May 2010 - The Last Word Newsletter

Transcription

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The Last Word
The Independent Tournament SCRABBLE® Newsletter
A Monthly Newsletter
Issue 7 - May 2010
App Reviews
Scrabble, The Art!
Player Profiles
School SCRABBLE® Nationals
The Last Word is an independent publication for tournament SCRABBLE® players. It is not
affiliated with Hasbro, Mattel, the North American SCRABBLE® Players Association (NASPA),
the Word Game Players Organization (WGPO), or the National SCRABBLE® Association (NSA).
Our mission is to provide content of interest to all SCRABBLE® players, so please let us know if
there are topics you would like us to add. We welcome contributions: stories, artwork, etc.
For the time being, we are hoping to provide this Newsletter at no charge; however, since it is a
100% volunteer effort, we would appreciate any donations. Advertisers are encouraged, too. If
you would like to have The Last Word emailed to you, please send a request with your email
address to [email protected] and we will add you to our mailing list.
Editor in Chief: Cornelia Guest
Columnists: Joe Bihlmeyer, Cheryl Cadieux, Jan Dixon, Diane Firstman, Ryan Fischer,
Stu Goldman, Jeff Kastner, James Leong, Katya Lezin, Art Moore, Ember Nelson,
Juraj Pivovarov, Larry Sherman, Chris Sinacola, Siri Tillekeratne, Linda Wancel
Editors-at-large: Robin Pollock Daniel, Joe Edley, Stefan Fatsis, Ted Gest
Contributors: Brian Bailey, Beth Bolduc, Carolyn Boyd, Jeremy Cahnmann, Don
Carson, César Del Solar, Carole Denton, Carol Dustin, Becky Dyer, Wes Eddings,
James Ferguson, Glenn Filzer, Mady Garner, Kevin Gauthier, Cynthia Guest, Jennifer
Hodges, Marie Irvine, Carol Johnsen, Sam Kantimathi, Jim Keifer, Mary Krizan, Rich
Lauder, Evan McCarthy, Andrea Carla Michaels, Sharon Moser, Mark Peltier, Larry
Rand, David Reed, Becky Remy, Mary Rhoades, Matthew Ridout, Bradley Robbins,
Phil Robbins, Sherrie Saint John, Weera Saengsit, Ann Sanfedele, Debbie Scholz,
Colleen Shea, Rebecca Slivka, Bill Snoddy, Universal Orlando Resort, Barbara Van
Alen, Mike Wolfberg, Ed Zurav
The Last Word is a volunteer
effort. We appreciate your
donations.
(PayPal or snail mail--contact
[email protected])
For advertising rates,
please email
[email protected]
Copyright © 2010 GuessWhat! Some data copyright ©1999-2010 NSA; copyright © 2010 NASPA; and copyright © 2005-2010 Seth Lipkin and Keith Smith.
SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark of Hasbro, Inc.in the USA and Canada. Elsewhere it is the trademark of J.W. Spear & Sons, Ltd.
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Table of Contents
From the Editor 4
Meet Our Columnists: Siri Tillekeratne 5
Tournament News
Ashland Collins Tournament by Wes Eddings 6
National School SCRABBLE® Championship 7
Rockville Tournament by Ted Gest and Carole Denton 12
Sunday Open Stu Tournament (Berkeley) by Andrea Carla Michaels 13
Panama Canal Cruise by Larry Rand 15
The Wasatch SCRABBLE® Scramble by Marie Irvine 21
Tournament Results 22
New Faces 24
Know the Rules by Jan Dixon 27
Diane’s Defalts by Diane Firstman 28
App Review: Words with Friends by Cynthia Guest 29
Linda’s Library by Linda Wancel 30
Historic Moments: SCRABBLE® Throughout the Years by Stu Goldman 32
Video Joe by Joe Bihlmeyer 34
Scrabble, The Art! by Cornelia Guest 34
Play the Game: Game Analysis Notes by Joe Edley 36
Player Profile: Kevin Gauthier by Katya Lezin 39
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Word Trivia Quiz by Siri Tillekeratne 41
Coaching a School SCRABBLE® Legacy by Sharon Moser 43
The Lighter Side of SCRABBLE® by Rich Lauder 46
The Wordsmith by Chris Sinacola 48
Badqoph Blog Talk by Ryan Fischer 50
Find the Best Play 51
Stell’s Racks of Mirth by Cheryl L. Cadieux 55
Club News Edited by Larry Sherman 56
Word Star by Jeff Kastner 60
The Art of Strategy by Art Moore 63
Equipment Roundup: Tile Bags 64
SCRABBLE® in the News 67
National School SCRABBLE® Champions on TV 70
Q & A with Bradley Robbins 71
Passages Edited by Larry Sherman 74
SCRABBLE® Resources 82
Tournament Calendar 79
Archives 84
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From the Editor
As I was finalizing stories for this issue I received the very sad news that Rita Norr Provost, an
amazing SCRABBLE® player and a personal friend, had died after her long struggle with brain
cancer. Player after player has posted memories of Rita on cgp, and it is clear that Rita was an
inspiration and good friend to SCRABBLE® players throughout the world. The only woman to have
ever won the National SCRABBLE® Championship, in 1987, Rita set the bar for all women playing
SCRABBLE®. But what I appreciated most was her friendship and encouragement.
I first met Rita at the Ridgefield CT SCRABBLE® Club, where she was the director. She watched
me play a few games, then generously offered to help me out. We played many games at my
house and hers, and I enjoyed her friendship. In 2005 I attended her wedding to Rick Provost, and
Rita looked amazingly beautiful and happy. It was only a few months later that she was diagnosed
with brain cancer, and I remember her frustration as the disease and the chemotherapy made it
difficult for her to play well, and, eventually, to play at all.
Rita was a terrific role model at the Ridgefield Club, impressing us all with the brass plaque on her
board: Rita Norr, National Scrabble Champ, 1987. She encouraged new players, and she was great
fun to play with when there was an odd number and we played pairs. I’ll never forget her watching
me playing a game and looking askance at a play I’d made. “You don’t think that was a good play?”
I asked her. “Let’s just say,” she responded, “I don’t think Joel Sherman would have made that
play.”
Though she had a great sense of humor, Rita was fiercely competitive. She pointed out to me the
difficulties she’d faced as a young mother playing in tournaments, writing books, and trying to stay
at the top of her game with so much on her plate. She was tough to play; just when you thought
you’d beaten her she would bingo out with an amazing find. I remember laughing once when she
suggested, “I probably would have saved that U--the Q’s still in the bag and you might have been
able to play AQUATONE.” She knew more words than any player I’d ever known. I remember her
calling me over to see a game she’d won against Joel Sherman at Sheldon, and I marveled at the
multiple bingos on the board. It was the first time I’d seen ALIQUOT played.
For all women playing SCRABBLE®, Rita leaves an inspirational legacy. Yes, you can play with the
big boys--and win. Yes, you can be a mother, a wife, and a top tournament player. You can be
smart and beautiful and funny--and play a serious game of SCRABBLE®. You can be whatever you
set your heart and determination to be.
I was priviledged to have had Rita Norr Provost as a mentor and friend, and I’m so very sorry that
she had the sad fate not to live a full lifetime. She certainly lived to the full the lifetime she had.
Cornelia Guest
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Meet Our Columnists
The Last Word would not be what it is without our terrific columnists. This month’s featured columnist is Siri
Tillekeratne, from Calgary, Alberta, author of “Word Trivia Quiz.” (Photo credit: Larry Rand)
SIRI TILLEKERATNE
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING SCRABBLE®?
My very first game was at the end of 1975, just after we moved to St.
John's, Newfoundland, Canada.
HOW DID YOU DISCOVER THE GAME?
My late wife Sriya, who had played SCRABBLE® with a friend in
England just before we left there suggested that I try it out as a
remedy for cabin fever caused by the long, cold, bleak
Newfoundland winters. A few moves into the very first game with her
(on a folding cardboard board, no clock, no dictionary) I was totally
hooked. The rest, as they say, is history.
WHAT FASCINATES YOU ABOUT SCRABBLE®?
At the game level, it's a combination of word knowledge, analytical thinking, cunning and a bit of luck. Even
more importantly, at the human level, you meet an incredibly interesting and varied group of people, many of
whom have become, in my case, true and close friends over the years. Also, I play in up to 25 tournaments
every year, mostly in the U.S., and SCRABBLE® has given me an opportunity to travel widely. In the past
couple of years I have done four SCRABBLE® cruises and have signed up for two more next year, giving me
a chance to go to various parts of the world where I may otherwise not have traveled.
WHAT IS YOUR MOST PROUD ACHIEVEMENT IN SCRABBLE®?
Undoubtedly it's the Calgary SCRABBLE® Club, which Sriya and I developed in 1982. It has grown to be one
of the premier clubs in North America, with over 100 members born in some 20 countries, meeting three
times a week. When we first started, an attendance of six (every two weeks) was considered a crowd!
We held our first tournament in 1984 with eight players, five rounds. Now we have seven tournaments per
year. Our Big One, the Western Canadian Championship every October (now in its 15th year) is one of the
biggest on the continent, with a total of 37 rounds over 5 days, attracting up to 128 players from all over
North America. Its initial success enabled me to be selected the 1996 NSA Director of the Year.
WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO NEWCOMERS TO SCRABBLE®?
SCRABBLE® is like anything else in life: The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. Study hard
(there are several excellent books, word lists and computer programs available) and play lots of games,
especially against players who are better than you. Don't be afraid to lose to them. That’s the only way to
improve. Discuss with them their strategies and study methods and how you can get better.
Most importantly, never be discouraged. SCRABBLE® is a School of Hard Knocks. In the 1990 West Coast
Championship in Reno, I went 0 -18, setting a new record for Division 1. Although I was temporarily
humiliated, it's the best thing that happened to me in SCRABBLE®. I analyzed all the mistakes I made, and
with the help of a couple of top experts, bounced back.
Also, never complain about poor tiles. We all draw poorly, and we all draw well. In the long run it all evens
out. To paraphrase JFK, "Ask not what your tiles can do for you. Ask what you can do with your tiles."
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The 2nd West Coast World Championship Wordlist
Challenge
by Wes Eddings
Twenty players came to Ashland, Oregon in March for the
Second West Coast World Championship Wordlist
Challenge. It was the "World Championship Wordlist"
Challenge because we used Collins SCRABBLE® Words,
the lexicon used in the World SCRABBLE® Championship
and in most English-language tournaments worldwide. The
Collins dictionary is about 30% larger than our dictionary
(the OWL2, so there are many new words you can play, and
more opportunities to hook the words you already know.
The twenty players included a former National Champion, a
former National runner-up, two other players ranked in the
North American top twenty, several players from outside the U.S., and several players playing in
their first Collins tournament. And they saw a thrilling finish: With one round to go, the top five
players had the same record!
Round 15 Standings
Geoff Thevenot 10/5 +729
Dave Wiegand 10/5 +640
Carl Johnson 10/5 +590
Travis Chaney 10/5 +462
Sam Kantimathi 10/5 +145
Nick Ball 9/6 +689
In Round 16 Geoff was paired with Dave, Carl with Travis,
and Sam with Nick. Dave defeated Geoff 567-360 (a
"pretty easy" game, Dave admitted) and gained enough
spread to claim the $1000 first-place prize, his second
tournament win in as many weeks. Travis and Nick won
their games to finish second and third. Paul Sidorsky
claimed the class prize by one spread point at 8/8 +50.
Australian globetrotters Carol Johnsen (L)
and Norma Fisher (R) with Travis Chaney,
the tournament organizer.
The tournament took place at the historic Ashland Springs Hotel in Ashland, a small town in the
beautiful Rogue River Valley of southern Oregon. The hotel, playing room, town, and scenery were
acclaimed by all. A few townspeople came in to observe, and I as tournament director did a short
interview with KDRV Channel 12, the ABC affiliate in nearby Medford.
Travis Chaney, the organizer, is already planning next year's third-annual event. We saw an
increase from six players to twenty this year and are hoping for an even bigger turnout next year!
Wes Eddings works as a statistician in College Station, TX and directed his first tournament in 2006.
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8th Annual National School SCRABBLE® Championship
This year the National SCRABBLE® Association
decided to move their annual School
SCRABBLE® Nationals from the Northeast
(previous Nationals had been based in Boston and
Providence). The site they chose—Orlando—was
a huge hit among the 5th-8th grader players: The
Universal Theme Park was a short walk or boat
ride from the tournament venue, the Loews Royal
Pacific Resort. For those not up for a visit to one
of the most entertaining theme parks in America,
the hotel had a lovely pool, where you could also
order meals.
The annual “ice cream social” took on a tropical
theme as well, and visitors were given leis as they
Courtesy Universal Orlando Resort © 2010 All rights reserved.
entered. Those not playing the many games set out
enjoyed sitting by a fire and chatting about SCRABBLE®. Attendees were encouraged to wear
Hawaiian shirts—with a prize offered only to those so dressed.
The tournament numbers were somewhat down: 95 teams from 20 states and Canada (for the first
time) competed for the $10,000 first prize. Perhaps the high expense of such a trip in the troubled
economy was responsible, or maybe it was harder for players to miss school on the tournament
dates, which were earlier this year and fell right between most schools’ spring breaks.
But while there may have been fewer teams competing, coaches agreed that the competition level
had never been higher. A large number of games boasted at least one bingo, and many games had
scores in the 400s, with top scores in the 500s. It is testimony to the strength of the teams that
none of the players from last year’s semifinals made it to the top ten this year. Attention coaches:
There are many, many good School SCRABBLE® teams today—time to study that much harder!
For the first time in many years, the highest ranked
player, Bradley Robbins (1519 at the time of the
tournament), was the co-champion with his
teammate, Evan McCarthy. The boys, 7th graders at
Windham Middle School in Windham, NH, billed
themselves as the “Windham Whiptails.” They were
coached by Phil Robbins, Bradley’s father.
However, it wasn’t an easy route to the championship
for the Windham Whiptails. The Randolph (NC)
Middle School team of 8th grader Hannah Lieberman
and her 5th-grade sister Eliza, beat the Windham
team by 24 points in Round 2—a big upset. There
was still a chance that Windham could make it to the
finals with a 5-1 record, but it seemed unlikely.
The winning team: Bradley Robbins and Evan
McCarthy of the Windham Whiptails (NH).
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But Bradley and Evan were not daunted by that loss. They
continued playing to win, and their record paired them against
teams that had also had a loss: Janney Elementary Team 1,
Bay Shore MS/Somer IS, and Hampton Bays MS. The
Windham Whiptails’ big wins against these teams--+160, +209,
and +165—gave them the spread they needed to make it to the
semifinals, where they faced 3 teams who had not had a loss:
Bay Shore MS/Albert Leonard MS (NY), Ridgefield Library
Team 1 (CT), and New West Charter School (CA).
Former School SCRABBLE® players
Noah Lieberman and Joey Krafchick
were the official annotators for Table 1.
In the semifinals the Windham Whiptails were matched with the
New West Charter team of Tristan Vanech and Ruben
Radlauer, coached by Tristan’s father, Bob Vanech. This was a
true test of champions, as Tristan and Ruben have both played
very successfully in adult tournaments, and as a team they
finished 7th in the 2009 NSSC. To make it to the finals, Bradley
and Evan needed not just to win, but also to win by enough
points to have a higher spread than the New West Charter
team.
The game could not have been more dramatic. Down 89 points,
with no tiles left in the bag and ERR on Windham’s rack, New
West Charter needed a bingo to win. They played iDOLATE*,
hooking the D to MU, and it appeared the game was over. The Windham team showed the
California team their tiles in resignation, then suddenly realized that they had a free challenge of the
outplay. Too, late, the New West Charter team
argued. Ben Greenwood, the tournament director,
was called to the table. After 20 minutes of
deliberation, it was officially ruled that Windham could
challenge—and that showing their tiles did not, in
fact, rob them of the right to challenge the final
outplay within 20 seconds. The two teams walked to
the Word Judge, and IDOLATE* was ruled
unacceptable. Windham ended up as the winner—
with enough point spread to make it to the finals over
New West Charter. Sadly, the California team missed
two bingos after the challenge—TOtALED and
TADpOLE—which would have taken them to the
finals. (NOTE: School SCRABBLE® rules and
NASPA rules are different, so do not consider this
Eighth graders Tristan Vanech and Ruben
ruling a precedent for NASPA games.) Go to http://
Radlauer of the New West Charter School in Los
www.scrabble-assoc.com/cgi-bin/showgcg.pl?
Angeles, CA had a tough loss in the semifinals to
finish 4th. The boys also won prizes for their
id=nssc2010/6;turn=index to play the game.
In the other semifinals game, 8th graders Jacob Litt
and Stephen Alt from Ridgefield, CT, faced 8th grader
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excellent sportsmanship and for the highest game
by an 8th grade team: 520. Also in the photo are
(L-R) Hasbro’s Phil Jackson; NSA Executive
Director John D. Williams, Jr.; and Ben
Greenwood, Director of the 2010 NSSC.
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Tim Bryant from Bay Shore, NY, and 7th grader Kevin Rosenberg from New Rochelle, NY. The two
teams had played each other just two weeks earlier, at the New England School SCRABBLE®
Championship, and both teams shared a coach, Cornelia
Guest, with the Bay Shore/Albert Leonard team also being
coached by Susan Goldstein, Tim Bryant’s teacher and
the longtime coach for the successful Bay Shore School
SCRABBLE® Program (see the March issue of The Last
Word). The Ridgefield team suffered a tough loss in the
game, (432-304) moving them down to 7th place in the
rankings. The Bay Shore/Albert Leonard team moved on
to the finals with a 6-0 +429 record, heading into the
championship game as the only undefeated team at the
tournament.
The finals was an exciting event, with all the other players
and coaches gathered in a viewing room to see the
deciding game on a large screen. Stefan Fatsis did a
superb job as commentator. This final game (http://
www.scrabble-assoc.com/cgi-bin/showgcg.pl?
id=nssc2010/7;turn=0) demonstrated good strategy rather
than strong word knowledge. The Bay Shore/Albert
Leonard team opened with WOUL*, which was challenged
off. Two plays later Windham had FONDLES on their
rack, but instead played FONDELS*, which was also
challenged off. Bay Shore/Albert Leonard soon had ?
AORSTU on their rack, but missed several bingos and
played OUTS. While this paid off for them (they played
the game’s only bingo, PIRATES, hooking the P to
OUTS), they then played the phony ENASION*, which
was challenged off, and found themselves fishing for
another bingo as Windham racked up points with small
plays and kept the board closed. After play 30, the Bay
Shore/Albert Leonard team held EINORST on their rack—
with nowhere to play the four possible bingos. The final
score was Windham 395, Bay Shore/Albert Leonard 321.
The Windham team showed the importance of good
strategy: Their closing of the board won the tournament
for them.
