 with $30 annual membership dues.• Sam Kantimathi wins the Phoenix 25th Anniversary Tournament.• NASPA website launched.• Bradley Whitmarsh wins Saratoga Springs.• City of Albany bestows upon director Annette Tedesco the title of Ambassador ofAlbany for her work over the past 15 years bringing business to the city with hertournaments.March• At “Town Meeting” at Dallas Open Chris Cree announces $0.50 per-game NASPAparticipation fee to start 7/1/09 and $30 fee for clubs to be NASPA-sanctioned.• Orry Swift wins Dallas Open.• Online NASPA membership sign-up announced.April• NASPA publishes the first issue of the NASPA Bulletin.• North Carolina fifth graders Erik Salgado and Andy Huang win the 7th NationalSchool SCRABBLE Championship in Providence, RI, over the New Jersey team ofNicholas Vasquez and Paolo Federico-Omurchu. The winners receive $10,000 prizemoney--the highest ever awarded for this event.• Rod MacNeil wins BAT.• Jason Idalski wins Princeton 7

2 0 0 9 T H E Y E A R I N R E V I E WMay• Dielle Saldanha wins Oregon Tile.• NSSC winners Erik Salgado and Andy Hoang appear on “Jimmy Kimmel LIve!”• NASPA announces club sanctioning special: No club charge if 10 membersrecruited.• Joel Sherman wins ArdenCup Memorial.• Rick Wong announces on cgp that Reno will not be a NASPA-sanctionedtournament.• City of Albany bestows upon director Annette Tedesco the title of Ambassador ofAlbany for her work over the past 15 years bringing business to the city with hertournaments.• NASPA Director Test released.June• Reno sanctioned.• Rule changes effective 8/1 announced.• Doug Brockmeier wins first Hartford Open.• David Gibson wins Knoxville.• Pakorn Nemitrmansuk of Thailand wins his third Kingʼs Cup.July• NASPA officially takes over as the ruling body of North American TournamentSCRABBLE®.• Albany and Reno become first sanctioned NASPA tournaments.• Kate Fukawa-Connelly wins Albany; top three finishers are women.• Nathan Benedict wins Reno.• Cecilia Le and John OʼLaughlin are married in the home of Seth Lipkin inHopkinton, MA. Jeremy Cahnmann officiates.• The first issue of the NASPA Tournament SCRABBLE® Newsletter is published.• Annual Awards are tabulated, with winners announced in 14 categories. Player ofthe Year is Dave Wiegand.• The first NASPA-run National SCRABBLE® Championship opens in Dayton , OH.495 players are entered.August• Dave Wiegand of Portland OR wins the first NASPA-run National SCRABBLE®Championship over New Zealandʼs Nigel Richards, taking home a first prize of$10,000.• NASPA establishes Governance Committee with Steve Pellinen as chair.• USA wins CanAm SCRABBLE® Challenge. Nigel Peltier is the individual winner.8

2 0 0 9 : T H E Y E A R I N R E V I E WSeptember• Carl Johnson wins Portland--rating tops 2000.• The third edition of Everything Scrabble is released.• NASPA “dissolves” the Newsletter Committee.• Mark Nyman of Great Britain wins the British Matchplay Scrabble Championship.October• NASPA joins WESPA.• NASPAʼs Executive Committee names Robin Pollock Daniel and Matthew Hodge asofficial spokespersons.• Joel Sherman wins Lake George.• Jason Hlady wins 14th Annual Western Canadian SCRABBLE® Championship.November• The Last Word, an independent tournament SCRABBLE® newsletter, is launchedby the editorial staff of the former NASPA Tournament SCRABBLE® Newsletter.• Peter Armstrong wins California Open.• Bruce Adams wins Essex.• Sam Hollington wins Oshawa.• Pakorn Nemitrmansuk of Thailand wins tenth World SCRABBLE® Championshipover Nigel Richards of New Zealand. Dave Wiegand finishes third. Thailand is thewinning team over Nigeria and England.December• Nigel Richards wins Causeway Challenge to earn $20,000 first prize (PakornNemitrmansuk is second). International A team tops Thailand for team prize.• Suanne Ong of Malaysia wins World Youth Scrabble Championship. U.S. playerNicholas Vasquez, 11, wins prize for “Best Player under 12.”Team USA at the 2009 World SCRABBLE®Championship in Malaysia. Congratulations tonational champion Dave Wiegand, who finishedthird. Front row L to R: John O'Laughlin, BobLinn, Marty Gabriel, Brian Bowman. Back row Lto R: Jim Kramer, Sam Rosin, Nick Ball, NathanBenedict, Jason Idalski, Sam Kantimathi, MarkKenas, Geoff Thevenot, Jason Katz-Brown,Dave Wiegand.Team Canada at Worlds: Front row L to R: MarkShellenberg, Tony Leah, Dielle Saldanha. Back rowL to R: Joel Wapnick, Max Panitch, Ron Hoekstra,Andrew Golding, David Boys. (WSC photos courtesyof Sam Kantimathi) 9

2 0 0 9 : T H E Y E A R I N R E V I E WFriends who have left us:Cecile Betts Frieda Davis Doug Ingalls Rose KreiswirthJoe Capalbi Mike Kavleski Roy Kietzman Anne MasiKen Lambe Ellen Miller Lorraine Pariser Robert Emmett SmithAnne McEnis Mary Leonbruno Mary Lou ThurmanDolly MattisenSharon Swerdloff Nita Washington Arnie Weisburg10

2 0 0 9 : T H E Y E A R I N R E V I E W2009 Top North American Players by State & Province:#1 USA #1 CANADADavid GibsonAdam LoganALABAMA ALASKA ALBERTA ARIZONA ARKANSASEric Harshbarger Wes Morrison Eric Tran Nathan Benedict Jimmy UptonBRITISH COLUMBIA CALIFORNIA COLORADO CONNECTICUT DELAWAREDean Saldanha Jerry Lerman Dominick Mancine Jesse Day Jan DixonDISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FLORIDA GEORGIA HAWAII IDAHOStefan Fatsis Ian Weinstein Joey Krafchick Mark Pistolese Ron Barker 11

2 0 0 9 : T H E Y E A R I N R E V I E WILLINOIS INDIANA IOWA KANSAS KENTUCKYBrian Cappelletto Mike Paxton Mike Weepie Ricky Sirois Brian BowmanLOUISIANA MAINE MANITOBA MARYLAND MASSACHUSETTSKeith Savage Joey Mallick Brian Williams Sammy Okosaga Kenji MatsumotoMICHIGAN MINNESOTA MISSISSIPPI MISSOURI MONTANARon Hoekstra Jim Kramer Noreen Kenny Sheri Justice David WeissNEBRASKA NEVADA NEWFOUNDLAND & NEW HAMPSHIRE NEW JERSEYLABRADOR12George Asaka Joe Dackman Jeff Parsons Amit Chakrabarti Scott Appel

2 0 0 9 : T H E Y E A R I N R E V I E WNEW MEXICO NEW YORK NORTH CAROLINA OHIO OKLAHOMAMike Baron Joel Sherman Brett Haughney Pete Zeigler Matthew HodgeONTARIO OREGON PENNSYLVANIA QUEBEC RHODE ISLANDAdam Logan Dave Wiegand Steve Oliger Joel Wapnick Max KartenSASKATCHEWAN SOUTH CAROLINA SOUTH DAKOTA TENNESSEE TEXASJason Hlady David Gibson Aaron Daly Scott Garner Orry SwiftUTAH VERMONT VIRGINIA WASHINGTON WEST VIRGINIA WISCONSINMike Howlett Kevin Colosa John Luebkemann Rafi Stern Jeff Cook Peter Armstrong 13

2 0 0 9 : T H E Y E A R I N R E V I E W2009 Top North American Youth PlayersSAM ROSINSam Rosin, 17, a high school junior from Bernardsville, NJ, won the Youth Playerof the Year Award (see The Last Word, Issue 1), awarded in August. Rated at1853 at the end of 2009, Sam ended the year as the highest ranked Youth Player(under 18 as of 1/1/09) in North America, 47th overall. He represented hiscountry as part of the U.S. Team at the 2009 World SCRABBLE Championship inMalaysia in December, the youngest U.S. player to attend the WSC.Sam also made his mark in 2009 by setting a fine example of“giving back” in SCRABBLE®. Working with Cheryl Allen-Munley and Lynda Kraar, Sam helped organize the Teaneck(NJ) Heritage SCRABBLE® Tournament, which raised almost$1000 for Alzheimerʼs research. The event also raised moneyto donate SCRABBLE® equipment to local senior centers.A former School SCRABBLE® star, Sam volunteered his timeto coach the New Jersey team of Nicholas Vasquez and PaoloFederico-Omurchu for the 2009 National School SCRABBLE®Championship. The boys, both playing in their first NSSC,made it to the finals and finished second. Since then they have both won NASPA-sanctionedtournaments, and Nicholas represented the U.S. in the recent World Youth SCRABBLE®Championship in Malaysia.NOAH WALTONJOEY KRAFCHICKNoah Walton, 16, from Portland, OR, gained 423 points this year in reaching hiscurrent rating of 1788, his all-time high. Noah has been playing tournamentSCRABBLE® for a little over two years, and in that time he has won 8 of his 19tournaments. He now is the second highest ranked Youth Player in North America.Noah, who also enjoys theater and singing, created a SCRABBLE® CrosswordPuzzle for the first issue of The Last Word (LINK).Joey Krafchick, 15, a high school freshman from Roswell, GA, is rated at 1649,the third highest rated Youth Player in North America--and the number-one playerin Georgia (a few points ahead of his mentor, Dave Liefer). Twice runner-up atthe National School SCRABBLE® Championship and fourth this year, Joey hasmade the transition to open play with true style, winning Division 2 at Atlanta thisMay and Division 1 at Alpharetta in September.14

MATTHEW SILVER2 0 0 9 : T H E Y E A R I N R E V I E WMatthew Silver, 16, a high school sophomore from Westport, CT, rated 1592, isthe fourth highest rated Youth Player in North America. He holds the distinctionof being the only person to have twice won the National School SCRABBLE®Championship (in 2007 and 2008). In 2009 Matthew played in only a fewtournaments, but he has been coaching four teams of younger players headingto this year’s NSSC. He shared a lesson plan in the November issue of TheLast Word (LINK).BRADLEY ROBBINSTOURNAMENT TITANSBradley Robbins, 12, a 7th grader from Windham, NH, had the second largestrating gain of any player this year--464--in reaching his current rating of 1564.He is now the fifth highest ranked Youth Player in North America. In AugustBradley won the Annual Award for Highest Point Spread in a Single Tournament(see The Last Word, Issue 1), for his win in last year’s WSC. Moving into higherdivisions, Bradley is proving himself a strong competitor; in October he wonDivision 2 at Cape Cod. Earlier in the year Bradley and his teammate, QuincyCerabino-Hess, won the Boston Area School SCRABBLE® tournament.North Carolina 5th graders Andy Huang and Erik Salgado wonthe 2009 National School SCRABBLE® Championship, besting afield of 101 teams from across the U.S. The boys were both 11 atthe time--the youngest team to ever win the event. The first prizecheck of $10,000 was double the prize money awarded before.Nicholas Vasquez, 11, a 6th grader fromLivingston, NJ, has had quite a year. He and his teammate, Paolo Federico-Omurchu, won $5,000 as the runner-up team at the 2009 National SchoolSCRABBLE® Championship in April. The boys also won their divisions at theApril Chappaqua NY School SCRABBLE® Tournament.In May, Nicholas won Division 3 at the Ardsley NY Tournament. Then, inNovember, he traveled to Malaysia to compete in the Causeway Challenge andthe World Youth Scrabble Championship. Nicholas finished 27th of 80 with a13-11 +540 record in the WYSC and was awarded the prize for “Best PlayerUnder 12.” His WESPA international rating is now 1271.Paolo Federico-Omurchu, a 7th grader from Montclair, NJ,was on the runner-up team with Nicholas Vasquez at theNational School SCRABBLE® Championship, earning$2,500. Paolo won four sanctioned tournaments last year, most recentlyDivision 2 of the October Rhinebeck NY Tournament. He and Nicholas alsowon the Chappaqua NY School SCRABBLE® Tournament in April. 15

2 0 0 9 : T H E Y E A R I N R E V I E WChris Canik, 18, of Austin, TX, came in 2nd in Division 4 at the 2009 National SCRABBLE®Championship in Dayton. Chris’s rating is now 1375--his peak to date.Matt Canik, 17, a high school senior from Austin, TX, won Division 2 of the September Irving TXTournament. His current rating of 1535 places him 6th among all Youth Players in North America.Jemmin Chang, a high school freshman from Somers, NY, won his first sanctioned tournament inJanuary 2009 at the North Salem NY Tournament. He and his teammate, Evan Winston, werewinners of their division at the April Somers NY School SCRABBLE® Tournament.Thomas Ensey, a high school freshman from Hanover, MD, won two tournaments in 2009:Rockville MD in March (Division 4) and Annapolis MD in October (Division 3). A the National SchoolSCRABBLE® Championship Thomas and his teammate, Rachel Backert, placed fifth. Thomas isnow rated at 1122, his peak rating to date.Aaron P. Green, a high school sophomore from Hopkinton, MA, was third in Division 2 at theDecember Durham NH Tournament to raise his rating to 1330.Noah Lieberman, a Charlotte, NC high school sophomore, won Division 2 at the NovemberDurham, NC Tournament. His rating is now 1215.Matthew Nelson, 14, from Poulsbo, WA, won Division 3 at the July Reno NV Tournament with a21-7 +1164 record.Matthew O’Connor, a 6th grader from DeWitt, NY, won back-to-back Youth Divisions at the MayArdsley, NY Tournament.Charlie Panek, a high school freshman from New York, NY, won Division 7 of the MarchNorthampton MA Tournament. Charlie and his teammate, Anatol Klass, were also the winners ofthe top division of the Brooklyn School SCRABBLE® Championship in April.Trevor Swope, 13, from Portland, OR, won Division 5 of the February Lake Oswego ORTournament. Trevor and his teammate, Adriana Lilla, placed 10th at the National SchoolSCRABBLE® Championship.Tristan Vanech, a 7th grader from California, finished 3rd in Division 4 of the National SCRABBLE®Championship in Dayton, OH 20-11 +1599. Tristan was the division leader for 17 out of 31 games.Earlier in the year Tristan and his teammate, Ruben Radlauer, placed 7th at the National SchoolSCRABBLE® Championship in Providence..Christopher Walleck, a high school senior from Lakewood, OH, represented the U.S. in Malaysiaat the World Youth SCRABBLE Championship. Christopher finished 12-12 +660 in 35th place,earning a WESPA international rating of 1101. (His NASPA rating is 1240.)Stephen Winston, an 8th grader from Ridgefield, CT, won Division 3 of the September RhinebeckNY Tournament. In June Stephen and his teammate, Jerray Chang, won their division at theRidgefield Library School SCRABBLE® Tournament.16

T O U R N A M E N T N E W STournament NewsFor the most up-to-date tournament results and the official calendar of upcoming tournaments,players should consult the NASPA results and calendar. Detailed information about past andupcoming tournaments is also posted at www.cross-tables.com. Here we will feature a tournamentor two each issue, plus list winners of recent tournaments. Directors who would like to submit resultsand photos from their tournaments are encouraged to send them to CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com._______________________________________________________________________________Iskandar Malaysia World SCRABBLE® Festival: 11/26-12/10SCRABBLE® players from all around the world gathered in JohorBahru, Malaysia, in late November and early December for whatwas billed as the Iskandar Malaysia World Scrabble Festival: aseries of three world-class International SCRABBLE® tournaments.The Festival, held at The Zon Regency Hotel, opened with the2009 World SCRABBLE Championship (11/26-29); continued withthe Causeway SCRABBLE Challenge, the world’s richesttournament (12/2-6); and concluded with the World YouthSCRABBLE Championship (12/8-10). More SCRABBLE® wasplayed during that two-week period than at any other internationalevent to date.The events were jointly hosted by the Johor Government, theIskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), and Mattel, Inc.With the WSC, the CausewayChallenge, and the WYSC allhappening at the same spot withina two-week period, the eventswere promoted as the "WorldFestival of SCRABBLE," and streetsigns like this were all aroundtown. (Photo by Jason Idalski)In the following pages we present coverage of these threeimportant tournaments from event participants and organizers. Forfull results and additional photos, commentary, and annotatedgames, go to www.wscgames.com (World SCRABBLEChampionship), www.causewayscrabble.com (CausewaySCRABBLE Challenge), and www.youthscrabble.org (World YouthSCRABBLE Championship). I offer my enormous gratitude to thefollowing individuals who graciously contributed their stories andphotographs:Tan Jin Chor (MY)Len Farlow (UK)Barry Harridge (UK)Jason Idalski (USA)Sam Kantimathi (USA)Karen Richards (UK)Michael Tang (MY)Geoff Thevenot (USA)Janice Vasquez (USA)Nicholas Vasquez (USA)Christopher Cole Walleck (USA) 17

W O R L D S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I PThoughts on the 2009 WorldSCRABBLE® Championshipby Geoff Thevenot, TeamUSAThis was my second Worlds, and like the first inMumbai two years ago it was a singular andspecial experience, every bit the ride that I'dimagined when reading about the WSC inWord Freak years ago. It is always a greathonor to represent my country and have theopportunity to do battle with so many excellentplayers from around the world.This year's championship was held in JohorBahru, Malaysia, also the site of the CausewaySCRABBLE® Challenge, which took place rightafter the Worlds ended. We were welcomedwith a gala dinner the night before the start ofplay (and fed exquisitely throughout the event,with buffet meals rotated among the ZonRegency's many restaurants), and the nextmorning the 2009 World SCRABBLE®Championship was underway.The Worlds features the most culturally diversefield in international SCRABBLE®, with 39different countries represented in the 2009championships--a testament both to the spreadof the English language internationally in recentyears and to the rapid growth of Englishlanguagecompetitive SCRABBLE® in placeshard to imagine when the game was at itshumble beginnings. Great players can comefrom anywhere now, no question about it. Thetop of the WSC field is heavily laden both withgreat names we all know, former national andworld champions, and many excellent playersperhaps less known in the North AmericanSCRABBLE® scene but scarcely lessdangerous. My own slate of opponents,strengthened by a fast start, included six formerNSC or WSC champions, and fully half of myopponents had prior top-10 finishes in either anNSC or WSC. For an ostensible vacation, I'dhave my work cut out for me! But that's exactlywhy I was excited to fly halfway around theworld to play.Morning of day 2, Jim Kramer and Nigel awaiting theirfirst opponents. Matchups on the row: Table 2, Boys-Jighere; Table 3, me-Dylan Early; Table 4, Kramer-Komol; Table 5, Nigel-Panupol; Table 6, Wapnick-Wiegand. Six of the ten listed here have won either aWorlds or a North American Nationals before.The leader board shifted often in the threesuspense-filled days. At first WellingtonJighere, a fantastic player from Nigeria whofinished third in the last WSC, was out in frontwith an 8-0 first day, but soon other namescrept to the front, and every round reshuffledthe pack. The incumbent WSC winner NigelRichards, as usual, was in the mix at the top,along with reigning NSC champion DaveWiegand, former WSC winner David Boys fromCanada, and a host of other formidableGame 12 vs. Nigel Richards. Purty board. His bingos:TREBLED, SOV(ER)EIGN, RInGBIT(S)#, COTISED#(out); mine: RECENSE#, (C)oPURIFY, ARALIAS#.Nigel won--he kinda does that a lot.18

