May/June 2012 - The Last Word Newsletter

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The Last Word
The Independent Tournament SCRABBLE® Newsletter
A Monthly Newsletter
Issue 29 - May/June 2012
“100 Tiles” Video
BAT Results
National School SCRABBLE® Championship
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: Jan Cardia, Timothy Cataldo, Judy Cole, Joe Edley, Stu Goldman,
Jeff Kastner, Joan Mocine, Tony Rasch, Lester Schonbrun, Larry Sherman,
Chris Sinacola, Siri Tillekeratne, Linda Wancel
Editors-at-large: Robin Pollock Daniel, Joe Edley, Stefan Fatsis, Ted Gest
Photographer-at-large: Betsey Wood
Contributors: The Austin Chronicle, Todd Baker, Tim Bottorff, Conrad BassettBouchard, Craig Beevers, Verna Richards Berg, Erin Collier, Lila Crotty, Tom
Draper, Mark Fidler, Lynda Finn, Jill Heffner, Marlon Hill, Donna Kim, Tony
Leah, Christopher Mason, Jessica Meller, Derek McKenzie, Roy Naylor, Terry
Kang Rau, Sherrie Saint John, Amanda Scott, Dean Scouloukas, David
Sutton, Raymond Tate, Geoff Thevenot, Randall Thomas
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 © 2012 GuessWhat! Some data copyright ©1999-2012 NSA; copyright © 2010-2012 NASPA; and copyright © 2005-2012 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 3
Emails to the Editor
Advertising Section: Equipment, Tournaments, Organizations, Books 5
Tournament News 9
Boston Area Tournament: April 13-15, 2012 by Terry Kang Rau 11
2012 National School SCRABBLE® Championship by Cornelia Guest; photos by Patricia A. Hocker,
National SCRABBLE® Association 17
Norwalk, CT: 4/21 by Cornelia Guest 23
Margarita Madness by Lynda Finn 24
San Diego Open by Conrad Bassett-Bouchard 26
Bermuda Treasures SCRABBLE® Cruise by Tony Leah 28
Norwalk, CT: 5/12 by Cornelia Guest; photo by Betsey Wood 31
D.C. Public Schools SCRABBLE® Championship by Stefan Fatsis 32
Tournament Results 34
New Faces: Christopher Mason 37
Joe Edley’s Puzzle Corner by Joe Edley 39
Cornerstone of Hope: Fundraising with SCRABBLE® by Dean Scouloukas 42
Words, Words, Words: Daily and Weekly Words to Learn edited by Cornelia Guest 45
Scrab-doku by Jeff Kastner 51
Geoff Thevenot: Austin’s Spelling Champion 54
Know the Rules by Jan Cardia 55
Fill in the Blanks by Jeff Kastner 56
The Wordsmith: A visit with the Basques by Chris Sinacola 58
ScrabbleDom by Tony Rasch 62
Club News edited by Larry Sherman 66
Word Trivia Quiz by Siri Tillekeratne 71
Historic Moments: SCRABBLE® Through the Years by Stu Goldman 73
What’s Your Play? 74
One Up! Cup for June by Timothy Cataldo 82
“100 Tiles”: A video snapshot of SCRABBLE® today by Cornelia Guest 84
SCRABBLE® and Scrabblers in the News edited by Judy Cole 86
Word Star by Jeff Kastner 97
Linda’s Library by Linda Wancel 99
Passages edited by Larry Sherman 101
SCRABBLE® Resources 102
Tournament Calendar 105
Archives 113
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From the Editor
I write from the Chicago airport, where I’m waiting for a flight back home from a great weekend
playing in the ArdenCup and visiting with my sons, both University of Chicago freshmen.
I don’t often travel far for SCRABBLE®, but the chance to play new opponents, meet some of my
contributors face-to-face for the first time, and see how another director runs a tournament was
appealing. The schedule of the tournament was also a draw: Day-only games on Saturday, Sunday,
and Monday gave me time to have dinner with my sons and my friends in Chicago--one of my
favorite cities.
The trip was everything I’d expected and more. Tom Tremont, the director of the ArdenCup, made
me feel most welcome. Playing up, I faced opponents who made every game interesting. I only
played two players I’d played before, and I learned some new words and strategies. Tom offered
prizes galore, and even though I finished last in my division, I took home the division prize for
Lowest Win and shared the award for “Best ArdenCup Word” with Paul Epstein. My name will be on
the perpetual trophy for that award--proof for future players that I indeed traveled for SCRABBLE®.
With travel costs up and a wide variety of tournaments close to home for many players, I’d
nonethless like to recommend traveling for SCRABBLE®. Back home I often play the same group
of players, and we know each other’s games. While it’s always fun to see those friends, it’s nice to
make new friends, hear other points of view, and get a better sense of how other areas of the
country see the current state of tournament SCRABBLE®.
I was pleased to find that the players I spoke with friendly and relaxed. On the East Coast there are
currently no WGPO tournaments offered, so supporters of that organization can choose to play in
NASPA events or play only informally or at clubs. The Midwestern players have choices, but most
seemed all right with playing in either organization’s tournament. Peaceful coexistence seemed the
norm.
There was also a strong camaraderie among the players. Most of them stayed for the awards
ceremony and cheered for all the winners. Tom Tremont had put out a contribution jar to raise
money for the creators of Director!, Zyzzyva, and Cross-tables; players were happy to support these
important adjuncts to our game. I left with ideas of how to improve my own tournaments--and also
an itch to travel to other areas to play SCRABBLE®.
If you’re considering playing in a multi-day tournament, consider traveling to a new area. The trip
will be more than just another tournament--it will be a mini-vacation. With a little research you may
also find it not all that much more expensive. I’m looking forward to exploring more new
SCRABBLE® communities in the future.
Thanks to Tom Tremont for a most enjoyable tournament--and to all the players who greeted me so
warmly. I’ll be back!
Cornelia Guest
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Emails to the Editor
Should you wish to send an email to the editor comment on any of the Newsletter articles—or make
suggestions or corrections—please email Cornelia Guest at [email protected]. Snail mail
is welcome at 135 Codfish Hill Road, Bethel, CT 06801. Emails chosen for publication may be
edited at the editor’s discretion.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Cornelia:
I received an announcement from Android app developer Rob Andersson that the paid edition
of his Wordlist Pro is now on sale for $1.98. Can you say, “DISCOUNT”? (Or anagram it?)
Perfect time to upgrade from the free “Lite” edition. With the paid edition you get: No ads; In-app
definitions (including parts-of-speech andalternate spellings); Word Judge for TWL, CSW, and
OSPD; Expanded list sizes; CSW unique words; Free future upgrades (including new dictionaries)
automatically; and a lot more.
So, gear up for Nationals and all the summer tournaments with the best, most accurate, and fastest
SCRABBLE® word-finder app in the Android market. Works on all Android smartphones and tablets
(minimum version 2.2 or higher). You can download Wordlist Pro (current version is 2.064) Lite or
Paid editions from the Android/Google marketplace (now called: “Play Store”).
For those few who have not heard about Wordlist Pro yet, check out my “five-star” reviews in the
March and April issues of The Last Word.
Jeff Kastner
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OLD GREENWICH
July 27-29, 2012
Come play SCRABBLE® this summer at the Old Greenwich, CT tournament July
27-29 at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Greenwich. Five tournament options:
NASPA TWL & Collins Main Events: 16 games Friday night-Sunday afternoon
NASPA TWL & Collins Early Birds: 5 games Friday afternoon
Unrated Newcomers Tournament: 3 games Saturday morning
PLUS JEOPARDY! GAME SHOW SATURDAY NIGHT!
Saturday buffet lunch included for all Main Event players. Free parking for all players. Gym,
pool, shuttle bus to nearby shopping. Special nightly hotel rate for Scrabblers including
Internet. Prizes galore!!! Directed by Jason Keller & Cornelia Guest.
Sign up using our flyer at cross-tables.com. Contact: Cornelia Guest (914-772-6535).
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Come Join Us!
Come celebrate SCRABBLE® and New York City this Labor Day Weekend at the first multi-day
NYC tournament since 2008! On Museum Mile, across the street from Central Park’s beautiful
Conservatory Gardens. Special rates for Scrabblers at nearby hotels.
Division A (>=1700)
Division B (>=1400)
Division C (>=1100)
Division D (<1100)
Collins Division* (Open)
UNLIMITED PLAYUPS as
long as top three divisions
remain even. Director
reserves the right to adjust
pairings to even divisions.
*8-player minimum
required
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Early Entry (postmarked by 6/15): $125
Regular Entry (postmarked by 8/15)
$150 Late Entry (postmarked after 8/15)
$175 No Refunds after 8/29
Saturday 9/1
9-10 am: Registration
10 am: Games 1-4
3 pm: Games 5-8
Space is limited. Enter early to avoid
being shut out. NO WALK-IN ENTRIES.
Sunday 9/2
NO COMMUTER FEES!
10 am: Games 9-12
3 pm: Games 13-16
CONTACTS (No calls before 11am EDT)
Paul Avrin, [email protected],
212-799-6092; Cornelia Guest,
[email protected],
203-244-5324
Monday 9/3
10 am: Games 17-19
2 pm: Games 21-22
!
& Awards
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Boston Area Tournament: April 13-15, 2012
By Terry Kang Rau
Despite the poor economy and dwindling attendance across all tournaments, the 31st annual Boston
Area Tournament predictably had a robust turnout, drawing 150 players from as far away as
California: 138 among 5 TWL divisions and 12 in the open Collins division. In addition, the six-round
Newcomers tourney attracted 11 players. One of the big draws for BAT, of course, is its elite
Premier Division, comprised of 15 of the highest-peak-rated experts, with the 16th slot (or first,
depending on how you look at it) going to the winner of the previous year’s Division A. This year,
that player was Chris Lipe, the Collins-proselytizing, “big-book” stalwart. Even he, though, would
not pass up a ticket to Premier, and promptly grabbed the first slot.
For the remaining weeks of the qualifying period, co-director Sherrie Saint John updated the status
of the remaining entrants in the “road to Premier,” a much-monitored list that would not be finalized
until March 20th. The perseverance award should go to Evans Clinchy, who played in as many
tourneys as time allowed, hoping for a last-minute bump into Premier – but alas fell just shy of
qualifying. Meanwhile, the reigning 2011 Premier winner, 1958-rated John O’Laughlin, had not
played in a single TWL event since his big win. In order to be eligible for Premier, he would have to
play in at least one TWL event – and not let his rating drop too much. Waiting until the last possible
day, he managed to play in a tournament March 19, thereby securing his spot. Just before the
qualifying deadline, the 15th and 16th spots went to Stefan Rau and Rod MacNeil. If I’d had a dime
for every time Stefan had checked the “road to Premier” standings during the preceding weeks and
days, I’d be able to pay for next year’s BAT entries – for both of us.
When the final roster was revealed, it included three former Worlds and/or Nationals and/or
Canadian Nationals champs: Adam Logan (winner of all 3), Joel Sherman (winner of 2) and the
2004 Nationals winner, Trey Wright. For Trey this would be only his 11th tournament since his
Nationals win. Of the sixteen entrants, six were also previous BAT Premier winners: Robin Pollock
Daniel (victorious in 2003), Joel Sherman (2005), Adam Logan (2007), Joey Mallick (2008), Scott
Appel (2009 and 2010) and John O’Laughlin (2011).
To add to the excitement, Chris Lipe would be running a roto, inviting prognosticators and gamblers
to assemble teams of the best finishers. By the deadline, 92 roto teams had been chosen. Also on
the agenda was Sal Piro’s Saturday night pop-culture trivia contest, with Diane Firstman assisting.
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The fun started on Friday the 13th, with Tim Fukawa-Connelly and Sherrie
Saint John directing two five-game Early Birds: an Open-rated NAST
qualifier, with 24 entrants, and an Open CSW division, with six players. After
four rounds, only two players remained undefeated in the NAST qualifier:
last year’s NAST Finals winner Evans Clinchy, with a whopping +670
spread, and Jason Keller, at 4-0, +428. In the final round of the CSW
division, Chris Lipe (at 4-0, +237) would face Richard Buck, who with 3 wins
and a spread of -75, would need a huge blowout against Chris to overtake
him on spread. Evans prevailed in the final round, to finish in first with a
perfect 5-0 record and 746 spread. Also qualifying for the NAST Finals were
runner-up Jason Keller (4-1, +352), and Rob Robinsky (4-1, +328). Winning
the two class prizes were Judy Horn and Cheryl Melvin, who finished in 4th
and 5th. The highest scoring plays were made by “Binsky,” with ARRESTOR
for 131 and HONEYDEW for 102, but since he had already cashed, High
Play was awarded to Ruth Brower for the 102-point MEDICINE.
In the CSW division, Rich Buck did win the final round against Chris Lipe,
but not by enough, so Chris finished first, with Rich second. Dave Koenig
won High Word for the 124-point ZAXES.
Above: Evans Clinchy,
who won last year’s NAST
final, qualified for the next
with a win in the TWL
Early Bird.
Below: Chris Lipe, winner
of the CSW Early Bird.
(Photos courtesy of
Sherrie Saint John)
By evening, players had gathered for the start of Main Event, and the
Regency ballroom was abuzz with excitement. During announcements,
Sherrie asked the three WSC champs in attendance to stand up: Joel
Wapnick, Adam Logan and Joel Sherman. Also acknowledged was Judy
Horn for her perfect attendance, having attended all 31 BATs! We all got a
treat before the first round when Verna Richards Berg presented two
beautifully decorated cakes to commemorate a landmark birthday for her
husband, Mark. Everyone joined in singing “Happy Birthday” and much cake
was eaten. To make sure everyone’s blood-sugar level remained spiked,
Sherrie’s niece, Emma DiMuzio, walked around the playing room doling out
candies and mints.
HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY, MARK!
In Mark’s 60 years he has seen a sporting event at 1,122
different venues including all 50 states. His next goal is to
become a Table Tennis champion for players over age 60.
He will be competing in the National Championship this
July! (Photos courtesy of Sherrie Saint John)
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When play ended for the night after
three rounds, Brian Bowman was the
lone undefeated Premier player.
Leading Divisions A through D,
respectively, were Evans Clinchy, Ed
Liebfried, Joev Dubach and Susanna
Kahn. The surprise leader of the Collins
division was 11th seed Puneet Charma
with a 3-0, +394 record, including a win
against top seed Joel Wapnick. In first
place in the roto was Joel Sherman with
his team GI Joel B.
Play continued on Saturday with four
rounds in the morning. In round 5,
Robin Pollock Daniel gave Brian
Bowman his first loss, and overtook him
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for first place. After round 7, Robin was still sitting pretty in first with 5 wins, about 90 spread points
ahead of Stefan Rau. They were followed by seven players at 4-3.
In Division A, Evans Clinchy maintained his lead with 6 wins, followed by Chris Guilbert with 5 ½
wins. Rounding out the top five were Jason Keller, Seth Lipkin and Matthew Tunnicliffe, each with 5
wins – no surprises there. In the lead in Division B was Carl Durdan at 6-1, +652, followed closely
by Ed Liebfried and Joel Horn, also with 6 wins apiece. At 5-3 were Carolyn Easter, Judy Horn and
Mic Barron, with just 70 spread points separating them. In Division C, Jackie Prince and Susan
Blanchard were first and second, with 6 wins, followed by seven players at 5-2. Division D was led
by Annette Zeff, Nicole Kazarian and Eli Barrieau at 6-1, followed by five players at 5-2. And finally,
the Collins Division had Dave Koenig as the lone 6-1, with Joel Wapnick and Steve Polatnick at 5-2.
We broke for lunch and had a chance to step out into the absolutely glorious weather. A group of us
indulged in a delicious Indian buffet while others went to the popular Bamboo restaurant or the
hotel’s pub.
Four more rounds were played in the afternoon. In Premier, Stefan Rau took over the lead from
Robin in round 8. They maintained their 1-2 positions at the end of the day, both finishing at 8-3,
with a comfortable two-game lead over seven players at 6-5.
In Division A, Evans kept his lead for three rounds until round 11, the final game of the day, when
Jason Keller overtook him for first. They each had 8-3 records with only 31 spread points
separating them. After tying one round, Chris Guilbert and Alyssa Faria were third and fourth with 7
½ wins each, followed by Matt Tunnicliffe at 7-4.
Leading Division B was Joel Horn with 9 wins. A game back was Ed Liebfried at 8-3, followed by 11
– yes, eleven! – players at 7-4. Division C was perhaps the most closely contested, with six players
at 8-3: David Dlugosz, Jeffrey Scranton, Souparno Ghosh,
Joev Dubach, Jackie Prince and Marilyn Schmidt. With the
best record of the tournament, Annette Zeff lead Division D
with a 10-1 record, followed by Eli Barrieau at 9-2 and three
players at 8-3: John Holmes, Harolyn Meyer and Dan
Horowitz. Dave Koenig maintained his lead in the Collins
division at 9-2, with Steve Polatnick in second (8-3) and
Joel Wapnick in third (7-4).
Newcomers Tournament winner Chris Mason.
(Photo courtesy of Sherrie Saint John)
The Newcomers tourney concluded with unrated player
Christopher Mason winning with a 6-0, +399 record and an
impressive initial rating of 1359. [See “New Faces” to read
more about Christopher Mason.] In the roto, my team,
Past and Present TLW
Columnists at BAT (l-r):
Chris Sinacola (The
Wordsmith); Diane
Firstman (Diane’s
DEFALTS); Katya Lezin
(Player Profile); Larry
Sherman (Club News and
Passages). Thanks for
your great work!
(Photos by Betsey Wood)
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Wandering Spleen, overtook Joel Sherman’s GI Joel B for first, but only
one win ahead of Joel’s and Jason Keller’s teams.
One of the highlights of the weekend was Sal Piro’s pop-trivia
competition Saturday night. It was a team format, followed by a fastpaced finals round in which each member of the three top-scoring
teams answered questions until one player remained. Despite the
participation of 9-time Jeopardy wiz Jason Keller and Who Wants to Be
A Millionaire’s 32K winner, Frank Tangredi, the night belonged to Mark
Przybyszewski (and no, I could no spell that without looking it up
several times). Mark absolutely dominated the finals round from start to
finish. In addition to cash, Mark received a gift bag of pop-culture-y
items, including a dvd of Bridesmaids.
Sal Piro led the pop-trivia contest
Saturday night. (Photo courtesy
of Sherrie Saint John)
Play resumed promptly at 9:00 Sunday morning. In Premier, Robin lost a close one to Ian
Weinstein while Stefan narrowly beat Trey to take a one-game lead over Robin. Stefan then won a
squeaker – 443 to 439 – over Binsky in round 13 while Robin beat Kate Fukawa-Connelly.
Meanwhile, things were getting exciting in Division A. In round 12, both Chris Guilbert and Alyssa
Faria won their games while Jason Keller and Evans lost. Chris was now in first with 8 ½ -3 ½,
+457; Alyssa, second with 8 ½ - 3 ½ , +412, followed by Evans and Jason, both at 8-4, with spreads
of 418 and 412, respectively.
So now, just half a game and 45 spread points separated the top four. But then Alyssa won the next
round to take first, beating Evans, who dropped to fourth place. Jason beat Chris to stay just half a
game behind Alyssa.
BAT organizer Sherrie Saint John presents a plaque--and a
check--to Stefan Rau for his Premier Division win. (Photo
by Betsey Wood)
In round 14 over at Premier, Stefan and Robin both
won, so going into the final round, Stefan was in
pretty good shape, with the odds 75% or better in
his favor; he could afford to lose the last game and
still win even if Robin won her last game, as long
as he kept his loss small and she didn’t win by too
much. As it turns out they both lost by smallish
margins. So keeping a one-game lead, Stefan
finished first with an 11-4, +692 record while Robin
held onto second at 10-5, +570. Joel Sherman
walloped Trey by 201 points in his final round and
almost caught Robin on spread, but he finished
third, just 25 spread points behind Robin. Joey
Mallick finished fourth with 9 wins, +284 to take the
last cash spot.