The Windham Whiptails won $10,000, plus they appeared
on Good Morning America (where the boys defeated
George Stephanopoulos & Robin Roberts http://
abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/playing-scrabblechampions-10382170) and Jimmy Kimmel Live! (where
they were the first NSSC champions to defeat Kimmel!)
Amazingly, Bradley Robbins still found time to play April
16-17 at the Boston Area Tournament (BAT), where he
finished 4th in Division 2 with a 10-5 record.
The Bay Shore MS/Albert Leonard MS team
of Kevin Rosenberg (7th grade) and Tim
Bryant (8th grade) wait for their opponents to
join them for the finals. Noah Lieberman
officiates.
The winning Windham Whiptails, Bradley
Robbins and Evan McCarthy, pose for the
camera with their coach, Phil Robbins
(Bradley’s father). Hasbro’s Phil Jackson
and John D. Williams, Jr. of the NSA join
them for the photo.
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Complete Results Follow:
1. Windham Whiptails (NH): Bradley Robbins (7th) & Evan McCarthy (7th) 6-1 +777
2. Bay Shore MS/Albert Leonard MS (NY): Tim Bryant (8th) & Kevin Rosenberg (7th) 6-1 +346
3. DC School SCRABBLE® (DC): Lily Gasperetti (8th) & Charlie Williamson (7th) 5-1 +561
4. New West Charter School (CA): Tristan Vanech (8th) & Ruben Radlauer (8th) 5-1 +559
5. The Sage School (MA): Zachary Polansky (7th) & Bary Lisak (7th) 5-1 +408
6. Smith Middle School Team 2 (NC): Edward Zhuang (6th) & Jeffrey He (6th) 5-1 +408
7. Ridgefield Library Team 1 (CT): Jacob Litt (8th) & Stephen Alt (8th) 5-1 +343
8. Wheatley School (NY): Suril Butala (8th) & Aakash Jhaveri (8th) 5-1 +253
9. Lexington MA SCRABBLE® Club #108 (MA): Aron Klopper (8th) & Mohini Vembusubramanian
(8th) 5-1 +243
10. Ridgefield Library Team 3 (CT): Amy Rowland (7th) & Kell Pogue (7th) 5-1 +193
HIGH PLAY: Toronto SCRABBLE® Champions, Jackson Smylie (7th) & Alex Li (7th): WIELDERS,
176
GRADE 8 HIGH GAME: New West Charter School (CA): Tristan Vanech & Ruben Radlauer: 520
GRADE 7 HIGH GAME: Glenfield Middle School (NJ): Paolo Federico-Omurch & Conor McGeehan:
533
GRADE 6 HIGH GAME: Smith Middle School Team 1 (NC): Liam Hopfensperger & Amalan Iyengar:
523
GRADE 5 HIGH GAME: Seawell Elementary School Team 1 (NC): Raymond Gao & Kevin
Bowerman: 503
MIXED GRADE HIGH GAME: Randolph Middle School Team 1 (NC): Hannah Lieberman (8th) &
Eliza Leiberman (5th): 504
SPORTSMANSHIP: New West Charter School (CA): Tristan Vanech (8th) & Ruben Radlauer (8th)
Complete coverage of the 2010 is at http://www.scrabble-assoc.com/tourneys/2010/nssc/build/
index.html
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The Ridgefield
Library teams won
the most games at
the 2010 NSSC of
any School
SCRABBLE®
program. (L-R) Noah
Turner & Devin
Gund; Jacob Litt &
Stephen Alt; Jerray
Chang (Somers MS)
& Stephen Winston;
and Kell Pogue &
Amy Rowland. The
teams were coached
by Cornelia Guest
and two-time NSSC
Champion Matthew
Silver.
Sixth-grader Sam Heinrich, dictionary in hand,
and his father, Ted. Sam and his partner, 6th
grader Martin Nayeri, represented the Carlisle
Public School (MA) and finished 15th with a 4-2
+529 record. Their two narrow losses were by -7
and -13. What a difference 20 points can make!
Suril Butala of the Wheatley School (NY) stands
to examine the board as his partner, Aakash
Jhaveri, writes down the final score: 364-306 for
Wheatley over the Uplands Elementary School
Marines (OR) team. Wheatley finished 8th in the
tournament with a 5-1 +253 record.
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Rockville Springtime SCRABBLE® Tournament
by Ted Gest and Carole Denton with photographs by Brian Bailey
NASPA SCRABBLE® Club 171 in Washington, D.C.,
welcomed 77 East Coast players to its second springtime
tournament April 10-11 in the Washington suburb of
Rockville, Md. The venue again was the beautiful VisArts
Center overlooking the downtown square.
The peripatetic Winter arrived as the highest-rated player,
but a Division A victory was hardly assured on the
tournament’s first day, when Brad Whitmarsh of Attleboro,
Ma., went 8-0 while Winter’s record was 5-3. Things
changed on the second day, when Whitmarsh started with
a loss to Vince Castellano of northern Virginia and then tied
Castellano at 398 two games later. Winter beat Whitmarsh
in the tourney’s last two games to win the division with an
11-3 record.
In Division B, Jeff Jacobson of Philadelphia entered just a
few days before the tournament, and got off to a good start
by winning his first six. He then picked up five of the next
eight for a division-winning 11-3 mark. In Division C, Rose
Noel of Springdale, Md., also was a late entry, and she
finished with 10 wins and a tie to edge out 10-4 Gwen
Stewart of Ellicott City, Md.
Club 171 member Aaron Gilary of northern Virginia won
Division D in his first tournament, compiling an 11-3
mark, one game better than Peter Allen of
Charlottesville, Va.
The high game award for the tournament went to Brad
Whitmarsh with 609. Ronnie Thomas of Bethesda, Md.,
had the high word, PIROQUES for 212.
Tournament co-directors Carole Denton and Ted
Gest with Winter, winner of Division A.
Given our location, we usually give a prize for a political
word. This spring’s contest was for the best word related
to the health care policy debate. There were many good
entries, including Elston Wisseh’s INSURES, Greg
Werner’s PUDGIEST, and Dan Milton’s WORDIEST, but
we thought that DISUNITY by Joanne Cohen of Owings
Mills, Md., summed it all up, so she got the award.
Ted Gest and Carole Denton co-directed the Rockville Tournament. Gest also is co-direcor of
NASPA Washington D.C. SCRABBLE® Club #171 and an editor-at-large with The Last Word.
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Stu’s 80th Birthday SOS (Sunday Open Stu)
by Andrea Carla Michaels
We had the biggest turnout (ever?) on April 25th for a Sunday in Berkeley that wasn't a regular
weekend tournament, which I think speaks well of the Northern California SCRABBLE® community,
all to honor Stu Goldman, (whose actual 80th birthday was the following day), so I think we can
finally put to rest Stefan's characterizing us as the most dysfunctional club in the country!
It was really fun to honor Stu and everyone chipped in. I may have gotten the ball rolling with
getting everyone to sign a card and alerting the media, but there would have been NO tournament
without Ed de Guzman...who pulled the whole thing together and then didn't even get to play (as 35
would have thrown the pairings way off).
Ed also figured out prize distribution, got everything up and running smoothly (with assistance from
xp), and had lots of categories including xp morgan's High Play: COAGENTS for 140! Jerry
Lerman's High Game 597! and Emely Weissman's high loss 432.
There was a high S-T-U award that John Karris won with PUTZES...suitably in the final game
against STU himself! (Other STU words included FAUVIST, JUSTER, JUTS, DUSTERS,
MUSTIER, OUTRIDES and CUTLINES)
John Wiley won the High JKQZ word with the 109pt CAPSIZE.
What was really fun was that Marilyn Gage, party hostess extraordinaire, had hundreds of small
gifts, from chocolate GOLDMAN coins, to party-favor food, and even four cans of OPEN STEW that
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Stu awarded to t the winners of words that were about STEW. Marilyn literally provided everything
from SOUP to NUTS! She even got us to sing.
The cans of soup went to Mary Aline Stevens who had TANGIER for 71; me--I had GRISTLE
(against Stu himself, had it been GRIZZLED I would have won a separate Stu prize!) for 66; and
Jeannie Wilson, who had my favorite: GASSIER for 63!
And let's talk cake! Emely Weissman brought everything to make this truly a birthday party (she
even schlepped Stu himself back and forth to the City with his close pals Shirley and Dee Whalen,
who have known him forever and admired the festivities from afar!)
I will send pictures when they are developed, but the cake was beautiful, with the 5280 tournament
games Stu has played! Emely even had festive stickers to adorn the scorecards...that were a
combo of cupcakes, and in Stu's honor...dinosaurs!!!! (I'm still chuckling over that one!) We had no
advance registration and didn't know what to expect, but magically there was enough cake to go
around, sort of like Jesus at Cana, when Stu was a young boy...
And the coup de grace was a custom-made T-shirt, designed by the inimitable Joan Mocine, who
got it there in time. The design, pictured at the top of this write-up, says "80 and still Mowin' ‘em
Down." I'm sure many of you will have a chance to see it for years and years to come!
Stu took it all in happily (I hope!) and I refrained from making Goldman Sachs slippage in fortunes/
Stu Goldman Slacks slippage in...um...nevermind! jokes.
Literally a good time was had by all...although, as Larry Rand pointed out, I suppose we could have
let Stu win more than half his games. (Ironically my outplay was GROUSInG, catching him with an F
on his rack; we had to have a 2 pt recount!)
ANYWAY, 80 and still being at the top of his game is no mean feat...and we are proud that he is the
founder of our whole community out here!
A former stand-up comic and writer for "Designing Women", Andrea Carla Michaels now lives in San
Francisco where she names companies and products. She creates crosswords for the NY Times
and has been playing tournament SCRABBLE® for over 20 years. She occasionally teaches twohour seminars for relative newbies on how to improve your game and play in tournaments.
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Panama Canal Cruise
by Larry Rand
Larry Rand and Barbara Van Alen took a group of 27, including 15 tournament SCRABBLE®
players, on a two-week cruise through the Panama Canal. While they traveled, they played a 35game SCRABBLE® tournament.
Sunday, April 12
Our group left from San Diego, CA, on the Celebrity Infinity. Among the group were five Canadians
and one guest who hailed all the way from Australia. We were officially welcomed aboard at party
that evening in the Constellation Lounge.
Monday, April 12
This was the first day of our SCRABBLE® tournament. We played 5 games on each of the 7 days
at sea, and before the tournament began each day, I offered a “SCRABBLE® workshop.” Today’s
workshop was “the basics of beginning to play club and tournament SCRABBLE®.” We had three
non-tournament players in the group, and these players played with the Division 2 players who had
a bye each round. The tournament leaders after day one were Elvira Toews and myself. Barbara
Epstein had the high play in the afternoon, SPINATE (93).
For those not playing SCRABBLE®, the ship’s activity staff offered a wide array of choices:
exercise classes; trivia; a table tennis tournament; computer classes; health workshops; Texas hold
‘em tournaments; an astronomy lecture; a digital camera seminar; an art collecting seminar; wine
appreciation tastings; dance classes; bingo; and more. Something for everyone. In the evenings
guests were offered live entertainment in the Celebrity Theatre, a movie in the Cinema, and a latenight party. The casino was always open when we were at sea.
Tuesday, April 13
Our first port of call was
the beautiful city of Cabo
San Lucas, Mexico,
located at the
southernmost tip of the
Baja Peninsula. The
weather was perfect
when the Infinity
anchored in the harbor
opposite “Los Arcos,” the
arches, and Lover’s
Beach, both world
renowned. Tenders
operated all day from the
ship to the main pier.
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In the 1500’s, the area served as a supply station
for ships traveling across the Pacific. All of this
activity attracted notorious pirates. During the mid
20th century, sport fishing and picturesque luxury
lodges brought the rich and famous to this scenic
area. The highlights of “Cabo” include three major
beaches; Land’s End; the Chileno Bay reefs; and
Cacti Mundo, a botanical garden. Some of the
members of our group partook in sport fishing,
parasailing, and sea trek and snorkeling
excursions.
That evening, Bill and Carol Wisner, who is a
Phoenix SCRABBLE® Club member from Surpise,
won $185 playing a single game of bingo.
Our group
Wednesday, April 14
Our second day at sea was sunny, clear, and smooth sailing. The SCRABBLE® workshop was
“scoring points.” Each player in the tournament and our two “newbies” were presented with a gift of
Protiles before the games started. The leaders after day two remained the same, Elvira and myself.
Caroline Polak Scowcroft had the high play in the afternoon session, ANODIZED (101).
The late night show was “The NewlyWed Not So NewlyWed Game.” Two members of our group
were contestants: Barbara and Peter Epstein.
Thursday, April 15th
The ship arrived in the Mexican Riviera resort of Acapulco at 8AM. Founded in 1512 by Spanish
conquistador, Gil Gonzales Avila, Acapulco thrived for the next 250 years as a major trading port
with the Far East. In the late 1700’s, new trade routes opened around the Cape of Good Horn and
Acapulco declined. After WWII, Acapulco became an international playground for the Hollywood
elite, and the rich and famous from around the world.
The three major highlights included: (1) a scenic highway, which connects the three parts of the
resort area: Playa Revolcadera, Puerto Marques, and Acapulco Bay; (2) La Quebrada, across the
peninsula, on the rocky seaward side where you can see Acapulco’s most famous tourist attraction,
the “clavadistas,” cliff divers; and (3) downtown, featuring the Public Market , Old Acapulco (Zocalo),
and the city’s main square and Cathedral.
Barbara and I chose to spend a half day on an excursion to Isla La Roqueta (the rock), which
included a short nature hike, a strenuous snorkeling experience, and an excellent Mexican lunch at
Palao restaurant, overlooking Acapulco Bay. The water was a perfect temperature, and the different
fish, starfish, eels, crabs and sea urchins were incredible.
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Friday, April 16th
Today we visited Huatulco (wa-tule-co), and the Santa Cruz Bay, located in the State of Oaxaca, in
the southeastern part of Mexico. The Sierra del Sur Mountains form a backdrop to the 18 miles of
rugged coastline, with numerous beaches, coves, and snorkeling opportunities. Huatulco is a native
Nahuati word meaning, “the place where the wood is adored.”
In the 1500’s Hernan Cortez used the port to distribute produce from his farms. Later in the century
Drake and Thomas Cavendish, notorious pirates, caused locals to flee the area. The place became
a fishing village until the Mexican government began developing it for tourism in the 1980’s. The
town is located about 2 miles, a 30-minute walk, from the beach area. The town has a Church
dedicated to the Virgin of Guadelupe, and a Central Park (Zocalo). A wide variety of shops had local
handicrafts, pottery and woven rugs for sale.
Along the coast there is a blowhole, La Bufadora, which is accessible by boat. Also, on an island
about 1.5 miles away, there is the La Ventanilla Lagoon and a Crocodile Sanctuary. Some 40
varieties of tropical flowers, and 30 fruits from different regions, are grown in the Hagia Sophia area
(Sacred Wisdom). This entire agricultural area is designed to produce environmentally friendly
crops, in lieu of traditional corn.
This evening, Barbara and I treated our entire group to dinner in the S.S. United States specialty
restaurant.
Saturday, April 17th
The weather was warm and mostly overcast for our third day of SCRABBLE® at sea. The leaders,
after 15 rounds, were Laura Scheimberg and Elvira. John Dearchs won a Celebrity picture frame for
his high play, a phoney, AIRHORNS* (92).
That evening we had a formal dinner, and we celebrated Judy Ford’s
birthday.
Sunday, April 18th
During every Celebrity Reunion cruise, all passengers who have a
minimum of 10 cruise points are provided with a complimentary
excursion. Along with Barbara and me, Marion Brien and Kelly and
Laura Scheimberg went on a 9-1/2 hour bus tour from the port of
Puntarenas, Costa Rica to the Baldi Hot Springs Resort and Arenal
volcano. The Arenal volcano was active, spewing ash, and clearly
visible from 1 hour away. Baldi Hot Springs is a full-service resort,
located in La Fortuna. It sits a safe distance beneath the volcano. The
resort was beautiful, with numerous hot springs of varying temperature;
gardens; and bars and restaurants. We enjoyed a buffet lunch before
boarding the bus back to Puntarenas.
Puntarenas stretches along 2/3 of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, and is the
country’s most important fishing port. It is located about 75 miles west
Larry, Barbara, and the volcano
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of San Jose, the capital. The Province of Puntarenas has a wide variety of climates; tropical dry
forest, rain forest, cloud forest, mangrove swamp, and sub alpine paramo, (a plateau region), to
name a few. Tourism is the chief industry, with beautiful beaches, national parks, reserves, and ecotourism. Agriculture, including coffee, bananas, ornamental plants, and a variety of other fruits and
vegetables, is the second major industry. Three major attractions are the Monteverde rain forest;
the scarlet macaw sanctuary; and the Doka Estate, a turn-of-the-century coffee plantation.
Monday, April 19th
In the morning, our weather was partly sunny and quite humid. The
ocean was like a shimmering, glassy lake. We completed games 16-20
in the SCRABBLE® tournament. The leaders continued to be Laura and
Elvira, both with 15 wins in their respective divisions. John Dearchs won
a Celebrity thermos for the high afternoon play with another phoney,
PRETAXED (107).
Ken Groves, one of the top ten ventriloquists in the world, was the
evening entertainment, along with his dummy, George.
John Dearchs, winner of two
High Play awards
Tuesday, April 20th
Today was the day we had been anticipating: our 48-mile trip from the Pacific Ocean to the
Caribbean Sea through the Panama Canal. The Canal was begun by France in the late 19th century
and was completed in 1914 during Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency. Roosevelt visited the Canal twice
(he was the first US President to leave the country during his term in office).
On August 15, 1914, the steamer SS Ancon was the first ship to officially traverse the Canal. The
French and American governments spent about $639 million to complete the project. In today’s
dollars, it would be roughly $7 billion. The Panama Canal Authority’s annual budget for
maintenance, dredging, and improvement projects is $150 million. A third set of locks are being
constructed for future use by larger ships handling up to 12,000 containers. We were able to see
some of the construction activities during our trip. Besides widening the entire Canal, three locks,
similar to the present Canal, will be built on the Caribbean and Pacific sides.
The number is not precise, but around 30,000 people died during the construction of the Canal.
Most deaths were a result of malaria, dysentery, yellow fever, snake bites, explosions and
accidents. The USA had a 99-year lease to operate the Canal, but on December 31,1999, Panama
assumed full responsibility for the operation of the Canal. The Celebrity Infinity was charged
approximately $35,000 to traverse the canal.
Quite a number of passengers were on deck as early as 5:30AM to view hundreds of large
container ships, tankers and transport ships waiting their turn to go through the canal. Twelve
million containers go through the Panama Canal annually. Some commercial vessels must wait up
to 3 days before they are able to traverse the canal. Cruise ships move to the front of the line
because they are on a schedule and have a priority reservation.