W O R L D S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I Pplayers. Late in the second day and throughoutthe third, Pakorn Nemitrmansuk, longtimesuperstar player from Thailand, was makinghis presence felt after a slow start: he foundhimself at just 3-4 after seven games, but thenreeled off a WSC-record 14 consecutive winson the way to a spot in the best-of-five finals.His opponent was determined in the final roundwhen Richards prevailed 435-414 in a nail-biteragainst Wiegand.So we had a final pitting the reigning worldchampion, Nigel Richards, against Pakorn,who had made the WSC finals twice before(2003 and 2005) but had yet to win the ultimateprize. We all gathered in the viewing room towatch the fireworks, and fireworks we got: Thefirst game was a taut 425-419 thriller thatPakorn pulled out late, an agreeable mix of bigplays and strategic maneuvering. The secondgame sounded a different note--Pakorn gotgoing and didn't stop until he had rung up ablistering 670-303 victory, with four bingosincluding the triple-triple PALUDINE#. Nigelstaved off defeat in game three, with the helpof back-to-back 108-point bingos (JINKERS,LICHTED), and it was clear the defendingchampion had no intention to relinquish hiscrown easily.If game one of the finals had set the bar high interms of suspense, the final game foursurpassed even that; each player took turns inthe lead, but every punch brought with it acounterpunch. Pakorn's second bingo,GENETRIX#, gave him an early lead, butNigel's GEEZ for 61 and FrEEHOLD for 72turned the tide. Down 419-365 late in thegame, Pakorn held a rack of AABCNOT, andthe viewing room let out a collective gasp. Hehad an open I to play through for BOTANICA,but it wasn't the easiest spot to see, requiring acouple of overlaps to fit the bingo in, andPakorn was short on time. But Pakorn inchampionship form found the play, the roomcheered, and when he picked the last blank outof the bag afterward, his first world title wasvirtually assured. Final score: Pakorn 499,The board for the thrilling Finals Game 4, won499-480 by Pakorn. Pakorn's late BOTAN(I)CAsealed the World Championship for him. Afterrunner-up finishes in 2003 and 2005, thelongtime Thai superstar finally won it.Congratulations Pakorn!Nigel 480. Thailand also won the team title,placing two other players besides Pakorn inthe top five as well--a smashing success.The U.S. team, led to no one's surprise byDave Wiegand's third-place finish, fared betterthan expected, with eight of us finishing in thetop 30. We regained the spot that was lost inMumbai two years prior, and so at the nextWSC the U.S. will have fifteen representatives.As for me, I won my first six and stayed incontention for a while--in fourth place withseven games remaining and the dream still insight--but a late losing skein took me down to21st at the end, the same finish as in Mumbai.Perhaps a little disappointing, but it's hard touse "disappointment" and the Worlds in thesame sentence. Any time I get the opportunityto experience the feeling of playing for theworld championship is a thrill. Can't wait for thenext one!Geoff Thevenot is a top-ranked player fromAustin, TX. This is his second timerepresenting the United States at a WorldChampionship. 19

W O R L D S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I PThe Magic that was the World SCRABBLE® Championshipat Johor Bahru, Malaysiaby Sam Kantimathi, TeamUSATeam CanadaTeam USAL-R Joel Wapnick, Max Panitch, Ron Hoekstra,Andrew Golding, David Boys, Mark Schellenberg,Tony Leah, Dielle SaldanhaL-R: Jim Kramer, Sam Rosin, Nick Ball, Nathan Benedict,Jason Idalski, Sam Kantimathi, Mark Kenas, GeoffThevenot, Jason Katz-Brown, Dave Wiegand, JohnO'Laughlin, Robert Linn, Marty Gabriel, Brian Bowman(USA). Photo courtesy of Sam Kantimathi.Pakorn.One of the most recognized Thai names for us in North America.Pakorn is a funny character! He stands out among dozens of other Thai players who tend to be onthe shy side. A packed room was watching the live feed of the best-of-five Finals on two giantscreens. Nigel, trailing 0-1 and 257-451 on the second game, opened a Hail Mary triple-triple,scoring 14 points. Then the camera showed Pakorn's rack to be ADELNPU. Many of us instantlyrecognized the playable Collins 3x3. Pakorn placed just DINE on the triple, but paused. The crowdwent wild. I shouted, "Come on, Pakorn! You can do it!" (They were playing on the other side of thelarge hotel, not within earshot.) Lovely Suanne Ong [now the 2009 World Youth SCRABBLEChampion], playing Vanna White (along with our charming Dielle Saldanha) on the giantSCRABBLE® board, went ahead and put the tiles in place. Then Pakorn exclaimed, "Not enoughpoints!" and added P-A-L-U to make PALUDINE# (means pertaining to marshes) to complete thetriple-triple on his way to pummeling Nigel Richards, the reigning World Champion 670-303(unheard of!) Nigel took it in the lighthearted nature that Pakorn intended. Nigel is a class act.All the Finals games, including all Board 1 games in regulation (including one of mine) can beenjoyed play-by-play at http://www.wscgames.com/games/2009/Something else Pakorn said during the finals surprised Tournament Director Wilma Vialle, theannotators, and the TV crew, who all roared into laughter. You'll have to ask me later exactly whathe said, as Corny runs a family rag here! :)20

W O R L D S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I PThere was a 7-minute delay before a later game commenced, as Pakorn realized he hadinadvertently left his lucky SamRack at the restaurant downstairs during lunch. The spectators--andNigel--all waited as Pakorn ran back and got it!On the first day of the tournament, I scored a narrow win over Pakorn (LINK), as did Dielle Saldanha(LINK). Pakorn was down 3-4, with Nigerian Wellington Jighere leading in the standings 8-0 +.Immediately after my game with Pakorn, he went on an incredible 14-game winning streak,surpassing our own Matt Graham's record of 13 consecutive wins in a World Championship thatstood for over a decade. Pakorn’s record going into the Finals was 18-6 +1388.It was an emotional moment when Pakorn emerged victorious from the championship room. He gaveme a big hug, tears welling up in his eyes. Let us just say there were not too many dry eyes in thehallway, as our friend Pakorn Nemitrmansuk (Name-it-man-sook, R being silent) had finished runnerupin not one, but two previous world championships. This also vindicates my efforts (along withothers) starting in the mid-1990's to lift the ban the Brits had placed on Thai players participating inSCRABBLE® world championships. Now we have two Thai world champions, making Thailand theonly country outside North America with that distinction.Congrats to Dave Wiegand, who narrowly missed out on the Final Two Shootout, but finished a veryimpressive third in a lexicon not his own. 21

W O R L D S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I PGAME 22: SAM KANTIMATHIThe most colorful and popular yet slightly controversial character hereat the World Championships this year, without a doubt was Uganda'sPhillip Edwin-Mugisha, self-described as "the phenomenon!" In game14 he had an incredible game scoring 1157 total points. His share: 627points! His opponent, the reigning Malaysian national championVannitha Balasingam, scored 530. Her first name means beauty inTamil. Her last name: a young lion, also in Tamil.My most memorable game at WSC '09 was against THE phenomenon.In his words--and with permission--I reprint what he published in manyworld lists:That extra qualification slot for Uganda was at this stage ebbing away. Enter Sam Kantimathi, amost interesting looking character. Yes Chris Ntege had mentioned this gentleman to me and nowthe guy sat opposite me on the board. The guy wears, a utility belt? Fishing belt? around his waist.His clipboard is huge, certainly the largest I have ever seen but perhaps this is to provide space forthe ten markers of various shades that the gentleman slapped down on the table. And he was touse all of them as he wrote furiously away on the clipboard, cap pulled down but face occasionallyexposed to reveal those expressive, intelligent and huge eyes.This picture is not complete without mentioning the round flask? kettle? from which he occasionallysipped a liquid from as the game progressed. The flask? kettle? was a crimson red? maroon?matching his shirt. And then he pulled out from his fishing? utility? belt a small vial containing amodicum of some transparent liquid which I was too busy to ask him about.Oh, the game. We were neck and neck as his MEROPIA (83) cancelled out my ANILINE (71). Itracked his final rack with one letter left in the bag and saw he had rubbish. a V, C, U, O, T, A and soforth. The man was doomed, especially as I played REGALING for 61. The first sign of trouble wasthat I picked the T. This meant he didn't have to worry about playing some impossible OUT- word.Then he coolly laid down on my R of REGALING, VACUOLAR. He punched the air triumphantly as Ijust sat there in disbelief. As fellow American Bob Linn came over to congratulate him, I realisedwith utter disgust I should have played LAGERING.This is one of the OQUASSA 's 13,000Anagrams. Another strategic cockup, through overconfidence thinking I had the man beat.I told him afterwards, very aggrieved, how could he do such a thing to a living legend. His response;"But I am also a legend!"Well!SAM KANTIMATHI 435 PHILLIP EDWIN-MUGISHA 385Sam Kantimathi is a top-ranked SCRABBLE® player from California. His company, SamTimer(LINK), manufactures premium SCRABBLE® equipment. This is the third time he has representedthe United States at a World SCRABBLE® Championship.22

W O R L D S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I PWorld SCRABBLE® Championship Travelogby Jason Idalski, TeamUSAOver Thanksgiving, I went to Johor Bahru, Malaysia, to compete in the World SCRABBLE®Championship. Here are snippets from my 11 entries, one for each of the 11 days I was gone. Thecomplete travelog is available by visiting emyouthemagazine.com and viewing the “Blog” category.Enjoy.Monday, November 23I haven’t been out of North America ever, or out of the country in the past decade or so (no, noteven Canada), I’m non-mechanical (Bil gave me his digital camera to use and I can’t even figure outhow to delete the pictures I don’t want) and uncoordinated … so no doubt I’ll find myself in awkwardsituations almost entirely of my own doing, especially since I’ve barely learned any Malay. I’d alsolike to be funnier and wittier in these things, but I’m in the middle of pulling an all-nighter and reallytired.Wednesday, November 25 (afternoon in Malaysia)I waited in line at immigration, only to be sent back because I forgot to fill out my Singaporedisembarkation form. I picked a different line this time (unsatisfied with the progress it made), only towatch the line I was in zip along while mine crawled. I then had to go to the bathroom: badly, andsadly, for quite a while. (As an aside: Automatic flushers should die. Three times it thought I wasdone when I wasn’t. I’ll decide when I’m finished, kapeesh?)Wednesday, November 25(evening in Malaysia)Tonight was the “GalaDinner” for all participants.We were encouraged to wearnational dress. After somedeliberation, I came up with away to represent both locallyand nationally while notbeing underdressed: Woremy Red Wings polo with blueslacks. So, red, white (skin)and blue; plus a shout out tothe Wings!It may be one of the mostinteresting meals I’ve everhad. Interesting speeches,interesting “culturalperformances,” interestingfood, very interestingcompany in my friends fromthe U.S.As you can see, The Zon Regency Hotel (pronounced ZONE) is a nice place! 23

W O R L D S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I PThursday, November 261-7. I’m in 107th out of 108 players, ahead of some guy from Qatar. At 1-4, up by 98 a third of theway through game six, I felt OK. I then got outscored by 213 the rest of the way and lost, 536-421.Then I lost 514-338. Then I lost 538-313. It was like a scene from “Family Guy” I saw recently,where Stewie bashes Brian over the head (game six), then shoots him in the leg (game seven), thenlights him on fire (game eight).I don’t know what else to say. I’m just absolutely numb right now.Friday, November 27Thanks to everybody for their support, publicly and privately. On the advice of mentor extraordinaireFrank Tangredi, I used the other side of my name tag to spell out a little message (“My name isJason and I need a win … Can you help me?”) As the saying goes, if you can’t laugh at yourself,who can you laugh at? Tony Leah got a kick out of it; a few others appreciated it, too. Near the endof my win against Michael Quao of Ghana, he noticed it and laughed. “I must’ve paid attention,” hesaid. “You owe me.”Saturday, November 28I’m happy, but a little frustrated. If I had a ringgit for every opponent who said “I drew better thanyou” (including people I beat), then I’d be able to buy my family’s Christmas gifts. I’m glad that myfellow Collins-virgin, high-school student Sam Rosin, went 13-11 (and has a 1940 WESPA rating tomy 1715), but I’m also a little jealous. I know that eventually all this immediate post-tourneynegativity will go and I’ll only have the positives, but right now I’m not as happy as I should be.…94th place out of 108 isn’t exactly filling me with pride.Sunday, November 29For me, the disappointment of 9.5-14.5, while still there (and probably will be, to some degree, until Iget a chance to redeem myself), was pushed to the backburner during a most enjoyable daywatching the finals.Game 1 may well be the most exciting game I’ve ever witnessed.… So fun to sit with theAmericans, cracking jokes and hearing their thoughts/opinions ontough decisions as we watched Pakorn lead 2-0.After lunch, Game 3 was a little boring. Game 4 … well, when Isaid Game 1 was the most exciting game I’d ever seen, it wasbefore Game 4.World Champ PakornNemitrmansuk and me.Thanks to Pakorn forposing for a photo with menot once, but twice after wehad camera problems thefirst time.Top three finishers, from left:Dave Wiegand, PakornNemitrmansuk, Nigel Richards.24

W O R L D S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I PMonday, November 30Friday night at dinner there was a dessert called “icekechang”, which can best be described as a snow conewith corn and beans in it. I know it sounds weird (I eventook a few pictures); Nathan Benedict described it as“something a kid would eat on a dare.” It’s not that far offfrom how I came to try it: Cecilia Le mentioned it, Geoffsaid he’d try it, so I took a couple scoops and a fewspoons back to the table. Nathan took a good video ofSam Rosin trying it (and the face he made afterward).Don’t think it made a great impression on anyone.Tuesday, December 1Ice kechang! I know, I know, you probablyhave the same reaction I did to seeing it forthe first time: "What the ...?"Then we went to the bowling alley (inside a mall!) I became theunofficial “WSC/Causeway bowling champ” with games of 154and 168, besting 11 others, including five WSC participants. Notquite the 180-some average I carry at home, but given that Ididn’t have my equipment, I’m satisfied. Romanians AdrianTamas and Mihai Pantis each broke 140 in the second game.I still maintain that if theyThe best example yet of Malayusing English phonetic spelling, at aToys “R” Us.create SCRABBLE® Bowling(a la Chess Boxing), I couldbe World Champ.Wednesday, December 2I mentioned Nigel briefly before. 2007 Worlds champ, 2009 runner-up. 2008 Nationals champ, 2009runner-up (to Dave Wiegand). Eight-time winner of the King’s Cup, a prestigious tournament inBangkok. Word Freak author Stefan Fatsis wrote an unbelievably good profile of him (http://naspanews.com/index.php?id=41) that was unfortunately left out of the book, but that he latershared with the world. I knew annotating nine games of Nigel’s would be fun and interesting and Iwasn’t disappointed.Thursday, December 3No doubt when I hear these seven songs (and there may be more I’m just forgetting about) I’ll thinkof my Asian adventure. And since “I Just Called To Say I Love You” is Mom’s ringtone for wheneverDad calls (his for her is “I Need A Lover Who Won’t Drive Me Crazy”) and these songs are oftenplayed on the radio stations I listen to, I’ll hear some of them a few times.…And trust me, even though I would’ve liked to have won more games during the Worlds, everytime I randomly start to think about this trip, I’ll smile.Jason Idalski is a top-ranked player from Warren, MI. This was his first appearance at a WorldChampionship. 25

T H E C A U S E W A Y S C R A B B L E C H A L L E N G EThe 2009 Causeway Scrabble ChallengeDecember 2-6by Tan Jin ChorThe Causeway Scrabble Challenge, which was held in Johor Bahru from December 2 nd to 6 th , 2009as part of the Iskandar Malaysia World Festival of Scrabble was indisputably the the biggest,toughest, and richest International SCRABBLE® tournament in the world.Causeway winner Nigel Richardsreceiving US $20K check from theMayor of Johor Bahru. (Photocredit: Michael Tang)The tournament attracted a record 186 players from over 30countries. Many of them made the journey from the other side of theworld. Some of them traveled more than 40 hours with threechanges of aircraft to get here. They came from all walks of life –there were doctors, lawyers, and engineers as well as professors,teachers, and students. The youngest player was 11-year-oldNicholas Vasquez from the USA; among the oldest players wereseveral retirees in their seventies.The luxurious Zon Regency Hotel, where the competition was held,provided a grand ballroom as the playing area. There was amplespace to move around, and at no time did the participants feelcramped and crowded. To add to the comfort and enjoyment of theplayers, morning and afternoon tea, with local kueh and other delicacies, were provided throughoutthe tournament. In fact, the only negative that can be said about the venue is that the airconditioningwas too efficient, causing many players to don woolen pullovers and jackets morecommonly seen in colder climes than sunny Malaysia.The competition’s website, www.causewayscrabble.com, carries the slogan: “Toughness redefined”.The competition did, indeed, redefine the meaning of toughness. There were 45 rounds played over5 days. Most local tournaments are 2-day affairs, with only 8 games played each day. And otherinternational tournaments are played over 3 or 4 days, at most. Causeway is therefore the longestInternational SCRABBLE® tournament on the planet. Even the most diehard SCRABBLE® fiendcould not have come away from the event saying he/she had not had enough SCRABBLE® games– at least until the next tournament.Aside from its length, Causeway lays legitimate claim to being the toughest SCRABBLE®tournament on earth because of the superb quality of its field. The 50 players, comprising 6 WorldSCRABBLE® Champions, who qualified to play in the Premier Division hailed from 5 continents –South America being the only exception. They were selected based on predetermined stringentcriteria. In the competition’s format, each player had to play against 45 other top-rated players fromaround the world, thereby making it the most grueling and testing tournament there is.And, finally, Causeway is the richest International Scrabble tournament in the world in terms of prizemoney. The 2009 Premier Division winner, Nigel Richards from New Zealand, was rewarded withthe handsome sum of 20,000 US dollars. The runner-up, Thailand’s Pakorn Nemitrmansuk, received10,000 US dollars. Cash prizes were also awarded to the other players who finished in the top ten.26

T H E C A U S E W A Y S C R A B B L E C H A L L E N G EIn the Open division, the winner, Michael Akonor from Ghana, received 3,000 US dollars, while therunner-up, Australian Peter Kougi, walked away with 1,500 US dollars.The prize money is set to become even bigger next year (the tournament will be held December1-5, 2010). The tournament’s organizer, Michael Tang, has announced that the top prize for thePremier Division in 2010 will be 30,000 US dollars. Apart from the Premier Division, there will betwo other divisions: the Masters Division, for players with WESPA (World English-LanguageScrabble Players Association) ratings of 1600 and above who fail to qualify for the Premier Division,and the Open Division, for players with a rating below 1600. The Masters Division winner willreceive 5,000 US dollars and the Open Division winner 1,000 US dollars.The prize money for SCRABBLE® tournaments throughout the world has increased substantially inrecent years, due in large part to the example set by the Causeway Scrabble Challenge. InSeptember, the winner of the Baguio Centennial International Wordbuilders ScrabbleChampionship, Nigel Richards, walked away with USD 4,000. In October, the winner of the GodswillAkpabio International Scrabble Classic in Nigeria, local champion Jighere Wellington, pocketedUSD 10,000. The top prize for the King’s Cup, to be held in Bangkok in June, 2010, has been raisedfrom USD 6,000 to USD 10,000. This trend has resulted in inducing at least one top SCRABBLE®player to quit his job and become a full-time professional SCRABBLE® player.Apart from the size of the winner’s purse, many other firsts were recorded at Causeway 2009. Forthe first time ever in SCRABBLE® history, video clips of interviews with players (more than ahundred) were recorded and uploaded onto the competition’s website for the rest of the world toview [search “Causeway Challenge” on YouTube]. Up-to-the-minute results were posted on Twitterfor fans from all over the world to follow. All the bingos played in both the Premier and the OpenDivisions (more than 10,000) have been put on the website. Each of the players in the PremierDivision had his/her own annotator for all 45 games, and more than 500 games in the division havebeen put on the Causeway website for SCRABBLE® lovers everywhere to replay and reexamine attheir leisure. Hopefully they will learn from the experts that SCRABBLE® is not just about knowingwords, but also involves a lot of thinking and strategizing. It is worthy to note that to date theCauseway website had received more than 150,000 hits from 138 countries.The tournament’s organizer, Michael Tang, has brought the game of SCRABBLE® to a new level.His achievement will be an extremely hard act for SCRABBLE® tournament organizers in otherparts of the world to follow. His untiring efforts have been rewarded by the pledges of full support hehas received from the Chief Minister of Johor, the Mayor of Johor Bahru, and the Johor TourismBoard for the competition in the years to come. They recognize the tremendous contribution thestaging of the competition makes to tourism in the Southern State of Malaysia.And Causeway 2009 will always be remembered by all its participants as not only the toughest andthe best, but also the best-organized and best-run tournament in the history of the game. This wasmade abundantly clear by the players when, at the end of the tournament, they all rosespontaneously from their seats and gave Michael Tang the standing ovation he so richly deserved.Complete results, commentary, and annotated games can be found at www.causewayscrabble.com.Tan Jin Chor is a high-ranked tournament SCRABBLE® player from Malaysia. 27