It’s interesting to note that for 11 straight rounds, from round five all the way through round fifteen,
only Robin or Stefan were in first place, and from round 8 when Stefan overtook Robin, until round
15, he did not relinquish the lead. Stefan managed to win three of the last four rounds even though
he drew just one blank. Along the way, though, he did allow Scott Appel to get away with a 140point phony triple-triple, UNDERMAN# in a game that Stefan still won. By the way, Collins not only
accepts UNDERMAN# but also its anagram MUNDANER#.
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Meanwhile, in Division A , Alyssa beat Chris Guilbert in round 14, and
just like that, she was Gibsonized! Having not played in a single
tournament in over a year, Alyssa had not only just won her division,
but had also earned the first and only definite spot in next year’s
BAT Premier! There was much rejoicing and hugging and high-fiving
all around. Sherrie made an announcement from the podium, and
Alyssa received a resounding round of applause. Although she
could have relaxed in the final round, she still won a close one over
Cecilia Le to finish a game and a half over Evans, who took second.
By winning all four of his games, Seth Lipkin sneaked into third,
followed by Chris Guilbert and Jason Keller, rounding out the top
five.
Gibsonized Division A winner Alyssa
In Division B, Joel Horn alternated wins with
Faria earned entry in 2013‘s Premier
losses, but managed to hang on to first place on division! (Photo by Betsey Wood)
spread. Also finishing strong with 11-5 records
were Mark Fidler and Mic Barron, who both swept all four final games to take
second and third. Finishing fourth through seventh were Carl Durdan, Ben
Harrison, Ed Liebfried and Liz Gottlin. As the 22nd seed and placing fourth, Carl
also won the top class prize. Shelley Ubeika and Morris Greenberg won the
second and third class prizes.
Winning Division C with a record of 11-4, +664 was David Dlugosz,
followed by Souparno Ghosh and Marilyn Schmidt, also with 11 wins.
Marilyn also won the top class prize. Finishing 4th through 6th were
Jeffrey Scranton, Noah Lieberman and Susan Blanchard, followed by
Gerianne Abriano and Diane Spiller, who won the remaining class prizes.
With a decisive win and the second-best record in the entire tournament
was Division D’s John Holmes (12-3, +1181). Finishing second through
fifth were Annette Zeff, Eli Barrieau, Harolyn Meyer and Dan Horowitz.
Also cashing with the top three class prizes were Marc Goldstein, Nicole
Kazarian and Judi Boviard.
Collins Division winner David Koenig finished with
the best record in the tournament: 13-2 +987. (Photo
by Betsey Wood)
Division C winner David Dlugosz
(Photo by Betsey Wood)
Last but not least, in the
Collins Division, Dave
Koenig went on a tear,
winning his last seven games
to finish with the best overall
record (13-2, +987), four
Division D winner John Holmes
games ahead of second(Photo courtesy of Sherrie Saint
place finisher, Joel Wapnick. John)
Dave was also Gibonsized in
round 14, and received the additional bonus of attaining
a 2000+ Collins rating for the first time. Also cashing
were Steve Polatinick, who finished third, and Bob Linn,
whose fifth-place finish was good enough for the top
class prize.
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With so many prizewinners, the awards ceremony was long but exciting, with a large and boisterous
group remaining to cheer on the new champs. The two in the audience cheering loudest were
probably be Rod MacNeil and myself. It was one of the most thrilling tournament results ever for us
despite the fact that we each finished dead last in Premier and A, respectively, while our better
halves took first. But then again, Rod and I were each the last seeds so we met expectations –
hurrah!
As for the roto, Joel Sherman ending up surging ahead in the final four games, as he had been wise
enough to choose Dave Koenig for his team. Judy Newhouse, tele-gambling from Texas, took
second, and Brad Whitmarsh, third. Chris Lipe generously paid out many places though, so even I
recouped my forty bucks.
So, could the 2012 BAT Premier roster be unprecedented, with possibly three women qualifying?
Robin seems almost a lock, with a 1992 rating, and two-time competitor Kate Fukawa-Connelly has
a real chance to qualify again as well. Stay tuned next Spring!
For complete results and more photos from BAT, visit http://sasj.com/bat2012
Sherrie Saint John with winners (l-r) John Holmes (Division 4); David Dlugosz (Division 3); Joel Horn (Division 2);
Alyssa Faria (Division 1); Stefan Rau (Premier); and David Koenig (Collins). (Photo by Betsey Wood)
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2012 National School SCRABBLE® Championship
by Cornelia Guest; photos by Patricia A. Hocker, National SCRABBLE® Association
2012 National School SCRABBLE® Champions Andy Hoang & Erik Salgado
This year’s NSSC brought 144 young players from the United States and Canada to Orlando,
Florida, to compete for the $10,000 first prize and the honor of being crowned 2012 Champions.
For the first time, 4th graders were allowed to play--and some of them were among the top finishers!
Other changes were apparent. The strict same-state requirement for teams was relaxed, allowing
players from nearby states to team up (and in one case, players from states quite far apart). John
Chew, who directed the event, devised a ranking system, which kept the top teams from eliminating
one another in the early rounds. And teams were given an additional 5 minutes playing time,
bringing the School SCRABBLE® games, which were previously 22 minutes per side, in line with
regular tournament timing.
There is no doubt that the level of play has increased among young players everywhere, and the
4th-8th graders who played at Orlando this year included many nationally ranked players. In the
end, though, the finish looked very much like that of 2009. North Carolina 8th graders Andy Hoang
and Erik Salgado, the 2009 NSSC Champions, faced 8th grader Nicholas Vasquez, who was the
runner-up in 2009 (with Paolo Federico-Omurchu), with his new partner, 6th grader Thomas Draper,
both from New Jersey. The final game was an exciting finish to the two-day event, with Andy and
Erik once again taking home the top prize and Nicky and Thomas second. The final score was
422-376. (Follow the final game by clicking here.)
Andy and Erik became the first team to win the NSSC twice. Matthew Silver was also a double
winner (2007 and 2008); however, he had different partners at the two events.
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The 3rd, 4th, and 5th place teams were all from New York:
Matthew O’Connor and Seth Tilliss (3rd); Kyle Imperato and John
Schuman (4th); and Mack Meller and DeeAnn Guo (5th). The
Massachusetts team of Max Bohn and Sam Heinrich was 6th.
Click here for a complete list of results.
One of the most amusing episodes in the tournament was when
John D. Williams, Jr., Executive Director of the National
SCRABBLE® Association, offered $100 to any team that could
score 100 points or more in one play. The very next game two
teams did just that: Kyle Imperato and John Schuman played
TRICKIER for 101 points, and Mack Meller and DeeAnn Guo
played FICKLEST for 104 points. After seeing $200 disappear in
under an hour, John Williams quickly announced after the game
that the offer was no longer in play!
Jane Ratsey Williams did an excellent job organizing the
competition and the Friday Night Luau, where players enjoyed
make-your-own ice cream sundaes and a variety of Hasbro
games. SCRABBLE® of course, was the favorite, and young
players faced NASPA experts in many exciting games.
The NSSC coincided with National SCRABBLE® Day, April 13th,
which was SCRABBLE® inventor Alfred Butts’s birthday. Players
were treated to a birthday cake at Saturday’s lunch in his honor!
For complete results, annotated games from Table 1, and more
photos, click here. A blog from a first-time competitor gives a
great sense of the excitement of the event; click here to read it!
RESULTS
1. Andy Hoang & Erik Salgado (NC: Salem MS 2): 6-1 +847 and
final game win, 420-378
2. Thomas Draper & Nicholas Vasquez (NJ: Das Talisman
Honchos): 7-0 +481
3. Matthew O’Connor & Seth Tilliss (NY: O’Connor & Tilliss): 6-1
+533
4. Kyle Imperato & John Schuman (NY: Long Island Linguists):
6-1 +323
5. DeeAnn Guo & Mack Meller (NY: Mack & DeeAnn): 5-2 +903
6. Max Bohn & Sam Heinrich (MA: Carlisle Public): 5-2 +710
7. Lily Haines & Cooper Komatsu (IN/CA: The Blanks): 5-2 +645
8. Kenny Hoang & Suhas Rao (NC: Salem MS 1): 5-2 +491
9. Jacob Sass & Jack Titzman (TX: Texas School Champions):
5-2 +433
10. Bryson Torgovitsky & Nathan Wagner (DC: DC School
SCRABBLE 3): 5-2 +379
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From top to bottom: The 2nd-6th finishing
teams and their coaches pose with John
Van Leer from Hasbro and John D.
Williams, Jr., of the NSA.
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Highest Scoring Bingo: (tied at 104) Max Bohn & Sam Heinrich (MA: Carlisle Public), DeeAnn Guo
& Mack Meller (NY: Mack & DeeAnn)
Grade 8 High Win: Max Bohn & Sam Heinrich (MA: Carlisle Public): 601
Grade 7 High Win: Matthew Healy & Cody Smith (IL: North Clay JHS Red): 491
Grade 6 High Win: John Massa & Nicholas Rivera (FL: Walter C. Young Knights 2): 473
Grade 5 High Win: Eric Kim & Ale Zhuang (NC: Seawell ES): 500
Grade 4 High Win: Aaron King & Suraj Rao (NC: Salem ES): 471
Mixed Grade High Win: DeeAnn Guo & Mack Meller (NY: Mack & DeeAnn): 625
High Loss: DeeAnn Guo & Mack Meller (NY: Mack & DeeAnn): 430
The crowd watches with anticipation as the final game is broadcast on a big screen. Stefan Fatsis, author of Word Freak,
commentated on plays; Max Bohn and Sam Heinrich moved tiles on a giant board so the audience could follow the plays.
The finalists, sequestered in another room, play their game with cameras running. Kristen Chew and Josh Castellano input
their moves for live annotation. On right: The final board. The I and E are the unplayed tiles left on the rack of runners-up
Nicky Vasquez and Thomas Draper. Their final play was ACTIN; the rather obscure bingo (A)CTINIAE A8 would have given
them the win. Note: The words with blanks are DIPnETS and fOREVER; ROTUNDER is a phony.
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FOURTH GRADE POWER!
For the first year in the history of the NSSC, fourth graders were allowed to compete. How did
they do? Just great, thank you. Every team with fourth graders had at least one win. Here are a
few of the 4th grade faces that get another four years to compete at Nationals!
Cooper Komatsu, a 4th grader from California, joined 8th
grader Lily Haines from Indiana to win 7th place.
North Carolina 4th graders Suraj Rao and Aaron King
had the 4th Grade High Game: 471.
The Tornadoes of Terror: The New York team of
Jared Tilliss (4th) and Sheng Guo (5th) finished
11th with a 5-2 +356 record.
MERRIAM-WEBSTER QUIZ
During the two days of the NSSC, MerriamWebster sponsored a contest where players had
to guess certain words. The winner was Rajiv
Nelakanti, a 6th grader from California on the Bay
Area Youth SCRABBLE® team. He is shown at
right receiving his prize, a Kindle 3, from John
Morse, President and Publisher of MerriamWebster.
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The Washington D.C. team of Chloe Fatsis (4th)
and Ali Bauman (7th) finished with a 4-3 +104
record, narrowly losing their final game.
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FUN IN ORLANDO!
There was no shortage of fun to be had and new friendships to be made at the NSSC. Players
enjoyed themselves in between games, at nearby Universal Studios Theme Park, and at the
fabulous Friday Night Luau, where they got to play many games--including SCRABBLE®!
Fun in Orlando! Playing
games, making friends, and
having fun--a NSSC tradition!
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From top left, clockwise: Players enjoyed a birthday cake for Alfred Butts, inventor of SCRABBLE®. Theresa Bubb,
Kristen Chew, John Chew, and Chris Cree at the Friday Night Luau. Theresa Bubb and Patty Hocker manning the
Word Gear booth. The NSSC event committee (Bryan Pepper, John Chew, Joe Edley, Vera Bigall, Amy Krafchick,
Donna Paul, John Robertson, Christine Economos, and Ben Greenwood). Jack Van Leer, Marketing Manager,
Hasbro; Justin Kreter, VP Marketing (US), Hasbro; Jane Williams, School SCRABBLE® Program Director, National
SCRABBLE® Association; John D. Williams, Jr., Executive Director, National SCRABBLE® Association; three-time
National SCRABBLE® Champion Joe Edley; John Morse, President and Publisher, Merriam-Webster.
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Norwalk, CT: 4/21
By Cornelia Guest, Tournament Director
Twenty-nine players came to the April 21 Norwalk tournament,
including three first-time tournament players, eight youth players,
and five players coming to Norwalk for the first time.
Division 1 ended up with Joel Sherman and Andrew Friedman
playing for the top two spots. Joel won their final game to take the
win, 7-1 +359, with Andrew second (5-3 +189). Third was 6th grader
Mack Meller, with a 4-4 +517 record.
Division 1 winner Joel Sherman
with tourney director Cornelia Guest
Division 2 also had a final two battling for first and second, with Jim
Brooks and Sam Moch facing each other with 6-1 records. Jim, who
is moving to Washington State this coming week, won the final game
by 30 points to win the division, 7-1 +590. Sam was second with a
6-2 +7 record, and Joan Kelly finished third (5-3 -36). Sam won the
tournament High Play award for ARILLODE, 140 points.
Division 3 attracted nine players,
including three first-time tournament
players and three youth players (under 18
as of 1/1/12). Eighth-grader Sam Heinrich
and Judith Stein Coleman both entered
the final KOH round with 6 wins; however,
Division 2 winner Jim Brooks
Jean Lithgow and Kathy Hooper were
close behind with 5 each. Sam won the
final game by 21 points to win the top prize with a 7-1 +926 record.
Jean Lithgow, at her first Norwalk Tournament, finished 2nd, 6-2 +111,
nosing out third-place finisher Judith Stein Coleman (6-2 +55). Sam
was also the winner of the tournament High Game: 549.
The morning featured an unrated Novice Youth Tournament of
three games. The top two prizes went to a sister and brother,
with 5th grader Emma Baughman beating her brother John
Paul in the final round to take the win, 3-0 +358. John Paul, a
7th grader, was 2nd (2-1 +542), with sisters Natalie and Ava
Turner third and fourth. John Paul won the prizes for High
Game (548) and High Play (DUELERS, 86). This tournament
had the look of a heavyweight bout, as a film crew from the
Columbia Graduate School of Journalism recorded the event
as part of a short video on SCRABBLE®.
Division 3 winner Sam Heinrich
Novice Youth Tournament winners
April 21st is my triplets’ birthday, and April 13th is the birthday of Alfred Butts, inventor of
SCRABBLE®. In honor of these birthdays, I wore a T-shirt picturing Alfred Butts wearing a birthday
hat and presented prizes for the Best "Birthday" Words. In the Main Event, Kevin Gauthier's GIFTS
and Sam Moch's TEQUILAS tied for the win, and in the Novice Tournament Natalie Turner's ZA and
Emma Baughman's CORK tied for first. I hope my kids had a great birthday, getting lots of gifts and
eating za. Whether corks flew and tequilas were served is anyone's guess!
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Margarita Madness
By Lynda Finn
Two dozen midwest players gathered on Sunday, April
22nd in Fitchburg, WV, for Margarita Madness. This
WGPO-rated tournament had 7 games and divisions
of 4. The idea behind the small divisions was to try to
eliminate large rating differences within divisions. This
worked out well for 5 of the 6 divisions, where the
differences between the highest and lowest player
was no more than 168 points. However, there were
no players rated between 1511 and 1252, so division
3 had a much larger rating spread. The first 6 rounds
were paired as a back-to-back double round robin, so
everyone played everyone in their division twice. The
final round was paired king-of-the-hill.
Thanks to a sweet deal from Groupon, the tournament was held at the Marquis Ballroom http://
marquisballroom.com, and it included a taco bar and margaritas for lunch. I was surprised to learn
how much harder it was to find the best play, track, and keep score after a few margaritas, but the
rest of the crowd seemed strangely unaffected by the beverages.
There were many noteworthy plays. Thomas Reinke played an 11-letter bingo from CARP with
EEIRT??. Thomas also played ACQUIREE and FENESTRA twice in separate games. Renato
Umali found the only bingo through a G with ADIIUS?. He informed me that it yielded an
appreciative nod from his opponent, who promptly beat him by about 200 points. Renato also
played CARACULS. Charles Reinke played PAPYRINE and VETIVERS; Mark Kenas played
FLATWASH; Andy Bohnsack played DRACENA, DONGOLAS and VIDALIAS; and Shayla Dunn
played SEXTUPLY.
Barbara Besadny of Division 5 had already clenched her division after game 6, and was Gibsonized
in the final round, but all other divisions had an exciting last game to determine the winner.
It was a pleasure to welcome two new tournament players: Molly Gardner, who has been attending
the Madison Club, and Randy Bouche, who has been attending the Oshkosh club. They both said
they are interested in playing in more tournaments.
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Puzzle: The last names of 7 of the players at this tourney are or can be anagrammed to make valid
words. Can you find all 7?
Results follow:
Division A wins prizes 1. Reinke, Thomas 6 $65 2. Kenas, Mark 4 $35 3. Reinke, Charles 3 4. Bohnsack, Andy 1 Division B wins prizes 1. David, Michael 4 $65 2. Finn, Lynda 4 $35 3. Slankard, Lisa 4 4. Umali, Renato 2
Division C wins prizes 1. Lakernick, HarrieKe 5 $65 2. Atwood, Mary 5 $35 3. Dunn, Shayla 3 4. Vergeront, Christopher 1 Division D wins prizes 1. Murphy, Kathleen 6 $65 2. Becker, Mary 4 $35 3. Hendrickson, Bobbi 2 4. Witz, Benjamin 2 Division E wins prizes 1. Besadny, Barbara 6 $65 2. Schmiedicke, Peter 4 $35 3. Vergeront, Susan 3 4. Rust, MaK 1 Division F wins prizes 1. Griesel, Janet 5 $65 2. Flores, Helen 4 $35 3. Gardner, Molly 3 4. Bouche, Randy 2 Helen Flores challenges
the play of Molly Gardner.
Division 1 does a game post-mortem.
Clockwise from left: Division 1 winner Thomas
Reinke, Mark Kenas, Charles Reinke, Andy
Bohnsack.
Division 4 champ Kathleen
Murphy between rounds.
Division 2 winner Michael David vs. Lisa
Slankard
Division 6 champ Janet Griesel counts the
score of her bingo.
Division 3 winner Harriette Lackernick
counts her play against Shayla Dunn
Matt Rust explains to Susan Vergeront
why 23 tiles are missing.
Gibsonized Division 5 champ Barbara
Besadny.
Clockwise from left Mary Becker, Molly
Gardner, Randy Bouche, Michael David
and Benjamin Witz enjoy lunch with
Margaritas
Puzzle Answers: KENAS, UMALI, MURPHY, BECKER, BESADNY, RUST and GARDNER all can be arranged to make valid plays.
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San Diego Open
By Conrad Bassett-Bouchard
San Diego: home of sunny beaches, famous zoos, and most importantly, carne asada fries. And for
the last two years, home to the San Diego Open SCRABBLE® Tournament.
Attendance was down as it is with every tournament in the land, but we still managed to put together
one of the strongest fields of the year - 10 players rated over 1900. The San Diego Open has
become the de facto championship of the SCRABBLE wunderkinder - many of our game's top
young players were again in attendance. Would 2007 National Champ James Leong repeat as
champion? Maybe another youngster would steal the spotlight? Maybe Jerry Lerman would walk all
over us? Lucky for me, I didn't have to play - I got to hang out and watch it all unfold!
After 10 rounds, we had two players at 10-0 - Bay Area regulars John Karris and Jesse Day. Jesse
took down John in round 11 and actually made it to 12-0 before suffering a string of tough losses,
keeping him from what would've been one of the most impressive runaway victories in our game's
short history.
The night before the final games, a California SCRABBLE tradition, the "Team Trash-Talking
Tournament,” took place for the nth time. I wish I could say I was there (I was off visiting college
buddies), but from the sounds of it, the undisputed champions of the T^4 world, XKCP® (XP Morgan
and KC Frodyma) trash-talked their way to another victory.