We went under the Pan-American bridge, with very little space above, and had a view of the skyline
of Panama City, which looked similar to NYC from the distance. We entered the left lane of the
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Miraflores locks at 7:30AM, and another ship was
ahead of us in the right lane. There are two
individual Miraflores locks, and two lanes, side by
side, that operate independently. The gates in each
lock are 25 meters high and weigh 730 tons. These
are the tallest locks in the Canal because of the
extreme Pacific tide fluctuations.
Inside the second lock
Before we entered the Pedro Miguel lock, at
9:00AM, we sailed a short distance through the
Miraflores Lake. When we were in the Pedro
Miguel lock, it took only eight minutes to lift the ship
27 feet! The three locks combined raised the ship
85 feet up to the Culebra Cut, and it was all done
with fresh water from Gatun Lake. You can think of
the locks as “aquatic elevators,” raising and/or
lowering the ships, and it is all done with gravity.
The Infinity, a “panamax ship,” is the largest cruise-ship category that is able to fit into the locks,
which are about 980 feet long and 110 feet wide. The Infinity is about 965 feet long, and there was
less than two feet to spare on each side of the ship. Once or twice, the ship scraped the sides of
the lock as the two “mules,” small electric trains, guided the ship through the locks. The mules were
on rails near the front of the ship, and they had two steel wires attached to each side of the vessel.
The Galliard or Culebra Cut was the most difficult section to construct. Over 153 million cubic
meters of material were removed, where jungles, swamps and mountains once appeared. The Cut
is about 8 miles long, and crosses the Continental Divide before it enters Gatun Lake, where the
ship anchored to allow passengers with excursions to depart. The lake provides all the fresh water
that is used in the locks, and it is filled naturally in this rainy, tropical climate. Approximately 197
million gallons of water are used for each lockage.
At 2:30PM our ship entered the Gatun Locks, the largest set of locks, and was lowered 85 feet into
the Caribbean Sea. At 5:00PM we arrived at Cristobal Pier, where the passengers on excursions
returned to the ship. We were able to disembark for about 4-1/2 hours to buy souvenirs and walk
around the shops, restaurants, and bars.
Wednesday, April 23rd
Our fifth day of SCRABBLE® took place today. After 25 games, the leaders in both divisions
changed. Luise Shafritz was 5-0 and took 1st place in division 1 by 525 spread points. Donna
Carruthers overtook Elvira in division 2 with a 1.5 game lead. The high play in the afternoon, for a
gem or mineral, was won by Nancy Druskin for RUBIES (21).
Thursday, April 22
Our final port was Cartagena, Colombia. At sunrise, 6AM, we passed one of the fortresses
protecting the harbor. In 1533 Don Pedro de Heredia founded Cartagena, which was named for a
port city in Spain. It is one of the oldest cities in the New World. The “Old City” is surrounded by a
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ring of massive fortress walls, which were started in 1586. Three churches of note may be found in
the Old City: San Pedro Claver, Santo Domingo, and the 16th century Cathedral Santa Catalina.
Two museums are noteworthy: the Museum of Gold and Archaeology and the Palace of the
Inquisition.
The largest Spanish fort in the New World was Fortress San Felipe, which sits high atop San Lazaro
Hill, overlooking the city. Another panorama is available from the Monastery La Popa, on the
highest hill in the city (420 feet).
For the shoppers, there were numerous opportunities
to buy emeralds, Pre-Colombian art, clothing, coffee,
cigars, and exotic leather goods. Some of the finest
emerald jewelry in the world may be found in
Cartagena.
Friday, April 23rd
At 7AM, the sun was out, the skies were partly cloudy,
and the Infinity was heading due north with a 30 knot
headwind. The SCRABBLE® tournament resumed for
games 26-30. After today’s games, the leaders were
Laura and Elvira. The high “animal” play, DOLPHINS
(75), earned Laura a Celebrity picture frame.
Saturday, April 24th
Today was our final day at sea, and the culmination of
the SCRABBLE® tournament. I won the high
“vegetable” play of the day with RISOTTO (68), and my
wife, Barbara Van Alen, won the prize for best “Panama
Canal” play, STEAMERS (77).
In division 1, the winners were Luise and Laura. In
division 2, it was an all-Canadian finish with Elvira 1st
and Donna 2nd. In division 1, I won the High Game
(575) and the High Loss (420). In division 2, Sylvia
won the High Game (512), and Elvira won the High
Loss (391).
Luise Shafritz, winner of Division 1, with her
husband, Jay.
Sunday, April 25th
Our cruise finished in Fort Lauderdale. It was a near
perfect trip: a 14-night Panama Canal cruise, $2,000;
42 meals valued at ~ $3,150; 35 games of
SCRABBLE®, $70; good health, good weather, new
friends, and the voyage through the Panama Canal,
PRICELESS.
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Division 2 winner, Elvira Toews, with Larry
Rand. The two also won the High Loss prizes
in their respective divisions.
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The Wasatch SCRABBLE® Scramble
by Marie Irvine
The Wasatch SCRABBLE® Scramble, Utah's first NASPA sanctioned SCRABBLE® tournament,
was held in Ogden on April 24, 2010. It drew a field of 22 players from ten different Utah cities and
from California and Texas.
To casual observers, the silent and intense focus of two opponents staring at a game board might
seem slow and dull. Even observing 11 such pairs in one room doesn't appear to be an exciting
competition. However, the complexity and the patterns of words belie the deep concentration and
extensive study that is required from each competitor. The winner of the Ogden event, Mike Thelen,
played 15 bingos in his eight games, including such words as ALOETIC, CITREOUS, BIGOSES,
and his favorite, BOSHVARK.
Each of the six prize winners played one or more bingos in each game of the eight-game
tournament. In Division A, the top three places went to Michael Thelen, Michael, Stevens, and
Mike Howlett. In Division B, the top three were Jim Fischer, Robert Fudge (a first-time player!) and
BriAnna Shultz.
The surprise of the day was an exceedingly improbable draw
of an unplayable word. One of the players, first-timer Matthew
Adams, drew seven tiles on the first draw of the first game of
the tournament. When he looked at his rack, he had a set of
letters that could be arranged to spell his own first name -- not
a legal bingo, but surely an unlikely event.
Dr. Lee Badger of Weber State University described just how
improbable that draw was:
Photo courtesy Ethan Shultz
“In the usual way of counting for this problem, there are about 16 billion draws of seven tiles from
the 100 SCRABBLE® tiles (16,007,560,800 to be exact). Of those, 12,960 allow the word
MATTHEW to be formed. That makes the probability of drawing tiles that arrange to form
MATTHEW on one draw be 0.00000081 or 810 out of one billion, or less than one in a million. In
the language of odds, the odds against this happening exceed a million to one.”
In one sense those odds actually apply to the probability of that draw happening again in the future
-- not to the actual draw that we know with the aid of hindsight as a certainty. Because the letters of
the alphabet are unequally distributed in a SCRABBLE® set, the odds of drawing a seven-letter
word with an even less likely set of letters is quite different. Dr. Badger concluded that the word,
QUIZKID would be such an example:
“It comes in at 576 out of 16 billion or a probability of 0.000000036 or 36 in a billion.”
With their first nationally sanctioned tournament finished, members of the Ogden SCRABBLE® Club
are now considering making the tournament an annual event. Details of a possible 2011 event will
appear on the club website, OgdenScrabble.org.
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Tournament
Results 4/1-30
AKRON OH 4/1
1. Daniel Stock
BAYSIDE NY 4/3
1. Eric Goldstein
2. Stan Williams
3. Kevin E. Rosenberg
4. Tim Bryant
DALLAS TX 4/3
1. Michael Early
2. Craig Sjostrom
3. Joy Nees
BERKELEY CA 4/4
1. Lester Schonbrun
2. Jeremy Jeffers
3. Pat Diener
LAGUNA WOODS CA 4/4
1. Rachel Knapp
BLOOMINGTON MN 4/9
1. Scott Jackson
EDMONTON AB CAN
4/10-11
1. Mike Ebanks
2. Peter Maas
3. Fay Claus
FENTON MI 4/10
1. Jason Idalski
2. Glenn Dunlop
3. Michael Bassett
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4. Jack Overby
ROCKVILLE MD 4/10-11
1. Winter
2. Jeffrey Jacobson
3. Rose Noel
4. Aaron Gilary
SOUTH LYON MI (LCT)
4/10
1. Scott Pianowski
TAMPA FL 4/10
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2. Joel Horn
3. Justin Morris
4. Deb Mulrooney
ARDMORE OK 4/17-18
1. Darrell Day
2. Lisa Abraham
3. Jack Allard
AKRON OH 4/17
1. Josh Kopczak
2. Dean Scouloukas
1. Roberta Wechter
BOSTON MA (BAT)
NEWCOMERS 4/17
FENTON MI 4/11
1. Aron Klopper
1. Jason Idalski
GUELPH ON CAN 4/11
1. Tony Leah
2. Chris Bonin
3. Sophia Ozorio
4. Rosemarie Schmidt
BERLIN 4/17
1.
2.
3.
4.
Seth Mandel
Alan Kraus
Ed Mohoric
Ted Barrett
LAGUNA WOODS CA
PANAMA CANAL CRUISE 4/17-18
1. Cesar Del Solar
4/11-26
1. Luise Shafritz
2. Elvira Toews
PORTLAND OR 4/11
1. Dave Johnson
2. Thomas Lackaff
3. P. K. Gott
4. Mary Lecompte
5. Gunther Jacobi
BOSTON MA (BAT) NAST
EARLY BIRD 4/16
1. Weera Saengsit
MINNEAPOLIS MN 4/10-11 BOSTON MA (BAT)
1. Lisa Odom
4/16-18
2. Derek Martinez
3. M. E. Froelich
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Premier: Scott Appel
1. Amit Chakrabarti
2. Richard Strick
MOOSE JAW SK CAN
4/17-18
1.
2.
3.
4.
Jarett Myskiw
Jean Gerwing
Teresa Steeves-Gurnsey
Tanya Buhnai
SEATTLE WA 4/17
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Chris Williams
J. Midori Howard
Alice Goodwin
Aditya Kini
Tyler Creviston
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SOUTH LYON MI (LCT)
4/18
1. Scott Pianowski
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4. Ronald F. Millard
CHARLESTON WV
EARLY BIRD 4/30
MOUNTAIN VIEW CA 4/18 1. Dave Moersdorf
1.
2.
3.
4.
Jeff Widergren
Stuart Goldman
Andrea Michaels
Whitney Gould
ARDSLEY NY 4/24
1.
2.
3.
4.
Winter
Peter Barkman
Kevin E. Rosenberg
Linda Wancel
2. Cheryl Melvin
3. Jason Luci
4. Rafael Barker
PORTLAND OR EARLY
BIRD (NAST) 4/30
1. Chris Cree
DANVILLE IL 4/24
1.
2.
3.
4.
Steve Hartsman
Jacquelyn Fyr
Mary Maddox
Rachel Jenkins
FT. LAUDERDALE FL 4/24
1.
2.
3.
4.
Ron Tiekert
Stefan Huber
Cheryl Levin
Mary Fonti
OGDEN UT 4/24
1. Michael Thelan
2. Jim W. Fischer
SIOUX FALLS SD 4/24-25
1. Rob Robinsky
2. Aaron Daly
3. Alan Feirer
BERKELEY CA 4/25
1. KC Frodyma
PHILADELPHIA PA 4/25
1. Robert Linn
2. David Engelhardt
3. Linda Wancel
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New Faces
Since our last issue, 30 new faces have competed at NASPA tournaments. Three of these players
won their divisions at their first NASPA tournament: Tanya Buhnai, who won Division 4 at the Moose
Jaw, SK, CAN Tournament April 17-18; Rachel Jenkins, who won Division 4 at the Danville IL
Tournament April 24th; and our featured “new face,” Weera Saengsit, who won the NAST Early Bird
(Open) at the Boston Area Tournament (BAT) in Westford MA on April 16th. His 5-0 +653 record
earned him an initial NASPA rating of 2008, giving him an “expert” rating and placing him in 8th
place among all North American NASPA players!
______________________________________________________________________________
Weera Saengsit
ดุ่ย
Weera Saengsit was the player of the hour at the Boston
Area Tournament (BAT) NAST Early Bird on April 16th. In
winning the event with a 5-0 +653 record, Saengsit earned
an astonishing initial rating of 2008, rocketing him to the
position of 8th highest ranked player in North America,
ahead of such legends as Joel Sherman, Joel Wapnick,
and Adam Logan.
Did winning 5 games against players averaging around
1400 warrant such a high initial rating? In the BAT Main
Event Saengsit silenced any doubters. He finished 3rd in
Division 1, with a 10.5-4.5 record, raising his rating to 2013
and his ranking to #6 in North America.
Although BAT was Saengsit’s first North American tournament, the 23-year-old player from Thailand
is well-known on the world SCRABBLE® scene. He played in the 2007 World SCRABBLE®
Championships for the Thai team, having won that year’s Qualifying Tournament over Thailand’s
two top champions, Pakorn Nemitrmansuk and Panupol Sujjayakorn). Last year Saengsit placed
52nd in the King’s Cup, Thailand’s premier tournament. He is ranked #14 in Thailand, with a 1912
rating. His international rating is 1769, ranking him 232nd in the world.
How Saengsit made it to World’s in 2007 is one of his favorite stories: “I
entered the qualifying tournament without knowing what tournament it was
(frankly speaking, I’d never dreamt of playing in the World’s). The day the
tournament started I had an exam in the morning and came late for the
first game, which I lost. That day I lost four games. The second day I won
all my games, including the last game before the finals, against Pakorn. I
went to the finals facing Panupol, one of my idols. With the best luck in
the universe, I beat him in both finals games. It was my first win in the
Open Division. Still, I didn’t know what the prize was until Pakorn shook
my hand and said ‘congratulations,’ and then he told me that I’d just won
the last place as the representative of Thailand to play in the WSC in
India, with a free plane ticket! This explains why you didn’t see Pakorn in
the WSC2007.”
24
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Saengsit grew up in Mahasarakham, a small province in
northeastern Thailand, then moved to Bankok to attend
Chulalongkorn University. He graduated this spring as an
English major. Since March 10th he’s been living in Wildwood,
NJ as an exchange student in a program called “Work and
Travel.” He’ll be returning to Thailand at the end of the month to
work with Amnuay Ploysangngam as Marketing Executive and
Activities Coordinator for the Thailand Crossword Game A-Math
Kumkom and Sudoku Association. However, Saengsit would
love to come back and work in America if he were offered a job.
Saengsit began playing SCRABBLE® in school when he was 14, and played in his first King’s Cup
that year in the School Division. He competed twice more in that division before moving to the
Open Division when he turned 17. He started playing truly competitively in 2006. In 2007 he was the
winner of the King’s Cup Amateur Division (prior to winning the WSC Qualifying Tournament).
Thailand, known worldwide for its top SCRABBLE® players, has an enormous school program (over
7,000 students competed at the 2009 King’s Cup). Saengsit comments: “Most of the players in
Thailand are kids, and the tournament venues are usually major shopping malls. There is no noise
control. I think that may be almost impossible with thousands of kids.”
Another difference in Thailand is that they refer to the game as “Crossword Game,” rather than
SCRABBLE®. “But it is the same game,” notes Saengsit.
Saengsit began learning SCRABBLE® from a SCRABBLE® handbook that is given to Thai
schoolchildren. The book explains rules and strategy, plus lists 2-, 3-, and 4-letter words; common
stems such as SATINE, SATIRE, and RETINA; and high-probability bingos. He then began
studying verbs with the prefixes BE, DE, RE, OUT, OVER, and UP, which also helped him improve
his English. Once he was familiar with those words, he moved on to studying nouns and adjectives.
Saengsit’s many extracurricular interests--outside of SCRABBLE®--include
volleyball, table tennis, badminton, and swimming. He also has been extensively
involved in volunteer work, and this past year administered a program that tutored
high school students in the provinces who had limited access to good education but
hoped to pass the college entrance exams. In his free time Saengsit socializes
with friends, goes to parties, sings Karaoke (“my favorite thing; ask Jason KatzBrown how crazy I am when singing!”), listens to music, reads books, and goes to
the movies.
International SCRABBLE® players often have difficulty adjusting to the different lexicon used in
North America. However, in Thailand players use the American word list, so this was not a problem
for Saengsit.
Saengist is not sure when he’ll be playing in his next North American tournament. Since he’ll be
heading back to Thailand this month, the cost of attending this year’s Nationals in Dallas would be
prohibitive. Nonetheless, Saengsit greatly enjoyed playing at BAT. “I was impressed that the
directors tried in every possible way to help me join the tournament. The hotel was nice. People
are warm. Yeah, I liked almost everything!”
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Welcome to Weera Saengsit, Tanya Buhnai, Rachel Jenkins, and the
following other new faces:
BAYSIDE NY 4/3: Fred Gervat, Holly Lapiroff
LAGUNA WOODS CA 4/4: Steve Valdez
EDMONTON AB CAN 4/10-11: David M. S. Young
MINNEAPOLIS MN 4/10-11: Sharon Arch, Abigail Garafola, Doobie Kurus, Jack Shirek
BOSTON AREA TOURNAMENT (BAT) NAST EARLY BIRD 4/16: Andrea Hatch
ARDMORE OK 4/17-18: Lynne Davis
BOSTON AREA TOURNAMENT (BAT) NEWCOMERS 4/17: Westcott Clevenger, Marisa
Debowsky, Aaron Traylor
MOOSE JAW SK CAN 4/17-18: Vern Bostic
SEATTLE WA 4/17: Warren Sheay
ARDSLEY NY 4/24: DeeAnn Guo, Sheng Guo, Terri Mulqueeny-Stern
DANVILLE IL 4/24: Lisa Brown, Florentina Laribee
OGDEN UT 4/24: Matthew Adams, Dan Alfredson, Robert Fudge
PHILADELPHIA PA 4/25: Janet Gitney
SIOUX FALLS SD 4/24-25: Wilma O’Reillly, Jolane Tomhave
CHARLESTON WV EARLY BIRD 4/30: Pat Crowley
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Know the Rules
by Jan Dixon, NASPA Rules Committee Member
Jan Dixon, a longtime expert player and a member of the NASPA Rules
Committee, will be writing a monthly column on rules for The Last Word. We
are thrilled that Jan will be sharing her rules expertise with our readers, and we
encourage you to email any questions you may have about tournament and
club rules to [email protected]. (Photo credit: Jill Jarrell)
________________________________________________________________________
Returning to the table after winning a challenge, I started to record my
score. My opponent started my clock. When I protested, he stated that
I was delaying the drawing process. Please clarify this for your readers.