W O R L D Y O U T H S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I P2009 World Youth SCRABBLE® ChampionshipDecember 8-10Suanne Ong, a 17-year-old Malaysian girl, prevailed over 79 opponents from 14 countries tocapture the 2009 World Youth SCRABBLE® Championship. The event, held at the Zon RegencyHotel in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, was the largest WYSC to date, according to Karen Richards,Chairperson of the Youth Committee of the World English-Language SCRABBLE PlayersAssociation (WESPA). Suanne’s winning record was 19-5 +1253. Alistair Richards of Australia, also17, came in second with an 18-6 +1013 record. Follow Suanne’s final game, against Wong ZhiYuan of Singapore, at http://www.cross-tables.com/annotated.php?u=5202.Suanne, who studies at the Methodist Girls School in Singapore, was competing in her fourth andfinal WYSC (the tournament is limited to players 17 and under). In 2006 she had finished 30th; in2007 3rd, and last year 5th. She took home RM5,000 and the coveted title of 2009 World YouthSCRABBLE® Champion.Suanne started playing SCRABBLE® when she was 6, and played in her first tournament at 7.The week before the WYSC she played in the Causeway Challenge, representing Malaysia ontheir Premier team. The 2008 Malaysian National Champion, Suanne impressed the world lastyear by beating Nigel Richards to win the Open Division at the prestigious King’s CupChampionship in Bangkok (LINK)XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAn interview with Suanne Ong, 2009 World Youth SCABBLE® Champion, at theCauseway Challenge the week before her big win.Two U.S. players competed in the Championship: Nicholas Vasquez, 11, from Livingston, NJ, whofinished 27th with a 13-11 +540 record; and Christopher Walleck, 17, from Lakewood, OH, whoended up 35th with a 12-12 +660 record. Nicholas also won the prize for “Best Player Under 12.”Their stories follow.28

W O R L D Y O U T H S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I PThe prize winners were as follows:1. Suanne Ong (MY)2. Alistair Richards (AU)3. Michael McKenna (AU)4. Preedee Khongthanarat (TH)5. Charnit Khongthanarat (TH)6. Oluwaseun Oyelek (NG)7. Wong Zhi Yuan (SG)8. Wanchana Jirapitiku (TH)9. Goutham Jayaraman (SG)10.Charas Worapotpisut (TH)HIGH GAME: Wong Zhi Yuan (SG) (589)HIGH WORD: Nutt Treepoonsuk (TH) (SEDGIEST, 158)BEST PLAYER UNDER 10: Anand Bharadwaj (AU)BEST PLAYER UNDER 12: Nicholas Vasquez (US)BEST PLAYER UNDER 14: Matthew Malitao (PH)Suanne Ong faces Alistair Richards of Australia. Photo credit: Barry HarridgeBEST PLAYER UNDER 16: Michael McKenna (AU)ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD (YOUNGEST PLAYER IN TOP 25): Victor Gwee (SG), age 12INTERESTING WORDS (The organizers awarded prizes for interesting words to players fromcountries that had not been represented in the official awards): Jacob Sunny (QAT): KVETCH (aninteresting front hook) & Jessica Pratesi (UK): THREEPS (meaning “to dispute”).Next year’s WYSC will be in Manila, in the Phillippines. Although Christopher Walleck will not beelibible to compete again, Nicholas Vasquez hopes to attend. Interested North American YouthPlayers should contact Karen Richards at karendrichards@gmail.com.Below is a photo (by Len Farlow) of the players at the 2009 World Youth Scrabble Championship inJohor Bahru, Malaysia. CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS AND DETAILED RESULTS. 29

W O R L D Y O U T H S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I PU.S. Youth Players at the WYSCNICHOLAS VASQUEZTwo of the most grueling, challenging SCRABBLE® tournaments in the world recently took place inJohor Bohor, Malaysia. Nicholas Vasquez, 11, from Livingston, NJ had the honor and thrill ofparticipating in both tournaments.The Causeway Challenge, December 2-6, had 45 games spread over 5 days. It was divided into aPremier Division, which was an invitational for 5 top players from 10 different countries, and anOpen Division. Nicholas took part in the Open division, where he was the youngest player.Nicholas won 19.5 games at the Causeway Challenge and placed 113 th out of 140 players. Hefaced some tough and brutal losses but handled each loss with maturity and good sportsmanship.Click the photos above to see his YouTube interviews at the event.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXFollowing the Causeway Challenge, Nicholas competed in the World Youth SCRABBLEChampionship, which ran from December 8-10, 2009. The tournament is open to qualifying players17 years and younger. Two 17-year-olds, Alastair Richards from Australia and Suanne Ong fromMalaysia, were favored to win the competition. (Suanne Ong took home the title.) ChristopherWalleck, a 17-year-old from Lakewood OH, was the other U.S. representative.Nicholas, the second-youngest player in the tournament, placed 27 th out of 80 players with a 13-11+540 record, winning the prize for Best Player Under 12 (http://www.facebook.com/v/1292586241686) and earning an international (WESPA) rating of 1271. Complete results can befound at http://youthscrabble.org/wysc2009/results/champs.html.“Playing at the Causeway and World Youth requires a lot of strength and discipline,” said Nicholas.“You have to be ready to play 7-9 games a day straight, and that means getting to bed early everyday. You also have to be prepared to keep going even after you lose a game and to be able to seethe big picture.”As one of two Youth Players representing the US at the WYSC, Nicholas said the experience ofplaying SCRABBLE® with people from all over the world was definitely worth it. “It’s a treat being30

W O R L D Y O U T H S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I Pable to meet and interact and possibly even play some of the best SCRABBLE® players in theWorld.”Indeed, one of the highlights for Nicholas at the WYSC was on day two, when he was pitted againstSuanne Ong of Malaysia, one of the world’stop players. Facing a Masters Division playerwas quite intimidating, but Nicholas playedwell, losing the game by 72 points. Not badfor an 11-year-old facing the player whotoppled Nigel Richards at the 2008 King’s Cup!Another highlight was being able to meet andhave lunch with Nigel Richards, the 2009Causeway Challenge Champion, 2008NASPA National SCRABBLE® Champion, and2009 World SCRABBLE Championshiprunner-up.To prepare for these tournaments, Nicholasbegan studying the Collins (SOWPODS)dictionary, which is a different lexicon from theNorth American OWL, months before thetournament. He would play SOWPODS on theInternet Scrabble Club (isc.ro) and alsopractice with his grandfather and coach,Ruben Angeles. In addition, he attended theMillburn Scrabble Club every Monday andpracticed playing and honing his skills with thelongtime members. Nicholas also credits hissuccess to his participation in YouthSCRABBLE® tournaments sponsored byCornelia Guest.2009 Causeway Challenge winner Nigel Richardsposes with Nicholas Vasquez--one of his biggest fans.Nicholas was invited to attend the Causeway Challenge and the World Youth SCRABBLEChampionship by the World English-Language SCRABBLE Players Association Youth CommitteeChair, Karen Richards. In other countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and the U.K., youthrepresentatives at the WYSC had to pass qualifying tournaments or rounds and have a certaininternational rating in order to be chosen to represent their respective countries. However, in theU.S., candidates submit an individual application to the World Youth Committee and are selected byinvitation.You would think, after playing over 80 games of SCRABBLE® at the Causeway Challenge and theWYSC, that Nicholas would want a break from SCRABBLE®. You would be wrong. After steppingoff the plane and arriving home in New Jersey, he met eagerly with his grandfather and was readyfor yet another round. Nicholas has been invited to participate in next year’s WYSC in Manila, andhe hopes to attend. 31

W O R L D Y O U T H S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I PNicholas is also looking forward to participating in the 2010 National School SCRABBLE®Championship April 9-10 in Orlando, Florida. Last year, he and his teammate, Paolo Federico-Omurchu, won 2 nd place and shared a $5,000 prize.Nicholas is a 6 th grader at Mount Pleasant Middle School in Livingston, NJ, where his favoritesubjects are math, social studies, and writing. He is the son of proud parents Dennis & JaniceVasquez. Nicholas has a younger sister, Kelsey, 5, and a baby brother, Jaden, 16 months old.Nicholas is now teaching his sister how to play SCRABBLE®. In addition to playing SCRABBLE®,Nicholas enjoys tennis, soccer, and golf. He also likes playing chess, Uno, and Set.Nicholas kept a journal of his Malaysian travels, portions of which are reprinted here:MALAYSIAN JOURNAL BY NICHOLAS VASQUEZNovember 28, 7:01 AMThis is the day that I’ve been waiting for. The trip to the World Youth SCRABBLE® Championshipand Causeway Challenge. The Causeway Challenge is a major tournament, and only a few kidsenter. It is much more serious and hard because everyone is trying hard to win the grand prize of20,000 US dollars. I probably will do okay in this tournament, but it’s really just for practice. I wasstudying for so long. My brain was freezing and I couldn’t think anymore. All these words were justjamming in my head. I was getting sick of it. We were at the airport, going through security and bagchecks while I was standing there just waiting for it to be over. When we were done, I also had asmoothie and a pepperoni pretzel. It was hard for me to just sit and eat. I wanted to board the flightalready, but they wouldn’t let us. Why did we have to get here two hours before our flight and just sitaround? We shouldn’t have to wait 30 minutes. Nothing to do. No entertainment. No anything. I’ll getback to you when we actually get on board.November 29: 9:00 AMI’m on the plane. This is the longest time I’ve had to wait on anything. The flight attendants told us itshould take 13 hours to get to Japan. You might not think this is long, but after we arrive we onlyhave one overnight stay before we leave the next morning for yet another 7-hour flight to Malaysia.Well let’s cut to the chase. There were so many first-class seats in the front of the plane. Did yousee how big they were? Huge. I was happily anticipating sitting in one because when we orderedour tickets at home my mom said we had first-class seats. She lied. We had to sit in the regularseats. “We’re doomed. How am I going to sleep on this plane?” We sat in our seats and then had tosit and listen to English and Japanese flight safety instructions for 30 minutes.December 1: 9:30 AMI was wrong about the plane flight. They had these big TVs with remote controllers for watching newreleases of the most popular movies sold. Plus, they even had arcade games like 3-D golf. It wasactually just as much fun as playing SCRABBLE®.I’ll tell you about Japan. Very weird, but fascinating. Everyone was driving on the right side of theircar and on the left side of the road. Also, many people seemed to be wearing doctor masks overtheir mouths. Not so in America. When we got to our hotel we unpacked and looked around, and I32

W O R L D Y O U T H S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I Pknew what I was looking for. Real, authentic, tasty sushi just about to make my taste buds explode. Irushed into the room. I couldn’t wait for the food I had to have. This is the real deal. Finally, ourorder came. I had very bad manners at this point. I dug my hand through…swished it in my mouthand BAM! It was bad. The Americanized version is so much better. It was just fish slapped on rice.Anyway when we got to our room it got even worse. We slept for the whole entire night after havingalready slept on the plane, and we missed the opportunity to go swimming and see the JapaneseTemples and Gardens.December 9: 8:00 AMI’m entering the tournament stadium. Gleaming with pride. I knew I was going to win this game.Nothing will stop me. I was going up against an Indian kid who was a spelling bee champion. I wasdetermined not to be afraid or discouraged. It makes me nervous and I lose my concentration.When we first started, it was a bad start, meaning I was unlucky. I kept drawing tiles consisting of allvowels and all consonants and all at the wrong moments.The I actually got a bingo (meaning a 7-letter word) and was catching up to him, only losing by 40points. Picking the last seven tiles, I closed my eyes and had faith that I would win even if he wouldget a word that might destroy me. When I started placing the tiles on my rack I tried to hide thefearfulness in my face. I had the rack RAEATIO and he just got a 30-point word that made him up by70. It was a close game so I knew I had to be careful and take my time. After the first few minutes Ifound it! I played the word AERATION for 80 points and won. There were no more tiles left in thebag, so game over since I bingoed out. Bingoing out means being the first to play off your lastremaining tiles.Victory! My first win of the day.=) Thankfully, it’s time for a break. My stomach is growling, so if youwill excuse me, it’s time to eat some fancy Malaysian cuisine.December 12: 4:03 PMI’m on my final game at the World Youth SCRABBLE® Championships and so far I have 13 winsand 10 losses. I know I’ve already won a trophy for Best Player Under 12, but this round I amfighting for the prize for Youngest Player in the Top 25. I’ve played my opponent before, and hedefinitely presents a challenge. Last time I played him, he beat me by 200 points. It going to be theopposite now. I’m going to cream him this time.Well, it started out badly. He was already beating me by 100 points in the first 5 moves because hehad all the high-point tiles. I was struggling to catch up and even when I got a bingo (PUNKIEST) for90 points, I was still 30 behind. Suddenly, he had a 50-point word and was ahead of me by 80. Mybingo didn’t do anything. There was 1 tile in the bag left and surprisingly I had gotten 2 blanks,which I can make any letter I want. Five minutes passed. I was still thinking hard to find anotherbingo and then it flashed in my mind. I played SECURED for 86 points. It was a miracle. I grabbedthe last tile (T) and was happy from what I’d done until he hit me again with a 40-point words. Aheadby 30 again. Will this kid ever give me a break? I went out with the word TASTY for 12 points andthen added his little 5 extra points. He beat me by 11. A great game. Still, I’m so proud I made it thisfar. It was a very close game. I got a trophy, and when the day was over, I realized that this wasn’tjust a tournament, but a great experience. 33

W O R L D Y O U T H S C R A B B L E C H A M P I O N S H I PTHE MALAYSIAN ODYSSEY BY CHRISTOPHER WALLECKAfter approximately twenty-eight of flights and layovers, I arrived at Singapore’s Changi Airportslightly sleep-deprived, but extremely eager to meet young players from around the world and playas much SCRABBLE® as I could handle. Embarking from Cleveland at around 9:00 AM onSaturday, December 5 th , I arrived in Malaysia at about 2:30 AM on Monday. This of course followedmy midnight arrival in Singapore, where I waited for about an hour for my taxi driver who wasscheduled to pick me up and drive me to my hotel in Johor Bahru, Malaysia (about half an houraway by car). This soon became an hour and a half, which in turn became two hours.Starting to feel the poignant sting of almost thirty hours of straight consciousness, since I hadtraveled alone, I decided that if I couldn’t find my way to the hotel soon, I’d collapse in the airport.Fortunately, I was able to take two separate taxi cabs (one to travel to the border, and one to travelfrom the border to the hotel), and after a seemingly endless barrage of passport checks andcustoms inspections, I arrived safely at the Zon Regency Hotel in Johor Bahru (or JB, as myMalaysian roommate would later coin it).In the morning, attempting to recover from the cerebral whiplash from the thirteen-hour timedifference and resulting jetlag, I found a relatively large clutch of players who had traveled fromQatar to play in the WYSC for the first time in their country’s history. Soon, I met players fromIndonesia, Bahrain, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Australia, India, Nigeria, Singapore, Kuwait,Great Britain, and the Phillipines, and I began to realize the direct implications of the word “world” inthe tournament’s title. After a mock SCRABBLE®-cum-trivia tournament later in the day, I went up tomy hotel room to visit my new roommate for the duration of the tournament: Muhammed Nasroom (Icalled him Nas for short). Having a Malaysian roommate who prayed five times a day in Arabic andspoke English as a third language after Bahaya Melasu and Japanese was certainly a culturalexperience unlike any other for me(did I mention that he had fourteenbrothers and sisters?)Mao Fong Lim (MY), Alastair Richards (AU), Kim Rubina (PH), PhillipHamilton (AU), Natasha Podesser (AU), Michael McKenna (AU), andChristopher Cole Walleck (US).The next day, after a briefregistration session andintroduction, we finally began whatwe had all traveled hundreds oreven thousands of miles for (about9,000 in my case): the tournament.In total, there were twenty-fourgames in the tournament and Ifinished 12-12 +660. In total, I gotforty bingos (average of 1.667 pergame), including a couple Collinsonlywords that most TWL’erswould probably scoff at, such asOTARINE and NARTJIE. Yes, inCollins AEINRT takes a J and an Oin addition to everything else (sadlystill nothing inside AEINQRT). Acouple of my favorite bingos that I34

C L E V E L A N D C L A S S I C R E C A PCleveland Classic Recapby Dallas Johnson and George ViebranzThirty-eight players made their way to the coastof Lake Erie in December, braving Ohio’s winterweather lottery to participate in the secondannual Cleveland Classic. The weather outsidewas merely chilly, rather than frightful, but thecompetition in Conference Room A at theHoliday Inn Cleveland West kept spirits warmand bright, even as an aggressive HVAC systemsought to put a chill on the proceedings.Boston's Rod MacNeil made his first appearanceever in an Ohio tournament. Rod led the field inDivision A, followed by Jason Idalski and BrianBowman, both of whom were jetlagged* fromtheir recent trip to Malaysia for the WorldTableau by Kelly McKenzieSCRABBLE® Championship, and both of whomsported fancy Worlds polo shirts. In Division B,top-rated Kevin McCarthy, Sr., who recently completed his first year as an Ohioan, took on long-timenative Midge Skwire at table 1. Kevin proclaimed that his Metallica hockey sweater was in honor ofvisitor Rod MacNeil, a devout hockey fan who wore his own Boston Bruins jersey. Division C's initialtop game was between Pat Hardwick (OH) and Fort Knox, KY's Candace Hurley, who also playedher first tournament in Ohio atthis event.Jason Idalski and Rod MacNeil contemplating the board.The players exhibited tenacitythroughout the event. Oneespecially tenacious playerwas Ohioan Keith Cejmer, whowas encumbered by a backbrace from a recent injury, butdidn’t let either pain or hislimited range of motion deterhim from playing effectivelyover the board. Kristy Zurbrickexhibited a different kind oftenacity. Playing in her firsttournament in four years,Kristy made effective use ofher last 15 games under theenhanced initial ratingsmultiplier, garnering 126 shinynew ratings points. In round 5,36