Jesse was looking strong going into the last day, but that Chris Cree guy had other ideas, taking
Jesse down to start the day. However, Rafi Stern, perhaps the most "due" player on the scene today
(and I rarely believe in the concept of being due), was on a tear. He faced Jesse in round 18, and
won, to sneak into 2nd place.
Chris Cree needed just one win in his final two-game showdown with Rafi
Stern to take the victory. Rafi, however, had other plans, winning both
games to take the title with a 16-4 +1779 record. Chris finished in 3rd
place with a 15-5 +825 record, just behind early leader Jesse Day (15-5
+1150).
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Going into the penultimate round, Chris
was a game up on Rafi, and two games
up on everybody else. Rafi's spread
was the size of Russia, so he was all
but guaranteed to be in second place
(at the worst) after the round, setting
the stage for a two-game showdown for
Chris and Rafi. The man himself just
needed one win to take the title, but
just as he was getting ready to make
the game-winning play in round 19,
Rafi bingoed to take an insurpassable
lead, forcing a round 20. I wish I could
say round 20 was a close contest, but it
was Rafi's day in the San Diego sun.
His 4-0 final morning earned him the
title of ¡el campeón del sdo dos!
winning $1400 for his effort. In my eyes,
this performance was a major victory for
a very deserving player (and friend!)
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¡el sdo dos! featured the first incarnation of a live video feed of table one. While it was a primitive
setup (we only had one webcam, and hadn't announced this feature ahead of time), observers from
around the country (and even a couple players from Southeast Asia!) were treated to some highlevel play over the three days of the tournament. On the West Coast, we're committed to changing
and improving the tournament experience. Silent ballrooms are too sterile, and simply are not the
future of our game. Look for us to do more cool stuff at the California Open this November, as well
as at the finals of the inaugural Jesse Day's Matchplay Tournament.
Players from around the globe watched the games at table one by signing onto a webinar. They were also able to make
comments on the plays on a special Facebook page. This high-tech addition offered an exciting look at the top games,
with the sound feature enabling viewers to hear the player’s comments during and after the games. As shown above in a
game between Jesse Day and Noah Walton, the camera was minimally invasive and not labor-intensive--a nice
alternative to live annotated games.
Left: The video feed seen by viewers of round 19. Right: The video feed shows Chris Cree analyzing the final game.
Note the time left on Rafi Stern’s clock!
I'd like to thank Mark Milan for being a fantastically patient director, XP Morgan for all his random
help, and to everybody who came to support SCRABBLE in Southern California. As of now I have
no plans to run a third SDO, but I'm sure I could be convinced, so if you want it to happen, pester
away!
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Bermuda Treasures SCRABBLE® Cruise
By Tony Leah
On the morning of May 20th we docked at Port
Liberty, New Jersey after a fabulous cruise that
included three days in beautiful Bermuda. We
were thirty-six tournament players, along with
about thirty friends and relatives. We met new
friends and caught up with old ones; ate
wonderful meals; visited gorgeous pink beaches,
historic towns and ethereal caves; sang karaoke;
went snorkeling from glass-bottomed boats; and,
of course, played SCRABBLE®.
One of the highlights of the 18-game tournament
held during the three days at sea was the
participation of 7 brand-new players! Hopefully,
we will see more of them at future tourneys.
Fellow Scrabblers Shauna Petrie and Dave Krook of Sea Wheels Inc. (www.SeaWheels.ca) helped
organize the cruise. We have a Flickr page where many of the cruisers will be posting their pictures
from the tournament, the cruise ship and Bermuda. A few sets are up already, but more are coming:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bermudascrabblecruise/
Gene Tyszka donated an Adjudicator Timer and 2 sets of Protiles and Bob Schoenman donated an
additional 2 sets. The clock was awarded to the winner of Division D and the Protiles went to the
player with the high game from each division. Hasbro donated a SCRABBLE® Flash game, and the
cruise organizers contributed 5 SCRABBLE books by Mike Baron, Joel Wapnick, Stefan Fatsis and
Bob Gillis. All the results are on the NASPA wiki and cross-tables.
We’ve included some photos from the trip, as well as a summary of prizewinners.
Somerset Bridge: World’s smallest drawbridge
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Banyan Tree
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Bermuda Treasures at the
Underwater Institute
Crystal Caves
On the glass-bottomed boat
Dave and Shauna on a day excursion
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Division A
1. Tony Leah: 15-3 +640 $260
2. Jeff Clark: 11-7 +376 $150
Carolyn Easter: best above seed $100
High Game: Kristiina Overton 549 Protiles
High Word: Carolyn Easter PACKABLE (110) $10
High Loss: Shelley Ubeika 433-440 $10
Most Letters in Bermuda: Jeff Clark SUBARID (5) $10
Bermuda Treasures Word: Jason Ubeika CAHOW (21) Pick from Prize Table
Division B
1. Roger Cullman: 15-3 +786 $260
2. Linda Wancel: 11-7 +271 $150
3. Lee Brooks: 10-8 -62 $120
Barbara Epstein: best above seed $100
High Game: Linda Wancel 508 Protiles
High Word: Marilyn Pomeroy AVIONIC (94) $10
High Loss: Shauna Petrie 425-427 $10
Most Letters in Bermuda: Roger Cullman RAMBLES (5) $10
Bermuda Treasures Word: Maureen Morris BUFFET (23) Pick from Prize Table
Tony Leah accepts the prize for
winning Division A from fellow cruise
organizers Dave Krook and Shauna
Petrie of Sea Wheels Inc.
Division C
1. Sandra Finkelstein: 12-6 +854 $260
2. Anne Mei: 12-6 +208 $150
Joy Nees: best above seed $100
High Game: Regenia Hidalgo 485 Protiles
High Word: Ida Shapiro LOITERER (122)$10
High Loss: Joy Nees 389-409 $10
Most Letters in Bermuda: Sandra Finkelstein EXTRUDE (4) $10
Bermuda Treasures Word: Richard Hamilton VOYAGES (79) Pick from Prize Table
Division B winner Roger Cullman
Division D
1. Mary Logullo: 15-3 +1542 $260 and Adjudicator timer
2. Pamela Holmquist: 13-5 +719 $150
3. Connie Creech: 12-6 +787 $120
Nancy Jinot: best above seed $100
High Game: Mary Logullo 507 Protiles
High Word: Connie Creech ZESTING (100)$10
High Loss: Peter Hopkins 386-401 $10
Most Letters in Bermuda: Pamela Holmquist NUMBER (5)$10
Bermuda Treasures Word: Peter Hopkins EMBARK (51)Pick from Prize Table
Tuff Luck (narrowest margin of 6 losses): Bruce Shuman – Scrabble Flash
Lucky Stiff (narrowest margin of 6 wins): Pam Holmquist – Pick from Prize Table
Division C winner Sandy Finkelstein
Many thanks to our donors (Gene Tyszka, Bob Schoenman, Hasbro),
and most especially to all the Scrabble players, their family and
friends, who made the trip a real “Bermuda Treasure.” One of next
year's adventures is already in the works and details can be found at
http://www.cross-tables.com/download/2013/05/bermudacruise.pdf
On behalf of Shauna Petrie, Dave Krook and myself,
Tony Leah
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Division D winner Mary Logullo
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Norwalk, CT: 5/12
By Cornelia Guest; photo by Betsey Wood
Twenty-eight players competed in the May
12th Norwalk (CT) Tournament, including six
youth players. To celebrate Mother's Day, my
daughter Aune, back from college for the
summer, baked cookies shaped like
SCRABBLE® tiles and marked "M" for
"Mother" (and 3 points!) There was also a
prize for "Best Mother's Day Word," which
went to Andrew Beaton's MOTHERLY--a
bingo that earned him 83 points. Runner-up
for the award was Mack Meller's ESTROGEN,
a 78-point bingo; Joel Horn's 74-point bingo
ANTISAG got some votes as well!
A strong top division was close to the end,
with Joel Sherman winning the final KOH
round to take the top prize with a 6-2 +186
record over second-place finisher Brad Whitmarsh (5-3 +252). Sam Moch, who moved up to
Division 1 when a player canceled that morning, finished third, with a 5-3 +108 record. 6th grader
Mack Meller was fourth, also at 5-3 with a -91 spread. Brad won the tournament prize for High Loss
(442), and Peter Barkman won the prize for High Game (603).
Division winners (L-R): Sue Gable, Division 2; Joel Sherman, Division 1; Kyle
Imperato, Division 3.
Division 2 ended with two uncatchable leaders, both with 6 wins, facing each other in the KOH
round. Sue Gable was the winner (7-1 +403) over Brandon Randall (6-2 +374). Third was Betsey
Wood, with a 5-3 +278 record. Betsey also moved up into the division because of the late
cancelation. We hope that player feels better soon. Division 2's Bob Umlas won the prize for High
Non-Bingo, playing QUADS for 99 points.
Division 3 featured eight players, five of them Youth Players. The three adults in the division quickly
discovered how strong today's younger players are. First, with the best record of the tournament,
was Kyle Imperato, with a perfect 8-0 +1033 record. Kyle, a 7th grader, is a very good player who
finished fourth in the recent National School SCRABBLE® Championship with his partner, John
Schuman. Kyle's brother Chris, an 11th grader, finished second with a 6-2 +257 record, and
DeeAnn Guo, a 7th grader, finished third (6-2 +164). Chris also won the tournament prize for High
Bingo with FOISTED, 103.
The next Norwalk Tournament won't be until September 22; however, I'll be helping run two 3-day
tournaments between now and then: the Old Greenwich Tournament July 27-29, featuring a 5-game
Early Bird, a 16-game Main Event, and a 3-game unrated Newcomers Tournament (the rated
tournaments will offer TWL and Collins divisions)--plus Jason Keller's Jeopardy! Game Saturday
night; and the New York City Tournament September 1-3, featuring 21 games (TWL & Collins) over
Labor Day Weekend. I hope you'll be able to attend both events!
Complete results for the Norwalk Tournament are at cross-tables.com.
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D.C. Public Schools SCRABBLE® Championship
By Stefan Fatsis
Forty-eight kids from eight elementary,
middle and high schools competed May
5th in the first D.C. Public Schools
Scrabble Championship. The
tournament was held at Woodrow
Wilson H.S. and included lots of
newbies from across the city.
L-R: 4th graders Chloe Fatsis and Zara Hall from Janney Elementary
School won the 2012 D.C. Public Schools SCRABBLE® Championship.
Many thanks to the NSA for sending
down equipment and donating prizes;
to Vince Castellano for his always able
computer operations; to referees David
Koenig, Brian Galebach, Sarel Kromer,
and Brian Davies for guiding a large
number of newbies through their first
tournament; and to the NSA and DCPS
for promoting the game in public
schools across the city.
Oh, and the tournament made page 1 of the May 5th Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/kids-scramble-through-dc-schools-first-scrabble-tournament/
2012/05/05/gIQAca5O4T_story.html?hpid=z4
The tournament was the result of two-plus years of contact with DC Public Schools. The NSA and I
did some workshops in 2010 and 2011 for DCPS teachers and after-school program coordinators.
Hasbro donated enough boards for the entire city. A few months ago, the DCPS folks I'd worked
with said that about 30 schools had started clubs and pitched trying a tournament. Almost 50 kids
showed up. I did two divisions -- experienced players from my schools in Div A, and everyone else
in Div B.
Results below. Needless to say, I am a little bit proud of the winner.
2012 D.C. Public Schools Scrabble Championship
Division A
1 Chloe Fatsis (4th grade) and Zara Hall (4th), Janney ES, 4-0 +488
2 Ernesto Fritts (6th) and Bryson Torgovitsky (6th), Deal MS, 3-1 +235
3 Lucy McCurdy (7th) and Ben Schwartz (7th), Deal MS, 3-1 +162
4 Sam Masling (7th) and Jake Radack (7th), Deal MS, 2-2 +381
5 Caleb Anderson (4th) and Charlie Smiles (4th), Janney ES, 2-2 +3
6 Will Hamlin (7th) and Sammy Levenson (7th), Deal MS, 2-2 -73
7 Ethan Rosenthal (6th) and Philip Wright (6th), Deal MS, 2-2 -273
8 Lizzie Brennan (5th) and Jackson Easler (5th), Janney ES, 1-3 -24
9 Georgia Rosse (5th) and Lilian Alten (4th), Janney ES, 1-3 -85
10 Ryan Cheney (4th) and Josh Landweber (4th), Janney ES, 1-3 -140
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11 Jack Gretschel (6th) and Alex Nardello (6th), Deal MS, 1-3 -180
12 Jonah Garland (8th) and Regan Staudenraus (6th), Deal MS, 1-3 -254
Note: The teams of Sam Masling and Jake Radack, Caleb Anderson and Charlie Smiles, and Jack
Gretschel and Alex Nardello played only two games each. They were given forfeit losses in the
other two games.
Division B
1 Lucy Levenson (4th) and Madelyn Shapiro (4th), Janney ES 4-0 +197
2 Felix Garland (4th) and Nicholas Spasojevic (4th), Janney ES, 3-1 +177
3 Armando Bautista (4th) and Raymond Shelton (4th), Ross ES, 3-1 +160
4 Deshon Leggett and Azaria Brown, Johnson MS, 3-1 +34
5 Fonnae Webb (4th) and Christian Tarver (11th), J.O. Wilson ES/Columbia EC, 2-2 +43
6 Simone Burchard (4th) and Eliana Rosenthal (4th), Janney ES, 2-2 +5
7 Carl Brown and Art Brown, Johnson MS, 2-2 -81
8 Kevin Kennady (4th) and Nina Payne (5th), Ross ES, 2-2 -110
9 Rue Assefa (6th) and Odette Byio (6th), Takoma EC, 1-3 -67
10 Oliver Satola (4th) and Conor McHugh (4th), Janney ES, 1-3 -78
11 Vernice Young (12th) and Natasha Jervis (6th), Ballou HS/Takoma EC, 1-3 -166
12 Chloe Rollins (4th) and Brianna Gross (4th), J.O. Wilson ES, 0-4 -114
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Results
APRIL 1-MAY 31
BERKELEY CA 4/1
1.
2.
3.
4.
Mike Frentz
Bruce Ward
Mary Aline Stevens
Jon Demeter
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3. Joel Horn
4. David Dlugosz
5. John Holmes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Steve Hartsman
Thomas Tremont
Tim Fish
Chuck Jones
Michael Arnold
LAGUNA WOODS CA 4/1
1. Bruce D’Ambrosio
LINDEN MI 4/1
L
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CUYAHOGA FALLS OH
4/21-22
1. Joe South
2. Cheryl Melvin
BOSTON MA (CSW) 4/13-15 3. Lisa Brown
1. David Koenig
CUYAHOGA FALLS OH
(CSW) 4/21-22
NATIONAL SCHOOL
SCRABBLE®
1. Chris Lipe
CHAMPIONSHIP, ORLANDO
FL 4/13-14
DALLAS TX 4/21
1. Andy Hoang & Erik Salgado
DANVILLE IL 4/1
U
BLOOMINGTON MN
(WGPO) 4/14-15
1. Lisa Odom
2. Mary Krizan
3. Benjamin Witz
1. Sam Dick-Onuoha
2. Linda Villarreal
3. Patricia Oppenlander
MILLBURN NJ (LCT) 4/21
1. Glenn Filzer
2. Teri Peppe
3. Jeanne Gannon
BOSTON MA NEWCOMERS
4/14
NORWALK CT 4/21
1. Christopher Mason
1. Joel Sherman
2. Jim Brooks
3. Sam Heinrich
1. Paul Epstein
EDMONTON AB CAN
4/14-15
AKRON OH 4/5
1. Eric Tran
2. Maureen Clifford
3. Dorothy Klovan
NORWALK CT NOVICE
YOUTH (UNRATED) 4/21
LUBBOCK TX 4/14
PHOENIX AZ (WGPO) 4/21
1. Stephen DeBacco
HUDSON NY 4/7
1. Stefan Rau
MOORESTOWN NJ 4/7
1. Samuel Moch
GUELPH ON CAN 4/8
1. Fran Silver
2. Randy Forrester
MOUNTAIN VIEW CA
(WGPO) 4/15
1. Emma Baughman
1. Andrew Schwartzberg
PHOENIX AZ (WGPO) 4/21
1. Patrick Hodges
2. Barbara Gray
1. Sinna Vijayakumar
1. Stuart Goldman
BOSTON MA 4/13
BATON ROUGE LA 4/21
1. Evans Clinchy
1.
2.
3.
4.
CUYAHOGA FALLS OH 4/21 5.
1. Daniel Stock
6.
2. Wilma Pitzer
3. Julia Bogle
BOSTON MA (CSW) 4/13
1. Chris Lipe
BOSTON MA 4/13-15
1. Stefan Rau
2. Alyssa Faria
34
1. Eric Cahanin
2. Lindsey Dimmick
3. Joan Murphy
FITCHBURG WI (WGPO)
4/22
Thomas Reinke
Michael David
Harriette Lakernick
Kathleen Murphy
Barbara Besadny
Janet Griesel
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PHILADELPHIA PA 4/22
GATLINBURG TN 5/4-6
1. Joel Sherman
2. David Dlugosz
3. Alex Vratsanos
1. Ryan Fischer
2. Matt P. Hopkins
3. Denise Mahnken
PORTLAND OR (WGPO)
4/22
PORTLAND OR 5/4
1. Betty Cornelison
2. Alan Meyer
3. Devin Elgert
SAN DIEGO OPEN
4/27-29
1. Rafi Stern
AUSTIN TX 4/28
1. Geoff Thevenot
2. Deborah Gaudier
BERLIN NJ 4/28
1. Mark Berg
2. Florence Spanfelner
3. Bernadette Buckley
FORT LAUDERDALE FL
4/28
1. Steve Glass
2. Irving Reed
3. Rex Osbourne
OLIVE HILL KY 4/28
1. Marc Broering
2. Victoria Bledsoe
SOUTH LYON MI 4/28
1. Jason Idalski
2. Steve Anstandig
SIOUX FALLS SD 4/28
1. Jim Kramer
2. Aaron Daly
3. Meredith Leigh
WINNIPEG MB CAN 4/28
S
1. Kolton Koehler
OREGON TILE,
PORTLAND OR 5/4-6
1. Jesse Day
OREGON TILE,
PORTLAND OR (COLINS)
5/4-6
1. Dave Wiegand
PORTLAND OR
(COLLINS) 5/4
1. Chris Lipe
D.C. PUBLIC SCHOOLS
SCRABBLE®
CHAMPIONSHIP
(SCHOOL SCRABBLE®)
5/5
1. Chloe Fatsis & Zara Hall
2. Lucy Levenson & Madelyn
Shapiro
STRONGSVILLE OH 5/5
1. Josh Kopczak
BERMUDA CRUISE 5/6-13
1.
2.
3.
4.