Rule IV.G.1. How to Complete a Turn, states that you are to record your cumulative score, and may
record your play, before drawing tiles to replenish your rack. Immediately thereafter, you must begin
to draw your replenishment tiles. If you begin to track or do anything else to delay the drawing
process, your opponent may start your clock per Rule IV.J.1. Software Self-Lookup Procedure.
Jan Dixon has been playing competitive SCRABBLE® for 32 years and in tournaments for 29 years.
She has been a member of the Rules Committee since its inception. She divides her time between
New York City with her fiancé, Aldo Cardia, and Delaware, where her children and grandchildren all
reside.
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Diane’s DEFALTS
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by Diane Firstman
Diane Firstman published her first book of DEFALTS, Generous to a
DEFALT: Vol. 1-3, in 2006. Since then, she has published a second
volume of her humorous alternative definitions to common (and notso-common) words--DEFALTS Vol. 4--and selected DEFALTS have
appeared in SCRABBLE® News and on the online SCRABBLE®
discussion groups crossword-games-pro (cgp) and OSPD. The
Last Word is pleased to offer the following selection of DEFALTS.
VITTATE: the consumption of vittles (tender or otherwise) by cats
WATTEST: possessing the most electricity
BINNING: in baseball, an inning in which a team scores so many runs, they should have
stash some of them away for another game
BRANNING: adding fiber to one's diet
CANNABIN: where one might hide their cannabis
CANNONADE: official energy drink of those shot out of cannons
CINNAMONY: the on-going "payment" that one's waistline has to endure after eating
Cinnabons
CONNEXION: "hooking up" with your ex again
CUNNINGS: original title of the Jamaican bobsled team movie "Cool Runnings"
ENOUNCING: 1) announcing of an event on-line; 2) not quite renouncing something
Diane Firstman is a lifelong New Yorker and has been playing SCRABBLE® competitively since
1994. When not thinking up DEFALTS, she attends crossword puzzle tourneys, and writes on the
New York Yankees for www.bronxbanterblog.com. She is adept at math, can reach items on top
shelves in supermarkets, and does a dead-on impression of a sea lion. The collected “DEFALTS”
are available at http://stores.lulu.com/dianagram.
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App Review: Words With Friends
by Cynthia Guest
Though not exactly SCRABBLE®, Words With Friends is indeed a
friendly variation on the game. Because of its leisurely nature, it is
possible to play 10 games at once, or more, if you can take it. Lay
down your 72-point word, go out for coffee, walk the dog, read the
paper, and go back to the game as you wait for the train. You may
ask a friend to play, or the app will find you a random partner. This
could lead to a big payoff--a recent article on MLB.com described
major league ballplayers as being huge fans of WWF, so flirt away if
you can figure out who they are!
There is a chat component which I understand is used by the young
and hip to get past the texting fees; I have been known to chat, but
am not a happy texter, although Derek Jeter could change
everything.
Unfortunately there is no such thing as a phony because the
computer won't accept a word that doesn't exist. Of course you can
try all the combinations that way, but you do learn a new word sometimes, and if you're extra sneaky
you also have the SCRABBY app, which lists all the possible combinations for you. I haven't
actually counted, but I believe there are way more vowels and S's than in SCRABBLE®. I have
rarely had to exchange tiles.
This lite variation of SCRABBLE® is extra enjoyable because it doesn't demand too much attention.
What is the most irritating to me is that there is no skill rating, which means I'm often playing against
a novice. Besides not being a challenge, it tends to discourage my opponents (yes, I'm that good)
and they resign the game (which, by the way, you can only do when it's your turn, and if they never
come back the game sits on your list unfinished). The app is a little buggy, but it is updated often
and recently a lot of the problems have diminished.
Thumbs up from me, and I hope to play you one day. Do you think they'll accept foonted? It ought
to be a word....
Words With Friends is available for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
Cynthia Guest is a fine art photographer living in Manhattan and commuting to Connecticut to
manage her bookstore, thereallylittlebookstore, 865 Boston Post Road, Darien, inside the chic
GoodFoodGoodThings. She loves words, especially in sentences. Visit
www.reallylittlebookstore.com and www.cguestphoto.com.
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Linda’s Library
by Linda Wancel
As an avid reader and book lover, I have found
that many other Scrabblers also share my
passion for books and for reading. So I am
happy to have this opportunity to share some of
my favorite books with you. These reviews, for
the most part, were written for Amazon.com,
where I have been writing reviews under a
pseudonym for nearly ten years. I hope that the
book lovers among you may find their interest
piqued by some of these books.
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Thoreau is a question ripe for discussion. It is
clear, however, from Krakauer's writing that his
investigation led him to feel a strong spiritual
kinship with McCandless. It is this kindred-spirit
approach to his understanding of this young
man that makes Krakauer's writing so
absorbing and moving.
Non-fiction:
Krakauer retraced McCandless's journey,
interviewing many of those with whom he came
into contact. What resulted is a haunting,
riveting account of McCandless's travels and
travails, and the impact he had on those with
whom he came into contact. Krakauer followed
McCandless's last steps into the Alaskan
wilderness, so that he could see for himself how
McCandless had lived, and how he had died.
This book is his epitaph.
Into the Wild
Into the Wild is available at Amazon.com.
by Jon Krakauer
This is a poignant,
compelling narrative
about Chris
McCandless, an
intelligent, intense, and
idealistic young man,
who cut off all ties to his
upper-middle-class
family. He then
reinvented himself as
Alexander Supertramp,
a drifter living out of a
backpack, eking out a
marginal existence as he wandered throughout
the United States. A modern day King of the
Road, McCandless ended his journey in 1992 in
Alaska, when he walked alone into the
wilderness north of Denali. He never returned.
Krakauer investigates this young man's short
life in an attempt to explain why someone who
has everything going for him would have
chosen this lifestyle, only to end up dead in one
of the most remote, rugged areas of the
Alaskan wilderness. Whether one views
McCandless as a fool or as a modern day
30
Fiction:
The Bad Seed
by William March
First published in 1954,
this book, the last of the
six novels written by the
author, became a huge
bestseller, a modern
classic with well over a
million copies sold to
date. It spawned a
Broadway show and an
enormously successful
film adaptation of the
book. I am happy to
report that time has not
diminished the ability of
this book to hold the reader's interest. It is
certainly one of the most chilling stories ever
written.
Written in clear, straightforward prose, it tells
the story of Rhoda Penmark, an adorable eight-
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year-old girl with impeccable manners and
poise not often found in one of her years. Yet
this same little girl is unable to make friends,
and her own parents have had some
misgivings about some of the terribly
distressing events that have transpired around
her--so much so that they have pulled up
stakes, relocating from Baltimore to a small
town where no one knows them. There, Rhoda
is enrolled in an exclusive school. It appears,
however, that Rhoda, while bearing the
countenance of an angelic little girl, has the
cool, calculating, acquisitive nature of a true
sociopath. While her parents have intuitively
sensed something amiss about their little
darling, they are somewhat in denial.
The reader is introduced to a host of
memorable characters. Rhoda's mother,
Christine, is a sensitive and attractive woman
with an absentee husband who is trying to
rebuild his career after his requested transfer.
Christine is left alone to handle Rhoda's
transition in their new environs. Christine
secretly fears the worst of the daughter whom
she loves but suspects of not being quite like
other little girls. Monica Breedlove, the upstairs
neighbor and owner of the apartment building
in which the Penmarks live, befriends Christine
and adores Rhoda, seeing Rhoda as a perfect
little angel. Leroy Jessup, the illiterate but
cunning janitor of that apartment building, has a
sense of what Rhoda is, but his clumsy
attempts at playing a cat-and-mouse game with
her results in Rhoda getting the better of him.
Of course, there is Rhoda, as memorable and
chilling a character as ever was created.
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past. It will also shed much light on Rhoda's
behavior and on some of the disturbing and
distressing events that seem to follow Rhoda
wherever she goes.
This is a marvelous book, the author having
written a cleverly crafted story that will grip the
reader. At just over two hundred pages, the
book is a relatively quick and easy read, but it
certainly packs a big wallop. With its host of
memorable characters and great storyline, it is
little wonder that this book has emerged as a
timeless classic in its genre.
The Bad Seed is available at Amazon.com.
Linda Wancel loves reading, writing, watching
films, traveling, and Scrabbling. She is the
mother of 27-year-old twins and has been a
criminal prosecutor for the last 23 years.
The book slowly involves the reader in the daily
workings of Rhoda's life and the odd ways in
which she approaches that which she desires.
Her determination is relentless and unforgiving.
When a school incident results in tragedy,
Christine picks up the scent and from then on
will not let go until she discovers who and what
her daughter really is. Her voyage of discovery
will give voice to mysteries of Christine's own
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Historic Moments: SCRABBLE® Throughout the Years
Use Your Knowledge of Your Opponent
by Stu Goldman
As in other complex games and sports, SCRABBLE® offers opportunities to exploit weaknesses and
propensities of opponents in considering a play or a a strategy. Depth of word knowledge, likelihood of
playing a phony, and sensitIvity to hooks are three among a number of factors to consider. The following
examples from my long, but not necessarily stellar, career illustrate some of these points.
Ages ago, a club director whose word knowledge was spotty would close down the board if she got ahead of
me. One game she opened with a bingo, and the board was closing fast after a few plays. I knew she took
many challenges, so would know that a common word could have variants and inflections, but she would not
know what they were. I had failed in my attempt to develop a bingo rack, and felt I had to bingo immediately
or not at all. I played PREGNATE*, and she didn't look twice at it.
At a fairly recent tournament, a player who I knew did not play phonies played TATSOIS. I held, but wisely
did not challenge. Instead, since the first letter was in a TWS row, I played a triple-triple, LATEENED*. It
was held but not challenged, and proved to be phony.
The last three examples will deal with an opponent named Howard Herbert, now long deceased, whom
fellow dinosaurs from New York will remember as an unusual character. He was great at rack development
and finding bingos, but his word knowledge was somewhat questionable, and his game stategy was virtually
nonexistent. I once allowed a phony of his to stand so I could play a phony triple-triple off it that I was sure
he would not challenge. Though I don't rememer the phony he played, or what his blank was, he could have
played SOUPIER. My play was SIGNORES*.
The next incident is one of my most thrilling moments in competition. It was a tournament in the famous
Game Room of old. I had played THORO on row 14, knowing that Howard would not know THORON, and
the N I was holding would go on 14O. The tiles I drew gave me MISBAND*, which I knew to be phony. But
Howard played an R at 12O, so my MISBRAND gave me a good triple-triple and a challenge.
The finale of this piece shows that the most careful calculations in our wonderful game can sometimes result
in catastrophe. It was in the first national championship in 1978, and Howard had taken a lead with a bingo
using a blank. I had the case blank and was trying to develop a catch-up bingo. Howard often muttered to
himself, and he had been muttering "This is bad," so I knew he had drawn the Q; but his muttering had
stopped after I played away a 4-point tile after he had drawn, so I knew he had drawn the case U. Having
picked a Y, I played FLINTILY off an F on 1H, the blank being either an I or an L. That put me 19 points
behind Howard with 1 tile to pick. He could play QUA for 24, but he challenged.
When my play was ruled acceptable I reached for the last tile to go out, stick him with the Q, and win. But it
was an unplayable V! So I had to sit helplessly and watch him extend his lead and win. So we can exploit
known opponents’ weaknesses to advantage, but there may be other forces at work, too.
Stu Goldman lives in California and has been playing tournament SCRABBLE® for 36 years.
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Video Joe
by Joe Bihlmeyer
“My scoresheets rule... but don't let your ego rule you!” Joe Bihlmeyer, a top Connecticut
SCRABBLE® player, gives us a look at his custom scoresheets, plus talks about how fragile egos
fare in SCRABBLE®.
Scoresheets with no ego
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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Scrabble, The Art!
Jim Keifer, a 46-year-old artist living in Idyllwild, CA
with his wife and three daughters, has been
fascinated with games since he was a boy.
After graduating from Notre Dame with a fine arts
degree, Keifer turned his love of games into a
career. For many years he worked designing toys
and games for such companies as Milton Bradley
and Parker Brothers. He holds 15 game-related
patents. “I’ve worked on hundreds of games, and I
was pretty instrumental in localizing SCRABBLE®
in different markets around the world,” says Keifer,
explaining that different languages require a
different letter mix for the game to be enjoyable.
Three years ago he decided to combine his two
loves--games and art--in creating a game-based
series of paintings called “The Art of the Game.”
He started with Monopoly®, then moved on to SCRABBLE® and other games. His third love--his
wife, Kathleen Keifer, an internationally recognized artist--also got involved. “My wife and I share a
studio. She got inspired when she saw my acrylic paintings for the SCRABBLE® series and went
in with oils--and it looked fantastic!”
Each painting features a two-word expression spelled in
painted SCRABBLE® tiles, plus “bonus” messages appearing
on adjacent bonus squares. Currently there are six paintings
in the “Scrabble, The Art!” series. However, Keifer expects
there will be more, “because you can come up with new
phrases that speak to people in different ways.”
Keifer plays SCRABBLE®, but not in tournaments. “I’m not
that good a speller,” he says. “I play for fun.” But he’s found
he has an intuitive sense about words: “Oftentimes I think a
word exists and I play it. My opponent challenges, and I find
out that the word does exist!” Keifer does not play online
SCRABBLE®: “I like the tactile quality of the board--and
being across from the person I’m playing.”
Jim and Kathleen Keifer’s original acrylic-and-oil paintings
and giclées (high-quality art prints) are available at the Liss
Gallery in Toronto, Gallery 319 in Santa Monica, and other
fine art retailers. Jim and Kathleen Keifer will be having a joint
show from May 8-24 at Gallery 319 in Santa Monica, which
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will feature originals and giclées from “The Art of the Game,” including examples from
SCRABBLE®, Monopoly®, Risk®, LIFE®, chess, and dominoes. To attend the opening reception
and meet the artists on Saturday, May 8th, from 6-9 p.m., please RSVP to 310-899-1499.
Liss Gallery, established in 1983, is located in the heart of Toronto and is a leader in the promotion
of Canadian and International art. The gallery features contemporary fine art including original
paintings, photography, sculpture and limited edition prints. Please visit the gallery website,
www.lissgallery.com, or email David Reed at [email protected] for more information. For
information on Scrabble, The Art! go to http://lissgallery.com/jim_keifer/keifer_collection.htm.
Gallery 319 is located in the heart of downtown Santa Monica, just blocks away from the Pacific
Ocean. The gallery offers a wide variety of personally selected artwork. The Gallery 319
philosophy is to present art in a fun and comfortable atmosphere. Please visit the gallery website,
www.gallery-319.com, for more information.
Additional J&K Keifer Scrabble, The Art! gallery locations include Riley Arts Gallery in Manhattan
Beach, CA; Oh My Godard Gallery in Atlantic City, NJ, (609) 441-2040; Pop Gallery in Santa Fe, NJ;
and Gallery Direct Art.
© 2010 Hasbro Inc. All Rights Reserved. Produced under license by Studio Remy Fine Art. SCRABBLE, the distinctive
game board and letter tiles and all associated logos are trademarks of Hasbro in the United States and Canada and
are used with permission.
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Play the Game: Game Analysis
Notes by Joe Edley
Dave Wiegand (OR) vs David Gibson (SC), 2010 Dallas Open, Rd. 19. To play the game,
click here.
(Note: All simulations, done using Quackle, are at least 10K iterations.)
1. DW: EILOUUW
EXCH. ALL
--0
T: 0
A sim suggests it’s slightly better to save the EL. I agree. EL is a good beginning for a
bingo.
1. DG: AEIINRX
XENIA
Highest-scoring, and best.
8D
40
T: 40
2. DW: AENNNRR ANNEX
D4 24 T: 24
NAN 7C 15 is also good, but ANNEX’s extra 9 pt. is just enough to be worth keeping the
unbalanced leave.
2. DG: AAHIMOR
HAO
7G 22 T: 62
MOHAIR C2 36 is best. It’s possible he wanted to retain the balanced AIMR leave, but it’s
not going to draw enough bingos to make it worth the 14pt. sacrifice, in the long run.
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3. DW: LLNRRVW EXCH. LLRVW
0
T: 24
ROLL I6 18 is a good alternative, according to a simulation, but I agree with Wiegand’s
choice. It’s usually better to try to play the first bingo, if you can. Leaving LRVW delays that
possibility at least one or two turns.
3. DG: ADIMRSY
Good find!
MYRIADS
6I
79
T: 141
4. DW: EEFGNRS
Tit for tat!
FEIGNERS
L4
76
T: 100
4. DG: DEOOQTW WOOED
K9 29 T: 170
WONTED 8J 30 or STOWED O6 30 seem like improvements because they both block more
dangerous lines. Simulation confirms this.
5. DW: AEEFLOZ
Nothing better!
FEAZES
O1
84
T: 184
5. DG: ELNOQTT
QAT
4C 12 T: 182
With four U’s still to draw, MOLTO I6 21 is slightly better, but given the score, it’s
understandable why he’d want to get rid of the Q now. ELNOT isn’t the worst leave in the
world, and in fact, is more bingo-prone than most average racks.
6. DW: BGILOTV
BOG
J8 24
Best! VINO 5B 29 leaves him much weaker.
T: 208
6. DG: BEILNOT
LINO
5B
23 T:205
BELON or BETON 9C 35 beat LINO by a large margin. The extra points and tiles will make
a difference in the long run.
7. DW: AHILOTV
VIOLATE
2I
24 T: 232
Or HAVIOR K1 33. It’s a close call as to which is better. The extra points for HAVIOR is
offset by the open TWS for opponent and the less-than-optimal LT leave.
7. DG: BCELNTW WAB
M1 16 T: 221
While CELNT isn’t a bad leave, after BLEW 7B 15, he’ll have more potential flexibility with
CENT. Simulation agrees.
8. DW: EHIRTU?
Good find!
LUTHIERs
8. DG: ACELNTU
NUCLEATE
Yet another pair of bingos!
B5
64
T: 296
12D 72
T:293
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9. DW: CDGKOR? GECKO
H11 36
Highest-scoring, and best! Terrific leave (DR?).
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T: 332
9. DG: ADELMRR
RIMED
9A 27 T: 320
He may not like the unbalanced rack, but after point-grabbing with MEAL or ALME 41 on the
A column, he stops Wiegand a good deal more of the time (4% more, to be precise,
according to Quackle).
10. DW: ADPRTV? VOWED
9I
18 T: 350
Best. He gets rid of two high-pointers (without the E, the D is less useful) and keeps a good
bingo-starter with APRT?.
10. DG: AILNPRU
Great find!
UNIPOLAR
15D 61
T: 381
11. DW: AOPRTU? URP
A8 34 T: 384
Good play; however, simulation strongly suggests that ORRA A8 31 is miles better, winning
57% of the time, with URP only 41%. It’s likely that this is due to the use of an extra tile.