C L E V E L A N D C L A S S I C R E C A PKristy managed a score of 555, including a run of 4 consecutive bingos. Other plays of note wereKevin McCarthy’s natural ten-letter (GEL)ATINOUS and Wilma Pitzer’s play of three consecutivebingos: EARRING(S), TOUCANS, and (G)ROOMING. Wilma also got away with the phonyNODELIKE* in that same game.Div. A winner Rod MacNeilRod MacNeil (12-3, +1138) earned the win in Division A, and he wasGibsonized after round 13 due in part to his substantial cumulativespread. MacNeil was followed in the final standings by Brian Bowman(11-4, +329) and Jason Idalski (10-5, +367). In Division B, Rob Long(12-3, +754) earned the win, just edging out Kevin McCarthy (12-3, +679),while Karen Smith (10-5, +356) finished third. The Division C championwas Pat Hardwick (10-5, +350), while Walter Konicki (10-5, +15) finishedin a close second, and Kristy Zurbrick (9-6, +658) finished third.Complete results and additional photos can be found at the event website:http://www.neoscrabble.com/site.cfm/Events/ClevelandClassic.cfm.Dallas Johnson is the webmaster of www.neoscrabble.com, the website for Northeast OhioSCRABBLE®, and also serves as cochair of the NASPA Tournament Committee and codirector ofClub 653 in Akron. In addition to SCRABBLE®, Dallas enjoys woodworking, art, and colonialAmerican history.George Viebranz is a top-rated Northeast Ohio player with a number of tournament wins to hiscredit, most recently the 2009 Purple & Green tournament in Elyria, OH. George's interests outsideSCRABBLE® include writing, music, and popular culture. 37

TournamentResults 12/3-31CAUSEWAY CHALLENGEJOHAR BAHRUMALAYSIA 12/2-6Premier: Nigel Richards (NZ)Premier Team: InternationalA (Mark Nyman, LewisMackay, HarshanLamabadusuriya, CraigBeevers, Phil Robertshaw)Open: Michael Akonor (GH)MONTROSE OH 12/31. Pete ZeiglerATLANTA GA 12/5-61. Brett Haughney2. Jesse Wornum3. Michael KrafchickAUSTIN TX 12/5-61. Geoff Thevenot2. Ruben Solis3. Mariah SmithBAYSIDE NY 12/51. Jordan Dale2. Jim Fonti3. David GoldbergCALGARY AB CAN 12/51. Juraj Pivovarov2. Wesley Yocom3. Linda SlaterCLEVELAND OH 12/5-61. Rod MacNeil2. Rob Long3. Pat Hardwick38T O U R N A M E N T R E S U L T SDURHAM NH 12/51. Bradley Whitmarsh2. Joel Horn3. Renee Camille4. Quinten SteenhuisFT. LAUDERDALE FL 12/51. Steve Polatnick2. Frances Shaw3. Angela Hellmann4. Cheryl LevinKNOXVILLE TN 12/51. David Gibson2. David MeredithTAMPA FL 12/51. Steve Glass2. Stefan HuberBERKELEY CA 12/61. Jerry Lerman2. Bruce Ward3. Andrea Michaels4. Tapani Lindgren5. Rob WienerLAGUNA WOODS CA 12/61. Rachel KnappWORLD YOUTHSCRABBLECHAMPIONSHIPJOHAR BAHRUMALAYSIA 12/8-101. Suanne Ong (MY)NORTHAMPTON MA(LCT) 12/121. Evans Clinchy2. Judy Cole3. Leanne GrayGUELPH ON CAN 12/131. Jim Nanavati2. Roger Cullman3. Risa Horowitz4. Lynette StewartPHILADELPHIA PA 12/131. Stefan Rau2. Daniel Milton3. Cheryl Allen-Munley4. Mike LeanRHINEBECK NY 12/131. Bradley Whitmarsh2. Linda WancelMOUNTAIN VIEW CA12/201. Jerry Lerman2. Emely Weissman3. Bennett JacobsteinSAFETY HARBOR FL12/201. Winter ZxqkjLAKE OSWEGO OR (LCT)12/271. Michael Baker2. Betty Cornelison3. Jesse WornumALBANY EARLY BIRD12/291. Winter ZXQKJ2. Brett Constantine3. Bridget McGrewALBANY EARLY BIRD12/301. Mike Wolfberg2. Michael Bassett3. Wilma Pitzer4. Dave Krook

N E W F A C E SIn preparation for his first tournament, Steenhuis ramped up his study, using flash cards on his dailycommute and Zyzzyva's card-box system at home. “I focused on lists with the power tiles, threeletterwords, and seven-letter stems. Zyzzyva is a great way to generate interesting wordlists. I'm a big open-source software booster as well, so I'm glad to use a program that supportsthose ideas.”For the future, Steenhuis plans make his word study a lot more systematic. “I'm still a bit shaky withsome of the three-letter words, and I need to work on my bingos even more.”Besides SCRABBLE®, Steenhuis enjoys baking and learning how to make new things. He’s put hishand to brewing and cheesemaking as well as renovating the kitchen in his parents’ old home.But SCRABBLE® has definitely hooked him:“On the drive back home from Durham, which happened to be during our first major snow of theyear, I told my driving companion that I had initially been debating attending our bi-weekly Meetupthe next day, not being sure how I would feel after eight games of Scrabble in one day. By the endof the day, though, I had made up my mind to attend--I don't think it's possible to have too muchScrabble!”_______________________________________________________________________________Welcome to Quinten Steenhuis and the following other new faces:ATLANTA GA 12/5-6: J.J. Jones, Delbra Matlock-Washington, Viki StewartAUSTIN TX 12/5-6: Alexander Rivard, Oliver RoederCALGARY AB CAN 12/5: Mary Anne St. OngeDURHAM NH 12/5: Joal HetheringtonNORTHAMPTON MA 12/12: Saloma FurlongPHILADELPHIA PA 12/13: Brian Feigley, Emmanuel SharpeRHINEBECK NY 12/13: Robert LorickALBANY NY EARLY BIRD 12/29: Linda Gayle Wood40

The WordsmithT H E W O R D S M I T HA rare bit of Welshby Chris SinacolaOne of the eternal debate topics in SCRABBLE® circles is which words that are not in a givenlexicon should be, and which that are should not be. Shakespeare might have said all that far moresuccinctly: “To be acceptable, or not to be acceptable, that is the question!”Like every passionate Scrabbler, I have a few strong opinions on that score. The purist in me saysthat obvious acronyms should be banished. Take off, JATO and RATO. Get lost, AWOL. But then,the realist in me points out that RADAR is also an acronym, for RAdio Detection And Ranging, andwas coined in 1941 and has long since been incorporated into our language as a common noun.And who would want to dump LASER -- Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation?Heck, even AWOL has been around, in a sense, for a long time.The issue becomes still cloudier when you consider a word such as ATHODYD, which just looks likea low-probability oddball unless you know it is a type of jet engine derive from aero +thermodynamic + duct. Should it stay or not?I tend to get more annoyed when I play or encounter words that, at least to me, are obviouslyacceptable, but which didn’t make the lexicographical cut. Five that are sitting in the notes section ofmy diary at present are ASKARI*, MURIATIC*, MOSSYCUP*, MUNG* and ALLOTROPISM*. I don’thave high hopes for any of them.Some have suggested that I could solve my annoyance by playing English or world SCRABBLE®,and welcoming thousands of new words onto my rack. Fair enough, but thinking this over, I realizedthat I’m not out to solve my personal dilemma, but rather to cast light on exactly why some wordsmake the cut and others do not.The simplest and most obvious answer is that it’s a combination of a given word’s good or bad luck,subject to the whimsy and proofreading skills of members of the dictionary committee. A somewhatmore sophisticated view holds that any given lexicon is simply a portrait of the language at a giventime and place. In the case of the OWL2, that would be March 1, 2006, North America, Planet Earth.In recent days, however, I have encountered a far more elegant and satisfying exploration of thistopic in John McWhorter’s “Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English.”To be sure, the word scrabble does not appear anywhere in McWhorter’s 230-page book, which justcame out in paperback. But in the course of arguing that the Celtic languages influenced OldEnglish in heretofore unexplained and unrecognized ways, McWhorter makes some fascinatingpoints about the fluidity of language that I think are germane to this argument over which wordsshould and should not be acceptable to us.McWhorter’s main argument rests on the recognition that English possesses what he calls the“meaningless do,” in sentences such as “Do you write?” or “Does he read?” whereas all other 41

T H E W O R D S M I T HGermanic languages get by with the verb alone. A German, for example, would simply ask“Schreiben Sie?” or “Liest er?” There’s no “do” involved.McWhorter argues that the “do” came into English from Welsh and Cornish, both of which have thevery peculiar habit of starting a sentence with the verb, as in the Welsh “Nes i agor?” which means“Did I open?”I should note that McWhorter’s argument reflects a minority view of how English developed, and it isnot my purpose here to advocate his position or any other. But he does proceed to make a broaderpoint that I would readily endorse: There is a world of difference between the spoken and writtenforms of a language at any given time.Thus, the Old English that we see in Beowulf, written sometime between the eighth and eleventhcenturies, has changed dramatically by the time Chaucer begins writing the Canterbury Tales in hisMiddle English at the end of the fourteenth century. There may not be a lot of written signposts inthe intervening years to mark exactly how English was evolving, but you can be sure that it was, inboth its written and spoken forms.The point with regard to SCRABBLE® is that English is still changing in this early 21st century, assurely as it was in 1500 or 1100. Indeed, the pace of change is likely accelerating. A sentence suchas “Google antisense DNA and text me later” makes perfect sense to a technically literate Americantoday, but would have been partially or wholly unintelligible 10, 25 or 50 years ago.Whatever our personal comfort level with rapid change, it is clear that what we see on TV, hear onradio spots, or say colloquially in our professional or personal lives – and remember, our jobs andhobbies often involve specialized vocabulary not shared by most others – cannot possibly be thesubject of rapid consensus and inclusion in any given word list. Indeed, words and phrases we useevery day may not always past muster as “proper” English in the pages of newspapers andmagazines.I have, to offer just three examples, challenged off GOOGLE*, ACAI* and ALTOIDS* in recent years.If I had to place bets, I’d say GOOGLE* has an even shot at someday becoming a common verb.ACAI* is clearly enjoying fad status at the moment, although my first taste of it last week left meunimpressed. If ACAI* proves to be all its proponents claim, it has a good chance to join the verylong list of acceptable but often obscure botanicals. On the other hand, I doubt ALTOIDS* will everfollow in the footsteps of XEROX and FEDEX. I like to think that while the folks at Xerox and FedExwould be (and perhaps are) slightly peeved at the small erosion of their trademarks that can beascribed to their inclusion in the OWL2, the chaps at Callard & Bowser-Suchard would be peevedthat their product, which dates back 200 years or so, hasn’t made the list.Ironically, Altoids are, or at least were until recently, manufactured at a plant in Wales, which is anice way of bringing our story back to its Celtic roots. I think we should pause to recognize theWelsh and Cornish for their contributions. Those still struggling with the justice or injustice of certainwords’ acceptability should at least be thankful for CWM, not to mention a couple dozen other wordsthat derive from one language or the other, including BROCK, MENHIR, DOLMEN, DRUID,MITHER, and PENGUIN.42

T H E W O R D S M I T HAnd be warned that McWhorter wraps up the Celtic word list with by remarking (p. 47) that “there issome work suggesting that there are at least a few more Celtic words in Modern English than oncethought. Candidates include brag, brat, curse, and baby.”Well, well. Speaking of a certain word game and the folks who play it, those do make an interestinglist!Chris Sinacola is co-director of the Worcester MA SCRABBLE® Club #600. 43

Club NewsLarry Sherman, EditorC L U B & P L A Y E R N E W SWith the busy holiday season, we do not have a featured club this month. However, we hope to befeaturing clubs again next issue. Please submit club information or news either to Cornelia Guest atCorneliaSGuest@gmail.com or to Larry Sherman at icenine378@aol.com.A SCRABBLE® HoneymoonJason and Shelley Ubeika, two Scrabblers who met at theend of 2005 at Annette Tedesco’s New Year’s Tournamentin Albany, are about to go on a belated honeymoon--on aSCRABBLE® cruise! Their main travel over the last fewyears has been to SCRABBLE® tournaments, and theirwedding, on February 29, 2008 in Mississauga, ON (notso many anniversaries to remember!), had aSCRABBLE® theme. The two, who attend MississaugaON Club #422, are leaving on January 17th for a twoweektour of Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay on a cruiserun by Barbara Van Alen and Larry Rand.The couple’s wedding, attended by many Scrabbler friends, included a SCRABBLE® cake and atableau that they worked on together. They also had mini tilebags with tiles on each table andrequested that people shake those to get the couple to kiss in lieu of the traditional clanging onglass.Shelley comments on the cake, pictured below: “It says CRAZEE* because when I first startedplaying, I knowingly played a phony in the lowest division, hooking a C onto RAZEE for a bunch ofpoints. It became a standing joke with my friends that I was a bit CRAZEE*!”“I know some people might find it weird to take your honeymoon on a SCRABBLE cruise and play ina SCRABBLE tourney during the days at sail, but it is just RIGHT up our alley!”44

C L U B & P L A Y E R N E W SMississauga ON Club #422 meets Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. at Erin Mills Church Center, 3535 SouthCommon Court. Contact Shan Abbasi, 416-305-4736, shan19@gmail.com or Jean Barinque,jbarinque@rogers.com.Buffalo Club #456 Featured in Niagara GazetteThe December 20 Niagara Gazette ran a nice story on Buffalo NY SCRABBLE® Club #456 (thoughreaders of cgp were quick to point out that the reporter misspelled Jerry Scheiten’s name as“Schiatam”). Nonetheless, the article was nice publicity for a club who boasts a number of toptournament players, including 2009 NSC Division 3 winner Dave Leonard and longtime expertcompetitor Randy Greenspan. Read the article at http://www.niagara-gazette.com/features/local_story_354235803.html.Buffalo NY Club #456 meets Thursdays from 6:30 to 10:00 p.m. at the Kenmore Baptist Church, 10Wardman Road, Kenmore, NY. Contact Joan Tondra, 716-847-0391, ardnotj8@localnet.com orEmber Nelson, 716-862-3863, hapax29@hotmail.com.The Year’s Strangest ChallengeJohn Robertson, Director of Cambridge ON Club #471, shared the following on cgp--and graciouslyhas allowed us to reprint it here:“It's not often I seriously use hyperbole, but a game I played Dec. 23 at the Stratford (ON)SCRABBLE® club had the strangest challenge situation I've ever seen or heard of. I think youmight agree. I'll do my best to describe what happened.“I was playing Matt Schlegel--a promising player from the Stratford area. It was the last game of thenight. I went first. I opened with TWANG at 8D. Matt took a long time before he made his first play.He decided to play one tile--a B on top of the A to make BA at F7. Three other plays are made: Iplayed WAVE from the W in TWANG. Matt played LIRI, hooking the R onto WAVE. I played CULTthrough the L in LIRI. Everything is fine so far.“Then Matt plays FUN at G6. I stupidly don't notice the phony BU hook--and neither does Matt. Thegame continues and we each make three more turns. One of Matt's turns is the bingo ERASERS,hooking the first S onto TWANG. Now the weirdness begins.“For my next turn I play DO from 9G making DOE, FUND and GO for 19 points. Matt's attentionmust have been averted when I made the play. To my astonishment, Matt puts me on hold.Since all three of the words are pedestrian, I can't figure out why I'm on hold. Finally Matt shrugshis shoulders and says, ‘Challenge’ and neutralizes the clock. Still perplexed, I ask, ‘What are youchallenging?’ 45

C L U B N E W S“Matt says, ‘I'm challenging BU.’“I look at the board and reply, ‘Matt, I didn't play BU. I played DOE, FUND and GO.’"’How did BU get on the board?’ Matt asked. Then the realization sets in: ‘Geez, I must have madethe word BU when I played FUN. I just challenged my own phony!’“I just started laughing. I told Matt I've been running a club since 1996, I've regularly attendedseveral clubs since 1994, I've directed about 100 tourneys, but I'd never heard of this situationbefore. We agreed that Matt's challenge had to stand--but it was a challenge of DOE, FUND andGO--not the BU that he had played earlier in the game.“Has anyone heard of anything similar to this?“The lesson to be learned here: Sports officials should never say they've seen it all. There's alwayssomething new and bizarre that can't possibly happen--but does.“P.S. I'm not playing another game in 2009. I want my decade of play to end with this crazy game.”Stratford ONTARIO Club #546 meets Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. at the Eileen Langley Centre, 112Frederick Street, Stratford, Ontario (CANADA). Contact Terry Aitken, 519-273-2233,terence.aitken@gmail.com.46

S E A R C H I N G F O R S A T I R E B I N G O SSearching for SATIRE BingosFind and circle the 70 bingos that you can form by adding a letter to SATIRE.The number next to each letter indicates the number of bingos for that letter plus SATIRE.A - 3 L - 6 S - 1T - 7B - 4E - 2F - 1 M - 4C - 4 G - 5P - 6V - 2N - 9 W - 4D - 7 R - 3H - 1I - 1Turn to the following page to solve the puzzle with the list of bingos provided. 47

S E A R C H I N G F O R S A T I R E B I N G O SSearching for SATIRE BingosFind and circle the 70 bingos that you can form by adding a letter to SATIRE.The number next to each letter indicates the number of bingos for that letter plus SATIRE.A - 3 ARISTAE DISRATE L - 6 REALIST RETAINS S - 1 SATIRESASTERIA STAIDER RETAILS RETINAS T - 7 ARTIESTATRESIA TARDIES SALTIER RETSINA ARTISTEB - 4 BAITERS TIRADES SALTIRE STAINER ATTIRESBARITES E - 2 AERIEST SLATIER STEARIN IRATESTREBAITS SERIATE TAILERS P - 6 PARTIES RATITESTERBIAS F - 1 FAIREST M - 4 IMARETS PASTIER STRIATEC - 4 ATRESIC G - 5 AIGRETS MAESTRI PIASTER TASTIERCRISTAE GAITERS MISRATE PIASTRE V - 2 VASTIERRACIEST SEAGIRT SMARTIE PIRATES VERITASSTEARIC STAGIER N - 9 ANESTRI TRAIPSE W - 4 WAISTERD - 7 ARIDEST TRIAGES ANTSIER R - 3 ARTSIER WAITERSASTRIDE H - 1 HASTIER NASTIER TARRIES WARIESTDIASTER I - 1 AIRIEST RATINES TARSIER WASTRIE48

S E A R C H I N G F O R S A T I R E B I N G O SSearching for SATIRE Bingos - Solution! " # $ % & ' ( " # $ ( % & ' ( & # ) $ ' % *+ # % # ' * $ & ( , # - & # + # ( % $ & ' $ $. ) ( / 0 & ' $ % # ( 1 . ' 2 # $ ' & ( % + #$ ( , % # $ ' $ & ( % $ $ ' $ 3 ) # $ % & ' (# & $ + $ " , # - $ ( $ & ( % # ) $ & ' . ) %( ( ( ' ' & # 4 ' % # * ' 0 # ( % $ & ' / & &5 . % % # & ' ' & / $ , & & ' " $ & % # ' ! '# # ' ' # % % ' $ # ) & ( , ( + $ # ( % & ' ,% ( & & $ $ & $ % & # ' % ( $ & ' % ( $ ' & #! % & ( % * . ( . & ( ( 0 1 & " & # . . & % '* $ & , % # & & % # ( % $ & ' ' $ $ ( & # # $$ & 5 $ ( ' $ # ' ( ( & $ . # + ' , ) ( , $ *( ' # 4 4 ' $ . ( # & # 1 5 ' # % & * $ $ , &' . ) % % ' 1 % ( ( ' ' $ % & ! & ' & , ( ( (# . & ( % ' $ & + 4 ' $ ( % # & ' ( ) # % & %% . # ( , # % $ & ' * 4 ( # ' - / # $ % & ' (& " 6 # / ( # ( % & ' $ # % 5 7 $ 7 % % ) ' &# % * & 8 ' # # $ ) ' & % ( # $ # ' % $ ( % &/ # ' $ % & ( , # ' % $ & ( % & ( 5 # ' % $ &# % ' & ( $ # % % # ' ' $ & ( 3 & ' & & , & ,+ $ ' # % & ( $ $ $ . # . % ( $ & ' # ( ) % (# & ' $ & ( % & 1 . ' # 4 $ & ( % $ . % , 1 1% $ ' # * & ( ' # % ' & ( $ 4 + # ' % $ & ( 3Did you find the sentence formed by the unused letters?"Playing 'bop' is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing," according to the legendary Jazz great Duke Ellington in Look.Judy Cole is co-director of the Lexington MA Scrabble® #108 and solves crossword puzzles when not playing SCRABBLE®. 49