Tony Leah
Roger Cullman
Sandra Finkelstein
Mary Logullo
INDEPENDENCE OH
(LCT) 5/8
1. Lisa Brown
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BALTIMORE
(CATONSVILLE) MD 5/12
1. Brian Galebach
2. Robin Schlauch
NORWALK CT 5/12
1. Joel Sherman
2. Sue Gable
3. Kyle Imperato
SASKATOON SK
CANADA 5/12-13
1. Huguette Settle
2. Wanda Drury
3. Laverne Brookes
BERKELEY CA 5/13
1. Jesse Day
2. Isaac Apindi
3. Jon DeMeter
AUSTIN TX 5/19
1. Matt Canik
BAYSIDE NY 5/19
1. Marc Carnegie
2. Thomas Draper
3. Tom Draper
DALLAS TX 5/19
1. Darrell Day
2. Linda Villarreal
3. Phyllis Owen
FORT LAUDERDALE FL
5/19
1. Marla Riff
2. Pat Feigin
LAGUNA WOODS CA 5/19
1. Victor Tantua
ROMULUS MI 5/19
1. Evan Berofsky
1. Richard Charach
2. Dev Lallawooa
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UTICA (WHITESBORO)
NY 5/19
DURANGO CO (WGPO)
5/26-28
1. Stefan Rau
2. Dianne Wittman
1. David Weiss
2. Keith Hagle
PORTLAND OR (WGPO)
5/20
ELMHURST IL
(ARDENCUP) 5/26-28
1. Nigel Peltier
2. Jesse Wornum
3. Leesa Bergeron
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
WILMINGTON DE 5/20
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Aldo Cardia
Ted Barrett
Joshua Castellano
Nancy Hanley
Mary Stewart
TARRYTOWN NY 5/25
1. Brian Galebach
2. Charles Rohrmann, Jr.
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Lisa Odom
Lou Cornelis
Doug Lundquist
Don Rathberger
Penny Sitler
GUELPH ON CAN 5/26-28
1. Geoffrey Newman
2. Peter Sawatzky
TARRYTOWN NY 5/28
1. Will Anderson
2. Marshall Resnick
TARRYTOWN NY 5/25-28
1. Joel Sherman
2. Judy Cole
CAMPBELL CA (WGPO)
5/26-28
1. Noah Walton
2. Max Dwyer
COLLEGE PARK GA
5/26-28
1. David Gibson
2. Michael Bassett
3. Christopher Simpson
COTE ST. LUC QC CAN
5/26-28
1. Cecilia Le
2. Anita Rackham
3. Gavin Thompson
COTE ST. LUC QC CAN
(COLLINS) 5/26-28
1. Adam Logan
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New Faces
Since our last issue, 46 new faces have competed at NASPA, NSA, WGPO, and novice
tournaments. Two players won their divisions first time out: Michael Arnold, who won Division 5 at
the Danville IL Tournament on 4/1 with a 6-1 +479 record to earn an initial NASPA rating of 1020;
and our featured “new face,” Christopher Mason, who won the BAT Newcomers Tournament on 4/14
with a 6-0 +399 record to earn an initial NASPA rating of 1359.
_______________________________________________________________________
Christopher Mason
Christopher Mason, 29, had a memorable SCRABBLE® tournament
debut, winning all of his games at the BAT Newcomers Tournament
and leaving with an impressive NASPA rating of 1359. Chris, who lives
in Bedford, NH, with his wife, Jenna, and their two dogs, Scooba and
Shiloh, works as an accountant for a pension fund; however, he
describes himself as “a gamer at heart.”
“I’ve been playing games as long as I can remember. From cards with
my grandfather; chess and SCRABBLE® with my dad; Magic: the
Gatherering; cribbage--if there’s a competitive element involved, I’m
usually interested.” Chris found that the vocabulary and word
knowledge he picked up playing other games gave him a huge edge in
SCRABBLE®. In college he played a lot online, but he hadn’t played
much since then until the smartphone apps for Words with Friends and
SCRABBLE® came out. Now he plays online almost every day.
For the past two months he’s also been playing every Wednesday at
the Manchester NH NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #510. “Obviously playing online carries the
enormous benefit of being able to find a game at almost any time of day, but I enjoy the live game
more. Drawing and shuffling tiles, physically playing down words on the board -- it's a much more
satisfying experience playing against someone you can share the game with than to click a mouse
to move your letters.”
Chris decided to play at the Boston Area Tournament (BAT) Newcomers Tournament just a week
and a half before the event. With such a short time to prepare, he concentrated on learning his twos.
“I bought Mike Baron’s SCRABBLE® Wordbook, studied the twos, and wrote them down on a list
every day until I knew them cold. I also started making flash cards of the hooks for the twos-thatmake-threes.”
Chris came to the tournament with a friend, Devon, who was also playing in his first SCRABBLE®
tournament (Devon finished fourth). Because Chris had played in tournaments for other games, he
had no difficulty navigating the pairings, structure, and process; however, he understands how it can
be a bit overwhelming for new players. He credits director Sherrie Saint John, who introduced the
Newcomers Tournament at the popular BAT Tournament in 2002, for making the experience
welcoming for first-timers. “Sherrie was fantastic. She fielded questions, explained some of the finer
points of tournament play, and most importantly, reminded us to have fun (because after all, that’s
why you’re there!) Everything ran very smoothly, and I had a great time.”
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Chris felt that his club experience gave him an edge, and recommends other new players visit a
local SCRABBLE® Club before the tournament. “Learning the mechanics of tournament play was a
huge help. The toughest part of the tournament was the housekeeping during games. Tracking
words, score, and tiles played took a lot more time to properly execute than I’d thought.”
Chris followed Sherrie’s advice and definitely had fun at the tournament. “The whole tournament
was a blast. I had lots of support. I was texting a few people in between rounds to keep them
updated on my day, and they were cheering me on the entire way. In my first game I had a first-play
bingo (UNWEAVE), and the excitement never let up. I was happy with how I played that day, but I
was by no means perfect. One of my favorite elements of SCRABBLE® is that there is always
something to learn.”
“I will definitely be playing in more tournaments. Part of the prize I won was a free entry into next
year’s BAT, so I’ll be back next year for sure. I’m going to try to make the November Falmouth, MA,
tournament, and hopefully a few before then, too.”
Another tournament Scrabbler is born! Thanks, Sherrie, for running an annual Newcomers
Tournament that has introduced over 80 new players to tournament SCRABBLE®!
_______________________________________________________________________________
Welcome to Christopher Mason, Michael Arnold, and the following other
new faces:
DANVILLE IL 4/1: Marci Wright
BOSTON MA 4/13-15: Zachary Dang
BLOOMINGON MI 4/14-15: Tom Hagerty, Will Sampson
BOSTON MA (Newcomers) 4/14: Meaghan Gloede, Therese Goodchild, Martin Kirschnick, Deborah
Nickerson, Devon Terpening
EDMONTON AB CAN: Fabian Hopkins
LUBBOCK TX 4/14-15: Guinivere Charming
CUYAHOGA FALLS OH 4/21-22: Mark Garratt
MADISON WI: Randy Bouche, Molly Gardner
MILLBURN NJ 4/21: Christian Angeles
PHILADELPHIA PA 4/22: Melanie Gaskins, Josh Schwartz-Neubauer
WINNIPEG MB CAN 4/28: Kay Adams, Carol Gibbs
PORTLAND OR 5/4: Diane Carney, Kathleen O’Shaunessy
PORTLAND OR 5/4-6: Greg Sundquist
BERMUDA CRUISE 5/6-13: Dawn Brock, Margy Chestnut, Constance J. Creech, Michael Horrocks, Nancy
Jinot, Sallie Mahady, Catherine Rachkowski
BALTIMORE (CATONSVILLE) MD 5/12: Sharon Breedlove, Vicki Holmes, Nancy Petillo
SASKATOON SK CAN 5/12-13: Polly Dixon, Claire Dykstra, Penny-Lynne Micklewright, George McVittie
UTICA (WHITESBORO) NY 5/19: Mary Carney, Karthik Kuber
PORTLAND OR 5/20: Tomiko Ibser
WILMINGTON DE 5/20: David Bykowski, Lauren Gouge
DURANGO CO 5/26-28: Kimberly Bocaz
ELMHURST IL (ARDENCUP) 5/26-28: James Kelher, Rob Riddle
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Joe Edley’s Puzzle Corner
By Joe Edley
Word Screens
A word screen is a rectangle of letters such that all of the letters of the rectangle can be rearranged to spell a
word.
For instance, in the grid below:
a b c d e
1
2
3
4
5
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The words CANTOS, GIRDLE, BELONG, BOILER and LURING are all wordscreens, or “screens” for short,
in the above grid, found in 2x3 rectangles, designated by their diagonally opposite corners as: a1-b3, c1-d3,
c3-e4, b4-d5 and d1-e3. BLEED is at c1-5, down the third column. GLOB, GONE, GILD, COLD and DIRE
are all found in 2x2s, while BORE, LIKE and RATE are in 1x4s.
The numbers in parenthesis represent: (a)number of wordscreens (b) total number of words, including all
anagrams (c) number of common words.
Find all six-letter screens. There are 24 screens, 39 total TWL words and 26 common words.
A
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B
(24, 39, 26)
ANSWERS at end of puzzles.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Blanagram Phrases
Insert the letter in parenthesis into the word immediately next to it and remove a different letter of that word.
After doing that with both words, rearrange the letters of each new combination, as necessary, to form a
familiar phrase. The “theme” represents the subject of the phrase.
The theme for all of the phrases is: famous movie titles.
1. (R) DEFROST PLUM (G)
2. (T) PURE GIRL (T)
3. (R) SEAT SWAP (R)
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4. (A) GRINGO CLUB (L)
5. (K) CABLE NEWS (A)
6. (M) STICKY VIPER (R)
7. (E) MACARONI LIP (E)
8.(Z) INCITED NARK (E)
ANSWERS at end of puzzles.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Wordlocked
The object of Wordlocked is to fill in the blank spaces with the correct letters so that the words
accompanying the grid can all be found in screens on the grid. You may choose ONLY from the pool of the
following TEN letters to add to the grid:
AEIOULNRST
Add as many or as few of these letters (with repeats) as required. You may notice that these are all of the
one-point tiles in that very popular crossword game. The consonants are all of the letters given in the last
puzzle at the end of that popular major network TV word game show.
Example (with complete solution):
A B C
1 D _ _
2 _ H _
3 P _ _
HALO HEED
HEAL HELP
Solution: Since you cannot add any extra D, H or Ps, we can use those letters already in the grid to help
deduce what letters to add where. The H and P must be used to create HELP, and so must outline the 2x2
HELP defined with opposite vertices at A2-B3, So we know where an E and L must be placed (A2 and B3)
though not yet which specific square. Since the D and H outline HEED, the A2 and B1 squares must both
have Es, which means the L of HELP must be at B3. So, now we have:
D E _
E H _
P L _
HALO
HEAL
Since HALO doesn’t have an E, the A and O of HALO must be placed at C2 and C3 to complete it with the H
and L of B2 and B3. And since HEAL doesn’t have an O, the O of HALO must be at C3, the A at C2 and the
remaining letter, the L of HEAL, must then be at C1. And so the completed grid is:
D E L
E H A
P L O
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Add only as many of the one point tiles (AEIOULNRST, repeating as needed) that you need to ensure that
all words show up in screens.
1.
_
M
_
_
_
_
_
_
B
_
_
B
_
_
_
G
BRILLO
STROLL
TABLET
TOTEMS
BOIL
GIRL
TOES
V
_
_
_
_
H
_
M
_
_
F
_
FAMILIAR
ASSAIL
LAVISH
SHELVE
VASSAL
AMIA
M
_
_
G
_
_
_
P
_
F
_
_
_
_
_
2.
_
_
_
_
3.
_
_
M
_
M
*
_
P
_
_
M
PARLIAMENT
LEAPFROG
MAILGRAM
AMPLER (2)*
FORMOL
PRONTO
TAMALE
MAIN
TOP
AMPLER appears in TWO different screens
Not showing as a wordscreen: MATERIAL
ANSWERS on next page.
Joe Edley is a three-time National SCRABBLE® Champion and the author of numerous books, including the
bestselling Everything SCRABBLE®.
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ANSWERS
WORDSCREENS: RUTTED, FIESTA, SETTEE, TESTEE, BREDES, BREEDS, TEDDED, TAUTER,
SESTET, TESTES, TSETSE, TODIES, REDDER, DOTIER, EDITOR, RIOTED, TRIODE, ETUDES,
STEREO, DEISTS, DESIST, SMALTI, DESERT, DETERS, RESTED, RETEST, SETTER, STREET,
TESTER, PELTED, RETOLD, RESTER, TERSER, TRUEST, UTTERS, DELETE, AUDITS, BETISE,
REEDED
BLANAGRAM PHRASES: 1. FORREST GUMP 2. TRUE GRIT 3. STAR WARS 4. RAGING BULL
5. BLACK SWAN 6. MYSTIC RIVER 7. AMERICAN PIE 8. CITIZEN KANE
WORDLOCKED:
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Cornerstone of Hope: Fundraising with SCRABBLE®
By Dean Scouloukas
On October 20 and 21, 2012, the fourth annual
Cornerstone of Hope (www.cornerstoneofhope.org)
“Scrabble 4 Hope” SCRABBLE® tournament
fundraiser will take place at the Cornerstone of
Hope facility in Independence (suburban
Cleveland), Ohio.
Tournament director Dean Scouloukas with Mark Tripodi,
cofounder of Cornerstone of Hope
Cornerstone of Hope is a comprehensive grief
center offering both individual counseling and
group support in a homelike environment. The
501©3 nonprofit organization also offers
educational programs and training to professionals
and volunteers.
Tournament director Dean Scouloukas first got involved with the organization in 2008 after meeting
Cornerstone’s cofounder Mark Tripodi at a Cuyahoga Valley Chamber of Commerce meeting.
Tripodi and his wife, Christi, founded Cornerstone of Hope in 2003 after suffering the loss of their
son, Bobby, to an unexpected illness. The grief center, one of only a handful of similar such grief
centers in the United States, serves more than 3,500 grieving families a year. In addition to
counseling programs for families who have suffered the loss of a parent or child, Cornerstone offers
programs to people who have suffered situations such as prenatal loss, military loss, suicide, and
murder and is a resource to local schools whenever a student or teacher dies.
“I approached Mark in 2009 because I thought that we had a unique opportunity to provide the
SCRABBLE® community with a real first-class tournament in a beautiful venue while at the same
time spreading the word about a very worthwhile organization, increasing its visibility in the
community, and raising some money to benefit the organization,” said Scouloukas, who has directed
tournaments in Northeast Ohio since 1999.
“This was the first time that I had ever undertaken a fundraising venture. I approached some people
I knew who owned businesses and asked them to sponsor the event financially. I did an aggressive
letter-writing campaign to local sports teams, restaurants, theatres, and tourist attractions in the
area seeking donations for silent auction/raffle items. Companies and organizations like the
Cleveland Browns and Indians, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Applebee’s, Longhorn Steakhouse,
Cinemark Theatres, Shula’s Steakhouse, and others stepped up.”
In the three years of hosting this event, Scouloukas has helped raise over $6,000 to benefit
Cornerstone of Hope.
“I also cannot emphasize enough how much certain individuals have meant to the success of this
event. Kevin McCarthy and Wanda McCarthy have donated a handmade SCRABBLE® quilt each of
the past three years for our raffle; that usually generates about $400 in raffle tickets sold. Also, two
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friends of mine from high school, who have nothing to do with
organized SCRABBLE®, have provided critical support. Dennis
Kolar owns K & K Meats in Maple Heights, Ohio, and has
donated fried chicken and his award-winning kielbasa for our
lunches, and Mike Knezevic has basically served as my righthand man in running the tournament. My brother Joe
Scouloukas’s business has been an important sponsor since the
beginning, and my brother-in-law Jeff Walker has donated
Cleveland Browns tickets the past two years. I also don’t want
Last year’s tournament winners in front of
to forget to mention Daniel Stock. Although my name is on the
Wanda McCarthy’s SCRABBLE® quilt.
tournament as ‘Director,’ I am really just the event organizer.
Dan Stock is truly the director behind the scenes. Lastly, Walt Konicki, the grandfather of Cleveland
area SCRABBLE®, who first got me involved in competitive SCRABBLE®, has been instrumental in
providing pizza and pasta from his family business, Angie’s Pizza.”
Dean Scouloukas’s 2011 Cornerstone of Hope Tournament
raised $1,500 for the charity.
Scouloukas says he tries to go above and
beyond normal expectations to provide
SCRABBLE® players with a fun and exciting
experience. In addition to providing a delicious
lunch on both days of the two-day event, they
also provide coffee, tea, bottled water, soda, and
snacks. And every player who participates on
both days gets a souvenir T-shirt to
commemorate the event. “A friend of mine came
up with the idea of getting companies to sponsor
for space on the back of our T-shirts. That way I
can give them to my players for free. Then when
they play other tournaments throughout the year,
other players can see the shirts and increase
exposure for the event.”
“I know that people’s time and budgets allocated for SCRABBLE® are limited and they have to be
judicious when choosing to participate in a tournament. I want people to know that when they come
to a Dean Scouloukas-directed tournament--especially the Cornerstone of Hope event, which is my
signature event of the calendar year--they are going to get their money’s worth. They are going to
have a delicious hot lunch, beautiful T-shirts, and attractive raffle and silent auction items, some of a
very unique nature. If a player decides they are only going to play in one event all year, I want them
to be glad they chose to participate in this event!”
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Words, Words, Words: Daily and Weekly Words to Learn
Edited by Cornelia Guest
Every Scrabbler realizes at a certain point that good playing goes only so far without superior word
knowledge. Luckily, there are a number of daily or weekly words and word lists you can enjoy.
Here I highlight four that I read each week: Word Buff’s Word of the Day (Derek McKenzie);
TileHead’s Word of the Day (Tim Bottorff); OSPD Word Lists (Jill Heffner); and the WESPA Word of
the Week (David Sutton), which includes Collins words.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Word Buff’s Word of the Day
By Derek McKenzie
Imagine a dictionary stripped of all the boring words, including those not allowed in SCRABBLE® of
course. Now imagine that for each of the obscure words remaining, you were told what it means,
how to pronounce it, and got a pretty picture to help you remember it. And what if there was even an
interesting story to go with it that connected it with yet more curious words. Maybe an occasional
video even?
If you think a resource like that would be pretty cool, then I think you'll enjoy Word Buff's Word of the
Day.
In 2008 a started a website called Word Buff, which I dedicated to the subjects of word games and
puzzles. A few months ago I started offering a Word of the Day to my readers. The response has
been so overwhelming I now dedicate an entire blog to it: http://wordbuff.com/
The words featured are often not all that helpful in everyday conversation. They are for those
interested in word games and puzzles, who like to know whether a word has any interesting
anagrams, or what letters (hooks) can be placed at the front of back of the word to form a new word,
or what crossword clues might be used to describe the word obliquely. These are words that pay
dividends when we play SCRABBLE® and Words With Friends, solve crossword puzzles, or
compete in spelling bees.
The features below are the main things that I'm trying to do with this Word of the Day...
-- Although it is not all about SCRABBLE, it is a SCRABBLE-friendly word of the day. That means
that each daily word is allowed in North American SCRABBLE, and any Collins-only words
mentioned in the discussion are usually relegated to a P.S. so you can ignore them if you want to.
-- Each month I explore a different theme. Sometimes the theme is a wordplay one (e.g.,
unexpected anagram pairs), while other times the theme is related to vocabulary (e.g., money,
currencies, and coins).
-- I try to include at least one picture with each word, and I try hard to make the picture as relevant
and attractive as possible. This is partly because pictures really help cement words in your mind, but
also because the pictures are often very attractive and/or curious in their own right.
-- Vocabulary and general knowledge are enhanced through the discussion of each word.
Sometimes through a historical anecdote, an interesting usage example I've encountered, or even a
video that tells the story behind the word in more detail.
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-- I usually try to give you several new words for the price of one, by introducing related unusual
words into the discussion. These are all capitalized in the usual Scrabbly way to make it easier for
you to identify the SCRABBLE words most likely to be of interest.
You can sign up directly at this link...
http://forms.aweber.com/form/26/1799379826.htm
Please be sure to CONFIRM when they you a follow-up confirmation request. Many people forget to
do this and then wonder where their daily word has gone!
You can also check out the archives, and add comments via my Word of the Day Blog at http://
wordbuff.com/ If you prefer to get my word of the day via Email, Facebook, or Twitter, you’ll see a
bunch of links at the top of every blog post that will let you do just that.
(Note that my Word of the Day Blog is not the same as my main website, which is word-buff.com
with a 'dash' in it. Sorry for the confusion, but I will weld these sites together eventually)
SAMPLE WORD BUFF’S WORD OF THE DAY:
Theme for May 2012: Money
BROCKAGE \BROK.ij\ n. a particular type of misprinted coin
When I was a stamp-collecting 12 year old kid, I had a fantasy. (Well, two if you count Beth
Emerald.) One day I would be on my way to school and an old lady watering her garden would ask
me to be a good little boy and post a letter for her. As I'm taking the letter from her hand, here's what
I see...