And the fact that there are 3 Is left and Gibson may have all of them.
11. DG: EIIJSST
JESS
F2 45 T: 426
Simulation suggests that TIS G2 18 actually wins more often. If the Y or blank is in the bag,
this ups his chances considerably.
12. DW: AEORTY? TOKAY
Wins!
12F 45
T:429
12. DG: IIIT
13K 8
T: 434
D2
T: 444 +4 (II)=448
13. DW: ER?
DIT
REANNEXED
15
FINAL SCORE: DW: 448 DG: 434
Joe Edley is a three-time National SCRABBLE® Champion and the author and co-author of
many books, including Everything SCRABBLE® (Third Edition reviewed in the December
issue of The Last Word), BANANAGRAMS!: The Official Book (reviewed in the February
issue of The Last Word), More BANANAGRAMS!, and SCRABBLE® Puzzles, Vol. 1-4, all
available at Amazon.com.
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Player Profile: Kevin Gauthier
by Katya Lezin
“My first tournament,” Kevin Gauthier recalls with perfect clarity and certainty, even though it was a
full seven years ago, “I went 3 and 2 with a spread of +136.” Armed with close to a photographic
memory, Kevin can tell you what words he played at the small, 5-game tournament in Fonda, NY
that served as his first competitive SCRABBLE® experience. He has saved all of his score sheets
since 2005, so even if his memory fails him, he can look up any of his games and often does when
analyzing them afterwards. He records his plays along with his racks and the board positions so
that he can study the games for “the best plays and words I should have played.” In the 120
tournaments Kevin has competed in since then, he has no doubt amassed quite a collection of
score sheets.
Kevin began playing SCRABBLE® with his mom when he was 14, but he abandoned the game for
volleyball and tennis in high school. In 2001, he returned to SCRABBLE®, playing it online until he
saw an ad for the local club in the Albany newspaper in 2002. Kurt Kopitz showed Kevin the ropes,
teaching him about challenges and some of the other nuances of competitive play, but Kevin was
too intimidated to try a tournament until he read Word Freak. He now sees SCRABBLE®
tournaments as a perfect vehicle for traveling and even writes a tournament travelogue for a group
of 50 or so SCRABBLE® and church buddies.
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His SCRABBLE® road trips and the friends he has made along the way are among his favorite
aspects of competitive SCRABBLE®. “I have been able to see so many different places,” Kevin
notes. His favorites include Ottawa, where there is “so much to see and do,” and Toronto, which is
“very cosmopolitan and touristy.” He often stays with folks he has met at past tournaments, such as
when he offered up his Albany apartment to Heather McCall (whom he didn’t know at the time) for
the Saratoga Springs tournament in 2003 and then ended up staying with her for the Mike Wise
Tournament in Toronto.
Perhaps his favorite part of SCRABBLE®, however, trumping even the friendships and the travel it
has engendered, is the challenge of playing the game itself. “Each game has its own unique
challenges,” Kevin explains. “It’s like trying to solve a puzzle that is new each time.” Asked about
his most memorable play, Kevin doesn’t hesitate. “It was when I played futhark, a natural bingo, for
93 points at a 1-day tournament in Bayside, Queens.” A SCRABBLE® buddy had given Kevin a list
of words that look offensive but aren’t. Sure enough, the word was challenged. Kevin recalls with
great pride that an expert player walked by the Zyzzyva screen and exclaimed, with admiration,
“Somebody played futhark?”
Kevin devotes many hours to pursuing his love of SCRABBLE® and his mastery of the game, but
he is quick to point out that it is just that, a game. His work life (as an auditor for the State
Education Department) and his personal life (Kevin is very active in his church) have far greater
importance. He dislikes playing “uber intense people” who take the game too seriously. “There are
too many other things in the world to worry about than your rating,” Kevin points out. To illustrate his
point, he reflects back on a time in his life a few years ago when he was between jobs and
homeless. “The pastor let me live in the church,” Kevin says. “My faith and my SCRABBLE® is
what kept me going during that time.”
It is experiences like this that give Kevin a sense of equanimity while he plays. “I’m a very
gentlemanly player,” he notes. “I will always congratulate my opponent after a loss. If I’m upset, I
don’t show it.” He is known for his speedy score calculations, often announced before his opponent
has even added up the play, but also for his honesty. “I could close my eyes,” an opponent said
about playing him, “and he’d play the exact same way.” It is best, however, to have one’s eyes open
when playing Kevin, so as not to miss plays like oogonial and suberin and any number of other
words he seems to effortlessly pull from his arsenal. And lest you think that Kevin’s phenomenal
recall is limited to obscure SCRABBLE® words, know that you’d be remiss not to include him as the
ringer on your trivia team!
Katya Lezin lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and three children (Noah, Hannah,
and Eliza). She is the author of KNIGHT SWAM, a young adult novel based on SCRABBLE®;
Finding Life on Death Row, which profiles six individuals sentenced to death; and numerous articles
for magazines and other publications. When she is not on the tennis court or competing in a
SCRABBLE® tournament (two of her passions, which her husband would argue border on
obsessions), she enjoys cooking, reading, and spending time with her family.
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Word Trivia Quiz
by Siri Tillekeratne
Given below are 10 common words with exotic origins. Can you match the words on the left column
with the languages on the right?
1. ORANGE
A. WOLOF (of Africa)
2. PAJAMA
B. CHINESE
3. KETCHUP
C. SANSKRIT (ancient Indian language)
4. COFFEE
D. ARABIC
5. CHEETAH
E. MALAYALAM (of India)
6. POTATO
F. PORTUGESE
7. TYPHOON
G. FARSI (of Iran)
8. TEAK
H. SANSKRIT
9. BANANA
I. MALAY
10. PAGODA
J. TAINOL (of S. America)
ANSWERS ON THE NEXT PAGE
Siri Tillekeratne is a director of the Calgary SCRABBLE® Club #374 and a former Director of the
Year.
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ANSWERS
1. ORANGE - Sanskrit (C & H)
2. PAJAMA - Farsi (G)
3. KETCHUP - Malay (I)
4. COFFEE - Arabic (D)
5. CHEETAH - Sanskrit (C & H)
6. POTATO - Tainol (J)
7. TYPHOON - Chinese (B)
8. TEAK - Malayalam (E)
9. BANANA - Wolof (A)
10. PAGODA - Portugese (F)
Siri Tillekeratne is a director of the Calgary SCRABBLE® Club #374 and a former Director of the
Year.
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Coaching a School SCRABBLE® Legacy
by Sharon Moser
2010 was the first year Sharon Moser did not bring a team to the
National School SCRABBLE® Championship (although she did come
to help as a volunteer). Over the past seven years, Sharon has
brought close to two dozen teams from the Our Lady of Victory
School in Baltimore, MD, to Nationals, and has had teams in the top
ten numerous times. Sharon has now moved to a new school, Notre
Dame Prep, and hopes that through her efforts, that school will
embrace SCRABBLE® with equal enthusiasm. Here she looks back
at the program she developed at OLV, unofficially the largest of any
School SCRABBLE® program in North America.
SCRABBLE® took on a life of its own at the Our Lady of Victory School in Baltimore, MD. In its
infancy, in 2001, approximately fifteen kids were part of this Friday afternoon club. Nine years later,
it is unofficially the largest club in the nation, boasting approximately 140 students (grades 5-8) who
come after school on Friday afternoons to “dabble in SCRABBLE®.” Each week is part of an
ongoing competition in which students earn weekly prizes for bingos and “category words.”
Matches for the following week are determined by wins and point spreads in four different divisions,
aided in recent years by a computer program designed exclusively for that purpose by one of the
original “infants” (my son Kyle, now a senior in college).
Discussions held in Language Arts classes about neat SCRABBLE® words led to paragraphs
about SCRABBLE® experiences and many spirited discussions. “Ditzy,” a previously unknown
term to last year’s 7th graders and undeniably a valuable word because of the “Z” factor, became
the word of the year (accurately describing many students and their teacher, yours truly). I also
published a SCRABBLE® newsletter, the OLV Scrabble Squawk (see page 46), and used it as a
vehicle to communicate standings and acknowledge special plays ("words of the day," bingos, etc.)
I would periodically give tips and, in most issues, tried to create a story using their words of the day.
It’s hard to say what made Alfred Butts’ game
such a cult at OLV, but it undoubtedly helped
that I had captive audiences who took
pleasure in the occasional anagram teasers I
provided. Kids delight in competition of any
kind, and this activity provides companionship
and competition in a non-threatening way. And
so the passion has spread…and spread…and
spread. By the time I left the school last year,
approximately 190 kids total (third and fourth
graders also started playing there a few years
ago) were staying after school to play (all 32
kids in one of my classes joined that year).
Last year’s students also helped to design a
SCRABBLE® mural that will hopefully grace
the walls for years to come. And the parents,
SCRABBLE® mural at Our Lady of Victory School
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teachers, and administration wholeheartedly support the activity, a wonderful tribute to them and a
gift for the students who will leave OLV with a lifetime of memories and educational benefits!
The SCRABBLE® euphoria at OLV can probably be summed up by the words of one fifth grader
who came to club for the first time, saw all the bodies, and proclaimed, “Wow! I guess SCRABBLE®
isn’t for geeks after all!”
Sharon Moser on the victory stand in 2008 with Our Lady of Victory
7th graders Rachel Backert and Thomas Ensey, who came in 10th
with a 5-1 +270 record. The team returned in 2009 and placed 5th.
Because of an increasingly difficult commute, I left this wonderful school last year hoping that the
existing SCRABBLE “cult” (and I like to think of it as my legacy) will always be the status quo. There
is nothing more heartwarming to me than to see a group of kids live and learn with words, enjoying
the power they command and the bonds that form. I hope that I can inspire kids in my new school,
Notre Dame Prep, a girls’ middle and high school in Baltimore, to find the same enjoyment in this
simple word game. SCRABBLE® is not part of the culture there (not yet, anyway), but I’m
determined to share my passion with this new crop of talented youngsters. The entire Middle School
community was recently involved in one SCRABBLE®
game--students vs. faculty--on a jumbo board
(complete with foam tiles) that was displayed in the
hallway. Daily they would leave suggestions for their
rack in the box provided, and their best play was
placed on the board. As they changed classes, they
would peer at the board, pick new tiles, and make new
suggestions. Teachers and students alike loved the
activity, and the end result was quite impressive!
Hopefully, this will generate enthusiasm for a club that
is now in its infancy and become a healthy addiction
SCRABBLE® activity board at Notre Dame Prep
for a new generation!
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ABOUT SHARON MOSER
An advertisement for a SCRABBLE® tournament in the
Baltimore Sun caught my attention in 1982 shortly after I
graduated from college. I had never heard of a
SCRABBLE® tournament, but I gathered my courage and
went downtown, armed only with my knowledge of foreign
languages and the rules of the game so lovingly introduced
years before by Grandma Jenny (who played one game of
SCRABBLE® with my grandfather virtually every year of her
married life). To my surprise, I demolished my opponent in
the first game of this three-game event, scoring more than
400 points for the first time in my life (and, in those days,
that was quite a feat). Pairings were not exactly scientific
back then, and our second matches were determined by our
placement at the long cafeteria tables; if I recall, one row
was asked to stand and move three places to the left. In this
way, the “powers that be” determined that my next worthy
opponent would be Dan Pratt, state champion at the time.
Fortunately, I didn’t find out about his ranking until after he
had handily whomped me (650 to 225, I believe). If I had
been intimidated he might have really killed me! Years later,
Dan (a true gentleman with a phenomenal memory) still
remembered our game and his first bingo of the game,
recalling that I had challenged it with the false belief that it
might be French but probably not English (I would certainly
never challenge “sautoir” again!) He also reminded me that I
had actually beaten him in a tournament game about a year
after I met him; I truly didn’t recall this though I’m certain I
must have been ecstatic at the time. I will be forever grateful
for that chance meeting, though, because that was my
introduction to the SCRABBLE® world. Afterwards, I
immersed myself in the SCRABBLE® world for about three
years, spending hours playing in clubs, tournaments, and
even on the grass between innings at the softball fields (with
another SCRABBLE® “great,” Gordon Shapiro, my mentor
and director of the local SCRABBLE® club).
My job responsibilities and the weariness that resulted from
being the mother of three young children prohibited me from
continuing my Thursday night outings with the Baltimore
SCRABBLE® Club. However, I directed some of that
SCRABBLE® energy into working with school kids, starting
with basic anagrams and eventually introducing
SCRABBLE® into the schools where I worked. Most
recently, of course, I introduced SCRABBLE® to the
unsuspecting youngsters at Our Lady of Victory School, and
the addicts were born!
I hope that these youngsters learn to appreciate the plays of
the Dan Pratts they encounter and delight in the discovery of
every new word. Above all, I hope they always remember to
play with “good attitude and sportsmanship towards all
whom they face...to play their hearts out, but with style and
grace” (an excerpt from a SCRABBLE® prayer I wrote for
the students).
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The Lighter Side of SCRABBLE®
by Rich Lauder
Rich Lauder, a longtime SCRABBLE® player from Madison, WI, illustrates his flashcards with his
particularly warped sense of humor, warped thusly by too many years of drawing UUWV when he
gets to “go first.” His cards now overtop 17,000 such visual depictions. Inquiries accepted at his
email address: [email protected].
R N
ANAGRAMS WITH
DEFINITIONS ON NEXT PAGE
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HALFNESS: The quality of being half;
incompleteness. (NOTE: The I on the card
indicates that it may be added to make another
word, SHINLEAFS.)
R N
ANTILIFE: Opposing or restricting the full
development of life; opposing the development of
life by advocating abortion. (NOTE: The R and N
indicate that these letters may be added to make
new words, ANTILIFER and INFANTILE.)
ENVENOM: Put poison into; make poisonous.
TROUVÈRE: A medieval epic poet in Northern
France in the 11th-14th century. (NOTE: The 2
indicates there is a second word in these letters,
OVERTURE. The C and D indicate that these
letters may be added to make new words,
OVERTURED and COVERTURE.) [Author’s note:
SCRABBLE® player/author Frank Lee was the
inspiration for this card.]
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The Wordsmith
The proper scientific method
by Chris Sinacola
Recent news that Mattel would release SCRABBLE® Trickster in Britain, ushering in a brave new
world of proper names, got me to thinking about exactly how, when and why a proper name should
earn its way into the SCRABBLE® lexicon as a common word.
At the newspaper where I work, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, editors and reporters like to say
“there’s always a Worcester connection.” I suppose that's said in many places, but there really is a
strong and most interesting Worcester connection to illustrate this theme.
The word I have in mind is COESITE, which our dictionary tells us is a “type of silica.” Coesite is a
very rare mineral. It isn’t the most common mineral in our word list, either, but coming in as number
1,194 by probability in the list of sevens, it does pop up more frequently at SCRABBLE® than in
nature.
If you do a little sleuthing, you learn that coesite is named for Loring Coes Jr., a materials scientist
who worked at Norton Company in Worcester. Now a brand of the French industrial giant SaintGobain, Norton is the world’s leading producer and distributor of abrasives.
Norton has been in Worcester for many years, and it would be hard to overstate its importance to
the area’s economy, or the key role the company has played in providing essential materials to
many industries and the military.
The newspaper's archive contains a few articles on Coes, but the best information is found in
Robert M. Hazen's book The Diamond Makers, which tells the story of how American scientists
pursued and achieved the synthesis of diamond. I am indebted to Hazen's book for much of the
information for this article.
Coes grew up in Brookfield, a rural community west of Worcester, graduated from Worcester
Polytechnic Institute with degrees in chemistry and went on to a 40-year career at Norton.
“Coes was a meticulous, dedicated scientist who worked long hours in his Worcester lab and at
home,” Hazen writes. “For four decades he remained a loyal employee at Norton, where he
impressed colleagues with his brilliant innovative thinking and unusual technical skills.”
Those skills never shone brighter than when Norton employees undertook Project 39A, a six-year
effort to produce diamond. Coes had excellent coworkers and almost unlimited access to the right
materials and equipment to carry out his work of subjecting graphite and other minerals to intense
heat and pressure.
Between 1947 and 1953, Coes and his team carried out numerous experiments. Although they did
not succeed in making diamond, they were the first to synthesize many minerals. The list makes any
word maven salivate: garnets, pyroxenes eclogites, zircon, idocrase, tourmaline, beryl, sphere and
topaz.
But, as Hazen writes, “Coes' most stunning discovery, by far the biggest bombshell, occurred when
he squeezed one of the simplest, most common minerals of all, ordinary beach sand, known as
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quartz – a form of silicon oxide, or silica … to 35,000 atmospheres at 800° C … [and] found a new
dense silica phase, a crystal substance never before seen.”
Coes reported his discovery in the July 31, 1953, issue of Science, noting “The new silica has not
previously been described as the product of synthesis nor has it been discovered in nature as a rock
constituent.”
Coes, who was, according to Hazen's account, a taciturn man and difficult to get to know, finally
enjoyed his moment in the sun. In December 1953, a group of distinguished government and
industry scientists traveled to Worcester to learn about his discovery. That meeting did make the
newspaper.
Then, in 1960, Edward Chao of the U.S. Geological Survey became the first person to discover
Coes' mineral in nature, after examining sandstone from the Canyon Diablo Meteor at Meteor
Crater, Arizona. Chao found tiny crystals that proved to be identical to Coes' mineral, proving that
Coes had achieved the kind of heat and pressure usually seen only in meteor strikes, volcanoes or
deep within the Earth.
But what to call the new mineral? Scientists, naturally enough, had been calling it coesite. Chao
wanted to name it in honor of another expert researcher in the mineralogy of silica, Joe Boyd. But
“boydite” never caught on, and that same year, 1960, the International Commission on New
Minerals (you thought SCRABBLE® groups were obscure?) decreed that the new form of silica
would be officially known as coesite.
There are a few poignant footnotes. Shortly after Coes' discovery, Norton Company offered General
Electric the opportunity to collaborate with them in further efforts to synthesize diamond. GE
considered the offer, but decided to go it alone, and succeeded a short time later. Coes and his
colleagues thus missed a chance to be a part of the triumphal final chapters in the synthesis of
diamonds, an industry which now far outstrips naturally mined diamond production, with huge
markets in “cutting edge” technologies.
“Lung cancer,” Hazen writes, “killed Loring Coes in 1978 at age sixty-three. He died in relative
obscurity, with little more than a local obituary to mark the passing of the man who had transformed
the international high-pressure scene.”
An obituary and, like many other scientists, a word. It is a small and specialized group of us who
honor Coes, but we do exactly that whenever we plunk down COESITE. And in a lexicon that
abounds with such scientific words – BROOKITE, EINSTEINIUM, KIMBERLITE and LANGBEINITE
are just a few of hundreds of examples – I can think of none more deserving of inclusion.