P L A Y E R P R O F I L E : D A V I D K L I O N S K YPlayer Profile: David Klionskyby Katya LezinThere are plenty of other competitive SCRABBLE players out there who,like David Klionsky, are also tournament directors. And there may besome who, like him, are also elementary school teachers. Yet othersmay share his passion for teaching the game to newcomers, whetherthey attend one of his tournaments in Durham, North Carolina or aremembers of the club he runs at Seawell Elementary School in ChapelHill, NC. But it is doubtful there is anyone else who can lay claim todashing across town, after directing a one-day SCRABBLE®tournament, to play Uncle Louie, a gangster, in the Neil Simon play Lostin Yonkers at the Raleigh Little Theatre! Or who can brag that they notonly played a bingo, but also the role of a beauty pageant contestant in roller skates!In fact, David’s theatre background has actually enhanced hisSCRABBLE®-playing. He is currently playing the part ofConrad in Much Ado About Nothing at the Burning Coal Theatrein Raleigh and, he notes, “there are lots of Shakespeare words Iam now able to use.” Words like gleek, which means to jokearound, and baldrick, which is a holster for a sword. David isalso fond of Yiddish words, especially since it puts his HebrewSchool education to use in ways he never dreamed possiblewhen he was studying for his Bar Mitzvah. His favorite play oflate is the bingo hejiras for 120 points, which happens to be thetitle of his favorite Joni Mitchell album.Klionsky in A Midsummer Night’s DreamDavid first remembers playing SCRABBLE® with his mom andhis grandmother when he was in high school, but it was a sporadic pastime at best. In fact, he wasoblivious to the world of competitive SCRABBLE® that surrounded him when he was living in NewYork City pursuing a career it the theatre. It was only when he moved to Chapel Hill, NC andtransitioned from the theatre to a career in teaching that he first ventured into the SCRABBLE®tournament scene. His brother sent him Word Freak, and David loved the descriptions of the gamutof characters playing the game, although he was dismayed to learn that there had been a vibrantSCRABBLE® club and tournament scene at his disposal in New York, had he known to look for it.David’s first foray into the world of competitive SCRABBLE® was a tournament in Atlantic City. Heremembers being very nervous about the clocks and challenges but he ended up doing okay. Andhe was so impressed with the array of boards and equipment that he walked around the room takingphotographs. When he returned to North Carolina, he scoured the newspaper and Internet forSCRABBLE®-playing opportunities closer to home and discovered a casual group playing in aBorders Bookstore about 30 minutes away. David enjoyed playing with his newfound SCRABBLE®buddies, but the group was primarily a social gathering with no real direction or organization. Theclub David now runs, closer to home, meets every Sunday afternoon but the one feature David hasretained from the Borders’ Bookstore group is how welcoming his club is to newcomers and playersof any ability.50

P L A Y E R P R O F I L E : D A V I D K L I O N S K YIn 2005, while David was still playing at Borders Bookstore, he approached another player, SharonFlicker, about directing a tournament together. She was initially skeptical they could pull it off butagreed to take the Director’s test while David handled the logistics and administrative end. Theirfirst 3-day tournament in Raleigh attracted 80 players and, while not without its glitches, proved asuccess. David and Sharon collaborated on a 3-day tournament the following year as well, as wellas on four one-day tournaments each year. David is currently focusing exclusively on the one-daytournaments, both because Sharon has had to step down to focus on family health concerns andbecause “the 3-day tournaments are just not worth all the effort” and are too difficult to sustain ifenough folks don’t show up. (So do you hear that, all you fans of the multi-day tournaments? Wehave to show up to ensure their continued viability!)A down side to directing tournaments is that David, an avid player with a current rating of 1028,doesn’t get to play. “It’s disappointing to have to sit out,” David acknowledges, “but I’m just a prettygood SCRABBLE player. I’m never going to be a great one.” Where his strength lies is in breakingdown the game for others, like the 36 kids he coaches at Seawell Elementary School. Hisphilosophy that the game involves much more than sheer word memorization is evident in how heruns the club. The kids are paired with a different partner each week because, as David puts it,“some are excellent SCRABBLE players but not so good atteamwork.” He wants to ensure that they learn how to playwith different personalities and levels of play. He also insistson learning the definitions of words, and time is set aside eachweek to study the roots and etymology of words, grammarrules, and neat word tricks, such as portmanteau, which iswhen a new word is formed from two existing words, such asmotel and blog.Klionsky with fifth graders Jeffrey He andEdward Zhuang, from SeawellElementary, the 2009 North CarolinaSchool SCRABBLE® Champions.David also runs a tournament each year for all of the NCstudents in grades 4 trough 8 who play on a school team. Hebegan the tournament as a way to give the students hecoaches at Seawell Elementary School an opportunity to playagainst other neighboring schools, but he has now opened itup to all of North Carolina. Thirty teams of two from twelvedifferent schools have competed the last two years, includingthe team of Erik Salgado and Andy Hoang from nearby Cary, NC, who won the 2009 NationalSchool SCRABBLE® Championship. What David loves most about coaching kids also holds truefor what he enjoys about running tournaments for adults and that is the joy of seeing new playersdevelop. “Seeing new and inexperienced players gain confidence and improve their SCRABBLEplayingskills is very gratifying,” David notes. “Seeing them come alive when something clicks,” headds, makes all of the coaching and directing worthwhile.“What’s great about SCRABBLE,” David muses, “is that everyone knows the game.” They may notbe savvy about the strategies and acceptable words, but they all recognize the game. This wasevident when he and the members of his Seawell Elementary School SCRABBLE® Club marchedtogether in the Chapel Hill Christmas Parade. They were positioned behind a local Tae Kwon DoClub, who wowed the crowd with unified chants and board-breaking karate kicks. “But you know,”David says, chuckling at the memory of his kids sporting a big SCRABBLE banner and yelling out,“Yay! Triple Word Score!,” “people were totally into us too. Their eyes lit up when we walked by and 51

P L A Y E R P R O F I L E : D A V I D K L I O N S K Ythey cheered and waved.” No doubt they were also wishing there were a David Klionsky aroundwhen they were kids to coach them and instill a life-long love of words.Katya Lezin lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and three children (Noah, Hannah,and Eliza). She is the author of Finding Life on Death Row, which profiles six individuals sentencedto death, and has written numerous articles for magazines and other publications. When she is noton the tennis court or competing in a SCRABBLE® tournament (two of her passions, which herhusband would argue border on obsessions), she enjoys cooking, reading, and spending time withher family.52

Book Reviewby Cornelia GuestB O O K R E V I E W : W O R D N E R DWord Nerdby Susin NielsenAmbrose Bukowski is a twelveyear-oldsocial misfit. He hasfood allergies; he wears“uncool” clothing (his sneakersare Ikes, a cheap imitation of Nikes); he has nofriends. He and his overprotective widowedmother, Irene, live in a dreary basement rentalin Vancouver, where they have moved so Irenecan work teaching “sessionals” to mediocrecollege students. Three school bullies tortureAmbrose on a daily basis.When Ambrose almost dies at school from a“prank” the bullies play on him, his motherswitches him to home schooling, requiring himto spend much of his time at the apartmentalone. At the same time, the family upstairs, aGreek couple named Mr. and Mrs.Economopoulos, welcomes back from jail theirtwenty-five-year-old son Cosmo, who tellsAmbrose he was jailed for “killing a boy...whoasked too many stupid questions.”intimidated by the players and then boastfulwhen he wins, learns sensitivity to others--anda good list of helpful words. He finds in theSCRABBLE® community a welcome he neverreceived at school. A cute touch is that eachchapter begins with an anagram of the actualtitle, followed by words that can be made usingthose letters. Initial caps starting each chapterare inside bonus-point-shaped squares. Theonly inaccuracy I noted was when Ambrose istold after his first tournament that his initialrating will be in the 400s; first-time players gaina minimum 500 rating.In many ways the book reminded me of NickHornsby’s excellent novel About a Boy, inwhich the friendship between a shallowwomanizer and an awkward preteen boy with adifficult home life transforms them both. WhileWord Nerd is definitely aimed at the youngadult audience, it is a nice read for all ages--particularly SCRABBLE® players. As a coachof middle-school players, I understoodAmbrose’s emotions as he went from kitchenplayer to tournament player, gaining confidenceand pride. I only wish that most SCRABBLE®clubs didn’t meet so late in the evening--it’stough for younger players to attend.An improbable friendship develops betweenAmbrose and Cosmo when they discover theirmutual interest in SCRABBLE®. Ambrosefinds a flyer advertising the West Side ScrabbleClub and convinces Cosmo to drive him there--very much against Irene’s rules. TheSCRABBLE® club helps Ambrose gainconfidence and self-esteem, and Cosmo getssupport from Amanda, the beautiful director, inhis efforts to find a better life after a rough startas a drug addict and thief.Author Susin Neilsen has done her homework.Her descriptions of the West Side ScrabbleClub and its annual tournament, whereAmbrose and Cosmo compete, offer a warmlook at the many types of people one meets atclubs and tournaments. Ambrose, initiallyIn the acknowledgments the author thanks theVancouver SCRABBLE® Club for letting herattend--and credits Stefan Fatsis’s Word Freakfor attracting her to SCRABBLE®. I amgrateful she chose SCRABBLE® as thebackground for this coming-of-age story--and Ihope that the story not only appeals to today’sYouth Players, but also may attract other youngplayers to the club and tournament scene.Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen is available atbookstores and at Amazon.com.Cornelia Guest is a writer, publisher, and editorwho also directs and plays in SCRABBLE®tournaments. She teaches and coachesSchool SCRABBLE® at the Ridgefield (CT)Library and the Somers (NY) Middle School. 53

H I S T O R I C M O M E N T SHistoric Moments: SCRABBLE® Throughout the YearsThe Greatest Sportsmanshipby Stu GoldmanI'm about to embarrass Lester Schonbrun. Although he was the hero of this incident, which tookplace at the October 1997 Los Gatos CA Tournament, I don't believe he'd want it shown off. Yet,since this is indeed the greatest act of sportsmanship I've ever been aware of in my long experiencein our game, I think it should be broadcast far and wide, in the hope that others will emulate it.Lester was playing Robin Levin, and the winner would take third place. The tiles are all drawn, andTOP is on the board vertically, with an inviting hook possibility on the top row. Robin playsSANIOUS, hooking the A on TOP. Neither SUASION nor an S-hook are possible. Lester says hethinks it's good, but since it's a going-out play that will decide the game, he challenges. It is beforethe OWL has been published, and the play is looked up in the OSPD and declared unacceptable.Robin asks for a second opinion, and the second judge looks up the word in an alphabetical list ofall words and confirms the ruling.At that point the game is finished by Lester's play and the scorecards are signed and turned in.Robin is near tears, and Lester has his own doubts. He pulls out his Franklin, presses in the word,and announces that it's good. The players then check the scoring after the SANIOUS outplay, andwhen it's determined correct, they go to the director to reflect SANIOUS being good and Robin thewinner.It is not only that Lester persisted in evaluating the play after two judges had ruled in his favor thatmakes it such a great act of sportsmanship. It's the fact that the game was officially recordedalready, plus Robin's getting the prize instead of himself, that makes Lester's persistence to get itright uniquely great sportsmanship.Stu Goldman lives in California and has been playing tournament SCRABBLE® for 36 years.54

Word Trivia Quizby Siri TillekeratneW O R D T R I V I A Q U I ZAll words are found in OSPD4/TWL2.1.What is the only word in the TWL/OSPD that contains the letters “KPW” consecutively?2. Which are the only three (related) words in the TWL/OSPD ending with “MT”?3. What is the only word in the TWL having all five vowels in alphabetical order?4. If you remove “Q” from IRAQ and replace it with “N” without making any other changes you getIRAN, the name of another country. There are names of two other well-known countries withwhich you can do the same type of single-letter switch. Which are they?5. What is the only six-vowel eight-letter word in the TWL/OSPD in which the two consonants arethe same letter?ANSWERS ON THE NEXT PAGESiri Tillekeratne is a director of the Calgary SCRABBLE® Club #374 and a former Director of theYear. 55

W O R D T R I V I A Q U I ZANSWERS1. EKPWELE(S)2. DREAMT, REDREAMT, UNDREAMT3. FACETIOUS. (The longer ABSTEMIOUS is the only other one).4. ICELAND and IRELAND5. EPOPOEIASiri Tillekeratne is a director of the Calgary SCRABBLE® Club #374 and a former Director of theYear.56

Video Joeby Joe BihlmeyerV I D E O J O EEver lose a game of SCRABBLE®? Who hasn’t! Here we see Joe Bihlmeyer, a top ConnecticutSCRABBLE® player, after two losing tournaments--and with two different reactions. In these videosJoe takes us through the roller coaster of emotions SCRABBLE® players feel when things aren’tgoing their way.Manchester RantXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXNo justice at Bayside!XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 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Tag-Team SCRABBLE®by Brian Galebach and Cornelia GuestT A G - T E A M S C R A B B L EOver the years players have come up with numerous variants on the game of SCRABBLE®. In2008 Brian Galebach, a 38-year-old tournament player and computer programmer from Columbia,Maryland, came up with an idea to play SCRABBLE® in a tag-team team format, with each team oftwo making two plays before the next team plays. Each player has a rack of tiles, so the gameoffers the team the opportunity for one player to set up an advantageous play for the other. TheTag-Team SCRABBLE® game is a strategic, high-scoring game that is becoming enormouslypopular.Tag-Team SCRABBLE® was first played in the after-hours room at the 2008 National SCRABBLE®Championship in Orlando. Galebach was thrilled to play on a team with Joe Edley (they won thatgame). Since then, Tag-Team SCRABBLE® has been played at several tournaments, including amini Tag-Team tournament at the 2009 NSC in Dayton OH and, more recently, a mini tournament atthe 2009 Shelton CT Tournament. Many top-ranked players have enjoyed the game, including JoeBihlmeyer, Frank Tangredi, and Bradley Whitmarsh.Photos of a Tag-Team SCRABBLE® game played at Annette Tedesco’s 4th of July party at the 2009Albany Tournament. The teams were Joe Bihlmeyer and Judy Cole (left photo) and Bradley Whitmarsh(blue checkered shirt) and Brian Galebach. There was a lot of interest from some top players.Galebach, who has enjoyed the sport of curling for the past 8 years, relates how he came up withthe idea for Tag-Team SCRABBLE®:“At the curling club, there was a family of three players: a mom and two young teens. I wouldalways try to find a way to play against them that made it a more-or-less even matchup. I came upwith the idea to let them play as a team, and on their ‘turn’ they could make their plays in any order,and we would add their scores together. It occurred to me that if there were two teams of two skilledSCRABBLE® players, they would be able to set up some really high-scoring plays. I kept this ideain my head until the Orlando nationals, where we got to put the idea into practice. More recently, Icame up with the catchy name of ‘Tag-Team Scrabble,’ which seems to be sticking. Sometimes,58

T A G - T E A M S C R A B B L Epeople congratulate me for coming up with the game. ‘To be fair,’ I usually reply, ‘it wasn't quite asdifficult as inventing Scrabble!’”The current Tag-Team SCRABBLE® rules are as follows:TAG-TEAM SCRABBLE RULES (9/6/09)Overview:Each team has two players, each with their own rack of tiles. Tiles may not be shared between the two players, but teammatesmay openly discuss strategy between themselves. On a typical turn for a team, either player may make a play, followedimmediately by the other player on the team. In this way, a skilled team will often be able to set up a very high-scoring (e.g.triple-triple) play for one of the players.----------Detailed Rules:Each team starts with 25 minutes. Draw tiles to see which team goes first. Both players on first team draw 7 tiles each. Timestarts when either player sees a tile. (Best to keep all 14 tiles face down and turn up simultaneously.) Other team then also draws7 tiles each.The first team gets only one play (making a word or exchange), and may choose which player will play. For all subsequent turns,a team gets to make two consecutive plays, either player playing first, and the other player playing second. Teams may changetheir playing order from turn to turn. The player making a play is responsible for placing their own tiles and announcing the scorefor the play.After the score (or number of tiles to be exchanged) is announced for the team’s first play, the declaration "This is our first move"is made in lieu of hitting the clock (since the team's turn is not yet over). This gives the other team an opportunity (at least fiveseconds) to hold or challenge the first play. Should the play be put on hold, the clock is switched to the holding team until thehold is released or the play is challenged. After the second play in a turn, the score is announced, and the clock is hit as in anormal game. Each player may draw replacement tiles as soon as each has made his or her play, but players must always draw inthe order they played.If a play is successfully challenged, that player's play is removed with loss of that player’s turn only. If a challenge isunsuccessful, the challenging team loses one of their plays on their following turn.A team goes out only when both players have emptied their racks. If only one player goes out on a turn, that team will get onlyone move in their remaining turns.----------Turn Sequence – Quick Reference:• Either player places tiles on the board (or place tiles face down for exchange)• Announce score, designate blank (or announce number of tiles exchanged)• Declare “This is our first move”• Opposing team may hold or challenge (gets at least 5 seconds following announcement)o If opponent holds first move, clock switched to their side until hold is released• First player may draw replacement tiles• Second player places tiles on the board (or place tiles face down for exchange)• Announce score, designate blank (or announce number of tiles exchanged)• Hit clock to end team’s turn• Other team may hold or challenge as in a normal game• Second player draws replacement tiles, but only after first player has drawn their tilesA couple of the rules merit a little extra discussion. 59