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What's so special about an upside-down airplane? Well, let's just say this particular upside-down
airplane was sold in 2005 for half a million bucks!
I figured that just like in stamp-collecting, botched coins would often be highly sought after
collectors' items too, so I did a bit of research. Naturally, I was on the lookout for some cool words in
the process...
A brockage is what results when a pressed coin fails to exit the press when the next blank planchet
enters the press to be struck. The coin that fails to exit the press is usually stuck to the hammer die
(typically the reverse), and is known as a "cap" because of the form it assumed (like a bottle cap).
So, when the new blank planchet is struck, the obverse side is struck with the normal obverse die,
but the reverse side is struck against the "cap" (the coin that did not exit from the press correctly).
So, you end up with a correctly struck coin obverse and an incuse mirrored image of the obverse on
the reverse side of the coin. This is known as a brockage. -- Australian Threepence
I think it's fun to work out auxiliary definitions from contexts like this, but just in case you're in a
hurry, here's a quick summary...
PLANCHET n. a blank metal disc prepared to be stamped to make a coin
OBVERSE n. the primary or 'heads' side of a coin
INCUSE v. (of a coin) to mark with a stamped impression (also adj.)
The coin in the picture at the top of this post would be called an obverse brockage, because the
'heads' side of the coin is repeated on the reverse side as an incuse mirror image.
Well folks, until tomorrow, this was...
Word Buff's Word of the Day
by Derek McKenzie
P.S. As always, if you know someone who would enjoy today's Word of the Day, just click the
Forward button to tell them about it.
And if that person is you, just click the link below to subscribe...
Please Subscribe Me To Word Buff's Word of the Day
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TileHead’s Word of the Day
By Tim Bottorff
I created the TileHead blog in 2010 for the purpose of writing about words
and my favorite word game. The primary and most regular feature is the
Word of the Day, wherein I highlight a SCRABBLE® word that is especially
interesting or unusual.
Most of the Word of the Day entries are organized around topical or
seasonal themes, and new entries are typically published 3-5 times per
week. Each entry includes the definition(s), the word's hooks and other
properties, and an epilogue exploring the word's etymology, usage, or
relationship to other words.
I often do extensive research on the featured words using a wide variety of books, articles,
databases, and online sources. It is my hope that the entries may inspire others to better appreciate
the beauty of words, to make unusual connections, and, incidentally, to beat the pants off of their
opponents at the SCRABBLE board.
You can receive TileHead's Word of the Day in any of the following ways:
* Bookmark or follow the blog directly: http://tilehead.blogspot.com
* "Like" the TileHead page on Facebook: http://facebook.com/TileHead
* Subscribe to the OSPD mailing list by sending a message to <[email protected]>
* Follow Tim's feed on Twitter: @timbottorff
Tim is an expert-level SCRABBLE player and lifelong logophile who lives in Orlando, Florida. He is
looking forward to meeting more tileheads at the upcoming National SCRABBLE Championship.
SAMPLE TILEHEAD’S WORD OF THE DAY:
TileHead’s Word of the Day for 23 April 2012
TALAPOIN (n. pl. -S)
Definition(s):
1. (n.) a small monkey of central and western Africa
2. (n.) a Buddhist monk or priest
Useful info for word game players:
~ Back hooks: -S
~ Front hooks: (none)
~ Anagrams: (none)
~ Longer extensions: (none)
~ Wraparounds: (none)
~ Other Spellings: (none)
~ Related Forms: (none)
Current theme:
Monkey business
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Epilogue:
The name for this small African monkey comes from the Portuguese *talapao*, a word for a type
of Buddhist monk. The ultimate derivation is probably *tala poi* (“my lord”), a phrase from the Old
Teguan language, the modern form of which is known as Mon and is spoken in Burma and Thailand.
The TALAPOIN monkey was given the moniker because of its supposed resemblance to a Buddhist
monk.
Similarly, the CAPUCHIN monkey is named after its supposed resemblance to the hood-wearing
Capuchin order of monks. The coffee drink known as CAPPUCCINO is named after the same
monastic order, probably because the color of the drink somewhat resembles the hue of the monks’
brown cowls.
_______________________________________________________________________________
OSPD Word Lists
By Jill Heffner
During the many years the late Cheryl Cadieux ran the OSPD listserv and posted word lists, she
used a program Richard Buck created for her using a MS-DOS program written in QBasic. Many
of Cheryl's word lists were inspired by Scrabblers requesting a particular list, words that end in ILY,
for example. Often she replied to the request for a list by saying it should be accompanied by a
$100 bill! Jeff Clark, in fact, faxed her a copy of just that!
When I took over the day-to-day running of OSPD last year, and started posting word lists, I turned
to the excellent program written by Michael Thelen, Zyzzyva. I usually post a list Monday through
Friday mornings. Members of the list frequently send me requests for a particular list, and I am also
inspired by challenges, often bad ones by me, that occur at club and in tournaments. I usually
include a few definitions of words that I think might be of interest to our community.
I create the word lists using North American (OWL2), 2 through 15 letters.
To receive the word lists, subscribe to the OSPD mailing list by sending a message to <[email protected]>
SAMPLE OSDP WORD LIST:
I was looking at the word SQUABBY and wondered what it could mean. SQUABBY is short and fat.
USQUABAE is whisky!
SQUAB
SQUABS
SQUABBY
SQUABBLE, USQUABAE
SQUABBIER, SQUABBLED, SQUABBLER, SQUABBLES, USQUABAES
SQUABBIEST, SQUABBLERS, SQUABBLING
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WESPA Word of the Week (Collins)
By David Sutton
I’ve been writing the “Word of the Week” since the start of 2011 -- week number 73, featuring
WOSBIRD, has just appeared. It's aimed at those SCRABBLE® players who like to know a bit more
about the meaning, history, literary associations, etc. of the words they play. What I do is take
a word, normally a fairly unusual and lowish probability one that is likely to be on or beyond the
fringes of most people's vocabulary, and expatiate upon it in what I hope is an informative and
entertaining way. There is no subscription (i.e., it is not sent out by email); anyone wanting to see it
can just go to the WESPA page at http://www.wespa.org/features/index.shtml and click on Word of
the Week. It also appears on the WESPA Facebook page.
You may click on “Archive” to see the full list. The most popular word, judging by the number of hits
it received, has been POONTANG, which perhaps says something about SCRABBLE® players'
interests.
SAMPLE WESPA WORD OF THE WEEK:
Week seventy-three: WOSBIRD (probability 17663), by David Sutton
WOSBIRD is a contraction of whore's bird, and is an old dialect term of abuse implying dubious
parentage. A similar insult is expressed by the Shakespearean HORSON, and might lead to the
remonstrance 'Do not BEWHORE my mother, thou RUDESBY!'.
We are not, of course, short of modern terms of abuse, though in these days of rather different
sexual mores the emphasis has moved away from the imputation of bastardy. But some of these
ancient words of opprobrium do have such a fine ring to them that one rather regrets their loss.
HELLKITE and the similar Scots HELLICAT expressed a charge of great cruelty. FRANION and
DRATCHELL were terms for a loose woman. CULLION implied base rascality, as did RIBAUD. In
Old English, about the worst charge you could make against a man was to call him a NIDDERING
(variants NIDDERLING, NIDERING, NIDERLING, NIDING and NITHING), implying abject
cowardice; the same idea was expressed by HILDING (or HYLDING). A KILLCOW was a bully or
swaggerer. A PRINCOCK or PRINCOX was an arrogant effeminate fellow. Bald people came in for
their share of contumely with PEELGARLIC, PILGARLIC or PILGARLICK, and also, especially for
tonsured clerics, SHAVELING or SMOOTHPATE. A BEDPRESSER was a lazy person. And
FUSTILUGS is wonderfully evocative for a fat slovenly person.
But perhaps my favourite derogatory term is HUMGRUFFIAN (or HUMGRIFFIN), a catchall term for
a generally terrible person. I like to think that even now in this universe of infinite possibilities one
Scrabble players has just played RUFFIAN and another is thoughtfully contemplating a rack
containing GHMU...
[EDITOR’S NOTE: In the sample above only the following words discussed are good in TWL:
RUDESBY, HELLKITE, CULLION, NIDDERING, NIDERING, NIDING, HILDING, PRINCOCK,
PRINCOX, PILGARLIC, SHAVELING, and RUFFIAN.]
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Scrab-doku
By Jeff Kastner
In a standard Sudoku, your object is to fill in every square of the grid so that all nine rows across, all
nine columns down, and all nine 3-by-3 boxes contain the numbers 1 through 9, with no repeats.
Same rules apply to this Scrab-doku, but I’ve added a few twists to help you solve it. First of all, I
use letters to replace the numbers. These letters are part of a “Keyword” which I’ve scrambled
below. I’ve also provided a clue to help you find the correct anagram. Once you’ve unscrambled the
Keyword, one of the rows or columns will contain all of its 9 letters in the proper order.
This week’s “Scrambled” Keyword: UNDO CRIME
Clue: Whether it’s a breach of etiquette or lack of civility, it’s the kind of improper behavior that
demands change.
SOLUTION on the page after next.
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Word-Finder Challenge:
Here’s an additional test of your anagramming ability. Your object is to find as many words as
possible of 6 or more letters, using only the 9 letters of this month’s (Scrambled) Keyword:
UNDO CRIME.
Words must be at least 6 letters long (or longer), and must be OWL2 acceptable. Each letter of the
Keyword may be used only once within any word you find. So, for instance, IRONED is acceptable,
but not IRONER.
Par Scores for this month’s Word-Finder Challenge:
24 Words (Novice); 35 Words (Intermediate); 46 Words (Advanced)
Once you’ve compiled your list, check out my SOLUTION on the next page.
See you next month with another Scrab-doku puzzle and Word-Finder Challenge! …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 2010-2011 Phoenix SCRABBLE® Club champion, the 2011-12 Phoenix “Floating” Club
champion, as well as the 2011 Scottsdale SCRABBLE® Club champ.
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SOLUTION
Word-Finder Challenge Solution:
Keyword (Unscrambled): INDECORUM (61 Words Total)
CERIUM
CINDER
CODEIN
COENURI
COINED
COINER
CONIUM
CORIUM
CORNED
CRINUM
CRUNODE
DECORUM
DECURION
DEMONIC
DERMIC
DINERO
DIURON
DOMINE
DORMICE
DORMIE
DORMIN
DOURINE
DURION
EMODIN
ENDURO
INCOME
INCOMER
INDECORUM
INDUCE
INDUCER
INURED
IRONED
MEDICO
MENUDO
MERINO
MICRON
MINCED
MINCER
MINDER
MINORED
MODERN
MONIED
MOURNED
MUCOID
MUONIC
MUREIN
MURINE
NEUMIC
NEUROID
NIMROD
NORDIC
NORMED
NUMERIC
ORCEIN
RECOIN
REMIND
RODMEN
RUINED
UNDOER
UNRIMED
UREMIC
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Geoff Thevenot: Austin’s Spelling Champion
Scrabbler Geoff Thevenot won the 10th Annual Austin Chronicle
Spelling Bee on May 17th. Geoff, the defending champion,
found an excellent rival in the finals in Dave Millard. The two
battled through 14 rounds before Dave faltered on the word
OPPROBRIOUS, which Geoff then spelled correctly. The
judges then gave Geoff a final word to spell--coincidentally the
final word prepared for the competition: ANTHRACNOSE. He
spelled it perfectly to take the prize for the sixth time in his eight
attempts.
Geoff, who competed in spelling bees until high school and
almost made the national finals a few times, felt this year’s
competition was the best yet. “Usually once they get to the final
two, it goes four or five rounds at most, but this time it went to
14! I managed to get the win, but felt fortunate to do so. I was
glad to be part of a head-to-head spelldown like that--very
exciting. Kudos to Dave Millard, the second-place finisher. He
can seriously spell!”
Credit: Brett Rivera. Courtesy of The Austin
Chronicle.
Geoff felt there were many good spellers in this year’s final
round. The event, sponsored by the Austin Chronicle for the
benefit of the Austin Public Library, attracts about two hundred
entries who are winnowed down through two written tests to a
final 20-25. These finalists compete on the stage at
Threadgill’s, a downtown Austin restaurant, for the
championship. The winner gets numerous free passes and gift
certificates donated by Austin businesses--plus a card good for
one free beer at Threadgill’s every day for a year. “I certainly
like beer, but I don’t live downtown, so I don’t get to use the
card that often--maybe 10-15 times last year.” Geoff’s name
was also added--again!--to the base of the Spelling Bee trophy.
As one of the world’s top SCRABBLE®
players, Geoff did not do any special studying
before the spelling bee. As he said,
“SCRABBLE® provides plenty of word study
by itself.”
Click here to see the video of the final rounds!
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Know the Rules
By Jan Cardia, NASPA Rules Committee Chair
Jan Cardia, a longtime expert player and chair of the NASPA Rules Committee,
writes this monthly column on rules for The Last Word. We are thrilled to have
Jan 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)
________________________________________________________________________
Question:
The language in the overdraw rule states that tiles are considered mixed when they are
placed anywhere on the same rack. There is some confusion, however, if this definition also
applies to courtesy tiles.
Answer: Yes, it applies whenever tiles are put onto the same rack. To avoid confusion, this
will be noted in the 2012 update, which is wrapping up and will be posted on NASPA's
website in June.
Jan Cardia 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 husband, Aldo, and Delaware, where her children and
grandchildren all reside.
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Fill in the Blanks
By Jeff Kastner
Here’s a fun game that will put your bingo-finding and anagramming skills to the test.
Every one of these seven racks contains six letters and a blank (represented by the “?” symbol). There is
one (and only one) bingo in each. What letter do you make the blank in each case and what is the bingo?
(All words must be OWL2 acceptable.)
Secret Word: Once you’ve filled in all the blanks correctly, unscramble those seven letters to form another
unique bingo (the “Secret Word”). Even if you have only a few of the letters, you may still be able to uncover
the Secret Word with the following clue: “It’s how most players feel before every Scrabble tournament.”
GUUING ? =
EOTIDE ? =
FONIES ? =
WRAPTS ? =
TYNING ? =
VORPAL ? =
ZAYINS ? =
ANSWERS on the next page
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 2010-2011 Phoenix SCRABBLE® Club champion, the 2011-12 Phoenix “Floating” Club
champion, as well as the 2011 Scottsdale SCRABBLE® Club champ.
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GUUING ? = FUGUING
EOTIDE ? = EPIDOTE
FONIES ? = OLEFINS
WRAPTS ? = POSTWAR
TYNING ? = UNTYING
VORPAL ? = OVERLAP
ZAYINS ? = ZANYISH
Secret Word:
FPLOUEH = HOPEFUL
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The Wordsmith
A visit with the Basques
By Chris Sinacola
A conversation between games at the Boston Area Tournament got me thinking about what
contributions to the SCRABBLE® lexicon have been made by the more obscure languages of the
world, and specifically Basque.
Why Basque? Because the Basque language, or Euskara as it is in known by its native speakers,
has achieved an almost legendary status for being unrelated to any other language. The Basque
people, too, have an air of mystery, having occupied the northeastern corner of the Iberian
peninsula and a corner of southwest France for thousands of years.
A great deal – including a great deal of nonsense – has been written about Basque, but linguists
have reached agreement on a few points, the chief one being that Basque is a language isolate,
meaning that it stands apart from all other languages.
There is, in short, no way to trace the origins of the language to others, to place it neatly within any
other language family. It is throught that the Basque people and their language were in place well
before the many variations of speech that derive from Indo-European reached the Iberian peninsula.
A balanced and persuasive treatment of this question can be found in Roger Collins’ 1986 book The
Basques, in which he outlines the two leading theories for the language’s origin.
One, the Vasco-Iberist theory, “sees Basque as the last remnant of a language spoken in most, if
not all, parts of the Iberian peninsula before the Roman conquest.”
Indeed, the word BASQUE itself derives from the Latin vasco, for an inhabitant of what the Romans
called Vasconia, the western slopes of the Pyrenee Mountains.
This theory has some allure, but as Collins explains, it requires that the Basques be descendants of
the ancient Iberians, and there is simply not enough archaeological or linguistic evidence to assert
this with any confidence.
The other theory, which amounts to only a line of enquiry, really, is built on “certain, rather limited,
points of similarity between Basque and some of the Caucasian languages of the Kartvelian class –
that is to say, those such as Georgian and other smaller related languages of non-Indo-European
origin.”
To cut to the chase, this suggests that Basque is the westernmost example in Europe of non-IndoEuropean languages, other examples of which include Hungarian, Finnish and Estonian.
Again, beyond declaring that Basque is certainly non-Indo-European, there’s not much to support
any connection with these other languages, either.
Finally, some scholars have tried to relate Basque to Old Irish, Pictish, or Berber with, as you may
by now have guessed, very limited success.
Having established that we don’t really know where the Basques came from, we can at least say
they have been in place for a very long time. Let’s look at some of the words that we can trace to
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their language, for even if the relationships cannot be traced, any language living side-by-side with
others in the modern world is going to influence and be influenced by, its neighbors.
A BASQUE, to begin with the most obvious example, is a corset or doublet, but it is also, according
to the Oxford English Dictionary, a dish of mutton mixed with breadcrumbs, eggs, anchovies, wine,
lemon peel and other ingredients.
I will pause here to remark that our family has for many years enjoyed a recipe for Basque
scrambled eggs, which amounts to sautéeing onions, peppers and whatever else you like in the
skillet before pouring in the eggs. Season to taste, garnish with fresh parsley, and you can pretend
you have a long day of herding sheep in the Pyrenees ahead of you.
The Collins dictionary (whose authors are not, as far as I know, any relation to Roger Collins) adds
BASQUED#, meaning to be wearing a basque, as well as the noun BASQUINE#, which is an article
of clothing related to a basque, but with a slightly more fancy definition, namely, a rich outer
petticoat.
A quick visit to Wikipedia yielded another list of words that have supposedly come into the Spanish
language from Basque. Some of these, in turn, have filtered into English and found favor in one or
more SCRABBLE lexicons.
ARROYO, for example, meaning a stream or rivulet, or a stream bed, derives from the Old Spanish
arrogio, and the medieval Latin arrogium. I accept that, but the OED offers no hint of a Basque
origin.
BARRANCA, a deep ravine with precipitous sides, is certainly Spanish, and Wikipedia claims of
“unknown alleged pre-roman origin,” but the site remains silent about the words Basque-ness.
BIZARRO, a Spanish word meaning galant or spirited, is defined in the OSPD4 as “one that is
strikingly unusual.” Wikipedia suggests comparison with the Basque bizar, meaning “beard,” and the
OED has more to say: “Littré suggests that the Spanish word is an adaptation of Basque bizarra
beard, in the same manner as hombre de bigote moustached man is used in Spanish for a “man of
spirit”; but the history of the sense has not been satisfactorily made out.”
Littré, by the way, would be the French lexicographer and philosopher Émile Maximilien Paul Littré
(1801-1881), who spent more than 30 years assembling his masterwork, the Dictionnaire de la
langue française, which supposedly took up 415,636 sheets of paper that were stored in eight
wooden crates in the author’s basement.
I get tired and bleary-eyed just thinking about that.
Back to the alleged Basque words:
CALABAZA, meaning a pumpkin, and GALAPAGO#, for a tortoise, are two more words that are
probably pre-Roman in origin, and may have originated with the Basques.
For whatever it’s worth, Wikipedia says that GALAPAGO# may be “related with Sp. ‘Caparazón’
which probably is a metathesis of ‘carapazón.’”
I include this only because I learned what METATHESIS is – basically the transposition of letters in
the development of words, a simple example being how modern English has bird and horse, where
Old English had bryd and hros.
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If you listen carefully to children as they are learning to speak – or to anyone learning a new
language – you can often hear examples of this.
Wikipedia also offers MADRONO, the strawberry tree, and MOCHILA, a leather covering for a
saddle, as other words of Basque origin, but the supporting evidence is thin.