So spare a thought for the quiet scientist from Worcester next time you play COESITE. And the next
time you find yourself in a debate over what “proper” words should be playable at SCRABBLE®,
remember those 40 years of dedicated work that Loring Coes Jr. put in, transforming ordinary
substances into gems, and his own name into an acceptable SCRABBLE® word.
Chris Sinacola is director of the Worcester MA SCRABBLE® Club #600. His favorite mineral is
(Cu,Al)2H2Si2O5(OH)4·nH2O, commonly known as chrysocolla.
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Badqoph Blog Talk
by Ryan Fischer
Ryan Fischer manages the Badqoph Directory, a database of blogs by known SCRABBLE®
bloggers, primarily tournament players. Here he looks at some interesting threads from the blogs.
This month’s highlight is a fun discussion on http://matchplay.livejournal.com/. The premise is as
follows:
“Imagine that Hasbro decided to pour 250,000 dollars into a match play tournament, NCAA bracket
style, a tournament to begin in 6 months. Each round, players will play a best of 7 to determine the
best players. However, Hasbro puts it up to us, the players to determine who the seeds are, who
gets in, and who gets out. It is up for us to be the bracketologists.
“This blog uses cross-tables to take a statistical look at who should be the top seeds for this type of
tournament. It will take into account recent results, historical results, etc. and let you discuss who is
most deserving of each seed. Each post will take the candidates, list their accomplishments and
weaknesses of each player, and open a discussion about which players should or should not be
deserving of that specific seed. Each post will list the prior seeds that have already been found.”
Since March 19th, the blog has presented potential top seeds and discussed contributors’ views on
which players deserve which spots. Visit the blog to share your own opinions.
Ryan Fischer graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2005 with a degree in
communications studies and a minor in creative writing. He is a NASPA player and director, a major
force, with John Luebkemann and Sherrie Saint John, behind the Eastern Championships in
Charlotte, NC, where he now lives. He recently completed a documentary on chaos magick, and he
is working on a television pilot about ballroom dancing.
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Find the Best Play
Jeremy Cahnmann and Don Carson sent in interesting plays this month. If you have a play you’d
like to share with our readers, please send it to [email protected].
_______________________________________________________________________________
From Jeremy Cahnmann:
This is a fun board position I constructed. Try to find the best play for Tom K.
ANSWER ON THE NEXT PAGE
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ANSWER
The correct play is ShIA(T)ZUs 15H (187 points), bringing Tom K.‘s total up to 527.
It blocks both the possible big plays for the opponent, which are JA(C)ULATE-O8 (212) and
JU(X)TA(POSITION)AL-H1 (313).
Of course Tom K. also has the chance to pla jA(C)UZzIS-O8 (293 pts), ZAS(T)rUgI-O1--also
making (ODE)A and (OXPECKER)S (214 pts), cAZI(Q)UeS-A1 (275 pts) , ZAI(B)atSU-A8 (212 pts),
or A(D)ZUkIS-15B (78 pts), all for big points as well.... But then the total is 633 maximum, which
could be topped by the JU(X)TA(POSITION)AL-H1 play (total 725).
If ShIA(T)ZUs-15H is played, Jeremy C.’s next best possible play is JU(X)TA(POSITION) for 115
points, bringing his total up to 414 +115 for a total of 529. That would leave an A, E, or L on Tom
K.’s rack, all of which can be played for at least 4 points to go out, for a minimum total of 531, plus 6
points for the tiles on Jeremy C.’s rack, to reach 537 for the win.
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From Don Carson:
This move was made by Glenn Filzer in a game with Ed Zurav at the Millburn SCRABBLE® Club
#411 on March 15. The final score of this game was Ed 394 and Glenn 346.
ANSWER ON THE NEXT PAGE
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Stell’s Racks of Mirth
by Stellacious (AKA Cheryl L. Cadieux)
Years ago, Mr. Steven Alexander let me get away with
BULBITIS* in club one night. For once, it was a good thing
the list was late! (from Mike Baker)
******************
One Sunday at the Safety Harbor FL SCRABBLE® Club,
these two conversations took place::
Joan Knobelsdorf to Sally Starr:
"Now is that an *S* as in S _ A _ M ?????”
Sally replied:
"Noooooooo. That's an *S* as in S_T_U_P_I_D!!!!”
One Scrabbler to another:
“Why didn't you put that bingo over here??” AND POINTED
TO ANOTHER PLACE ON THE BOARD....
The disgusted Scrabbler mumbled:
"BECAUSE I guess that I DIDN'T WANT TO WIN THIS
GAME!!”
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To join OSPD, Stella's
SCRABBLE® mail group, please
send a blank message to the
following URL: [email protected].
We are so delicious, that we are
DIGESTable, with the digest form of
only one e-mail a day.
At the bottom of each and every email that you receive from OSPD,
you will see the address to change
your daily subscription from
receiving the e-mails as they come
in to only once a day in the digest
form.
OSPD is a way for Scrabblers to
communicate. We also have a
Daily Word List: For example, one
recent word list was “N” back
hooks.
Paul Epstein occasionally does
Mystery Racks and we have a quiz
from time to time.
Please join us!
Stellacious
AKA Cheryl L. Cadieux
Stellaisms for Your Day
If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention. --Tom Peters
The most successful people are those who are good at plan B. --James Yorke
I’m spending a year dead for tax reasons. --Douglas Adams
I am not dying, not any more than any of us are at any moment. We run, hopefully as fast as we can,
and then everyone must stop. We can only choose how we handle the race. --Hugh Elliott
Cheryl 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.
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Club News
Larry Sherman, Editor
If you'd like your club to be considered for an article or if a newsworthy event has taken place at
your club in the last month, please submit material to [email protected].
______________________________________________________________________________________
SCRABBLE® in Seattle
by Mark Peltier
NASPA/NSA Club #253 was founded in Seattle in August
1985 by directors Ann Ferguson and Mark Oppenheimer.
Toby Cozens, the early historian, kept records since 1987
and stored all the scorecard/tally slips. She passed away
in December 2006.
Christina O'Sullivan created the club's first website and
was the statistician for many years.
In June 2007, Mike Frentz took over the statistician task,
which he does to this day.
In June 2004, the club moved from downtown Seattle to University Friends Meetinghouse, the
present location. In June 2005, the club established its own website at www.seattlescrabble.org.
Rebecca Slivka is the webmaster, and has been club director since 2001. The site contains a
plethora of stats, member bios (including ISC handles), club news, study aids, historical archives,
upcoming Pacific northwest tourneys and links, etc.
Seattle Club contains a strong roster of members: At least 20 are NASPA-rated over 1200, and the
top 8 players in the state, rated over 1600, attend almost every week.
Ken Clark has been a director and active mainstay player since the club's inception. Nigel Peltier
and Rafi Stern, two of the younger experts, have attended club since 2005 and are usually ranked
among the top 50 in North America.
The club gets 20-30 attendees every Tuesday night. In game 1 you can play anyone, and turn in
your game scores and category nominees on a tally slip. Category words earn $5 prizes, subject to
vote, and the winner picks the next round's category. There are $1 prizes for high-scoring plays and
game scores 500 and over. Games 2 thru 4 are paired by the director, using the current evening’s
standings. White-card players (average over 365) are paired separately from the recreational
players, who use a blue-card tally slip and average under 365, although anyone may "play up.”
Club sessions follow tournament rules and etiquette such as holding the bag up, using timers,
computerized word judging via Zyzzyva, and attempting to keep the noise level down. There is a
healthy mix of newbies every week as the club tries many avenues to publicize its existence. New
players appreciate the web page explaining club play: http://www.seattlescrabble.org/
newplayerinfo.php. The club welcomes newbies with a free night's play, free challenges, grace on
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going overtime, and use of the two- and three-letter word lists. There are plenty of club-owned
boards, tiles, and timers, yet few get used as most regular players bring their own equipment. Many
boards and racks were made by club regular George Bissonnette. Bob Schoenman occasionally
attends club and runs ProTiles (http://www.protiles.net/) from here in Puget Sound.
Since 2002, less formal gatherings take place on Sundays at Third Place Books in Lake Forest
Park; many club members participate.
Seattle Tournaments:
The first Seattle tournament was held in 1988. Tournaments have been held most every year since
1995, historically on Memorial Day holiday weekend. In February 2007, director Jane Bissonnette
held the first Seattle one-day tournament. Jane now directs three one-day tournaments each year.
This year, after having no multi-day tourney in 2009, the 3-day tourney format is back, moved to
November 12-14, with a one-day early bird on Nov.11. For more info, see the tournament website
(http://www.seattlescrabble.org/tournament.php) where players can sign up and pay online.
Each fall, the Seattle Club competes in one-day tournaments versus the clubs from Portland, OR,
and Vancouver, BC. The match against Portland dates back over 15 years and is held in the town
of Chehalis, WA--about halfway between the cities. The match against Vancouver is only about 5
years old and is held in Ferndale, WA, also halfway between the cities. Each rivalry has a traveling
trophy/plaque that the winning club holds until the next year’s match.
About three dozen regular Seattle Club players are active in the national SCRABBLE® tournament
circuit. They form a strong presence at most western and west-coast tourney venues, but can be
found at any given tournament in the U.S. and Canada.
Seattle WA SCRABBLE® Club #253 meets on Tuesday nights at 6 p.m. at the University Friends
Meetinghouse, Social Hall, 4001 9th Avenue NE, in Seattle, WA. Four games for $5; equipment is
provided. Contact Rebecca Slivka, 206-285-7188, [email protected].
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21-game winning streak at Des Moines Club
The Des Moines (IA) Club # congratulates James Ferguson, who has extended
his undefeated streak for its 2010 season to a remarkable 21 wins.
Des Moines IA SCRABBLE® Club #658 meets twice weekly: Tuesday nights
at 6:00 p.m. at Merle Hay Mall Food Court, Corner of Merle Hay Rd. and
Douglas Ave., Des Moines, IA; and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. at Amici’s Coffee
House, 206 6th Avenue, Des Moines, IA. Contact information: David Hurd,
515-255-3986 [email protected]; Matthew Ridout,
[email protected]. Club website: http://www.dmscrabble.com/
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Taxing words at Austin Club
Becky Dyer sent in the following news from Austin (TX) SCRABBLE® Club #234:
As reported by our director, Geoff Thevenot, the high turn from our April 12 club meeting was
played by Oliver Roeder: RETAXING, 114--a double-double through the X in his opponent Jacob
Williams's earlier bingo, which was...RETAXING! (Of course, April 15 was that week.)
I didn't see any other directly tax-related words among the club's reported bingo list for this week,
but some that might be relevant to the profession of accounting in general:
DETAILS, AVERAGES, CERTIFY, LEDGERS, and MINUTIA
Austin TX SCRABBLE® Club #234 meets on Monday nights at 6:30 p.m. at the Austin Recreation
Center, 1301 Shoal Creek Blvd. in Austin, TX. Contact Geoff Thevenot, 512-921-9169
[email protected].
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Asheville goes on line
What’s new with the Asheville, NC
SCRABBLE® Club? The most active
club in the Carolinas continues to grow,
but the big news is our new presence on
the web at www.ashevillescrabble.com!
The scrolling marquee reminds
everyone that we meet twice weekly,
and is updated frequently with other
news. The Scrabblog page links to new
SCRABBLE® references in a variety of
media. Information regarding
tournament play is just a page away,
with news about upcoming tournaments
in our region as well as Nationals. Our
fifth annual November tournament is
featured, of course. New players have a page where basic info is provided about our competitive
game, and serious students have more than one page of study aid opportunities and other
resources. Our webmaster, Jacob Cohen, has designed a site that might become a favorite place
for many players of our word game, because the list of links is so comprehensive and wellorganized. Give him some feedback at [email protected]. Enjoy the site, and come see us
when you visit the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina!
Asheville NC SCRABBLE® Club #234 meets on Sundays from 1-5 p.m. at Books-A-Million, 136
South Tunnel Road (across from Asheville Mall), Asheville, NC, and on Wednesdays from 6:30-10
p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 3 South Tunnel Road (Asheville Mall), Asheville, NC. Contact directors
William Snoddy, 828-252-8154, [email protected]; Grace Schmidt, 828-628-3746,
[email protected]; JoAnn Goddard, 828-252-4895, [email protected].
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Vincent VanDover has 6-Bingo Game at Club 42
Carol Dustin shared the following news from Minneapolis MN SCRABBLE® Club 42:
April 13th was the anniversary of Alfred Butts' birth. It apparently has been declared "National
Scrabble Day".
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpps/news/dpgoh-national-scrabble-day-fc-20100413_7032688
April 13th is also the day that, in 2010, at Club 42, Vincent VanDover had a 6-bingo game against
David Herfel and scored 631. Vince’s bingos: AUTeURS, ROLAMITE, SAPReMIC, CAREENED,
REUSING, VIRGINS.
I checked the records page at our club website. Vincent didn't quite break his own record (661 in
2000), or the club's record (Steve Pellinen’s 665 game in 2003), but he says it's his first 6-bingo
game. I'm still waiting for mine ; )
I've attached two photos, one of the board, and one of the winner. The blanks are both Es. All plays
on the board are acceptable (yes, even FLECKY!)
Minneapolis MN SCRABBLE® Club #42 meets on Tuesday nights at 6:00 p.m. at the Bridge
Center, 6020 Nicollet Ave. S.. Minneapolis, MN. Contact Steve Pellinen, 952-925-2440,
[email protected]. Club website: http://www.bachster.com/scrabble/.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Flint Club Newcomers
Jeff Clark reports: “We had two first-time players at our club April 27th, bringing to five the number of
newcomers this year. One player quit coming after her 0-9 start, but another two have become
regulars. It is to early to tell what will happen with the two newest players, but they both seemed to
enjoy themselves, and one went 2-2 and averaged about 300 ppg.” The club allows new players to
use a cheat sheet for as long as they feel they need it.
Flint MI SCRABBLE® Club #317 meets on Tuesday nights from 5-10 p.m. at Capitol Coney Island,
G-4021 Van Slyke Rd., Flint, MI. Contact Margaret (Miki) Sutherland, 810-653-0152,
[email protected].
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Word Star
by Jeff Kastner
Play Word Star, a word game with similarities to Boggle, created and presented each month by Phoenix, AZ
expert Jeff Kastner.
Your object is to find and list as many words as possible, using only the 6 letters contained in the Word Star
puzzle. All words must be OWL2 or Long List acceptable.
There are 3 basic rules to finding words within a Word Star puzzle:
1. Words must be at least 3 or more letters long (with no limit on how long the word can be).
2. Words are formed by using letters that adjoin each other. For example, the words SING and
CON are acceptable, but not COINS, because the “N” and the “S” are not neighboring letters.
3. Letters within a word may repeat as many times as possible, as long as such letters are
repeated twice (or thrice) in a row, or as long as Rule 2 is followed. So, for example, COO,
INNING and GIGS are acceptable. But, GOON would not be acceptable because the “G” and the
“O” are not adjoining.
•
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Note that the Center Star, located in the white middle portion of the puzzle, is the most
important letter. It is the only letter that adjoins each of the 5 others in the puzzle. In
addition, there are bonus points awarded for using the Center Star as often as possible.
The Center Star in this month’s puzzle is the letter “I.”
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Multiple forms of the same word are acceptable (for example, RATE, RATED, RATER, RATERS, and
RATES would all be fine, if they were in the puzzle). No points are awarded (and no penalty points are
assessed) for any entries on your word list that are not in OWL2 or the Long List, or that do not adhere to
the above rules.
Points are scored as follows:
•
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2 Points for each WORD found.
5 Bonus Points for each BINGO (7 or more letters) found.
1 Point for each LETTER of every word found.
1 Bonus Point for each CENTER STAR of every word found.
Example of Points Scored:
Let’s say a Word Star puzzle has an “S” as the Center Star letter, and your list consists of the following
words:
ATTIRE
ATTIRES
SAT
SATE
SATIRE
SATIRES
TIRE
TIRES
Your score would be:
•
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•
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16 Points for the 8 WORDS found.
10 Bonus Points for the 2 BINGOS (ATTIRES and SATIRES) found.
42 Points for each of the 42 LETTERS used in the 8 words.
7 Bonus Points for each CENTER STAR used (the letter “S” is used 7 times).
TOTAL SCORE in this imaginary example = 75 Points.
Par Scores for this month’s Word Star:
300 points (Novice); 425 points (Intermediate); 550 points (Advanced)
Once you’ve compiled your list, check out my SOLUTION ON THE NEXT PAGE.
See you next month with another Word Star puzzle! …Jeff Kastner
Jeff Kastner, originally from New York City, has been living in Phoenix, AZ since 1985. Jeff is one of a
handful of players who has ever been ranked in the USA-top-50 in both SCRABBLE® and chess. He is the
2007-2008 Phoenix SCRABBLE® Club champion as well as the 2008-2009 Scottsdale SCRABBLE® Club
champ. His chess, Sudoku, and word puzzles appear weekly in The Jewish Press newspaper and website.
He hosts the Internet program Who’s on the Show?, where one of his first interviews was with directors
Larry Rand and Barbara Van Alen: http://whosontheshow.com/shows.html
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SOLUTION
CIG
CIGS
CION
CIS
CISCO
COCCI
COCCIC
COCO
COCOON
COCOONING
COCOONINGS
COIGN
COIGNING
COIN
COINING
CON
CONGII
CONI
CONIC
CONICS
CONIN
CONING
CONN
CONNING
COO
COOCOO
COOING
COON
GIG
GIGGING
GIGS
GIN
GINNING
GINNINGS
ICING
ICINGS
ICON
ICONIC
IGG
IGGING
IGGS
INION
INN
INNING
INNINGS
ION
IONIC
IONICS
IONISING
NINON
NISI
PAR SCORES:
300 points (Novice)
425 points (Intermediate)
550 points (Advanced)
BEST SCORE:
2 Points for each WORD found:
72 Words = 144 points.
5 Bonus Points for each BINGO found:
19 Bingos = 95 points.
1 Point for each LETTER of every word found:
378 Letters = 378 points.
1 Bonus Point for each CENTER STAR of every word found:
87 I’s = 87 points.
TOTAL = 704 Points
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NOISING
NONIONIC
NOO
NOON
NOONING
NOONINGS
ONION
ONO
SCION
SCISSION
SIC
SICCING
SICS
SIGN
SIGNING
SIN
SING
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The Art of Strategy
Challenging
by Art Moore
Your opponent plays a word that you simply don't recognize. Be it common or uncommon, it doesn't
make sense to you. If you're an expert player you probably know immediately if it's good. Likely
you're not an expert and you're considering challenging. It's not always as clear-cut as "I don't like
it." Before you commit, say "Hold!" and consider the situation:
• Does the word give you the place to put down your bingo that you didn't have before?
• How many points is the play? Do you want to risk losing a turn for the meager points your
opponent received?