T A G - T E A M S C R A B B L EThere's a rule that the player making the play must placethe tiles and announce the score. This ensures that bothplayers are actually controlling their own play, andprevents control freaks from simply taking over bothracks and making both plays, making the other playerfeel useless.Another rule is that a player may replenish tiles as soonas he or she has made a play. There has been a littledisagreement about this rule, some people feeling thattiles should only be replenished after both plays havebeen made in a team's turn. Galebach feels that itmakes the most sense to be able to replenishimmediately for a couple of reasons. “First off, each playis still a self-contained play as in a normal Scrabblegame, and being able to do everything as similarly aspossible as in a regular game is the most natural. If oneexchanges tiles, for example, it is natural to immediatelywant to see what tiles have replaced the drek put into thebag. The other key reason is that being able to see newtiles immediately increases the strategy in the game, asthis may affect the play chosen by the second player inthe team. As the main focus of Tag-Team Scrabble is topump up the amount of strategy in the game, it makessense to choose the rule that maximizes the strategy.”Galebach is still looking for an effective way todefinitively mark the end of the first player's play, and thebeginning of the second player's play. Right now, therules state that the team must announce "This is ourplay." However, Galebach has found in practice manyteams are not very good at doing this, requiring theiropponents to ask, "Is that your first play?" Galebach hasseveral ideas: “A couple of potential options are for theannouncement of the first player's score to mark the endof the play. Another idea (which may go well with thename of the variant) is for the partners to physically"tag," as with a high-five, a fist jab, or maybe a head butt.I'm up for suggestions. :-)”HOW BRIAN GALEBACH GOTINVOLVED IN COMPETITIVESCRABBLE®I was at our curling club for a drop-insession in 2006, and I spotted StefanFatsis at our club. [Stefan was theredoing research on curling for hiscoverage of the sport at the 2006Olympic Games.] I recognized him as acommentator on ESPN for the 2004nationals where Trey came out on top. Isaid to him, "Hey, aren't you thatScrabble guy?" He replied, "Wow, aScrabble sighting! I don't get many ofthose." I told him how I had beeninterested in checking out his book fromthe library but that it had already beenchecked out. He told me to just go buythe book. "Authors like when you buytheir books." We got to talking a lotabout competitive Scrabble, and itsounded like something I'd really enjoy,so as soon as the curling season wasover, I started going to clubs andtournaments. Stefan and I also won ourcurling match that day. He played onmy team, and took lots of notesbetween plays. We were down 6-0 inthat game, but we made a couple ofoutstanding shots, one being a long "inoff"(a shot where you hit a stone nearthe edge of the sheet, and careen intowards the center) dislodging the keystone to tie the game 6-6. We then wona one-shot draw-to-the-button shootoutto win the game.Joe Bihlmeyer came up with the rule that the first team gets only one play. “At first, I didn't like thesuggestion,” said Galebach, “but I grew to like it pretty quickly, as it does minimize the advantagebetween the two teams. In fact, the second team seems to have a slight advantage using that rule.”Currently, Galebach believes Joe Bihlmeyer to be the best Tag-Team player. “His deepunderstanding of strategy really suits him well in the variant. Joe quickly developed many keyconcepts of Tag-Team strategy, including the tactic of playing a word with no hooks in a position60

T A G - T E A M S C R A B B L Eending one space from a triple lane in order to minimize the chances that their opponents will beable to play a triple-triple on their turn.”The strategy in Tag-Team SCRABBLE® is part of the game’s great appeal. A key play is whatGalebach calls the "T-bone" play, which is to play a word with a hook that your partner has in theirrack to one space from a triple word score. Then when the partner uses the hook to score a triple,both words get tripled. “I believe there are lots of interesting setups that end up being possible in thegame that you can't normally do in a regular Scrabble game (because your opponent would takeadvantage),” said Galebach.Judy and Joel Horn were the winners of the Dayton side tournament (http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/w/2009_Tag-Team_SCRABBLE_Tournament). Joe Bihlmeyer and CherylAllen-Munley were the winning team at Shelton.Galebach hopes to have future Tag-Team side tournaments at upcoming big tournaments if possible.Interested directors should contact him at scrabble@ProbabilitySports.com.Brian Galebach is a computer programmer and web developer from Columbia, MD. In addition toplaying tournament SCRABBLE®, he enjoys singing, playing piano, and curling. 61

F R A N K T A N G R E D IFrank Tangredi: From Stage to SCRABBLE®For Frank Tangredi, SCRABBLE® and theatre have always existed side-by-side. “Theatre got meinto serious Scrabble,” he says. “And eventually, Scrabble led to one of my biggest breaks intheatre.”Born in North Carolina, where his father was stationed in the Marines, Frank grew up on Long Islandin the 1960s. He saw his first Broadway play at the age of six. At nine, he wrote his first Christmasplaylet – and played his first game of SCRABBLE®. “We’ve always been a game-playing family,”Frank recalls. “but Scrabble was always my favorite. I loved reading and I loved words.” When hewent off to Cornell in 1971, his SCRABBLE® set went with him. He’d play his dorm mates for apenny a point. “I thought I was the world’s only Scrabble hustler. Who knew?”Frank married his wife Pamela in 1979. By the mid-1980s, he was a social studies textbook editorand a busy actor in Long Island theatre. SCRABBLE® was just a pastime. Then, in 1985,SCRABBLE® and theatre came together in a big way. He was appearing in a local production ofSomerset Maugham’s The Circle. Also in the cast was Marjorie Schoneboom. One night, Franklearned that Marjorie was going that weekend to a SCRABBLE® tournament in Atlantic City. “I toldMarjorie, ‘I love to play Scrabble. The problem is, I’ve never met anyone better than me.’ AndMarjorie replied, ‘Well, now you have.’ It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”Marjorie beat Frank soundly the first time they played– but she was also pleasantly surprised. “I had figuredout many basic strategies for myself, and avoided themistakes that kitchen table players make.” Marjorietold some SCRABBLE® friends that she had just meta fine natural SCRABBLE® player. A few months later,Frank played in his first tournament. In 1987, he hadhis first major tournament win when he took theIntermediate division at BAT. He reached his peakrating (1932) and ranking (#27) in 1999. “I was therefor about fifteen minutes,” says Frank, “but I wasthere.” Two years later, Frank got a protégé of his ownwhen he began coaching Jason Idalski online. “Thepupil has now surpassed the master,” says Frank,“and I couldn’t be prouder.”Meanwhile, Frank was getting serious aboutplaywriting. A couple of his plays even had publicreadings in Manhattan. But getting produced was anelusive goal. That’s when SCRABBLE® and theatrecame together again in a big way. Purely for fun, heorganized an after-hours reading of his play Galateaat the Reno nationals in 2005. One of the actors wasEric Chaikin, who asked if he could use the play in ascene study class. An actor in that class then broughtThree generations of SCRABBLE® players: BAT2008 marked the first time Frank was at the sametournament with both his mentor MarjorieSchoneboom and his protégé Jason Idalski.62

F R A N K T A N G R E D Ithe play to a director, who brought the play to a fledgling theatre company in Los Angeles. “I got acall from them saying they’d like to do Galatea. And my first reaction was, ‘Who are you?’ It took awhile to trace it back to that reading in Reno.”The Los Angeles production of Galatea proved to be a milestone. It got excellent reviews (http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/la/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003555334) andeventually earned Frank a nomination for an L.A. Weekly Theatre Award. In 2008, the productionapplied for the New York International Fringe Festival. “We were accepted, and two days later thetheatre disbanded.” To bring the play to New York, Frank had to raise almost $10,000 himself. Andnearly a third of that money came from the SCRABBLE® community. “Sam Kantimathi evendonated a deluxe board, which I raffled off for $500. My friends really came through for me.”Frank has worked SCRABBLE® into several of his plays. One of them even has a tournamentSCRABBLE® background. “Dylan’s Dads was inspired by my friendship with Jason Idalski. We didan after-hours reading of the play at the Player’s Championship in Dayton in ’07. We couldn’t haveasked for a better audience, since everybody there got all the Scrabble references. For manyreasons, that reading was probably the most moving single experience I’ve ever had at a Scrabbletournament!”In 2009, eighteen SCRABBLE® players took part in yet another reading at Dayton – this time aprogram of Frank’s one-act plays. It was great fun, but Frank has no plans to do a reading in Dallas.“I need to focus on my Scrabble next time. Besides, I think most of my other plays are too heavy forthe occasion.”Frank as Max in The Sound of Music, produced by the BroadHollow Theatre in 2000,performing “No Way to Stop It.” He sang a verse of this song on national television whenhe was a contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? 63

F R A N K T A N G R E D IMany of Frank’s plays are intimate dramas about flawed but decent people facing painful situations.He prides himself on writing realistic dialogue for all kinds of people, from elderly Italian grandmas toteenaged boys. In fact, when he needed teenagers to vet the dialogue in a recent play, he turned toSCRABBLE® players Conrad Bassett-Bouchard and Sam Rosin. “The worst thing to get wrong isteen dialogue, because teenagers can smell phoniness a mile away,” says Frank.Theatrically, 2010 is shaping up as Frank’s biggest year yet. His play Pastoral will have a publicreading at the Pasadena Playhouse in January, followed by a full production in September. “My firstprofessional production, at a prestigious theatre, with a name director and a name actress! I’m soexcited, I keep checking the website to make sure I didn’t imagine it.” (You can check the websiteyourself at http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/current_shows_and_events.htm#Hothouse at thePlayhouse for the reading and http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/2010_pastoral.htm for theproduction.)Frank also plans on more SCRABBLE® in the future, especially now that he’s started seriouslystudying for the first time in 20+ years. For years, he prided himself on his reputation as an ‘expertwho never studies.’ But nearly coming in last at Orlando in 2008 was a wakeup call. “I’m not exactlyhappy that the game has been sort of hijacked by the mathies and memorizers. But I can eitherkvetch about it or roll with it. I’d rather roll, because I want to keep playing the best players I can, foras long as I can.”Besides, for Frank, SCRABBLE® is still the best fun in the world. “I still love the game, and Iprobably have more dear friends in Scrabble now than I ever have. Some of my favorite friends arethe young whippersnappers, who have accepted me as their ‘cool uncle.’ I love that, and I love them– no matter how many times they call me old!”* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Upcoming Hothouse ReadingPASTORALBy Frank TangrediDirected by Sheldon EppsStarring Angela BassettIn this searing drama, a pastor's faith is tested by a shocking request.*See it on the Playhouse mainstage September 2010!January 26-27, 2010, 8:00 p.m.All readings take place in the Carrie Hamilton Theatre.Tickets are FREE but reservations are a must and can be made at 626-356-7529. Clickhere for more information about the Hothouse at the Playhouse program.64

S T E L L ’ S R A C K S O F M I R T HStell’s Racks of Mirthby Stellacious (AKA Cheryl L. Cadieux)On November 27th Cheryl Cadieux had surgery for two brain tumors. Her friend Jill Heffner hasbeen sending updates to the OSPD mail group, plus continuing to post Cheryl’s word lists and“Stellaisms.” The good news is that Cheryl is home now. The amazing news is that she stillmanaged to send me her column for this month! Best wishes to an incredible woman!“After surgery I told my husband, Gary, ‘Well, I still have myfacilities,” and Gary said, “No, honey, you mean your‘faculties.’ But you still have some good facilities, too!!!!!!!!”My DIRECTOR FROM HELL in Safety Harbor, JoanKnobelsdorf, came to see me just before my surgery. Wehad talked about playing a penny a point, the way I do withElaine Glowniak and Jan Fisher, but Joan was too AFRAID;her rating is around 1200 and mine about 200 points higher.I am on antidepressants, heavily sedated, keep running lowon time on the clock, and she asks ME for a HANDICAP!!!! Ialmost screamed at her, "I have brain cancer and tumors andYOU want a HANDICAP!?!"She took two dollars off of me and I told her, “Now GET THEHELL OUT OF MY ROOM, B***H!!"Stellaisms for Your Day“If an article is attractive, or useful, or inexpensive, they'llstop making it tomorrow; if it's all three, they stopped makingit yesterday.” ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook“Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe andhe'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it andhe'll have to touch it to be sure.” ~Murphy's Law“How is it that our memory is good enough to retain the leasttriviality that happens to us, and yet not good enough torecollect how often we have told it to the same person?”~François Duc de La RochefoucauldTo join OSPD, Stella'sSCRABBLE® mail group, pleasesend a blank message to thefollowing URL: ospd-scrabblesubscribe@yahoogroups.com.We are so delicious, that we areDIGESTable, with the digest formof only one e-mail a day.At the bottom of each and everye-mail that you receive fromOSPD, you will see the address tochange your daily subscriptionfrom receiving the e-mails as theycome in to only once a day in thedigest form.OSPD is a way for Scrabblers tocommunicate. We also have aDaily Word List: For example,one recent word list was “N” backhooks.Paul Epstein occasionally doesMystery Racks and we have aquiz from time to time.Please join us!StellaciousAKA Cheryl L. Cadieux“The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with only a loaf of bread are threebillion to one.” ~Erma BombeckCheryl L. Cadieux, a congenial tournament player better known to her OSPD group members as“Stella,” lives in Au Gres, MI and New Port Richey, FL. 65

Linda’s Libraryby Linda WancelL I N D A ’ S L I B R A R YAs an avid reader and book lover, I have found that many other Scrabblers also share my passionfor books and for reading. So, I am happy to have this opportunity to share some of my favoritebooks with you. These reviews, for the most part, were written for Amazon.com, where I have beenwriting reviews under a pseudonym for nearly ten years. I hope that the book lovers among youmay find their interest piqued by some of these books.Non-fiction:Escapeby Carolyn JessopThis is an excellent memoir that recounts the author's life as a member ofthe Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), asplinter breakaway group of the Mormon Church that still practicespolygamy as a central tenet of its beliefs. Rejected by mainstreamMormons, these patriarchal fundamentalists live in a way that would seemaberrant to most Americans. The author's compelling story allows thereader an intriguing glimpse behind the closed doors of the lifestyle of thisfundamentalist group.The author, Carolyn Jessop, was born into a family that had practicedpolygamy for six generations on her mother's side, starting life In Hildale,Utah, a FLDS enclave. The family later moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, when the author was aboutfive, only to move a year later to Colorado City, Arizona, another FLDS enclave, where the publicschools were staffed by teachers who were FLDS adherents. While the author describes what is likegrowing up in a FLDS household, the book focuses on the turn that her life took when, at the age ofeighteen, her marriage was arranged and she found herself married to a total stranger, WillieJessop, a fifty-year-old man with two other wives at the time.The author recounts what is what like being the third wife in that polygamous household, which wasfilled with abuse, servitude, loneliness, and isolation. Miserable for years and hoping to break thecycle of polygamy for her children, who had been thoroughly indoctrinated in FLDS beliefs, theauthor finally did so in 2003, managing to take her eight children with her to freedom, but it was farfrom easy. Yet at the end of the day, the author was able to rebuild her life and give her children thetools to help them find their own destiny.Through the author, one is able to see what life is like within such an insular community and thesubservient role the FLDS allocated for its women. It is little wonder that people, especially women,that come from this culture seem to need deprogramming, as they have been so thoroughlybrainwashed. Along with indoctrination of FLDS beliefs, these people have also been indoctrinatedinto having a palpable fear of the outside world, which has been totally demonized. The reader isalso able to see the further descent into harsh extremism that the FLDS underwent, as the66

L I N D A ’ S L I B R A R Yleadership in the church changed hands into those of Warren Jeffs, a man to whom the author'shusband had been fiercely loyal.This is a fascinating, well-written account by one who has lived a life that most would rather nothave to live. It is an insider's look at a religious community that is extreme in its beliefs andoutrageous in its treatment of women. So unique and quirky are its beliefs that the reader will befascinated that the FLDS can exist in twenty-first-century America.Escape is available at Amazon.com.Fiction:The Lion’s Gameby Nelson DeMilleWhen Libyan terrorist, Asad Khalil, known as "the Lion", decides to defectto the West, a jumbo jet from Paris, transporting him, as well as hundreds ofother passengers, is approaching the runway at JFK airport in New YorkCity. The plane is incommunicado and remains so when it lands. Somethingis terribly wrong.Asad Khalil is apparently on a mission, and his goal is to kill by any meansnecessary all those who were involved in the 1986 bombing of Libya thatkilled his family. He leaves a swath of carnage in his wake, as he seeks tocomplete his personal jihad. Former NYPD homicide detective John Corey and FBI agent KateMayfield, both members of the federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force, join forces, and when these twoare not busy trading light-hearted banter, they are at the top of their game in trying to stop AsadKhalil from completing his mission.This is a top-notch action thriller. The author skillfully presents the perspectives of both John Coreyand Asad Khalil, so that the reader knows what makes them each tick. Great dialogue, non-stopaction, and interesting characters, including one of the most intriguing villains of all time, are someof the hallmarks of this page-turner. With a fiendishly clever plot, peppered with many twists andturns, this novel is sure to thrill those readers who enjoy well-written, action-packed thrillers.The Lion’s Game is available at Amazon.com.Linda Wancel loves reading, writing, watching films, traveling, and Scrabbling. She is the mother of27-year-old twins and has been a criminal prosecutor for the last 23 years. 67

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SSCRABBLE® in the NewsSee something about SCRABBLE® or a SCRABBLE® player in the news? Let us know! Send yourstories to CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com.New SCRABBLE® Club in British Columbia (CAN)Jesse Matthews is starting a new SCRABBLE® club at the Kelowna Branch of the OkanaganRegional Library, with meeting Thursday evenings, beginning January 7th.http://www.kelowna.com/2009/12/14/scrabble-champ-to-start-club-at-library/World SCRABBLE® Championship CoverageNumerous stories appeared in the media about the recent World SCRABBLE® Championship inMalaysia November 26-29. Here are a few:http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/21jog-2/Article/index_htmlhttp://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=212511http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3108750/Kiwi-loses-world-Scrabble-titleWorld Youth SCRABBLE® ChampionshipVarious stories have appeared in the media about the competitors in the WYSC December 8-10.Here are two:http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=461480http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=329641&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16SCRABBLE® Cheez-It FanA fan of Cheez-Its extols the virtues of the tile-like SCRABBLE® JuniorCheez-It crackers in the Boise Weekly: http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/scrabble-cheez-it/Content?oid=1348429An ISC Addict Shares its PleasuresNancy Panakkal shares the joys of ISC in an article on AssociatedContent: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2434920/lets_scrabble.html?cat=11Elemental SCRABBLE®Professor Kerry Cheesman of Capital University (Ohio) helps studentslearn the Periodic Table while playing SCRABBLE®. http://www.schooltech.ancientfuturemedia.com/2009/12/teach-periodic-tablewith-scrabble/Buffalo Club Featured in Niagara GazetteThe Dec. 20 Niagara Gazette featured Buffalo NY Club #456 (see also “Club News”): http://www.niagara-gazette.com/features/local_story_354235803.html68

Anagram Tunnels Quizby Juraj PivovarovA N A G R A M T U N N E L S Q U I ZAn Anagram Tunnel is a sequence of words such that there is exactly ONE word that can be formedfrom the previous word and a blank.Example:GRIFFSGRIFFESGIRAFFESFIREFANGSRESTAFFINGAFFORESTINGOVERSTAFFINGIn our current dictionary, the maximum length of such a tunnel is 7, and it is realized by 6 differentstarting words (see The Last Word, Issue 2).Here are 5 (from the 15 total) 5-letter words that stretch into 5-word tunnels. See if you can find the3 missing words that complete each tunnel:BUBUS...SUBSHRUBSCZARS...OSTRACIZEDORKY...HYDROSKISEXCEL...EXCLUDERSFRAYS...FOREYARDSANSWERS ON NEXT PAGEJuraj Pivovarov is a 1400 SCRABBLE® player and a near-expert chess player. He has a degree inPure Math and a M.Sc. in Computer Science. 69

A N A G R A M S T U N N E L Q U I ZANSWERS:'BUBUSSUBURBSUBURBSSUBSHRUBSUBSHRUBSCZARSCRAZESCRAZIESCRAZIESTOSTRACIZEDORKYDROSKYDROSHKYHYDROSKIHYDROSKISEXCELEXCELSCULEXESEXCLUDESEXCLUDERSFRAYSFORAYSORFRAYSFORAYERSFOREYARDSJuraj Pivovarov is a 1400 SCRABBLE® player and a near-expert chess player. He has a degree inPure Math and a M.Sc. in Computer Science.70