I am somewhat more persuaded by the entry for SILO, which Wikipedia says is “According to
Cormines, probably from Celtic silon ‘seed.’ From here to ‘stock of grain,’ and then maybe also the
Basque word (cf. Basque zilo, zulo ‘dugout, cave or shelter for keeping grain.’)”
Cormines is a reference to Joan Coromines i Vigneaux (1905-1997) a linguist of the Spanish,
Catalan and other Romance languages. His major work, for the record, was Diccionari etimològic i
complementari de la llengua catalana, nine-volume investigation of the origin of every word in
Catalan.
Where, I wonder, do such people get their energy?!
Next we have VEGA#, a “river plain” or “water meadow.”
Wikipedia again: “In old documents attested as ‘vayca’ (Trask 1997, 420). Related with Basque ibai
"river" maybe with the relational suffix -ko (BDELC). According to Trask this explanation is
problematic.”
Trask, I simply must report, refers to the late Robert Lawrence Trask (1944-2004), who was a
professor of linguistics at the University of Sussex and a leading authority on Basque linguistics.
Trask was at work on his Etymological Dictionary of Basque at the time of his death. The work was
prepared for publication on the Internet by a colleague, Max W. Wheeler, with the permission of
Trask’s family. Wheeler does not claim to have “completed” the work, a task for which he says he is
not qualified, but wanted to present Trask’s findings to the world.
The work – all 418 pages of it – is available on the Internet. If you’re into plosive voicing
assimilation, intervocalic /n/ loss, and lenition of fortes, well, you’re in for a treat.
But what does Trask make of our list above? He’s not impressed. The Basque bizar, he states, is
related neither to the Castilian bizarro nor to the English bizarre. Scratch that one from the list.
ARROYO, BARRANCA, CALABAZA, GALAPAGO# do not make Trask’s list of Basque words. Nor
do MADRONO or MOCHILA. SILO? No. VEGA#? Forget about it.
In fact, looking through Trask’s work, about all I can say with confidence is that Basque is just about
the strangest and most foreign-looking language I’ve ever encountered. Usually when you look
through a foreign grammar you find at least some words you recognize, or at least a few linguistic
roots, sort of like when you dump a 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzle on the table and start trying to make
sense of it.
Not so with Basque. I found nothing at all familiar. Whortleberry is ahabia. Noise is azantz. The left
hand is ezker. A robin is txindor.
Basque is still spoken by about 660,000 people, and is said not to present any greater difficulty than
any other language for the non-native who wishes to learn it, at least in the sense that the grammar
is not all that complicated. Of course, you have to deal with the obvious fact that it apparently has no
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relationship whatsoever to the structure and vocabulary of English or any other language you may
happen to know.
Having puzzled over the topic for 1,600 words, I wish I could offer a satisfying conclusion, some
breakthrough or insight that would be sure to please, or which you might at least use during
conversation at your next cocktail party.
Well, there’s this: Playing Basque SCRABBLE is going to require a significant increase in the
number of K, X and Z tiles!
Chris Sinacola is director of the Worcester (Massachusetts) NASPA SCRABBLE@ Club #600.
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ScrabbleDom
By Tony Rasch
There are 353 words ending in “DOM”, “HOOD”, or “SHIP” that are acceptable for SCRABBLE® play. This article
will consider those words.
Usually the “-DOM”, “-HOOD”, or “-SHIP” is a suffix added to a noun to indicate a shared state or quality. More
specifically The American Heritage Dictionary defines these suffixes as:
-DOM: Those that collectively have a specified position, office, or character.
-HOOD: A group sharing a specified state or quality.
-SHIP: Something that shows or possesses a quality, state, or condition.
Words ending in “SHIP” might also be related to a sailing vessel.
Following are lists organized by length.
The only short “DOM” word:
SODOM
Six-Letter “DOM” Words
CONDOM
DOGDOM
FANDOM
RANDOM
SELDOM
WISDOM
Seven-Letter “DOM” Words
BOREDOM
BOSSDOM
CHEFDOM
CZARDOM
DOGEDOM
DUKEDOM
EARLDOM
FIEFDOM
FILMDOM
FREEDOM
GEEKDOM
HALIDOM
HEIRDOM
JARLDOM
KINGDOM
PAPADOM
POPEDOM
RHABDOM
SELFDOM
SERFDOM
SHAHDOM
STARDOM
TSARDOM
TZARDOM
WIFEDOM
Eight-Letter “DOM” Words
CHIEFDOM
CLERKDOM
GYPSYDOM
HOTELDOM
MOTORDOM
MOVIEDOM
PACHADOM
PAGANDOM
PASHADOM
POPPADOM
PUPPYDOM
QUEENDOM
REBELDOM
SAINTDOM
SHEIKDOM
THRALDOM
UNWISDOM
VILLADOM
WHOREDOM
Nine-Letter “DOM” Words
BEADLEDOM
BEGGARDOM
COUPLEDOM
HIPPIEDOM
KAISERDOM
MARTYRDOM
MASTERDOM
NONRANDOM
PRINCEDOM
SHEIKHDOM
THRALLDOM
UNFREEDOM
YUPPIEDOM
Long “DOM” Words
ARCHDUKEDOM
BACHELORDOM
BESTSELLERDOM
COMPUTERDOM
GANGSTERDOM
HEATHENDOM
OFFICIALDOM
PSEUDORANDOM
SHERIFFDOM
SUBKINGDOM
SUPERSTARDOM
The Only Six-Letter “HOOD” Word
UNHOOD
Seven-Letter “HOOD” Words
BOYHOOD GODHOOD LADHOOD MANHOOD SONHOOD
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Eight-Letter “HOOD” Words
AUNTHOOD
BABYHOOD
GIRLHOOD
KINGHOOD
LADYHOOD
MAIDHOOD
MONKHOOD
SELFHOOD
SERFHOOD
WIFEHOOD
Nine-Letter “HOOD” Words
ADULTHOOD
CHILDHOOD
FAIRYHOOD
FALSEHOOD
HARDIHOOD
HUMANHOOD
LUSTIHOOD
MONKSHOOD
PUPPYHOOD
SAINTHOOD
STATEHOOD
WIDOWHOOD
WITCHHOOD
WOMANHOOD
Long “HOOD” Words
BACHELORHOOD
BROTHERHOOD
COUSINHOOD
CREATUREHOOD
FATHERHOOD
GRANDPARENTHOOD
KNIGHTHOOD
LIKELIHOOD
LIVELIHOOD
MAIDENHOOD
MOTHERHOOD
NATIONHOOD
NEIGHBORHOOD
ORPHANHOOD
PARENTHOOD
PEOPLEHOOD
PERSONHOOD
PRIESTHOOD
PROPHETHOOD
SERVANTHOOD
SISTERHOOD
SPINSTERHOOD
TODDLERHOOD
UNLIKELIHOOD
VICTIMHOOD
WIDOWERHOOD
Six-Letter “SHIP” Words
RESHIP
UNSHIP
Seven-Letter “SHIP” Words
AIRSHIP
GODSHIP
GUNSHIP
KINSHIP
MIDSHIP
PALSHIP
PRESHIP
SONSHIP
WARSHIP
WORSHIP
Eight-Letter “SHIP” Words
AMIDSHIP
ANTISHIP
CHUMSHIP
DEANSHIP
DOGESHIP
EARLSHIP
FIRESHIP
FLAGSHIP
GURUSHIP
HARDSHIP
ABBOTSHIP
ARHATSHIP
CADETSHIP
CHELASHIP
COURTSHIP
DONORSHIP
ELDERSHIP
GUILDSHIP
JUDGESHIP
LAIRDSHIP
LIGHTSHIP
HEADSHIP
HEIRSHIP
KINGSHIP
LADYSHIP
LONGSHIP
LORDSHIP
MATESHIP
STARSHIP
TANKSHIP
TOWNSHIP
TRANSHIP
TWINSHIP
WARDSHIP
Nine-Letter “SHIP” Words
CHIEFSHIP
CLERKSHIP
MAYORSHIP
MOTORSHIP
OWNERSHIP
PRIORSHIP
QUEENSHIP
RIDERSHIP
RULERSHIP
SAINTSHIP
SIZARSHIP
SKALDSHIP
SPACESHIP
STEAMSHIP
STORESHIP
THANESHIP
TRANSSHIP
TROOPSHIP
TUTORSHIP
UPMANSHIP
VICARSHIP
Long “SHIP” Words
ACCOUNTANTSHIP
AIRMANSHIP
AMBASSADORSHIP
ANTICENSORSHIP
APOSTLESHIP
APPRENTICESHIP
ARTISANSHIP
ASSISTANTSHIP
ASSOCIATESHIP
ATHWARTSHIP
ATTORNEYSHIP
AUTHORSHIP
CONTAINERSHIP
CONTAINERSHIP
CONTROLLERSHIP
COPARTNERSHIP
COSPONSORSHIP
COUNCILLORSHIP
COUNSELORSHIP
COUSINSHIP
CRAFTSMANSHIP
CURATORSHIP
CUSTODIANSHIP
DEALERSHIP
LAUREATESHIP
LEADERSHIP
LECTURESHIP
LEGATESHIP
LEGISLATORSHIP
LIBRARIANSHIP
LIFEMANSHIP
LISTENERSHIP
MANAGERSHIP
MARKSMANSHIP
MARSHALSHIP
MASTERSHIP
PROCONSULSHIP
PROCTORSHIP
PROFESSORSHIP
PROPRIETORSHIP
PROTECTORSHIP
READERSHIP
RECEIVERSHIP
RECTORSHIP
RELATIONSHIP
SALESMANSHIP
SCHOLARSHIP
SEAMANSHIP
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BATTLESHIP
BIPARTISANSHIP
BRINKMANSHIP
BRINKSMANSHIP
CAPTAINSHIP
CARDINALSHIP
CENSORSHIP
CHAIRMANSHIP
CHAMPIONSHIP
CHANCELLORSHIP
CHIEFTAINSHIP
CHURCHMANSHIP
CITIZENSHIP
COAUTHORSHIP
COLLEAGUESHIP
COLLECTORSHIP
COMMANDERSHIP
COMPANIONSHIP
COMPTROLLERSHIP
COMRADESHIP
CONNOISSEURSHIP
CONSERVATORSHIP
CONSULSHIP
CONSULTANTSHIP
CONSUMERSHIP
DICTATORSHIP
DIRECTORSHIP
DISCIPLESHIP
DOCTORSHIP
DRAFTSMANSHIP
DUENNASHIP
EDITORSHIP
EMPERORSHIP
EXTERNSHIP
FACTORSHIP
FELLOWSHIP
FOLLOWSHIP
FOREMANSHIP
FRIENDSHIP
GAMESMANSHIP
GENERALSHIP
GOVERNORSHIP
GRANTSMANSHIP
GUARDIANSHIP
HEADMASTERSHIP
HELMSMANSHIP
HORSEMANSHIP
INSPECTORSHIP
INSTRUCTORSHIP
INTERNSHIP
LANDOWNERSHIP
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MEDIUMSHIP
MEMBERSHIP
MENTORSHIP
MESSIAHSHIP
MODERATORSHIP
MONITORSHIP
MUSICIANSHIP
NONMEMBERSHIP
NONPARTISANSHIP
OARSMANSHIP
OMBUDSMANSHIP
OUTDOORSMANSHIP
OVERLORDSHIP
PARTISANSHIP
PARTNERSHIP
PASTORSHIP
PENMANSHIP
POSTMASTERSHIP
PRAETORSHIP
PRECENTORSHIP
PRECEPTORSHIP
PREMIERSHIP
PRESIDENTSHIP
PRIMATESHIP
PRINCESHIP
PRINCIPALSHIP
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SECRETARYSHIP
SENATORSHIP
SHOWMANSHIP
SOLDIERSHIP
SOLICITORSHIP
SPEAKERSHIP
SPECTATORSHIP
SPOKESMANSHIP
SPONSORSHIP
SPORTSMANSHIP
STADTHOLDERSHIP
STATESMANSHIP
STEWARDSHIP
STUDENTSHIP
SURETYSHIP
SURVIVORSHIP
SWORDSMANSHIP
TRAINEESHIP
TREASURERSHIP
TRIBUNESHIP
TRUSTEESHIP
VICEROYSHIP
VIEWERSHIP
VIZIERSHIP
WARDENSHIP
WATERMANSHIP
WORKMANSHIP
DOUBLE BUBBLE
Several nouns take more than one of the “DOM”, “HOOD”, “SHIP” suffixes. Without reading further, I invite you to
put the proper suffixes with each of the following nouns: BACHELOR, CHIEF, CLERK, COUSIN, DOGE, EARL,
GOD, HEIR, KING, LADY, MASTER, MOTOR, PRINCE, PUPPY, QUEEN, SAINT, SELF, SERF, SON, STAR,
WIFE.
Takes all Three Suffixes
KINGDOM
KINGHOOD
KINGSHIP
SAINTDOM
SAINTHOOD
SAINTSHIP
Takes “-DOM” and “-SHIP”
CHIEFDOM
CHIEFSHIP
DOGEDOM
DOGESHIP
HEIRDOM
HEIRSHIP
MOTORDOM
MOTORSHIP
QUEENDOM
QUEENSHIP
CLERKDOM
CLERKSHIP
EARLDOM
EARLSHIP
MASTERDOM
MASTERSHIP
PRINCEDOM
PRINCESHIP
STARDOM
STARSHIP
Takes “-DOM” and “-HOOD”
BACHELORDOM PUPPYDOM
BACHELORHOOD PUPPYHOOD
SELFDOM
SELFHOOD
SERFDOM
SERFHOOD
WIFEDOM
WIFEHOOD
Takes “-HOOD” and “-SHIP”
COUSINHOOD
COUSINSHIP
GODHOOD
GODSHIP
LADYHOOD
LADYSHIP
SONHOOD
SONSHIP
A Note on Back-S
Nearly all of the words ending in “DOM”, “HOOD”, or “SHIP” are nouns and take a back-S. A few, such as UNHOOD,
are verbs and take a back-S. The only five words that don’t take a back-S are adjectives: ANTISHIP,
ANTICENSORSHIP, NONRANDOM, PSEUDORANDOM, and SELDOM.
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ATE
There are 1,717 SCRABBLE® words ending in “ATE”. For at least 35 of those words “ATE” is a suffix meaning rank
or office. Those 35 words are listed below.
AMIRATE
EMIRATE
KHANATE
AMEERATE
CALIFATE
EMEERATE
GRADUATE
KALIFATE
PRIORATE
VICARATE
VIZIRATE
CALIPHATE
CONSULATE
DIPLOMATE
DOCTORATE
EXARCHATE
KALIPHATE
KHALIFATE
PASTORATE
POTENTATE
RABBINATE
SHOGUNATE
SULTANATE
VIZIERATE
APOSTOLATE
ELECTORATE
MAGISTRATE
MARQUISATE
CARDINALATE
CATHOLICATE
DIRECTORATE
GOVERNORATE
MARQUESSATE
PATRIARCHATE
PROFESSORATE
I’ve probably missed some. If you can think of any I’ve missed, please email me at [email protected].
Tony Rasch is the author of Brow-Raisers, an excellent study guide for beginning and intermediate players who want to
move up in the standings. Tony lives in Montana and spends most of his summer in the mountains, far away from any
hard-drive. During the winter he loves to put a log on the fire and then dig into the intricacies of SCRABBLE® words.
His website, www.BrowRaisers.com, is worth checking out.
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Club News
Edited by Larry Sherman
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].
________________________________________________________________
Madison (WI) SCRABBLE® Club’s New Website
by Lynda Finn
Charles and Thomas Reinke have built the Madison (WI) SCRABBLE Club a fantastic new web site
at http://madisonscrabble.com/. The site has a simple appearance, but underneath it is loaded with
great features that allow players to monitor their performance and progress. Visitors can look at the
yearly stats to see how everyone is performing: most wins, highest scoring average, most bingos,
most phonies, and so on.
You can also look at an individual player’s performance, highlighting his most common bingos, the
letters in his bingos, which letters his bingos start with, and the percentage of 7-, 8- and 9-letter
bingos. The head-to-head feature shows how each player fares against other individuals.
Charles and Thomas Reinke spoke to me about what they were trying to accomplish with the new
site. Charles knew the primitive excel sheet that Richard Lauder, the club director and stats keeper,
was using to track club performance was sorely lacking. He knew that working together with his
brother, they could build a better system and at the same time improve the visibility of the club on
the Internet. Also, as a web developer, he felt it would look good on his resume, as real-world
experience is critical in the programming job market. And they both wanted to give back to the club
and have some fun doing it. Charles joked that “outdoing every other club site on the Internet was
absolutely not on our minds.”
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"The site took about six months, from start to where it is
now, to construct. Knowing what we know now, we
could probably do it a lot faster the second time, maybe
a month. The design of the site
is totally image-less, which means it loads very quickly.
The whole system right now is specific to the
circumstances of the Madison club. If another club was
interested we could either rewrite a new
system specific for them, or we could generalize the
code for easier customization. At that point, we would
be getting close to an actual software product that
could be released for download. Also
we would be happy to do visual-only redesign of any
club website that wanted it.”
Their work on the Madison website continues. Charles
can be reached at: [email protected]. Thomas
can be reached at: [email protected].
Or you can leave them a comment at the "contact us"
section of madisonscrabble.com. The club meets on
Wednesday evenings in various locations around
Madison (see web site for details) and is currently in its
27th year of operation. Please join us if you find
yourself in Madison on a Wednesday evening.
Right: Bingo information for Thomas
Reinke, the current leader at the
Madison Club. Clicking “Game” in the
top box gives the results of each
game (sample above).
It is easy to see how you perform against
other players using the head-to-head
feature. Here we see Thomas dominates
everyone except Andy Bohnsack and
Richard Lauder.
Madison WI SCRABBLE® Club meets Wednesdays from 6:00-10:00 p.m. Call or email for location
information. Monthly locations in Madison, WI: 1st and 3rd and 5th Weds. - Attic Angels, 8301 Old
Sauk Road; 2nd Weds. - Barnes & Nobles at West Towne Mall; 4th Weds . Covenant Presbyterian
Church, 326 S. Segoe Rd. Contacts: Barb Besadny, 608-233-7410, [email protected];
Richard Lauder, 608-233-2617, [email protected]. Website: http://madisonscrabble.com/
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Youngest Scrabblers at Club 541
Lea Cate Bahra, daughter of Scrabblers James and
Lindsay Crotty Bahra, squared off against Leah Grace
Pounder, daughter of Scrabblers Daniel and Nell
Pounder. Both girls are regular attendees at Club 541
in Metairie, Louisiana. We just have to warn the girls
against EATING the tiles!
Metairie NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #541 meets on
Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. at IHOP, 3400 S. 1-10
Service Rd., Metairie, LA. Contacts: Lila Crotty,
504-885-1616, [email protected]; Helen Joffe,
985-690-6188, [email protected]; Maneck Contractor,
504-885-7232, [email protected].
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Easton SCRABBLE® Club Nonagenarian
Anne Fiyalka, a member of the Easton, CT, SCRABBLE® Club, recently celebrated her 91st
birthday. In addition to playing SCRABBLE, Anne also bowls at the Nutmeg Bowl in Fairfield, CT,
where she runs the Easton Senior Bowling League every Wednesday. The Easton SCRABBLE
Club, which meets at the Easton Library, was founded four years ago by Carl and Barbara Twickler.
New faces are welcome!
Easton CT SCRABBLE® Club meets on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. at the Easton Library, 691
Morehouse Rd., Easton, CT. Contact: Carl Twickler, 203-268-7126, [email protected].