• Do you recognize this phony? A recent opponent played COILY* against me. I've unsuccessfully
played that word years ago.
• Does this play put the game win out of reach? If so, you'll probably want to challenge the word.
• How does it impact the board? I recently allowed an opponent to get away with MINTILY*
because it shut down one of two bingo lanes he needed to catch up. I dutifully blocked the other
in my next turn.
• Finally, consider your rack. If you've stumbled upon bum tiles, consider how devastating a lost
challenge could be. In another recent game my opponent played HEISTER. I'd never considered
HEIST as a verb, so I held a while. Looking at my rack, I'm holding ACIIIU?. I accepted the play
and exchanged my tiles. Had I challenged I'd have lost two turns as the word is good, and my tiles
would still have had to be exchanged. I went on to win that game by 4 points.
Art Moore lives just outside of Orlando, husband to an incredibly patient woman and father of four
equally tolerant children. He is co-director of Club #438 in Casselberry, Florida. Find him on ISC
under the moniker "Werds."
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Equipment Roundup
This month’s equipment roundup looks at tile bags. The Last Word makes no representation as to
any of the equipment listed, and we will not accept calls related to order fulfillment or quality. We do
not list prices as they are subject to change; follow the links for these.
Readers are encouraged to write in to add equipment to our list ([email protected]).
Next month we will look at tile racks.
TILE BAGS
SAM KANTIMATHI (www.samtimer.com)
Sam Kantimathi offers three styles of tile bags. Visit his website for special discounts.
Silk Drawstring Tile Bags
Silk bags featuring a spring-loaded drawstring locking mechanism with an alligator grip to minimize
tile spillover during travel. 11.5” tall x 6.75” wide (or 28.5 cm x 17 cm). Available in 10 fabric colors.
New-style Drawstring Tile Bags
9” tall x 7” wide. Style One: Red drawstring bag with “SamTimer.com” in thin letters. Style Two:
Charcoal drawstring bag with black mesh detail on both sides; no logos.
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MADY GARNER ([email protected])
Sports motif tile bags with drawstrings. Also sports motif OWL covers. Contact Mady Garner for
special bargains.
MARY KRIZAN ([email protected])
A variety of tile bags in both stand-up style and flat, with either drawstring or zipper tops. Custommade bags on request. Contact Mary Krizan for orders and prices.
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COLLEEN SHEA (ceshea@optonline)
Cotton bags with theme fabrics, either supplied by Colleen Shea or by customer. Contact Colleen
Shea for orders and prices.
INCREDIBLE TILE BAGS ([email protected]; [email protected])
Incredibly sTILEish--many colors and styles available. Made by word lovers for word lovers.
Contact [email protected] or [email protected] for orders and prices.
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SCRABBLE® in the News
See something about SCRABBLE® or a SCRABBLE® player in the news? Let us know! Send your
stories to [email protected].
Uproar over proper noun use in SCRABBLE®
The big SCRABBLE® news this past month was based on a misunderstanding. Misleading stories
in the U.K. Daily Mail and Telegraph and on BBC announced that SCRABBLE® rules were being
changed to permit proper nouns. Millions of SCRABBLE® fans flooded the blogs in outrage, and
news media grabbed the story and ran. Countless papers reprinted the story; it aired on NPR;
Stephen Colbert even played with the story on his popular TV show, “The Colbert Report.”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The release date of the story--April 1st--made people
wonder whether it was all a hoax.
SCRABBLE® experts everywhere were called for their
comments. NASPA co-president John Chew and
spokesperson Robin Pollock Daniel took turns
appearing on CBS radio stations across Canada.
Stefan Fatsis, author of Word Freak, addressed readers
of the Washington Post, the New York Times, and Slate.
Brian Cappelletto, former National and World Champion,
aired his thoughts in the Chicago Sun-Times. John D.
Williams, Jr., Executive Director of the NSA (National
SCRABBLE® Association), spoke to CBS.
The bottom line is that SCRABBLE®’s rules have not
changed--and players can breathe a collective sigh of
relief that the country Kyrgyzstan and the writer Narcyza
Żmichowska will not be acceptable in tournament, club,
nor even casual play. Stephen Colbert will not be
changing his middle name to “Qxyzzy” after all.
SCRABBLE® Trickster, a new game in England by
APRIL MILESTONES
AMIT CHAKRABARTI won his 500th
rated TWL game with his final-game
win at the Boston Area Tournament
(BAT), where he won Division 1.
WEERA SAENGSIT reached 2000 for
the first time at his first tournament, the
Boston Area Tournament (BAT) NAST
Early Bird (his initial rating was 2008!)
SETH MANDEL reached 1600 for the
first time at the Berlin NJ Tournament.
LISA ABRAHAM reached 1500 for the
first time at the Ardmore Tournament.
GREG EDWARDS reached 1500 for
the first time at the Minneapolis MN
Tournament.
SUE GABLE reached 1500 for the first
time at the Philadelphia Tournament.
JEREMY JEFFERS reached 1500 for
the first time at the Berkeley CA
Tournament.
DEREK MARTINEZ reached 1500 for
the first time at the Minneapolis MN
Tournament.
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Mattel, who owns the rights to SCRABBLE® there, is being released in July. This variation has
cards one can draw that permit a proper noun, a backwards word, and other oddities. But this is not
the SCRABBLE® Brand Crossword Game we all love so well. It is a spin-off. And it is only being
released in England thus far.
The good news is that the misunderstanding flooded the media with stories about SCRABBLE®,
publicity that John D. Williams, Jr. of the NSA mentioned with a smile at the recent National School
SCRABBLE® Championship in Orlando, FL. As it is said, news is news, good or bad, and
SCRABBLE® in the news is good for the game!
iPad offers SCRABBLE® players new options
The new iPad offers Scrabblers new ways to play the game, including playing with the free iPhone/
iPod Touch app “Tile Rack,” which enables players to hold their racks in their hands and flick tiles
onto the iPad SCRABBLE® board electronically. With instant tile drawing and scoring, the game is
fast-moving and fun. The only drawbacks are that phonies are not allowed to be played and clocks
are not used (which might be a plus to busy players). Read David Pogue’s review of the iPad in the
March 31 New York Times and click the image below to see the iPad SCRABBLE® app in action.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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School SCRABBLE® players in the news
Numerous stories have appeared in the news about the young players at the National School
SCRABBLE® Championship April 9-10. Here are a story about the runner-up team from New York,
Kevin Rosenberg and Tim Bryant: http://soundshore.lohudblogs.com/2010/04/13/new-rochellechess-champ-takes-no-2-prize-in-scrabble/
6th annual SCRABBLE® with the Stars Benefit in Toronto
Celebrities gathered at The Suites in Toronto once again to raise money for PAL Place Toronto,
which helps aging Canadian artists working in film, theatre, and television receive proper health care
and accommodation. http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-33177-Toronto-Performing-ArtsExaminer~y2010m4d13-Scrabble-with-the-Stars-brings-Canadian-celebrities-together-for-a-goodcause
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Ann Sanfedele photo in Chicago Exhibition
Scrabbler/photographer/poet Ann
Sanfedele (see January issue of The Last
Word) has had a photo selected for the
PDML-Augenblick Exhibition at the
Sharpenberg Gallery in Chicago May 7June 12. The curator of the gallery
selected 44 photos from about 100 that
appear in the 2009-2010 PDML Annual.
(PDML stands for Pentax Discuss Mailing
List, which is an online discussion group
for photographers who shoot with Pentax
equipment.) Says Ann: “There are some
especially stunning photographs in the
exhibit that were culled from this year’s
annual. I'd love to see Chicago friends at
the opening but if you can't make it, try to get to the gallery at some point - you won't be
disappointed. The book from which the photos were selected is available on line. The profits from
the sale of the Annual go to the National Childhood Cancer Foundation. Click here to learn more
about the book and the project. (Also see the recent AP news story on the show.)
PDML-Augenblick Exhibition, May 7-June 12, 2010, Sharpenberg Gallery (4th Floor), DANKHaus,
German American Cultural Center, 4740 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL 60625. 773-561-9181. http://
www.dankhaus.com/(See "Events and Activites" ) Opening cocktail reception from 6-9 on
Friday, May 7th. The gallery is open to the public on Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm in addition to
the opening reception.
Alfred Butts’ birthday declared “National SCRABBLE® Day”
Alfred Butts, the inventor of SCRABBLE®, was born in Poughkeepsie, NY on April 13, 1899. That
day has been designated “National SCRABBLE® Day.” http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpps/news/
dpgoh-national-scrabble-day-fc-20100413_7032688
Austin Club director leaving after 25 years
Caesar Jaramillo, director of the Austin TX SCRABBLE® Club #234 for the last 25 years, is moving
to Lubbock and handing the club over to Geoff Thevenot. http://www.statesman.com/news/local/ascrabble-whiz-leaves-town-522875.html
New York City students compete in citywide tournament
April 1st 36 students aged 6-12 competed in a citywide tournament in Central Park hosted by the
National SCRABBLE® Association (NSA) and the New York City Department of Parks and
Recreation. Go to the following link to see a video of some of the contestants: http://
www.dnainfo.com/20100401/upper-east-side/student-wordsmiths-compete-citywide-scrabbletournament-central-park
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National School SCRABBLE® Champions on TV
Following their exciting win at the 2010 National
School SCRABBLE® Championship in Orlando,
7th graders Bradley Robbins and Evan McCarthy
from Windham, NH were invited to appear on
Good Morning America and Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The boys played well in their TV games, bingoing
on both shows, and earned kudos from their
fellow School SCRABBLE® players for becoming
the first NSSC Champions to defeat Jimmy
Kimmel. On Good Morning America they bested
George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts.
On Jimmy Kimmel Live! The boys provided
entertaining banter with Kimmel, who is well
known for putting down kids on television.
Example:
KIMMEL: Are your friends watching?
ROBBINS: I don’t know.
KIMMEL: Do you have any friends?
ROBBINS: Yes. Do you?
For the final part of the abbreviated game (there
was not time for a full game), Kimmel teamed with
ESPN’s Erin Andrews, twice voted “America’s
Sexiest Sportscaster” by Playboy magazine,
encouraging her to distract the boys. It didn’t
work; Bradley even commented that he had no
idea who Andrews was. The competition was a
form of “trash talk” SCRABBLE®, with taunting
and insults--a far cry from the quiet game played
at tournaments, but very amusing.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! show also included short
clips of his winning “games” against former
School SCRABBLE® Champions Aune Mitchell
and Matthew Silver from Connecticut (2007) and
Andy Hoang and Erik Salgado from North
Carolina (2009), plus he mentioned and showed a
photo of sisters Hannah and Eliza Lieberman from
Charlotte, North Carolina, the only team to beat
the Windham Whiptails at the 2010 NSSC.
Click the images on the right to see the shows.
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Q & A with Bradley Robbins
Bradley Robbins and his partner, Evan McCarthy, seventh graders from
Windham, NH, were the winning team at this year’s National School
SCRABBLE® Championship. Bradley speaks here with The Last Word’s
editor, Cornelia Guest, about the Nationals, the TV appearances, and
SCRABBLE® in general.
_______________________________________________________________________________
How long have you been playing SCRABBLE®?
I have been playing SCRABBLE® for about three years, competitively for about two years.
How did you start playing SCRABBLE®?
When my grandparents got me a laptop for my birthday a number of years ago, it came with a free
trial of SCRABBLE® on it. I downloaded the program, and taught myself the game. Before this, I'd
barely played in my life. I learned the very basics of SCRABBLE®, and kept going from there. A few
months after beginning to use the software, I joined the Manchester NH SCRABBLE® club, where
they welcomed me into their club warmly and excitedly. All the people in the club are friendly and
eager to play, win, AND lose, to a 10-year-old, 11-year-old, 12-year-old, and now 13-year-old! They
have always been gracious winners and losers and it's a really great club! Then, I joined an online
SCRABBLE® site, and began playing in tournaments....
You and your NSSC partner, Evan McCarthy, both had different partners last year. When did
you decide to play as a team?
Evan and I had been playing together in the school club for a couple of years. When it was
announced that the NSSC would be in Orlando, we each spoke with our previous partners and then
agreed to play together.
How did you prepare for Nationals?
Evan and I each took different roles for the studying. For example, I would study eights, and he
would learn -ING words that take an S. Also, we played some School SCRABBLE® tourneys to help
us prepare. We also played together at our school club and at the local adult club and worked with
our coach on teamwork.
How do you play as a team?
Evan does the writing, scoring, and tracking typically, and we confer on every play. We also worked
on different studying strategies and our communication strategies with our coach. I usually pick the
tiles
What were your thoughts when you had a loss in Game 2?
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I knew that there was no point fretting over the loss; it was frustrating, but our opponents played well
and we did the best we could with our tiles. But we also knew that we still had a slim chance, and
we were determined to pursue it.
What happened in the semifinals?
In the semifinals, with no tiles remaining, we saw Tristan and Ruben put down all their tiles and start
to add the score. At this point, I knew that I would challenge the word whether it was RAINING, or
less commonly, ZEUGMAS, or a complete phony! Unfortunately, I got distracted. I said something to
Evan, I forget what, and then flipped over the three tiles left on our rack, saying, "Nice game" or
something like that. Then, I remembered..."Challenge!" I said. I noticed that I had already flipped
over the tiles, and congratulated them, and that some time had already gone by. IDOLATE? Is that
even a word? I knew IDOLATOR and IDOLATER, but could IDOLATE go by itself? I certainly hadn't
seen it before. But, it could be good. The opponents, or us, I forget, called the director to tell us
whether we could challenge or not. Ben Greenwood consulted with the other tournament officials,
such as Joe Edley and John Williams for the longest thirty minutes of my life. The issue that was
discussed was whether or not too much time had elapsed before I challenged. It turned out that
nothing else but the time elapsed really matters in this kind of situation. Everyone at the table
agreed that the challenge had occurred within 20 seconds. Finally, Ben Greenwood walked up to
table one, and told us that we could proceed to challenge.
I was extremely relieved, yet none of us had any idea if IDOLATE was good or not. "Idolate. Idolate.
Idolate. Idolate?!" I thought to myself. We typed it in. My heart was beating five-hundred miles per
hour. Tab. THE PLAY IS NOT ACCEPTABLE! I felt like I was going to faint! This had been one of the
most suspenseful moments of my life. They took the word off the board, and we played a word, and
they played a twenty-ish point play. We played an out play to win the game by roughly 80 points. We
had to win the game by 28 or more to make the finals. Even with IDOLATE, we still would have won
the game by 11 points, but it wouldn't have taken us to the finals.
Did you realize your semifinals opponents could have played TOtALED or TADpOLE?
Nope. We barely even looked to see if they had a playable bingo. Although it worked out, it was our
biggest mistake in the entire tournament.
You had tough tiles in the finals, but did a terrific job keeping the board closed. Can you
describe your thoughts during this game?
Well, I knew that we had to keep the board relatively closed in order to win the game, because I
knew they had the blank from a previous challenge-off.
What was it like being on Good Morning America?
It was fun. Quick, yet fun. It was also cool to shake Chris Rock's hand. I don’t know much about
morning shows so it was all new to me. But I loved the show and New York.
What was it like being on Jimmy Kimmel Live!?
It was a blast being on the Jimmy Kimmel show. The limo ride was fun, and the driver was
interesting to listen to because he drives Jimmy Kimmel's guests all the time. The preparation for
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the show started actually before we even left for Los Angeles because we talked to the producer
over the phone. He wanted to get to know Evan and me, and prepare us for Jimmy's trash talk! He
told us not to take the trash talk personally, and to try to do it back as much as we could! And for
those of you who know me, you know that trash talk does not come naturally to me, but I agreed to
give a try. At the rehearsal they told us again to have fun bantering with Jimmy. The people at the
rehearsal gave us our own room to relax in, with a Wii and snacks.
When I got to the studio and the show was about to start, the music was incredibly loud, but
entertaining and good! We knew Jimmy was a good SCRABBLE® player, but we hoped that we
would be able to win. Fortunately the tiles went our way! Jimmy was really nice, and even gave us
presents at the end.
Do you plan to come back to defend your title at next year's NSSC?
I certainly do plan on going again next year. No guarantee that we can defend our title though.
There were, and I am sure will be next year, a lot of very strong teams competing!
Can you give me general thoughts on your NSSC experience this year--did you go to the
theme park, for example?
The whole experience was a blast! Yes, I did go to the theme park, and although it was fun, it was
NOTHING compared to the tournament! I also had a lot of fun at the evening ice cream party and
playing poolside with other Scrabblers.
Have you considered going to the World Youth Scrabble Championship this year?
I really want to, but my parents need some persuasion!
Will you be competing at the National SCRABBLE® Championship in Dallas this year?
Certainly! (and possibly the World tournament that follows it).
At the NSSC, what was the most exhilarating play you made?
The three consecutive bingos in the semifinals (two by us and one by our opponents) was pretty
wild.
What do you like to do other than play SCRABBLE®?
I enjoy playing poker and table tennis, listening to music, playing with my dog, watching movies,
reading, etc.
Thanks, Bradley--and good luck at the NSC!
Thanks!
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Passages
Larry Sherman, Editor
Each month we will be including information about SCRABBLE® players (births, deaths, marriages,
etc.) Please send your news to Cornelia Guest, at [email protected].
_______________________________________________________________________________
DEATHS
RITA NORR PROVOST
by Cornelia Guest
Rita Norr Provost, the only woman to have won
the National SCRABBLE® Championship, died
April 28 after a long struggle with brain cancer.
She was 66.
Few players touched the hearts of the
SCRABBLE® community as Rita did. She was
smart, funny, beautiful, kind--yet also fiercely
competitive. With her death the outpourings of
memories from SCRABBLE® players
throughout the country has been astonishing.
And all of them tell stories of Rita’s great heart,
her generosity, her thoughtfulness to others.
Rita Norr tracking tiles during a game at New York’s Club
56 in 1988, a bit under a year after she was the 1987
National Champion. (Photo copyright ©1988 by Ann
Sanfedele. Used with permission.)
Rita started playing tournament SCRABBLE®
in 1980, when she was living in Brooklyn. She
became a regular at the New York City Game
Room, and quickly became a top player. She
played in 219 tournaments over the next 27
years, reaching a peak rating of 2005 in 1987
after winning the National SCRABBLE®
Championship over Jeremiah Mead and Chuck
Armstrong. She also was the winner of the
1995 Stamford CT World’s Qualifier, the 2000
Danbury CT Eastern Championship, and the
1998 Los Angeles CA Club Championship,
among others. She was on the U.S. team at the
2003 and 2005 World Scrabble Championships.
Those who were at the 1987 National Championship in Las Vegas will never forget her squeal of
delight when she won her final game to take the title. For all women playing SCRABBLE® Rita
became an icon in a world where men have won most of the titles. She had managed to do it all:
She was a working mother with three children--and the National SCRABBLE® Champion!