S E Q U O I A C L U BSCRABBLE® Travels: South Africaby Denise MahnkenSometimes we take months and months to plan exotic vacations to far off places, and then onceand a while, if we're real lucky, a trip of a lifetime falls into our lap. That's how it was that I went toSouth Africa last summer. Family members visiting from California asked me to take them toConnecticut to visit an ailing in-law. As it turned out someone else visiting, whom I hardly knew,happen to mention that she was going with her church to Johannesburg, South Africa. Iimmediately perked up and inquired about the details. It was to be a joint missionaryand sightseeing tour. Being wary of all organized religion, I was skeptical of the missionary idea.Because they had such a large group the price was very reasonable and I could not pass it up. Inever made it to Connecticut to meet the coordinators, therefore all correspondence was done byemail and phone and it worked well. Using the two people I dealt with as indicators, I knew thegroup would be fine, as they were personable, easygoing, and enthusiastic about all the details.My calendar was such, that I would arrive back from Scrabble Nationals in Dayton on August 5thand have two days to prepare for my trip to Johannesburg which left on Saturday, August 8th. As itturned out, our flight out of Dayton was cancelled due to thunderstorms. Eight of us got stuck atan airport hotel having dinner at what I dubbed "The Homesick Restaurant" and had a good timecelebrating Ben Schoenbrun's start of college. I arrived home late-evening on August 6th and hadone day to get it all together and get to the airport at 6:00 am for an 8:00 am international departure.At the airport I met the other ninety-six members of our tour. All ages were represented, theyoungest being 11 and the oldest 82. Within an hour of their company, the laughter, the comraderieand the excitement of the group let me know it was going to be a great trip.We arrived in Johannesburg after a twenty-four hournonstop flight from JFK. The weather was as it would befor the next two weeks: Bright sun, no clouds, 70-75degrees and no rain in sight. The Hotel Protea wascentrally located. Modern and quite comfortable with fullamenities, including a 24 hour bar to accommodate worldtravellers, an espresso bar and lovely restaurant withgood food.Young dancers in Johannesburg market square.Our itinerary was wonderful. We spent two days atlocal orphanages. Building, painting, planting, readingto the children. We made donations of $1,000 to eachorphanage, the equivalent of approximately $8,000African Rand. It was a nice surprise to have themissionary work add a new and emotionally satisfyingelement to my travels.Me and some of the older girls at the SitabileOrphanage. 71

S C R A B B L E T R A V E L S : S O U T H A F R I C AMe and fellow traveler with the children.The younger children at Sitabile singing for us.The itinerary also included a one-day safari and a trip to amagnificent spa in the mountains where no sounds were heardbut the waterfalls and birdsongs.We visited a shanty-town, the Apartheid Museum, and NelsonMandela's cell on Robben Island. We had daylong tours ofJohannesburg, Soweto, wineries, and the Biko exhibit. Our tourguide, David, was a 17-year-old student who had been part of thestudent uprisings in the early 70's. He gave us first-hand accountsof this and other historical milestones.Sweet face of love.In between events, we ate and drank at wonderful local restaurants where the food and servicewere exceptional. Also gambled at a casino to rival any in Monte Carlo.Dancing with the women from the Manguanani Spa.72

S C R A B B L E T R A V E L S : S O U T H A F R I C AAfter six days, guess what? You're right. I was fiending for a SCRABBLE® game. One night afterdinner I went on line and looked up local clubs. One club listed the director's phone number. Icalled. He answered. The conversation went something like this:"Hi, may I speak to Garth?""Speaking""Hi, my name is Denise Mahnken and I'm a Scrabbler from New York visiting here for a couple ofweeks and I need a game.""I know how that is,” he said chuckling. "Where are you staying?” he inquired."Hotel Protea," I answered."I know where that is; you're close to most clubs. Let's see,” he continued. "What about tomorrow?There's a club starting at noon.”"I have a trip to Sun City.”"How about Thursday?"I looked at my itinerary and saw it was a 'day of leisure'. "That works!" I exclaimed."Good,” he said. "I'll pick you up at 8:30 a.m. and we'll go to club.” I thanked him, thrilled I wouldget to play. With all the excitement of being in Africa, the excitement of playing SCRABBLE® inAfrica had my heart racing even more.Garth picked me up that Thursday morning and in continued beautiful sunshine we drove to an areacalled Fourways and went to the Roosevelt Park club, which met at a senior center. The club washoused in a rec room surrounded by a lovely garden. About ten club members were there when wearrived. They gave me a warm welcome. I really felt like a guest of honor, as they knew I wascoming and did not start until we got there. They don’t get many Scrabblers from outside Africa, andI was the first American to visit and play.Me with Garth van Vliet at the RooseveltPark SCRABBLE® Club in Fourways.We had coffee and homemade baked goods as we chattedbefore starting the games. One woman told me she wasborn and raised in the Bronx but had left as a young girl toget married and make a life in South Africa. She had notbeen back in 50 years.Pairings were made and the fun began. I was not given a“cheat sheet” for Collins play.I did not challenge any words, which for me is a first; I alwaysseem to be at the ajudicator more than most. I played fourgames and went 2-2. Had a 526 game. The two I lost wereclose. 73

S C R A B B L E T R A V E L S : S O U T H A F R I C AI quickly utilized a few of the two-letter words they use such as ZE, EE, UG, etc. The word I foundmost useful to my game was ADE. The ratings ranged from about 900 to 1600, which gave me agood cross-section of play levels. All in all it was a lovely day, and a real highlight to my trip.Unfortunately, I forgot to grab my camera and do not have any photos of the club members.The rest of my trip to Cape Town and the Cape of Good Hope continued to astound and amaze me.Here in the States, I travel to a lot of tournaments and havebeen graced with the warmth and hospitality of many localScrabblers. The kinship and understanding of a commonbond knows no boundaries or limitations. After my time inSouth Africa, I now know it extends worldwide. Sharinggood times enriches the lives of everyone. Not just in theobvious ways, but in a tiny jewel of a thing that stays tuckedin your heart as you leave.For more information on SCRABBLE® in South Africa, visittheir website at Scrabble South Africa. You can also contactGarth van Vliet at garth@juggle.co.za.Scenic view of Cape Town.Denise Mahnken, from Long Beach, NY, is a teacher of the deaf and an enthusiastic SCRABBLE®player. She loves to travel, and this past August won the Annual Award for “Most DifferentStates” (see The Last Word, Issue 1).74

T H E A R T O F S T R A T E G YThe Art of StrategyBlocking a Triple Word Scoreby Art MooreBlocking a Triple Word Score is a very situational thing. But there are a couplethings to try:1. Start or end a word with a V or a C. V and C are the only letters that do not combine to make twoletter words. Your opponent won't be able to play parallel there. If your word at least contains thoseletters, you shorten the length of the word than can play.2. Play a short word in the triple lane. So, you can't make a 6 letter word that covers the triple wordscore? OK, then play a two, three or four that doesn't reach. If it's something that can't be extended,or very difficult to extend, you may effectively block the space.3. Consider letters with limited twos. The letters J, K, Q and Z do not make two letter words byputting a letter in front of them. Use them safely on the top and left sides of the board.4. Open another option. So, your opponent opened up a Triple Word Score but you can't takeadvantage of it? Then open up another one. With any luck, you'll draw something better and the twoof you will split them and minimize the damage.Sometimes it's to your advantage to open things up. Maybe the board is too tight and you can'tmake any high-scoring plays. I've watched players fish for a comeback bingo but never get to play itbecause the board is locked down. It's not the best strategy, but it may be the only one you have.When opening a triple, consider also what you are giving your opponent to work with. Leaving aCANISTER letter alone in the triple line gives your opponent a chance to play a triple-triple bingo,scoring 9x the word value +50 points. An easy way to ratchet up a 150+ point play. My highestscoring word ever was OVERWIND, done in just that manner (my opponent left the I behind). Itscored 212 points. No word generators here-- it was in a face-to-face game. And face it, you don'tknow what help your opponent might be using, so be careful.Sometimes it's worth the risk. There are Double Letter Score squares in the triple lanes. If you canplay a high-point tile there, extending a word to the Double Word Score, you'll effectively get 4X thevalue for that letter. If it's a tough letter to bingo with, like a J, K, Q, W, Z... you might want to takethe gamble.Whatever you do, don't leave a vowel next to a Triple Word Score. Ideally, avoid placing vowels nextto any premium square. It gives your opponent a chance to play a high-scoring tile and create twowords, doubling the effect of the premium.As always, consider the situation. Sometimes a dangerous play scores just too many points to sayno to. Keep in mind the skill level of the player you are playing against, the score, and if you can,what tiles are available.Art Moore lives just outside of Orlando, husband to an incredibly patient woman and father of fourequally tolerant children. He is co-director of Club #438 in Casselberry, Florida. Find him on ISCunder the moniker "Werds" 75

D I A N E ’ S D E F A L T SDiane’s DEFALTSby Diane FirstmanDiane Firstman published her first book of DEFALTS, Generous to aDEFALT: Vol. 1-3, in 2006. Since then, she has published a secondvolume of her humorous alternative definitions to common (and notso-common)words--DEFALTS Vol. 4--and selected DEFALTS haveappeared in SCRABBLE® News and on the online SCRABBLE®discussion groups crossword-games-pro (cgp) and OSPD. TheLast Word is pleased to offer the following selection of DEFALTS.QUOINS: coins of questionable authenticity (aka slugs)RAMJET: an airline with seating that makes you feel like you are being "herded" to your destinationREBOZO: once a clown, always a clownREQUIN: having yet another set of quintupletsROQUET: a precursor to the game of croquetSCABBY: children's educational cartoon character who warns kids not to pick at still-healing woundsSEIZER: ancient Roman leader known for just taking what he wantedSHAMMY: music award given to Milli Vanilli after their fraud was discoveredSHMUCK: in poker, to toss away one's cards very quietly and discreetlySIXMOS: a gathering of Mo Vaughn, Moses Malone and any four other guys named MoDiane Firstman is a lifelong New Yorker and has been playing SCRABBLE® competitively since1994. When not thinking up DEFALTS, she attends crossword puzzle tourneys, and writes on theNew York Yankees for www.bronxbanterblog.com. She is adept at math, can reach items on topshelves in supermarkets, and does a dead-on impression of a sea lion. The collected “DEFALTS”are available at http://stores.lulu.com/dianagram.76

T H E T I L E B A GThe Tile Bagby James LeongHi all, and welcome to another new edition of The Tile Bag.I’m just going to take a break from answering questions this one time, but don’t think I’m not goingto chase you all for questions! Even if you think it’s completely out of left field, inane, or unflatteringto the question writer, I want to read your thoughts and publish them, damn the fact that mywaistline has expanded beyond my normal Homer Simpson figure to that of an oversized globe(and thus given you some ammunition).Anyway, it’s the end of the holiday season, and what I want my readers to think about is somethingthat’s more within themselves, rather than a question anyone can answer. Aside from theconstants in life, such as lining up at 6:00 a.m. on December 26 to buy something at half price thatwe’ll return in two weeks, receiving enough fruitcake that is in sufficient quantity and hardness toqualify as building material, or sitting back in the darkness just reflecting on life, I have a questionwhich sounds a little strange, but let’s run with it:What is your SCRABBLE® resolution for this coming year?Think a little on it. Nobody’s perfect at playing this game, after all, and I personally don’t think thatstate exists. The elements of chance, of human fallibility, of all sorts of elements that make thegame a game between two or more people instead of a solo pursuit, eliminates the idea that youcan win everything in my opinion. Borrowing a concept from thermodynamics, a chaos, an entropy,exists within the game that will mean that no matter how well you try to order everything, you willnever get your game to be one hundred percent efficient at spitting out the results you desire.But, I also believe, we might as well die trying instead of give up.There’s always a bit of something that one can improve. There are the basics of a strong game,which will serve you better simply in affording you more options; improving your vocabulary; honingyour board vision and predictive capabilities in playing the game; gaining a better sense ofpositional development and versatility in playing various kind of games; figuring out how to play agame based on the way you want that game to go, and so forth. These basic building blocks arethe foundation that can always be explored, and in doing so you can improve your fundamentals.Basics aside, there are many other factors that can help one’s game that don’t get emphasized asmuch as they should. I just want to point out some obvious ones that all of us likely neglect in ourpursuit for perfection; however, maintaining or mastering them is integral to making sure anyimprovements to our fundamentals will actually show.So, let’s start with perhaps the most obvious: consistency.Consistency is that attribute which, in my opinion, stands foremosts in helping players to improvetheir game. It really doesn’t matter how well one can identify words, or can spot great tactical 77

T H E T I L E B A Gplays, or can challenge phonies using one’s memory if it can’t be done at a consistent level ofquality. The fact that potential exists will not instantly win games. There are some players whocontinually point at others who they can outplay on a given day, wondering why those players dobetter. While one player might have potential ability to outplay another, it doesn’t mean a whit unlessit is something that can be done over and over. And the irony is that this is perhaps the easiest areain which people can improve. After all, if somebody realizes they can make good plays once in awhile, it becomes less of a task to get to a level where they can find consistently find a good play.Consistency is one of the biggest differentials between players. I have repeatedly seen many highlyskilled players, in my estimation, who aren’t consistent in displaying their skills and thus aren’treceiving results that match their capabilities. Similarly, I have seen other players, including myself,who lack the talents of others but can put together strong results by managing to put forth a gameclose to their best on a more frequent basis. This is entirely self-evident, but to consistently getresults that you expect of yourself, you have to consistently play to the level you know you canachieve.Another important factor that I think is obvious, but which people might miss on their hunt for themore obscure, is to have a strong mental outlook and an ability to play your game in the face of bothadversity and bounty. I’ve noticed that sometimes people (myself included) fail to maintain a goodattitude going through a tournament. This is probably most evident to those of us who have seen aplayer who is having a bad tournament, or a bad string of tournaments, blame everything from luckto the scratchiness of the tile bag to the fact the day was both a solar and lunar eclipse and thusthrew off their circadian rhythm – blaming all but themselves, and thus their own play begins toreflect their mindset. What’s interesting to note, though, is that those who do extremely well mightsuffer from complacency and start to “coast” – in essence, their confidence increases to a pointwhere they start to lose focus on each game, thinking instead about future games or their finalplacement.Having one of these mindsets, whilst comforting in the present term, can be detrimental becauseyou never know what the next game, or even the next move, might bring. It is because of this that Ithink the best attitude towards the game is to simply try my best, and if that doesn’t work, it justdoesn’t work. If I get wrapped up in why I didn’t do as well as I’d hoped, I find it sometimes spiralsinto affecting my mindset later on, making me perform worse through the cycle of competition.Likewise, if I get wrapped up in how well I’m doing, I might lose focus on the present and in doingso, lose the present and likely the future I was dreaming for myself.Finally, the third obvious factor, which I think people innately know but may not act upon as much asthey should, is that in order to play well in a tournament, you have to be prepared for it in its entirety.Most of us assume this has to do with knowing words, with having competitive practice, and withhaving some strategic fine-tuning that we hope will give us that extra card up our sleeves whenfacing opponents we may have faced earlier, or never. But what about other preparatory elementsthat might be helpful, like being well-rested, or calm in a game, or in some very exceptionalinstances, sober or at least not nursing a huge hangover?We all know we go to tournaments to play the games, to see people, to socialize; for most of us, thepoint of going to a tournament is to have fun. It’s important to have fun playing SCRABBLE®--it’sthe original intent of the game’s inventors (I’m not going to have my column be the reason thatdecades later, some controversial champion figure will write about wearing a wig in the WSC final!)78

T H E T I L E B A GThat being said, sometimes trying to figure out what the fun is and how much of it one wants to havein order to ensure optimal competitive results need to be weighed. Friends, diversions, alcohol, thewhole nine yards, I partake in it, too, but I’ve been lucky to find myself feeling fresh the next day.A good night’s sleep helps you think better, and while my reason for getting sleep is more medical(i.e., I do *not* want to have another seizure), I appreciate getting sufficient rest so that I have astrong reserve of mental energy to burn the next day. While I like to drink sometimes, I’ve neverbeen a heavy drinker, so I don’t have a hangover the next day, either. Having fun and enjoying thecompany of others helps me relax when I’m outside of competition and focus when I’m in.In a way, a tournament can be characterized as an optional exam – an exam in that if you prepareproperly, you can at least give it your best and hopefully get the reslts you are seeking; optional inthat is it up to you how much preparation you do. There’s no magic formula for how much focus orrelaxation or diversion or other elements are needed for the success of each individual, but in orderto make sure your enjoy yourself at a tournament and feel you are playing your best, a happymedium needs to be arranged.Consistency. Mindset. Balance. Three simple goals that I think everyone knows, deep down, areimportant to routinely do well in this game. At the risk of sounding like some self-help life-path guru,the game is whatever you make of it: How you perform is entirely, and truly, up to you.So, to that, I’ll make my SCRABBLE® resolution. And perhaps you might be able to make aresoution, too.And now, I raise my glass to you. Cin cin! And a happy new year.____________________________Got a question? Don’t hesitate to write, no matter how strange or silly it may sound! Just fire away totilebag@gmail.com.James Leong is a top player from Vancouver, BC, Canada. He was the winner of the 2007 Players’Championship in Dayton, OH. 79

B E A T I N G A L E G E N DBeating a Legend: An Intermediate Player’s Dream Gameby Will ScottI knew David Gibson only as a legend: He had studied words for hours every day, for 12 years. Hewon nationals in 1994, placed second in 2004, and placed third in 2008 – after losing his first fivegames but winning his last 14. He won the two richest tournaments in North America to date – theSCRABBLE® Superstars tournament in 1995 and the All-Stars tourney in 2003. Both paid $50,000to the winner. He placed third at the worlds in 1993.Even his niceness is legendary. The math professor from Spartanburg, SC, after winning theSuperstars tournament, shared his winnings with his vanquished opponents. David Gibson is quiet,unassuming and friendly – to everyone, not just his top-tier SCRABBLE® peers.So I had mixed feelings as I drove to the Knoxville tournament in early December. For whatevercombination of reasons, division 1 for the two-day tournament consisted of Gibson, with a rating of2067, and seven intermediate players with ratings between 1189 and 1440. I was seeded sixth inthe division, at 1302. On one hand, I felt a little sheepish about the legend having to amuse himselfwith a bunch of non-experts. On the other hand, I was grateful that the star of the field was not likelyto show up with a lot of attitude.As it turned out, he came to a little Friday night get-together hosted by Ruchi Gupta, and he joinedin a couple of games of pairs SCRABBLE® after dinner. (His team won both games.) He was everybit as nice as I thought he would be, and I was glad to be able to meet the person before I met thelegend across the board.The tournament was 15 games – eight on Saturday and seven on Sunday. Division 1 had eightplayers, so it would be a double round-robin and a king of the hill final game. The other seven of ushad already conceded that Gibson would be Gibsonized and we would be fighting for second place.My first game against David was in game 3, and I was winless. I started well, opening with THUYA,and after he played AGIOT(A)GE, I came back with a DWS/TLS FLAKY for 56, picking up points onoverlap plays. After playing QI for 32 and WINS/AGIOTAGES for 40, I had a small lead. It soondisappeared. David bingoed with OUTRIGS, bingoed again with (E)UsOCIAL, followed that with ZA/ZA/AG for 45, then added a fourth bingo, INDITES. Even after that I was happy to be down by only80 points, but I blew any chance I had by trying to slip a phoney past him: DELETER*.David scored 509, but I had 405, and considering that he drew both blanks and dropped fourbingoes on me, I put it in the “moral victory” column.My second game against him didn’t go so well. On my fifth turn, trying to close a triple lane that Icouldn’t afford to leave open, I made a small blocking play: ALT.I hit my clock.“Challenge!”80