_______________________________________________________________________________
Millburn Club father/son team win at Bayside
Tom Draper and his son, Thomas Draper, both members
of the Millburn SCRABBLE® Club, won their respective
divisions at the 5/19 Bayside, NY, Tournament. Thomas,
a rising 7th grader who was 2nd with his partner Nicky
Vasquez in the recent National School SCRABBLE®
Championship, won Division 2 decisively, 8-1 +705, to
raise his rating 180 points to 1328. Tom won Division 3,
6-3 +608. (Photo credit: Tyra Draper)
Millburn NJ NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #411 meets on
Mondays at 6:45 p.m. at the Millburn Library, 2nd floor,
200 Glen Avenue, Millburn, NJ. Fee: $1.00 per player
(waived for first visit). First time players receive a free 2 &
3 letter word list to use for the first few visits.Contacts: Don Carson, 732-297-7794,
[email protected]; Seth Mandel, 973-420-7768, [email protected]; Glenn Filzer,
973-898-1963. Club website: http://sites.google.com/site/millburnscrabble/home.
_______________________________________________________________________________
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Joel Sherman game for Club 56’s books
On Sunday, April 29, Nancy Konipol opened with
SNORINg in her game with Joel Sherman at New York
City’s Club 56. On Joel’s second turn he got the OUT
down for 27. Then later, with a 10-letter word already
on the board, he played two 9-letter bingos on
consecutive turns: (FE)UDARIES and B(AR)NACLED.
Joel also played MeSQUITE; INERTIA was Nancy’s.
(Photo credit: Adam Townsend)
New York (NY) NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #56 meets
on Thursdays at from 7:00-11:00 p.m. at Honors Bridge
Club, 133 E. 58th St., New York, NY, 12th floor, room
1201. Newcomers should arrive by 6:45 p.m; warm-up
games available as early as 6:15 p.m. Fee: $17;
student rate for players 20 or under $12). Also meets
casually on some Sundays with a $15 fee. Contacts:
Joel Sherman, 718-881-7527, [email protected];
Larry Sherman, [email protected]. Club website:
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeskktx/index.html
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Steve Hartsman scores 708 game at the Milwaukee Club
Steve Hartsman scored a 708 game
against Ben Hochstedler at the Milwaukee
SCRABBLE® Club #363 on Tuesday, May
22nd. The final score was 708-326.
Steve had four bingos, none phony
(JOISTed, RANDIER, HEARTIES, and
ISOGRIV), and got away with a 48-point
phony--RE(COMFORT)*. Ben lost five
turns, four on his phoneys and one on a
lost challenge. Steve notes: “Ben’s
daughter Norah, 7, was summoned to
help me play and score the word BEN,
her dad’s name. She exclaimed, ‘You
can’t play names!’” Ben had two
unplayable U’s at the end--with an empty
bag, not a single U had been played.
The annotated game is on cross-tables at the following link: http://www.cross-tables.com/
annotated.php?u=11170#0#.
Milwaukee WI SCRABBLE® Club #363 meets the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Garden
Suite, Room 110, at the Mayfair Mall, 2500 N. Mayfair Rd., Wauwatosa, WI. Contact: Lesley Salas,
414-628-4687. Club website: http://www.waukeshascrabble.com/
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Laverne Brookes wins at Saskatoon tourney
Laverne Brookes of Club 374 (Calgary) went 14-0 (+1466) in Division 3 at the 5/12 Saskatoon
tournament. In her last three tournaments, she's raised her rating from 640 to 863, a 223-point
improvement, with an overall record of 29-12-1.
Calgary NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #374 meets on Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. at the West Hillhurst
Community Center, 1940 6 Ave. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Contacts: Siri Tillekeratne,
403-281-2459, [email protected]; Wayne Clifford, 403-241-0375, [email protected]; Betty Bergeron,
403-201-2206, [email protected]; Randall Thomas, 403-220-9121, [email protected]. Club
website: http://www.calgary374.org/HomePage.php
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Sweet play at the Austin Club
On April 24th at the Austin Club Tony Cook exchanged seven on his first turn, drew ?AAELRU, and
double-doubled with zAR(Z)UELA for 114 points.
Austin TX NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #234 meets on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. at the Austin
Recreation Center, 1301 Shoal Creek Blvd., Austin, TX. First visit is free; afterwards $1 club dues
per meeting. Contact: Geoff Thevenot, 512-921-9169, [email protected]. Club website:
http://www.austinscrabble.org/
_______________________________________________________________________________
Lexington Club donates to National Brain Tumor Society
Once a year, the Lexington Club cannot meet in the church basement on Thursday night. So,
instead, Mark Fidler hosts club at his house and prepares food for the evening. Instead of the
normal $5 admission fee, he asks people to donate $5-10 (or more) to The National Brain Tumor
Society. This year the evening raised $151 in donations. Mark also raises money for the Society by
riding in the Boston Brain Tumor Ride on his bike each year.
Lexington (MA) NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #108 meets on Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. at the First
Parish Unitarian Church, 7 Harrington Road, Lexington, MA. Contact: Judy Horn, 781-942-7471,
[email protected] . Club website: http://www.wolfberg.net/scrabble/lexington/ (Club
Statistician and Webmaster: Mike Wolfberg)
_______________________________________________________________________________
Jeff Kastner 2011-12 Phoenix “Floating” Club Champion
Jeff Kastner was announced at the end of May as champion of the 2011-12 Phoenix “Floating” Club.
The inaugural Floating Club season just ended; the new one begins Saturday, June 2nd. The
Floating Club meets in a different Phoenix metro area location (usually at large bookstores or major
hotel patios) several times each week. It is organized and directed by the director of the weekly
(Tuesday evening) Scottsdale Club, Mike Wier.
Phoenix “Floating” Club meets several times each week in a different Phoenix metro area
location. Contact: Mike Wier, 602-789-0337, [email protected].
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Word Trivia Quiz
By Siri Tillekeratne
The following words whose unique meanings are given were added to the OSPD in 2006. What are
those words?
1. A young or inexperienced person
2. A sauce containing olive oil, herbs and cheese
3. A perching bird of Asia, Australia and Africa
4. An Italian cookie
5. A plastic fabric imitating leather
6. A building with several movie theaters
7. A transparent sheet of chlorinated rubber used in packaging
8. Marked by a hollow metallic sound
9. A mild, dark-green chili pepper
10. A large sandwich on a roll
ANSWERS on next page.
Siri Tillekeratne is a director of the Calgary NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #374 and a former Director
of the Year.
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1. A young or inexperienced person
PISHER/S
2. A sauce containing olive oil, herbs and cheese PISTOU/S
3. A perching bird of Asia, Australia and Africa PITTA/S
4. An Italian cookie
PIZZELLE/S
5. A plastic fabric imitating leather PLEATHER/S (Plastic LEATHER)
6. A building with several movie theaters
PLEX/ES = MULTIPLEX/ES
7. A transparent sheet of chlorinated rubber used in packaging PLIOFILM/S
8. Marked by a hollow metallic sound
9. A mild, dark-green chili pepper
10. A large sandwich on a roll
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POBLANO/S
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Historic Moments: SCRABBLE® Through the Years
The Art of the Phony
By Stu Goldman
Playing phonies is, really, an art. The main object is not to have it challenged. One way to achieve
this is to play a verb form for something that is not really a verb. Two of these I've perpetrated are
GULCHING* and GOITERED*. A closely related scam is making a comparative or superlative of an
adjective that has no extensions. But be careful; if it's not an adjective it probably won't work.
Another route is the phony prefix. UN-, RE- and OUT- are front extensions that adorn many words.
But again, be careful; if it's too outlandish it probably won't succeed. Many years ago a writer on
SCRABBLE® insisted that RE could be added to the front of any word. His example was
REBANANA*. I wouldn't try it if I were you.
If you know something about your opponent it could help. Once I was playing a low-ranked club
director who I knew liked to close down the board if she got ahead. She had opened with a bingo
and I was trying hard to develop a bingo rack. The game got to a point where I had to do something
or I would probably lose. I knew my opponent looked up many challenges and knew there were
often variations of words that are not common parlance, but would not know herself if they were
right. I played PREGNATE*, and she didn't look twice at it.
Another time I was playing a highly educated and cultured gentleman whose word knowledge was
somewhat less than perfect. He placed a T where it could start a 5-letter word leading to a TWS. I
played TYGER*, the spelling of the striped feline that William Blake used in a famous poem. He
didn't even think of challengikng.
So use your imagination and find creative non-words, and you could steal a victory. That word
"steal" reminds me of a game when I was being dramatically out-tiled by a good player with
haphazard word knowledge. I had set up an S-spot for a TWS play with the S as the third letter.
When I got my next rack there were no high-scoring legal words I could play. I lay down BOSC*,
which won me the game. May you all do the same when the occasion presents itself.
Stu Goldman lives in California and has been playing tournament SCRABBLE® for 38 years.
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What’s Your Play?
Joe Edley, Carl Twickler, Lynda Finn, and Marlon Hill sent in interesting plays. If you have a play
you’d like to share with our readers, please send it to [email protected].
From Joe Edley
Here is an interesting position in TWL2 from a game I played with Mack Meller. You’re going to have
to trust me on this if you want to get something out of it.
It’s probably best to set it up by suggesting that you’re playing in your final game of a big-money
tournament and if you win, you win the division in the tourney. It’s also probably best to review the
board and take in the configurations and possibilities for about 10 minutes or so.
Your score is 338 to your opponent’s 370.
Your rack is: REALISE
The unseen tiles are ABCDHLORTWY
That’s FOUR in the bag. You are awaiting your opponent’s play. You see that you don’t have a place
for your bingo, and your opponent is unlikely to give you one.
Then suddenly your opponent plays HOD 9J 24, giving him a 56pt. lead. Seemingly insurmountable.
But you’ve been thinking on his time, and you see a potential win if the game plays out well. So you
accept his play, knowing that LORICATED is good, there's one in the bag, and make your own play,
hoping things will go well, of course. That’s Plan A.
What do you play?
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Scenario TWO (more interesting yet)
You’re still awaiting your opponent’s play. This time you see TWO plans of action for winning. Again,
your opponent plays HOD 9J 24. You already have decided on Plan B. What do you do, and why?
Ultimate question: Which plan do you think will win more often? In Division 1? In Division 2 or
below?
I expect that most players who take this position seriously enough will find plan A. It’s thematic is
this sort of situation. Solution includes knowing an obscure word.
The question REALLY is: What is Plan B, and what do you think are your odds, compared to Plan
A?
Hint: For you SCRABBLE® history buffs, we could easily and rightfully call this the Baron defense.
Using your unintuition will be most helpful.
ANSWER on next page
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ANSWER
I'm sure you can find one-tile drops that win a fairly small percentage of the time, given the right draw
that overcomes any block (GALEA and the like), PLAN A.
But psychologically, it's likely to be much more effective CHALLENGING LORICATED!!
With 4 in the bag, there are only TWO POTENTIAL racks that the challenger can have that will win
after a thoughtless FAMOUSLY for 48 taking a 105pt. lead (or missing that, BELAY for 34 taking a
91PT lead): REALISE and AEEIRST for YEARLIES and YEASTIER. That's VERY SMALL losing
odds. And there's a 75% chance that the player will have the LY with 1 in the bag. That's pretty good
odds to win, if the player decides mentally at that point to play FAMOUSLY before even seeing all of
his last tiles, if he can.
The challenge will likely be seen as the last-ditch effort to win, whereby the player might not think to
do the math. In the lower divisions this would surely win. However, these days, in tourney win
situations, most division 1 players would take their time, and play defensively, because FAMOUSLY
will be there the next play.
As it turned out, Mack didn't know LORICATED was good, so to him it seemed right to challenge.
And after that, we BOTH thought he lost even after the bingo. I just thought the win was there
regardless of whether he was going to bingo with the Y or not. Would I do that in a tourney? Maybe in
the early rounds, when I'm frequently careless, but not likely near the end when I'm usually right on.
Never give up! Never assume!
PS: Mike Baron did a similar thing (not exactly the same: He just hit his clock to pass his turn with an
unplayable PURINES) against Jeff Reeves in the hopes that Jeff would make his obvious play of JAB
or JABOT for a large score and 100+ lead whereby Mike laid down JUNIPERS for 104 + tiles to
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win. It's #15 in Everything SCRABBLE. So, I christen that the Baron defense. And after all these
years here it comes up again, with a psychologically more potent scenario.
Jim Kramer adds: “But after GALEA there are no tiles in the bag. GALEA can be thwarted in all
cases. There is, however, at least one fish that is unblockable if you draw the right tile. The move I
found was BINE G11. If you draw the A you threaten AERIALS at 15A and also with a multi-overlap
at 14I. Even though the opponent has an R for BINER, without the A he can't extend any word far
enough to block the 14I play.”
______________________________________________________________________________
From Carl Twickler:
I had an interesting play in a game against my wife. Most of your readers should find it easily!
ANSWER on the following page.
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ANSWER
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Margarita Madness Endgame from Lynda Finn:
Often endgame puzzles are difficult for intermediate players because they involve obscure words. In
this endgame puzzle, most of the words that need to be considered are known by intermediate
players like me. In the recent Margarita Madness Tourney in Madison Wisconsin, Ben Witz found
himself in the situation below, with a lead of 329 to Kathleen Murphy’s 248. There is only one move
that guarantees a win. See if you can find it.
In case you have difficulty seeing it, the figure shows the 9 unseen tiles as ?AEGORSTT.
ANSWER on the following page.
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ANSWER
When first examining this situation I considered the following plays:
KAIF or FLAK through B8 for 19. (win% =97 from simulation)
Advantages: scores well, removes high-scoring tiles from rack in case of opponent out-bingo.
Only losing sequence: Opponent holds AEGORS?, bingos with VIRAGOES or VOYAGERS
and wins by 1.
Any of the one tile plays, leaving a tile in the back, e.g. TICK from O8. (all have win%=97 from
simulation)
Advantages: doesn’t empty the bag, giving another turn to score well and play off high-point
tiles.
Only losing sequence: Opponent holds AEIORST and bingos with VOTARIES or VIATORES
and draws the blank, or holds AEIOST? bingos with VOTARIES, VIATORES or VIOLATES
and draws the R. The best play then from FGILLLT is FLAIL from B6, and opponent plays
HERO/THRIVER from M3 for the win by 3 or 2 points.
If you suggested any of the above, good job, you win almost all of the time.
There is only one play that wins 100% of the time. After the play of BILK from J12 for 12, none of the
opponent’s bingos from the A, B or C column score enough points to win.
As Ben found out the hard way, no other play, for example FLAIL, BILL, FILIAL, VILL, or FALL,
score enough to win over the out-bingos they allow.
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Jesse Day/Leesa Berahovich game from Marlon Hill
i juss saw an annotated game on crosstables (Jesse Day vs Leesa B at Berkeley 5/13) wherein
Jesse had a GREAT effin play--one tile fish vs HEAVY Leesa X play--dat woulda won taking 34 off
her rack.
The game is at http://www.cross-tables.com/annotated.php?u=11144#0#. Jesse’s comment: “oh no!
this is just about the worst-case scenario.”
ANSWER on the following page.
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ANSWER
the play he didn't make is 14A ADO which bingo out wif any of da sticks (AEIT).
Jesse’s actual play was 08 ERG. In
his cross-tables notes he says:
“I was pretty low on time after
struggling through the last few racks
- the best idea I had was trying to
see if she would get caught with lots
of points if I just play ERG. However,
some kind of fish would have given
me a better shot.”
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One Up! Cup for June
By Timothy Cataldo
Calling all vocabularians! Just like last year, we'll post a One Up!® “game situation” every month so
all you doubledomes out there can show everyone how brilliant and quick you are.
Here's all you need to know now to play: Take one or more letters from the center and add them to
an existing word to make a new word.
Since there won't be a 'right' answer, we'll be looking for originality, wit and wow! The winner will
receive a One Up!® and have his or her name put in the drawing for the Grand Prize at the end of
the year.
MAY AND APRIL WINNERS
We thought that it might be fun to have April's winner decided by our readers.
Dear Mr. Write,
It's Devorah Pashev writing you on behalf of myself
and hubby Rado Pashev. Here are our April 2012
One-Up! Contest submissions.
As past winners of your contest, we both love playing
One Up! and also solving anagrams. Therefore, it's
no coincidence that both our submissions this month
consist of anagrammatical pairs.
I am starting with SOOT and adding a full CUP to make the pair: OCTOPUS / COPOUTS. My cute
Rado is starting with DRONE and adding (what else?) CUTE to make the pair COUNTERED /
RECOUNTED.
Once you pare down all the contest submissions, we hope our pair of pairs will lead to a pair of
victories for at least one of us!
Devorah Pashev (and Rado Pashev)
We thought we'd let May's winner, Mr. One Up! Man Jeff Kastner, express the sentiment most of you
felt:
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Hi Tim,
For the May 2012 One Up! Contest, I'll start with SIGNAL, add
FAR from the central pool of tiles, and end up with the word
FRANGLAIS. I love that word because it reminds me of
whenever I visit Paris or Quebec and try to use my vague
knowledge of high school French at a local shop. Franglais
refers to the "dialect" created by mixing French and English
phrases together.
Mon entry est la May winner, mais oui?
Jeff "One Up! Man" Kastner
p.s...Casting my vote for Devorah in the April contest. Her anagrams were a bit cleverer than
Rado's.
Congrats, Devorah, and Jeff! Thanks to all for your enthusiasm.
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“100 Tiles”: A video snapshot of SCRABBLE® today
By Cornelia Guest
In honor of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism’s
centennial, students in Professor Betsy West’s class were
asked to come up with ideas for short videos centered on
the theme of “100.” Amanda Scott, Todd Baker, and Donna
Kim proposed a film about SCRABBLE®: “100 Tiles.”
The team shot footage of Scrabblers playing at Joel
Sherman’s Club 56 in New York City and at Cornelia
Guest’s April Norwalk, CT Tournament, and interviewed
tournament Scrabblers Lynn Cushman, Sam Moch, and
Cornelia Guest, and former online player Raphael PopeSussman. They also followed two School SCRABBLE
players, Emma and John Paul Baughman, in their
preparation for the Youth SCRABBLE division at the
Norwalk tournament.
The final cut premiered on May 10th at the Journalism
School. Other films shown included “The Record Breaker,”
about a man with 100 Guinness World Records; “Making
the Time 100,” about selecting Time’s 100 Most Influential
People each year; and “Fenway at 100,” a celebration of
Fenway Park’s 100 years.
“100 Tiles,” which emphasizes the fun of playing
tournament SCRABBLE, has been well received in the
SCRABBLE community. Click here to see “100 Tiles.” To
see the other excellent films in The 100 Project, go to http://
the100project.org. Tweet at #reach100.
L-R: Filmmakers Donna Kim, Amanda Scott, and Todd
Baker with Emma and John Paul Baughman.
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SCRABBLE® and Scrabblers in the News
Edited by Judy Cole
See something about SCRABBLE® or a SCRABBLE® player in the news? Let us know! Send your
stories to Judy Cole ([email protected]).
_______________________________________________________________________________
Back to School
SCRABBLE® and Scrabblers in the News
APRIL/MAY MILESTONES
Teams competing at the National School
SCRABBLE® Championship in Orlando (FL) on
April 13-14, 2012, and other School SCRABBLE®
players are in the news:
DAVID KOENIG reached 2000 (Collins) for the first
time at the Boston (MA) Area Tournament
• Cary (NC) – Andy Hoang and Erik Salgado,
who repeated this year as champions, are one
of four teams that got their start at the Salem
Elementary School SCRABBLE® Club.
EMANUEL CHICOINE reached 1800 for the first time
at the Cote St. Luc (QC CAN) tournament.
STEFAN RAU reached 2000 for the first time at the
Utica (NY) tournament.
DEEN HERGOTT reached 1800 for the first time at
the Cote St. Luc (QC CAN) tournament.
LIZ GOTTLIN reached 1700 for the first time at the
College Park (GA) Tournament.
ERIC CAHANIN reached 1600 for the first time at the
Baton Rouge (LA) tournament.
MARC CARNEGIE reached 1600 for the first time at
the Bayside (NY) tournament.
SAMUEL MOCH reached 1600 for the first time at the
Norwalk (CT) tournament.
KEVIN SCHUTZ reached 1600 for the first time at the
Elmhurst (IL) tournament.