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Rita was co-author, with Audrey Tumbarello, of three books: Uncommon Word Puzzles for the
Creative Thinker (Sterling, 1997); The Literate Puzzler (Sterling, 1994); and The Word Game Power
Workout (Putnam, 1993).
In the early 2000s Rita became director of the Ridgefield SCRABBLE® Club #603 in Ridgefield, CT.
There she helped starting players learn the game, and provided great competition and friendship.
In 2005 Rita married Rick Provost, and the two lived in Danbury, CT with their dog, Harry. Some
short months after her wedding, Rita was diagnosed with brain cancer. Despite the effects of the
disease and the chemotherapy, she continued to be active and play SCRABBLE® for as long as
she could. She appreciated the many friends who came to see her when she could no longer get
out, and the devotion of her husband, Rick, who cared for her throughout the long illness.
Scrabblers gathered in at the Brooklyn home of Rita’s son, Chris Norr, on May 1st to celebrate the
life of one of the SCRABBLE® greats. We will miss you, Rita.
Rita is survived by her husband, Rick; her children, Chris, Ethan, and Kirsten; and her
grandchildren, Shaun, Aidan, and Sadie.
_______________________________________________________________________________
PAUL MICHAEL CHITWOOD
by Mary Rhoades
Mike Chitwood, a longtime player in the Dallas-Fort
Worth area, passed away April 21 of heart failure.
He was 66.
Mike first came to the Mid-Cities club around 1989,
which means many of the SCRABBLE® players
knew him for about 21 years. He was very excited
to find an actual organized group of folks who
shared his passion for the word game and played in
an organized and competitive setting. He played in
both the Mid-Cities and Dallas clubs.
It wasn’t easy at first for him to win games, as most
of us had been playing competitively for a number
of years, and after a number of weeks he finally
won his first game. From that day on he would
encourage newcomers by bragging that he held the
record for most games lost before winning one.
Mike liked coaching new players. Becky Dyer of
Austin said, “He was always a great opponent for
me, especially when I was starting out as a nervous
newbie. He was always cheerful, smiling,
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Lynn Sneed said, “One of the first people my 15-year-old son, Stephen, (he was then 13) ever
played at the SCRABBLE® club was Mike. I was shocked that he knowingly played a phony, but
quickly learned that that was part of the game! He will be missed by all.”
Mike Early of Fort Worth, a fellow member of the Mid-Cities club, said, “He was always so
exemplary of the ‘pass it on’ spirit that is so indicative of many in SCRABBLE®. He was an
understanding and very talented soul. I will deeply miss him, as I know SCRABBLE® will, too. “
Our SCRABBLE® community is often more like a family than a detached organization. I never
hesitated to pair Mike up with new players at club because I knew he would focus more on helping
them learn our procedures than winning the game.
His desire to help new players resulted in his starting a third club in the Metroplex—strictly for
novices. He trained them and coached them, and some of them “graduated” to the more competitive
clubs in Dallas and Bedford. Unfortunately, when his work took him to Tyler, he had to hand his club
over to Bryan Pepper.
All the photos I have of Mike were taken at tournaments or clubs, most with his ever-present hat. I’m
not sure how large his collection of hats was, but it was interesting to see his outfits over the years.
It was also easy to describe him to a player who was scheduled to play him and didn’t know him
—“He’s the guy wearing the hat.”
All in all, he played in 144 tournaments over the years, sometimes placing first, occasionally placing
last, but always having fun. The last few years were difficult for him as his health and his finances
became more difficult, but until the last few months he continued to come to the Mid-Cities club, and
his last tournament was our three-day Mid-Cities tournament last September in Irving. We will miss
him.
Mary Rhoades, Director
Mid-Cities SCRABBLE® Players Club
Bedford, TX
Mike Chitwood is survived by his daughter Madelyn; his son John; his brothers Patrick, John, Mark,
and Charles; and his sisters Kathryn and Susan. Contributions in Mike’s memory may be sent to
the Mike Chitwood Memorial Scholarship fund (for information contact [email protected]). To
visit Mike’s online guest book at Legacy.com, go to http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?
bookid=2491223160565&cid=full.
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SCRABBLE®
Resources
There are many study tools to help tournament SCRABBLE® players hone their skills, including a
number of programs that can be downloaded for free. This section will offer suggestions and links,
plus feature each month a different SCRABBLE® resource. This month we look at Aerolith, César
Del Solar’s anagramming program for learning words for SCRABBLE®.
_______________________________________________________________________________
AEROLITH
by César Del Solar
I came up with Aerolith as a result of playing with Jumbletime and Zyzzyva, and wanting to combine
the features of both of them. Jumbletime was missing word definitions and a way to see the words
that were missed more than once, and some of its lists were outdated or missing words. Zyzzyva is
also a fine study tool, but due to my fairly low attention span I really wanted to see more than one
word at a time. Thus I quickly put together Aerolith (which was just a placeholder name, since I kept
missing this particular word when quizzing on it back in the day). The program was intended to be
for my personal use only, and I didn't even make it multiplayer at first, but then realized that I wanted
to share it with my friends. I then added the multiplayer features and started serving it out of my
home computer shortly before the Players Championship in August 2007. For those who are
curious, the program is made with C++ using Nokia's Qt Toolkit; these are the same development
tools used by Zyzzyva and Quackle.
I remember my friend James Leong playing a lot with the program when I released it and always
destroying everyone at 7s, 8s, and even 9s, which he never studied. I told him he was going to win
the Players Championship -- of course he didn't believe me! [James Leong was the winner of the
2007 Players Championship.]
As the program grew, I decided to get a virtual server for it to free up my home computer and allow
the program to run faster. I also played with the look and feel, making it similar to a poker table and
adding "tiles" instead of just the letters. I added challenges from 2 to 15 letter words; I still get
people doing the 14s and 15s and actually getting decent scores! The highest I ever got on the 15s
was about 6%; I still remember when I found FLIBBERTIGIBBET in one friendly 15s game, which
everyone knows from Jim Kramer's wonderful stories. I never got around to changing the name of
the program from Aerolith; I couldn't think of a suitable name and at that point the name Aerolith had
already gotten ingrained in people's heads.
The program has been kept stable for about the last two years, but I've been meaning to add a
great deal more features, and I have been working on many changes to improve it. Just last week I
released a test beta for the newest version of Aerolith, and I have been getting feedback from a few
people regarding any bugs and possible features I can fix. I've touched up the codebase and added
many features, including:
• The ability to upload your own word lists and work on them from any computer; these are stored
on the central server. The server keeps track of which words you've missed the first time you go
through the list, and you can choose to quiz on just these words later on.
• Three more lexicons: Collins (World English), FISE (Spanish), and Volost (Antarctic).
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• You can choose to watch a game in a full table. If top experts wish to make their daily challenges
table public, you can watch them solve the words! Also, a table of 8 players, for example, will be
able to hold more players as "spectators" and they can rotate with the people actually playing
(“stand” and “sit” buttons let spectators replace players who leave the game or decide to watch).
• You can play without having an Internet connection, with an easy method of creating your own
server on your computer.
• Aerolith now generates its own lexicon databases, so it does not need Zyzzyva to get the
definitions. The process is as simple as Zyzzyva's and only has to be done once, the first time the
program is used.
• The resolution is more "netbook-friendly"; the tables have been resized to the common resolution
of 1024x600.
• Many other features!
I expect to release Aerolith 1.0 after all these bugs are ironed out, perhaps this month.
Thank you to everyone who has donated to Aerolith! My main expenses for it are the roughly $30/
month that the virtual server costs, and I have been hoping to add even more features and games to
it. As always, you can find Aerolith and a Paypal donation link at http://www.aerolith.org; my email is
[email protected] for any suggestions or questions you may have about the program.
César Del Solar is a 26-year-old electrical engineer currently living and working in sunny Southern
California. He has been coding in his spare time since he was 8 years and found out he could write
programs on his older brother’s old programmable calculator. Besides SCRABBLE® and coding, he
also enjoys playing guitar, Dance Dance Revolution, and going to concerts and dance parties.
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RESOURCE LINKS
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NSA CLUB LISTINGS
ZYZZYVA
Lists casual clubs throughout
North America with their
meeting times and locations.
A free application for practicing
anagramming skills and
learning words. Also has Word
Judge capabilities.
Anagramming/Practice
SCRABBLE®
Play SCRABBLE® On
Tools
DICTIONARY
Line
JUMBLETIME
Type a word to check for
POGO SCRABBLE®
A free web site for practicing
acceptability. OSPD4 words.
The official SCRABBLE® online anagramming skills.
game. Created under
MAC USERS: After you do a
agreement with Hasbro in 2008. Jumbletime quiz on a Mac, the
scroll bar to view the results is
missing. To make it appear, go
SCRABBLE® ON
to the lower right corner and
FACEBOOK
grab the striped triangle and
Select the SCRABBLE®
shrink the window all the way to
application on the Facebook
the top left corner. When you
home page to play the official
pull it back, the scroll bar to the
SCRABBLE® game. Various
groups hold tournaments at this right of the answers to the quiz
(magically) appears. (Make sure
site, including a group called
you do this before you check
“Mad Scrabblers”.
your score against other
players.) Also, before running a
INTERNET SCRABBLE® quiz, you might want to first
CLUB
press Control and scroll with the
A Romanian-based site and
mouse to enlarge the screen so
application for interactive
that you can more easily view
games. A favorite site for many the jumbles. Once you finish
of the top players.
playing, scroll the screen back
to its original size. (Thanks to
Play Live SCRABBLE® Larry Rand and Monique
Kornell.)
CROSS-TABLES
Lists all upcoming tournaments,
AEROLITH
as well as results of past
tournaments. Has SCRABBLE® A free application for practicing
anagramming skills and
tournament aides.
learning words.
NASPA CLUB LISTINGS
Lists clubs throughout North
America with their meeting
times and locations.
QUACKLE
A free application for playing,
simulating, and analyzing
games.
LEXIFIND WORD FINDER
Type a word to check for
acceptability (includes Collins
words and TWL06). Also
includes anagramming and
constraint-based retrieval.
FRANKLIN SCRABBLE®
PLAYERS DICTIONARY
An electronic handheld
dictionary and anagrammer,
with many helpful options and
games. Includes the latest
word lists, and can be adjusted
from OSPD4 to OWL2 lists with
a code.
CLICK HERE TO HELP
END WORD HUNGER AS
YOU LEARN WORDS
A free vocabulary testing site.
For every correct word, grains
of rice are donated through the
United Nations World Food
Program. Feed hungry people
as you expand your vocabulary!
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Online SCRABBLE®
Discussion Groups
A great cheat sheet with 2s, 3s,
vowel dumps, short high-pointtile words, and good bingo
CGP (crossword-games- stems. Includes useful front
[email protected]) and back hook letters to make
This group, for tournament
3s from 2s. Adapted from Mike
players and directors only, has
Barron’s SCRABBLE®
the largest membership of any
Wordbook and the Official
online tournament
Tournament and Club Word
SCRABBLE® discussion group. List, 2nd Edition.
Most important events and
MIKE BARON’S CHEAT
changes in the SCRABBLE®
world are discussed on cgp.
SHEET (for School
Admission is by approval only.
SCRABBLE® and home
Details can be found in the
play)
NASPA Tournament
A great cheat sheet with 2s, 3s,
SCRABBLE® Newsletter #1.
vowel dumps, short high-pointtile words, and good bingo
OSPD (ospdstems. Includes useful front
[email protected] and back hook letters to make
3s from 2s. Adapted from Mike
om)
This group, dedicated to players Barron’s SCRABBLE®
using The Official SCRABBLE® Wordbook and the Official
Players’ Dictionary, offers light- SCRABBLE® Players
hearted humor, daily word lists, Dictionary, 4th Edition.
and more. Admission is to all
COOL WORDS TO KNOW
SCRABBLE® lovers. Details
A terrific cheat sheet from the
can be found in the NASPA
National SCRABBLE®
Tournament SCRABBLE®
Association for School
Newsletter #1.
SCRABBLE® and home play.
Gives useful information on how
SCRABBLE® Blogs
to find bingos, plus the 2s, 3s,
THE BADQOPH
vowel dumps, and short highpoint-tile plays.
DIRECTORY
This is a database of blogs by
known SCRABBLE® bloggers, COLLINS-ONLY CHEAT
SHEET
primarily tournament players.
A cheat sheet of short Collins
As of March 29th there were
words NOT found in the OWL2.
196 blogs in the directory.
2s, 3s, short high-point-tile
words, and Q-without-U words.
Cheat Sheets
MIKE BARON’S CHEAT
SHEET
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Useful links to Collins word lists
can be found at the following
websites: http://
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www.absp.org.uk/words/
words.html; http://
www.math.utoronto.ca/jjchew/
scrabble/lists/; http://
www.scrabble.org.au/words/
index.htm; http://
members.ozemail.com.au/
~rjackman/.
BOOKS
BOB’S BIBLE
A terrific book to build word
power for tournaments.
BOB’S BIBLE, SCHOOL
EDITION
For School SCRABBLE® and
home play.
BROW-RAISERS II
A brilliantly organized study
guide geared towards the
success of beginning and
intermediate players.
THE CHAMPION’S
STRATEGY FOR
WINNING AT
SCRABBLE® BRAND
CROSSWORD GAME
A guide from North American
SCRABBLE® Champion Joel
Wapnick. Out of print, but
available sometimes at
Amazon.com and on disc.
Note: New words not included.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
WORD BUILDER
Bob Jackman’s guide to
building a strong Collins
vocabulary. (Available at
SamTimer.com.)
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EVERYTHING
SCRABBLE®, THIRD
EDITION
The ultimate guide to winning
at SCRABBLE@ by 3-time
National Champion Joe Edley
and John D. Williams, Jr.
Completely updated to
include all new words. (See
review in the January issue of
The Last word.)
•
THE OFFICIAL
SCRABBLE® PLAYERS
DICTIONARY, FOURTH
EDITION
The official word source for
School SCRABBLE® and
casual play.
THE OFFICIAL
TOURNAMENT AND
CLUB WORD LIST, 2ND
EDITION
The official word source for
NASPA tournament and club
play.
SCRABBLE®
TOURNAMENT & CLUB
WORD LIST (COLLINS)
The official word list for
international tournament play.
(Available at SamTimer.com.)
SCRABBLE®
WORDBOOK
A great word book for
SCRABBLE® players by Mike
Baron. OSPD4 words. (POO
Lists available with words
excluded from the OWL2.)
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B lo omin g to n M N ( WGP O) 5/1-2
G len El lyn IL 5 /1
S out h Lyo n M I 5 /1
Ta mpa FL 5 /1
W innipe g M B CA N 5/1-2
B e rk eley CA 5 /2
Lag una Woods CA 5/2
B uff alo NY 5 /7 - 9
D al las, TX 5 /8
F t. Laud e rd a le FL 5/8
R hi neb eck NY 5/ 8
Mal ta Ope n 5 /1 4 -1 6
A n napol i s M D 5 / 15
B a y side N Y 5 /1 5
Lan sing M I 5 /1 5
H udson OH 5 /1 5- 16
S a s kato o n S K CA N 5/15-16
Tu cson AZ 5 /1 5
G uelph ON CA N 5 /16
Mou nta in View C A 5/16
D ur ham NC 5 /2 2
F t. Laud e rd a le FL 5/22
K e nner LA 5 /2 2 -2 3
O klahom a Ci ty O K 5/22
To ro nto ON CA 5 /2 2
P hiladelp hia PA 5 /23
A tlant a GA 5 /2 9- 3 1
C ampb el l C A 5 /2 9-31
H ou ston TX 5 /2 9 -31
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Berkeley CA 5/2
Laguna Woods CA 5/2
Mountain View CA 5/16
Campbell CA 5/29-31
MIDWEST
Bloomington MN (WGPO) 5/1-2
Glen Ellyn IL 5/1
South Lyon MI 5/1
Hudson OH 5/15-16
Lansing MI 5/15
Skokie IL (ArdenCup) 5/29-31
NORTHEAST
Buffalo NY 5/7-9
Rhinebeck NY 5/8
Bayside NY 5/15
Philadelphia PA 5/23
SOUTH
Tampa FL 5/1
Ft Lauderdale FL 5/8
Annapolis MD 5/15
Durham NC 5/22
Ft. Lauderdale FL 5/22
Kenner LA 5/22-23
Atlanta GA 5/29-31
SOUTHWEST
Dallas TX 5/8
Tucson AZ 5/15
Oklahoma City OK 5/22
Houston TX 5/29-31
CANADA
Winnipeg MB CAN 5/1-2
Saskatoon SK CAN 5/15-16
Guelph ON CAN 5/16
Toronto ON CAN 5/22
Montreal QC CAN 5/29-30
Mon t real QC CA N 5/29-30
S ko kie IL (Arden Cu p M e m o r i a l ) 5/2 9- 3 1
A
INTERNATIONAL
Malta Open 5/14-16
T
O
U
JUNE TOURNAMENTS
Calgary AB CAN 6/5-6
Tampa FL 6/5
Berkeley CA 6/6
Laguna Woods CA 6/6
Bayside NY 6/12
Charlotte NC 6/12-13
Kansas City MO 6/12-13
Mississauga ON CAN 6/12
Pittsburgh PA 6/12-13
Guelph ON CAN 6/13
Wilmington DE 6/13
Nashua NH 6/18-20
Victoria BC CAN 6/18-20
Edmonton AB CAN 6/19
Knoxville TN 6/19-20
Northern Spain Tour 6/24-7/1
Ft. Lauderdale FL 6/25-27
Michigan Madness MI 6/26-27
Seattle WA 6/26
Reno NV 6/30-7/5
R
N
A
M
E
N
T
C
A
L
E
N
D
A
R
WEST
Berkeley CA 6/6
Laguna Woods CA 6/6
Seattle WA 6/26
Reno NV 6/30-7/5
MIDWEST
Pittsburgh PA 6/12-13
Michigan Madness MI 6/26-27
NORTHEAST
Bayside NY 6/12
Wilmington DE 6/13
Nashua NH 6/18-20
SOUTH
Tampa FL 6/5
Charlotte NC 6/12-13
Knoxville TN 6/19-20
Ft. Lauderdale FL 6/25-27
SOUTHWEST
Kansas City MO 6/12-13
CANADA
Calgary AB 6/5-6
Mississauga ON 6/12
Guelph ON 6/13
Victoria BC 6/18-20
Edmonton AB 6/19
INTERNATIONAL
Northern Spain Tour 6/24-71
83
A
R
C
Archives
To access previous issues of The Last Word
click the links below.
Issue 1: November 2009
Issue 2: December 2009
Issue 3: January 2010
Issue 4: February 2010
Issue 5: March 2010
Issue 6: April 2010
84
H
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E
S

May 2010 - The Last Word Newsletter

Transcription

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