B E A T I N G A L E G E N DI looked at David, then I looked at the board, and my face turned red.I had placed the A under a D to make a parallel play: DA.Duh.I’ll always be grateful to him for what he said next: “You probably remembered it from when it wasgood.”I nodded sheepishly, and it was true, I do remember when DA* was acceptable, but we both knewwhat really happened: I had just made a bonehead play because of inattention.Of course, I do that fairly regularly, but I wanted to play my best against the best, and I had failed.David won that game by 158, but I had limited him to only two bingoes: OURANGS andWENDIGOS. I had never seen the latter, but I didn’t even think about challenging, because anotherpart of the Gibson legend is that he rarely, if ever, plays phonies.After 14 games, I was 6 and 8 – out of the money but about where I was projected to be. DavidGibson had put an early end to anyone else’s dreams of first place. He was 14-0, and no one elsehad more than 8 wins. So he was Gibsonized, and I was chosen as his final victim. I didn’t mind atall. I enjoyed playing against him, and factoring in his 2067 rating three times in 15 games couldonly help in calculating my own rating after the tournament. So I was prepared to finish at 6-9.Except.Chance is what gives SCRABBLE® much of its allure. True, it can make you crazy when youexchange five vowels for … five more vowels. It can make you want to chew the table when agorgeous and rare bingo appears on your rack – COCOMAT, say, or GRAVLAX – and youropponent blocks the one spot where you could have played it.But chance also allows for that joyous moment when you notice a spot on the board where, with theright letters, you could make a difficult, dazzling play – and then you pull those letters out of the bag.Or when, on the way to a tournament, another player mentions a word he has just learned that’salso new to you, and the next day, that word appears on your rack.The final game began with no hint of an upset. I opened with WILT for 14, and David played BRITTfor 15. I played JOINT for 28, and he followed with HONDA for 33. I exchanged four of my sixvowels, and he played ABO for 27, taking a 30-point lead. I played CRAFTER for 15 to keep theboard open (again, the Gibson legend: He’ll kill you on a closed board). David played UREA for 12and FUG for 18, so I knew he wasn’t getting much to work with.On my eighth play, I burned my S to play SPIV for 26, trying to open the right side of the board, butknowing I might have set up my opponent for a big play. I was within 30 points.Then, with a leave of CLT, I drew the unlikely combination of HMY?. I quickly rearranged them andsaw that with an open A or I, I had MYTHICAL. And there was the I in SPIV, with just enough roomto play my bingo. 81

B E A T I N G A L E G E N DI waited. David was working his tiles, so I braced myself for a big play. Instead, he made a smallplay, PIU, elsewhere on the board, and I knew he was trying to dump drek and balance his rack.I played MYTH(I)CaL for 88, putting the L on the bottom row, between the triple word scores.Danger! But David didn’t have a triple-triple. He had 6 vowels. He played (L)OOIE to the triple – andpicked up more vowels.Meanwhile, I had picked up the Q, the Z and the second blank after playing MYTHICAL, and myheart started to beat faster. I had a chance!I played Q(I) for 22 over the I in LOOIE, so that if David was going to bingo in the far-right triple lane,he’d have to make it end in IE.David played (C)IAO for 6, and a few more drops of adrenaline entered my bloodstream. I wasahead by almost 60 points, but I fought to stay calm. I’ve lost games in which I had led by almost200, so 60 points against David Gibson was not enough.With a rack of GILNSZ?, I played Z(A) for 30, and then came the bingo from David: ATONIES/SPIVS for 69. My lead was down to 18.I drew an A, so I had a promising rack of AGILNS?.There was a D in the bottom right-hand corner, where David had played (HA)WED on his seventhturn, and that D was still open on turn 12. I needed an eight that started with a D. After shuffling mytiles for a minute or two, I found it: (D)eALINGS, for 80. (DIALINGS also would have worked, but Ididn’t see it, didn’t know it and wouldn’t have dared to try it.)I hit my clock. There were eight tiles in the bag, I was going to draw seven of them, and I was up bynearly 100 points. My hands were shaking as I reached into the bag.“Hold!”Instantly, my confidence waned. Dealings, dealings. Isn’t that good? I know I’ve heard it or read itsomewhere.David studied the board, looked at his rack, checked his scoresheet. I simply tried to breathe.“I’m going to challenge,” he said.My doubt turned to dread. Maybe it’s one of those weird phonies, I thought – like FEEDINGS*, usedby parents of infants but unrecognized by the OSPD.David typed in the word on the computer screen. I hit the button … and it came up green.It’s good!82

B E A T I N G A L E G E N DI could breathe again. I realized then that the challenge was a hail-mary pass: David wasn’t 100percent sure, and he needed that spot to have any chance of catching me with only a single tile inthe bag.With my free turn, I played TONEY/AY on a DWS/TLS for 45 points, and we finished with a fewmore points each.I had just beaten David Gibson by nearly 150 points!Occasionally, I’ll hear a story about this or that expert player, who, after getting beaten by a muchlower-rated player, will become a study in boorishness: cursing, perhaps, or belittling the opponent,or flipping the scorecard at the winner after signing it, then walking away without tidying up theboard.Not David Gibson. He congratulated me, complimented me on my play, and explained, withoutwhining, why he made certain plays but was unable to balance his rack.I finished the tournament with a 7-8 record, boosting my rating by 24 points to 1326. And I was gladto see that, despite his unlikely loss to me, David gained 4 ratings points. He’s now at 2071.Shortly after that last game, while still enjoying the endorphin buzz from my win, I admitted to myselfthat when I draw only vowels for three straight turns, I’m not nearly as good as David is atcontaining my frustration. I realized that, after three games with him, the most impressive thingabout one of the biggest winners in SCRABBLE® was how he behaved when he lost.Will Scott, 49, of Versailles, Ky., played in his first tournament in 1997 in Lansing, Mich. Despite notknowing about clocks or word lists, or even that round boards existed, he managed to win twogames that day and was hooked. He is a copy editor for the Lexington Herald-Leader and hopesthat newspapers will continue to exist for at least 15 more years. He and his wife have two foundon-the-roaddogs, Malcolm in the Median and Bella. His other interests include backpacking,volleyball, and masters track and field. 83

PassagesLarry Sherman, EditorP A S S A G E SEach month we will be including information about SCRABBLE® players (births, deaths, marriages,etc.) Please send your news to the newsletter editor, Cornelia Guest, atCorneliaSGuest@gmail.com._______________________________________________________________________________DEATHSANNE McNELISby Diana GrosmanAnne McNelis, grande dame of Club #50 in Baltimore, passed away on December 3, 2009.Although Anne never got into the tournament scene, she was a regular player in our club for over 25years. Since our club meets in our homes on a rotating basis, we played at Anne's lovely home onmany occasions and enjoyed her delicious snacks and desserts.Besides loving SCRABBLE®, Anne was an accomplished photographer, seamstress, and hostessextraordinaire. She and Des, her husband of 61 years and both natives of Ireland, had 5 children,13 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren. She reveled in hosting the large family gatherings onholidays and other special occasions and organizing huge beach getaways for her family in OceanCity, MD. Samples of her beautiful photography adorned the walls of their home.Another passion of the McNelis's was travel. Anne and Des made many trips around the US, toIreland, and to other countries; she liked to note that she had visited 49 of the 50 states. Anne wasalways happy to share tips and suggestions about travel in Ireland with those who wanted ideaswhen developing their own itineraries.We will miss her generous spirit and kind nature.May she rest in peace.Diana GrosmanMaryland84

SCRABBLE®ResourcesThere are many study tools to help tournamentSCRABBLE® players hone their skills,including a number of programs that can bedownloaded for free. This section will offersuggestions and links, plus feature each montha different SCRABBLE® resource. Thismonth’s focus will be on the SCRABBLE®blogs, with Ryan Fischer, or “badqoph” as he isknown on LiveJournal and the eponymousblog, introducing readers to this way ofimproving by reading perspectives onSCRABBLE® from tournament players of allskill levels, not just in North America, but in theworld at large.SCRABBLE® BlogsSCRABBLE® has had a presence on theInternet since at least early 2000, with gamesoffered on playsite.com (inactive) andgames.com. The first online SCRABBLE®communities emerged at about that time, too,with a community called “SCRABBLE®Players” created on LiveJournal by userginkgoes on September 19th, 2001. Anothercommunity, “Scrabble Addict's Journal,” hasexisted since November, 2001. Most akin tocontemporary tournament SCRABBLE®players cum bloggers is “Scrabbling,” acommunity started by vavaverity (ShelleyUbeika) on July 5th, 2006. Additional blogs canbe found by searching the interests keyword"scrabble" on LiveJournal. There are over 100SCRABBLE®-related communities onLiveJournal, these three being the most closelyconnected to tournament SCRABBLE®. Theyare very lightly trafficked, but they've no doubtattributed in some small way to the slow,steady growth of SCRABBLE® blogs onLiveJournal and other similar blog websitessuch as Blogspot and Tumblr.In August of 2007 at the Player's Championshipin Dayton, OH, I met many people who sharedS C R A B B L E R E S O U R C E Smy passion for SCRABBLE® and marveled atthe sense of community I found. I was alreadyaware of a few SCRABBLE® blogs inexistence, but tracking them was difficult andtedious. So on returning from Dayton, I set towork creating a database of knownSCRABBLE® bloggers to give people a centralplace to go for that information. Thus, "thebadqoph directory" was born.Once I had a rudimentary form to the site, Iresponded to a post on CGP asking for similarinformation, and more information came out ofthe woodwork. Two big contributors wereSteven Alexander and Thomas Conrad, whoboth had small databases that they allowed meto incorporate into mine. As time passed, Iincluded a system of rating blogs (sinceremoved, pending addition of a public ratingsystem), and added WESPA ratings,international players' blogs, and communityblogs such as that of the West Virginia areaSCRABBLE® club(s).These blogs impact the SCRABBLE®community by enabling people to voice theiropinions and have their peers respond in kind.On the negative side, the blogs can be a bitcliquish and esoteric. Some of the moreinteresting information is only available if you'reon the “Friends” list of the person who startsthe conversation, making the blogs a bitgossipy. Still, the forum is refreshing, as thediscussions there are usually civil, and repletewith depth rarely found elsewhere.Some top SCRABBLE® players keep blogsthat are of note. Since June of 2007 DaveWiegand has done "The Windage Report,"which chronicles all of his tournament games,one a day, most every day. Kenji Matsumotoused to have a blog discussing variousadvanced theories and musings about thegame, but he’s since replaced it with "Kenji vs.Quackle", an ongoing series of games whereKenji plays the Quackle computer program andcomments on certain positions. Also of note is 85

S C R A B B L E R E S O U R C E SJoe Bihlmeyer's blog, “HeyLimberJoe,” which isone of the most widely respected in thecommunity. He used to post almost daily,chronicling his Aerolith misses and yogaexperiences, and philosophizing about both.He's posted less recently, and is concentratingmore on topical and comedic video blogs aboutSCRABBLE®, much in the way Clifford Stollused to discuss the Internet in its early days onthe MSNBC news magazine "The Site" in themid-90s (see “Video Joe”).This month’s blog postings have focused in largepart on “This Year in SCRABBLE®,” the mainimpetus for this being Brian Bowman’s reflectionson SCRABBLE®‘s impact on his life afterreturning from the WSC, and Joey Mallick’sresponse in kind. Other participants’ blogs haverundowns on the highlights and lowlights of theiryear in tournament play, including interestinganecdotes that reflect the heart of theSCRABBLE® community and illustrate whatmakes playing on the tournament circuit sorewarding.Also of note is the idea of a “SCRABBLE® IQTest,” first proposed by Joey Mallick and thenfleshed out by Ben Schoenbrun in the form of the"50 Racks Scrabble Meme." SCRABBLE®players of all skill levels are invited to play alongand share their results as a valuable learningexperience. Says Mallick, "I know there is moreto SCRABBLE® than opening racks, but if you'regood at those, the other aspects of the gameshouldn't be too hard to fix up."Visiting a blog can give you a look at how playersof many different skill levels are thinking aboutSCRABBLE® and their games. You’ll find adepth of analysis that’s often startling--and get abetter understanding of SCRABBLE® and itsmany nuances.Ryan Fischer will be writing a monthly column oninteresting SCRABBLE® blog discussions.LiveJournal bloggers who are interested inhaving their blogs considered are encouraged tobefriend “badqoph.” (Private posts will not bereprinted.)Ryan Fischer graduated from the University ofNorth Carolina in 2005 with a degree incommunications studies and a minor in creativewriting. He is a NASPA player and director, amajor force, with John Luebkemann and SherrieSaint John, behind the Eastern Championshipsin Charlotte, NC, where he now lives. Herecently completed a documentary on chaosmagick, and he is working on a television pilotabout ballroom dancing.OTHER SCRABBLE®RESOURCE LINKSPlay SCRABBLE® On LinePOGO SCRABBLE®The official SCRABBLE® online game. Createdunder agreement with Hasbro in 2008.SCRABBLE® ON FACEBOOKSelect the SCRABBLE® application on theFacebook home page to play the officialSCRABBLE® game. Various groups holdtournaments at this site, including a group called“Mad Scrabblers”.INTERNET SCRABBLE® CLUBA Romanian-based site and application forinteractive games. A favorite site for many of thetop players.Play Live SCRABBLE®CROSS-TABLESLists all upcoming tournaments, as well asresults of past tournaments. Has SCRABBLE®tournament aides.NASPA CLUB LISTINGSLists clubs throughout North America with theirmeeting times and locations.NSA CLUB LISTINGS86

Lists casual clubs throughout North Americawith their meeting times and locations.Free Anagramming/Practice ToolsJUMBLETIMEA web site for practicing anagramming skills.MAC USERS: After you do a Jumbletime quizon a Mac, the scroll bar to view the results ismissing. To make it appear, go to the lowerright corner and grab the striped triangle andshrink the window all the way to the top leftcorner. When you pull it back, the scroll bar tothe right of the answers to the quiz (magically)appears. (Make sure you do this before youcheck your score against other players.) Also,before running a quiz, you might want to firstpress Control and scroll with the mouse toenlarge the screen so that you can more easilyview the jumbles. Once you finish playing,scroll the screen back to its original size.(Thanks to Larry Rand and Monique Kornell.)AEROLITHA free application for practicing anagrammingskills and learning words.QUACKLEA free application for playing, simulating, andanalyzing games.ZYZZYVAA free application for practicing anagrammingskills and learning words. Also has Word Judgecapabilities.SCRABBLE® DICTIONARYType a word to check for acceptability. OSPD4words.S C R A B B L E R E S O U R C E SA free vocabulary testing site. For everycorrect word, grains of rice are donated throughthe United Nations World Food Program. Feedhungry people as you expand your vocabulary!Online SCRABBLE® DiscussionGroupsCGP (crossword-gamespro@yahoogroups.com)This group, for tournament players anddirectors only, has the largest membership ofany online tournament SCRABBLE®discussion group. Most important events andchanges in the SCRABBLE® world arediscussed on cgp. Admission is by approvalonly. Details can be found in the NASPATournament SCRABBLE® Newsletter #1.OSPD (ospdscrabble@yahoogroups.com)This group, dedicated to players using TheOfficial SCRABBLE® Players’ Dictionary,offers light-hearted humor, daily word lists, andmore. Admission is to all SCRABBLE® lovers.Details can be found in the NASPATournament SCRABBLE® Newsletter #1.SCRABBLE® BlogsTHE BADQOPH DIRECTORYThis is a database of blogs by knownSCRABBLE® bloggers, primarily tournamentplayers. As of December 15 there were 193blogs in the directory..CLICK HERE TO HELP END WORDHUNGER AS YOU LEARN WORDS 87

T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A RTournament CalendarThe most accurate tournament information is posted on the NASPA Calendar, which includes allregular sanctioned tournaments to date. Additional tournament information is posted at crosstables.com,which often includes tournaments not on the NASPA Calendar: Local ClubTournaments (LCTs), School SCRABBLE® Tournaments, and special invitational and/or unratedtournaments. Cross-tables.com also provides for most tournaments a list of participants, bothconfirmed and tentative, with their ratings. Many unrated fundraiser tournaments and SchoolSCRABBLE® tournaments can be found on the NSA website. Additional international tournamentscan be found on the WESPA calendar. (Past tournament flyers will be removed from archives.)JANUARY TOURNAMENTSAlbany, NY: 12/29-1/3Laguna Woods, CA: 1/3Berkeley, CA (NAST): 1/9Dallas, TX: 1/9-10Flint, MI: 1/9-10Regina, SK CAN: 1/9Tampa, FL: 1/9Berkeley, CA: 1/10Guelph, ON CAN: 1/10Rhinebeck, NY: 1/10Brandon, MS: 1/15-16Reno, NV: 1/15-18Bayside, NY: 1/16Bryan, TX: 1/16-18Twin Cities Redeye, MN: 1/16-17South American Cruise: 1/17-31Ft. Lauderdale, FL: 1/23Hudson, OH: 1/23-24Seattle, WA: 1/23Tucson, AZ: 1/23Winnipeg, MB CAN: 1/23Mountain View, CA: 1/24Atlantic City, NJ: 1/30-2/1Calgary, AB CA: 1/30-31La Grange Park, IL: 1/30Kissimmee, FL: 1/30-31Stanton, CA: 1/31WESTLaguna Woods, CA: 1/3Berkeley, CA: 1/9Berkeley, CA: 1/10Seattle, WA: 1/23Moutain View, CA: 1/24Stanton, CA: 1/31MIDWESTFlint, MI: 1/9Twin CitiesRedeye, MN 1/16-17Hudson, OH: 1/23-24NORTHEASTAlbany, NY 12/29-1/3Rhinebeck, NY 1/10Bayside, NY: 1/16Atlantic City, NJ: 1/30-2/1SOUTHTampa, FL: 1/9Brandon, MS: 1/15-16Ft. Lauderdale, FL: 1/23Kissimmee, FL: 1/30-31SOUTHWESTDallas, TX: 1/9-10Reno, NV: 1/15-18Bryan, TX: 1/16-18Tucson, AZ: 1/23CANADARegina, SK CAN: 1/9Guelph, ON: 1/10Winnepeg, MB: 1/2388

FEBRUARY TOURNAMENTSTexas State Championship (Restricted)2/5-7Berkeley CA (NAST Final) 2/6T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A RGreater Des Moines (Johnston) IA 2/6-7Seven Hills OH 2/6Berkeley CA 2/7Laguna Woods CA 2/7Rhinebeck NY 2/7Eastern Championships NC 2/12-15Phoenix AZ 2/12-15Bayside NY 2/13Ft. Lauderdale FL 2/13Tampa FL 2/13Edmonton AB CAN 2/20Pittsburgh PA 2/20Guelph ON CAN 2/21Mountain View CA 2/21Saratoga Springs NY 2/26-28Dallas TX 2/27Ft. Lauderdale FL 2/27Indianapolis IN 2/27Lakewood Ranch FL 2/27WESTBerkeley CA (NAST Final) 2/6Berkeley CA 2/7Laguna Woods CA 2/7Mountain View CA 2/21MIDWESTGreater Des Moines IA 2/6-7Seven Hills OH 2/6Indianapolis IN 2/27Warren MI 2/27-28NORTHEASTRhinebeck NY 2/7Bayside NY 2/13Pittsburgh PA 2/20Saratoga Springs NY 2/26-27Philadelphia PA 2/28SOUTHEastern Championships NC 2/12-15Ft. Lauderdale FL 2/13Tampa FL 2/13Ft. Lauderdale FL 2/27Lakewood Ranch FL 2/27SOUTHWESTTexas State Championship 2/5-7Phoenix AZ 2/12-15CANADAEdmonton AB 2/20Guelph ON 2/21Warren MI 2/27-28Philadelphia PA 2/28 89

A R C H I V E SArchivesTo access previous issues of The Last Word click the links below.Issue 1: November 2009Issue 2: December 200990