The teams share family connections as well as
a love of the game:
Kenny Hoang (Andy’s brother) and Suhas
Rao – Winners of the 2012 North Carolina
School SCRABBLE® Championship
• Midori Salgado (Erik’s sister) and Kenna
King
• Aaron King (Kenna’s brother) and Suraj
Rao (Suhas’ brother)
The Cary News (04/10/2012) http://
www.carynews.com/2012/04/10/55830/areayoungsters-scrabble-for-national.html
LYNDA FINN reached 1500 for the first time at the
Elmhurst (IL) tournament.
GUNTHER JACOBI reached 1500 for the first time at
the Sioux Falls (SD) tournament.
KOLTON KOEHLER reached 1500 for the first time
at the Portland (OR) tournament.
AARON DALY reached 1500 for the first time at the
Sioux Falls (OR) tournament.
DOUG LUNDQUIST reached 1500 for the first time at
the Elmhurst (IL) tournament.
DEAN PORPORO reached 1500 for the first time at
the Cote St. Luc (QC CAN) tournament.
DOUG SZYMKOWIAK reached 1500 for the first time
at the Cuyahoga Falls (OH) tournament.
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The champions faced Jimmy Kimmel again in a rematch on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (04/23/2012).
Partnered with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jimmy declared the game a tie as both teams neared 100
points. He presented the champions with iPads.
http://abc.go.com/shows/jimmy-kimmel-live/episode-detail/julia-louisdreyfus-the-hives/955591
That appearance prompted an interview on local television.
News 14 Carolina (04/29/2012) http://triangle.news14.com/content/local_news/656886/ncscrabble-champions-make-national-spotlight
At the group lunch after the tournament, Andy treated himself to the “celebratory nachos” that he
had been eying each year as his reward if he and Erik repeated as champions.
Apex Herald (05/03/2012) http://www.theapexherald.com/view/full_story/18422006/article-SalemMiddle-duo-wins-national-Scrabble-tournament?instance=popular
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•Livingston (NJ) – Nicky Vasquez was introduced to
SCRABBLE® at the age of nine by his grandfather,
Ruben Angeles, who serves as his mentor and coach.
His high play is QUIPSTER, a triple-triple for 213 points.
As in 2009, Nicky again found himself across the board
from Andy and Erik in the finals. Nicky and his partner,
Thomas Draper, narrowly lost the final game to finish 2nd
in this year’s championship.
Asian Journal (05/11/2012) http://www.asianjournal.com/
aj-magazine/lifeeastyle/15870-nicky-vasquez-scrabblewhiz-kid.html
• Eastern Greene (IN) Middle School – The school sent 9 players to Orlando from the
SCRABBLE® Club, which draws 70 students to its weekly meeting after school.
The club’s coach, Diana Fuller, says that it has never been hard to build excitement for
SCRABBLE® among students, but to reach nationals, students must also develop the skill and
determination to play five games in a row.
Eastern Greene player Lily Haines partnered with Cooper Komatsu from Los Angeles (CA) to
place 7th in this year’s championship.
The Republic (04/10/2012) http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/
1ee046ecd09d4e38be8b1141d7f3c3d8/IN--Exchange-Scrabble-Champs/
Greene County Daily World (04/23/2012) http://www.gcdailyworld.com/story/1840653.html
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•Northampton (MA) – Nathaniel Jones and Zachary Dietz discussed rack
management and the value of the plausible phony – TAINTER* - as they
prepared to return to Orlando.
Nat and Zach placed 23rd in this year’s championship.
Mass Live (04/09/2012) http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/
northampton_duo_prepares_for_n.html
Daily Hampshire Gazette (04/18/2012) http://www.gazettenet.com/
2012/04/18/national-scrabble-meet-worth-trip-for-city-duo
• Bedford (NY) – Fourth grader Jared Tilliss and fifth grader Sheng Guo, playing as the
Tornadoes of Terror, were among the youngest competitors in Orlando yet placed 11th in the
championship.
The Journal News (04/12/2012) http://www.lohud.com/article/20120412/NEWS/304120028/Kidsgo-Scrabble-gold?nclick_check=1
The Journal News (04/17/2012) http://www.lohud.com/article/20120417/NEWS/304170121/
Bedford-s-Scrabble-team-excells-national-tourney
• Belmont (CA) – The Bay SCRABBLE® Club sent two teams - Rajiv Nelakanti and Vineet
Mudupalli from Sunnyvale (CA) and Chris Fellowes and Ally Stein from the Tierra Linda
Middle School - National School SCRABBLE®
Championship.
Their coach, Jeff Martinov, stresses the
importance of good sportsmanship as well as a
good vocabulary in competition.
The teams placed 28th and 55th in this year’s
championship.
KGO-TV (04/13/2012) http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/
story?section=news/local&id=8619265
•Tampa (FL) – Liberty Middle School, where the SCRABBLE® Club began
just this year, sent eighth graders Maya Patel and Brandon See to Orlando.
Maya and Brandon placed 47th in this year’s championship.
New Tampa Patch (04/12/2012) http://newtampa.patch.com/articles/libertymiddle-school-students-to-compete-in-national-scrabble-championship
• Ridgefield (CT) – In their first competition as a team, John Paul Baughman and Emma
Baughman placed first in Division C at the New England School SCRABBLE® Championship on
March 31, 2012, in Stamford (CT).
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The home-schooled siblings, coached by Cornelia Guest, continued to
Orlando where they placed 48th in the competition.
The Ridgefield Press (04/17/2012) http://www.acorn-online.com/
joomla15/theridgefieldpress/people/119750-baumans-shine-at-scrabblechampionship.html
• Hampton Bays (NY) – Hampton Bays sent two
teams to Orlando. Eighth graders Lucas Kraus
and Giancarlos Ruiz placed 43rd in the
championship while Todd Anderson and Riley
Kangas placed 68th.
Westhampton-Hampton Bays Patch
(04/16/2012) http://westhamptonhamptonbays.patch.com/articles/photo-of-theday-hampton-bays-students-compete-innational-scrabble-tournament#photo-9603735
•Springfield (IL) - Springfield (IL) High School
sophomore Harrison Williams is one of five finalists
for this year’s Top Teen award, given each year to a
teen volunteer who is having an impact on the
community.
Harrison’s volunteer activities include working with
Habitat for Humanity, mentoring the children in his
church, and founding a SCRABBLE® club at his high
school.
State Journal-Register (04/18/2012) http://www.sjr.com/voice/x787555599/Springfield-High-sophomorealready-found-footing-in-community-volunteering
•
Washington (DC) – On May 5, 2012, the Washington, D.C., Public Schools drew 48 students
from three elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools to the first districtwide SCRABBLE® tournament. [See complete story in this issue of The Last Word.]
Fourth graders Chloe Fatsis and Zara Hall from Janney
Elementary School won the tournament while Ethan
Rosenthal had the high word with QINTAR for 110 points.
The Washington Post (05/05/2012) http://
www.washingtonpost.com/local/kids-scramble-through-dcschools-first-scrabble-tournament/2012/05/05/
gIQAca5O4T_story.html
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New York, New York
To commemorate National SCRABBLE® Day on April 13th, the New York Times looked for playable
words in the boroughs and neighborhoods of the metropolis.
The New York Times (04/13/2012) http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/from-the-broncsto-coney-new-york-as-a-scrabble-board/
Great Scot
While trying to set a record score for
SCRABBLE® in one day, Scottish expert
Raymond Tate fainted from dehydration after
15 hours.
Raymond had already played 130 games and
was well on his way to the target of 162,172
points when he suddenly fell ill.
Raymond attempted the challenge with fellow
expert Craig Beevers on April 14, 2012. The
SCRABBLE® World Record Challenge was
organized by the Rotary Club of Paisley to
raise funds for Rotary International's End Polio
Now campaign.
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The Scottish Sun (04/16/2012) http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/4258728/Scrabbleace-Ray-has-dizzy-spell.html
Metro (04/15/2012) http://www.metro.co.uk/news/896224-scrabble-player-collapses-during-24-hourbid-to-break-world-record
Herald Scotland (04/16/2012) http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/spectators-at-aloss-for-words-as-scrabble-player-passes-out-at-challenge.17319107
Daily Express (04/16/2012) http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/314752/Viewers-lost-for-words-asScrabble-player-collapses
Paisley Daily Express (04/17/2012) http://www.paisleydailyexpress.co.uk/renfrewshire-news/
2012/04/17/paisley-scrabble-player-recovering-at-home-after-dramatic-collapse-during-24-hourgame-87085-30772490/
The Jewish Chronicle (04/19/2012) http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/66605/there-are-no-wordsit-a-scrabble-champ-passes-out
Quirky QWERTY
On April 20, 2012, the Nashville Film Festival
screened a new romantic comedy - QWERTY - or
is it a fantasy?
Zoe, a lonely word nerd, finds romance with
Marty, a mall guard with a foul mouth and ill
temper, and gains the courage to enter the
televised national SCRABBLE® championship.
Nashville Scene (04/20/2012) http://
www.nashvillescene.com/countrylife/archives/
2012/04/20/naff-2012-tonights-offerings-fromandrew-bird-and-sironia-to-sassy-pants-andsuper-zeroes
SCRABBLE® Fundraisers
SCRABBLE® tournaments and events as fundraisers are in the news:
• Rowan County (NC) Literary Council – On April 17, 2012,
members of the South Rowan Y Service Club spelled their way to
victory during the 2012 SCRABBLE® Scramble, a fundraiser for
the Rowan County Literacy Council.
The Literacy Council and its volunteer tutors help adults 16 and
older improve their basic literacy skills and learn English as a
second language.
Salisbury Post (04/18/2012) http://www.salisburypost.com/News/041812-scrabble-scramble-qcd
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•Literacy Volunteers of the Chippewa Valley (WI) - The
11th annual SCRABBLE® Bee in Eau Claire (WI) on April
19, 2012, raised thousands of dollars to benefit the
Literacy Volunteers of the Chippewa Valley.
WQOW News 18 (04/20/2012) http://www.wqow.com/
story/17592878/scrabble-bee-for-a-good-cause
•Literacy Volunteers - Androscoggin (ME) –
On April 22, 2012, 14 teams from across the
state of Maine competed in Pro and Social
divisions at the 14th annual SCRABBLE® Fest
Letters for Literacy in Auburn (ME).
The event raised about $3,700 for the Literacy
Volunteers – Androscoggin, which currently has
a waiting list of more than 30 people in need of
literacy services.
Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal (04/23/2012)
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/lewistonauburn/2012/04/23/14th-annual-scrabble-festraises-much-needed-money/1185186
• Performing Arts Lodge (PAL) – The 8th annual SCRABBLE® With the Stars took place on May
7, 2012, in Toronto (ON) to benefit PAL, a retirement residence for Canadian artists, actors, and
musicians.
Experts Joel Wapnick and Robin Pollock-Daniel were up for bid
to stand over the shoulders of players and suggest plays. Robin
was declared a local legend in a Toronto Star interview promoting
the event.
Actor Gordon Pinsent, whose
dramatic reading of Justin Bieber’s
memoirs recently went viral, availed
himself of the expert help and won
one year.
Appearing on The Morning Show (05/07/2012) before the benefit,
John Chew discussed bluffing with the co-anchors and recalled
his most memorable game – a 502-502 tie.
Toronto Sun (05/03/2012) http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/03/
scramble-for-scrabble
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Toronto Star (05/03/2012) http://www.thestar.com/living/article/1172747--scrabble-legend-robin-
pollock-daniel
The Globe and Mail (05/04/2012) http://
www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/globe-to/
gordon-pinsent-actor/article2423552/page1/
The Morning Show (05/05/2012) http://www.globaltoronto.com/
video/international+scrabble+master+john+chew/video.html?
v=2231716793&p=1&s=dd&searchQuery=scr#video/search/scr
• Portage County (WI) Literacy Council – The Un-Scrabble fundraiser brought in over $11,000
for Literacy Council programs and services as 27 teams competed for prizes in two divisions.
Stevens Point Journal (05/02/2012) http://www.stevenspointjournal.com/article/20120503/
SPJ10/205030312/Literacy-Council-thankful-Un-Scrabble-success
Big Board
Hatchmoor (UK) Home hosted a giant SCRABBLE® competition against another nursing home,
Woodland Vale, on April 17, 2012.
Residents enjoyed tea and cakes during the friendly match played on
a giant board in the activities room.
North Devon Gazette 24 (04/17/2012) http://
www.northdevongazette.co.uk/news/
rival_homes_battle_in_giant_scrabble_match_1_1350150
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SCRABBLE® Celebrities
Celebrities share our love of the game.
•In Toronto (ON) as part of her Lifeclass tour, Oprah
Winfrey told the audience that her highest
SCRABBLE® score is 400. Unfortunately, running
the OWN network has cut into her playing time
lately.
Post City (04/17/2012) http://www.postcity.com/EatShop-Do/Do/April-2012/Oprah-Winfrey-woosToronto-reveals-that-shes-pretty-freaking-good-atScrabble/
•Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage was one of
the celebrities participating in the 826NYC Charity
SCRABBLE® Tournament to benefit public school
programs in New York City (NY) on April 21, 2012.
http://www.bestweekever.tv/2012-04-20/heres-yourchance-to-play-scrabble-against-peter-dinklage/
•Twilight and Nurse Jackie actor Peter Facinelli plays Words With Friends
while waiting for flights but not during flights as Alec Baldwin tried to do.
People (04/24/2012) http://www.people.com/people/article/
0,,20589743,00.html
•Comedian Raybon Kan was declared the smartest person in New Zealand
after winning the television show Test the Nation in 2003.
Five bingos contributed to his
highest SCRABBLE® score of
around 600. Perhaps he should
challenge Nigel Richards for best
SCRABBLE® player in New Zealand.
New Zealand Herald (04/28/2012) http://
www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?
c_id=1501119&objectid=10801952
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John Hodgman, the PC Guy in Apple’s ads, considers SCRABBLE® “the sport of nerdy kings.”
Mental Floss (May/June 2012)
•Skateboarder Tony Hawk recalls that his strangest interview took
place over a game of SCRABBLE® while a girl in a bikini tried to
distract him. He won the game and finished the interview.
http://espn.go.com/action/skateboarding/story/_/id/7900968/gettingsome-answers-tony-hawk-never-gets-old
•Supermodel Brooklyn Decker, who
appears in the movie Battleship,
confesses that she is better at Words
With Friends and SCRABBLE®.
USA Today (05/11/2012) http://
www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/
story/2012-05-11/battleship-moviepremiere-red-carpet/54900952/1
People (05/21/2012)
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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.
The puzzle grid is in the shape of a hexagram…also known as the “Star of David.”
Your object is to find and list as many words as possible, using only the 7 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 CHOP and
LAS are acceptable, but not LAP, because the “A” and the “P” 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, ALAS and
OOH are acceptable. But, SCHOOL would not be acceptable because the “S” and the “C” 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 6 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 “O.”
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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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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:
400 points (Novice); 575 points (Intermediate); 725 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
2010-2011 Phoenix SCRABBLE® Club champion, the 2011-12 Phoenix “Floating” Club champion, as well
as the 2011 Scottsdale SCRABBLE® Club champ.
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Word Star Solution for: The Last Word May/June 2012
AAL
AAS
ALA
ALAS
ALCOHOL
ALL
ASP
ASPS
ASS
CHOLA
CHOLAS
CHOLLA
CHOLLAS
CHOLO
CHOLOS
CHOP
CHOPS
CLASP
CLASPS
CLASS
CLOP
CLOPS
COAL
COALA
COALAS
COCO
COCOA
COCOAS
COCOS
COHO
COHOS
COL
COLA
COLAS
COLLOP
COLLOPS
COLOSSAL
COO
COOCH
COOCOO
COOL
COOP
COOPS
COOS
COP
COPS
COS
COSS
HOLLA
HOLLAS
HOLLO
HOLLOA
HOLLOAS
HOLLOO
HOLLOOS
HOLLOS
HOOCH
HOOP
HOOPOO
HOOPOOS
HOOPS
HOP
HOPS
HOS
LALL
LAS
LASS
LASSO
LASSOS
LOCH
LOCO
LOCOS
LOLL
LOLLOP
LOLLOPS
LOO
LOOP
LOOPS
LOOS
LOP
LOPS
LOSS
OHO
OLLA
OLLAS
OOH
OOPS
OPS
OSSA
POCO
POH
POL
POLL
POLO
POLOS
POO
POOCH
POOH
POOL
POOP
PAR SCORES: 400 points (Novice); 575 points (Intermediate);
725 points (Advanced)
BEST SCORE:
2 Points for each WORD found:
121 Words = 242 points.
5 Bonus Points for each BINGO found:
9 Bingos = 45 points.
1 Point for each LETTER of every word found:
547 Letters = 547 points.
1 Bonus Point for each CENTER STAR of every word found:
167 O’s = 167 points.
TOTAL = 1001 Points
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POOPS
POOS
POP
POPS
PSOAS
SAL
SALAL
SALL
SALOL
SALOOP
SALOOPS
SASS
SOL
SOLA
SOLO
SOLOS
SOP
SOPH
SOPS
SOS
SPOOL
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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 over ten years. I hope that the book lovers among you may
find your interest piqued by some of these books.
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Fiction:
Jewel
By Bret Lott
This is a wonderful, luminous book about families--one family, in particular.
The novel centers around a poor, undereducated woman named Jewel
who began her life in the backwoods of rural Mississippi. It takes us on her
life journey and, consequently, that of her family. It shows us how Jewel
dealt with a situation that can often make or break a family, and the impact
that this issue had on her family.
Writing beautifully in the voice of a poor, ill-educated, southern woman, the
author gives life to a three-dimensional character, Jewel. Born in 1904, her
parents died when she was young. She then lived with her maternal
grandmother who simply did not treat her with affection, as she had
disapproved of her daughter's marriage to Jewel's father. While Jewel's
grandmother did her duty by her, Jewel lived a life devoid of familial love
and affection.
Consequently, when Jewel grew up and married, she was determined to have a household filled
with love. She and her devoted husband, Leston, made a life. They had five children. Life was good,
though hard. Then they had a sixth child, Brenda Kay, when Jewel was pushing forty. They loved
her dearly. It soon, however, became apparent that Brenda Kay was not like their other children.
Jewel's worst fears were realized when she was told that her youngest daughter had Down
Syndrome.
How Jewel coped and how this event affected each member of the family is the crux of this
wonderfully written novel. Brenda Kay's birth is the catalyst for a journey that would take this family
in search of a better life for its newest member. It would be a test of the measure of the love that
they had for one another. It is a story of perseverance and survival. It is a story of familial love and
acceptance. It is a story of a mother's struggle to make sure that her child reaches her full potential,
no matter what the cost.
Jewel is available at Amazon.com.
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Nonfiction:
Love’s Blood
By Clark Howard
This is a well-written, well-researched book that explores the murder of a
family by a teenage girl and her 37-year-old married lover. The murder
especially shocks the conscience because it is the teenage girl's own family
that is murdered. Her father, mother, and 13-year-old kid brother are shot,
bludgeoned, and stabbed in their own home, leaving a grisly, bloodsplattered crime scene.
The book takes one into the mind of pretty and sexy Patricia Columbo who
was only 15 when she first met Frank DeLuca, a 33-year-old married
pharmacist with a predilection for very, and I mean very, kinky sex. From
that moment of their first meeting, Patricia Columbo would embark on a
road from which there would be no turning back. He would be Patricia's
Svengali, and she would be his for the asking, no matter what he asked.
Her parents strongly disapproved of their daughter's relationship with
DeLuca, and they made their dissatisfaction with the relationship known in
no uncertain terms.
The book explore the relationships and events that led up to these sensational murders. It also
chronicles a series of interviews with Patricia Columbo, years after the crimes were committed,
about what actually happened. The book benefits from this first-person recollection, as it makes for
a three-dimensional overview of the lamentable events of one night over thirty years ago. Moreover,
the author offers a critical analysis of those events and raises a few questions in the process.
This book is not for the squeamish or the prudish, as it is quite graphic in its telling. It will, however,
be greatly enjoyed by those who like the true-crime genre.
Love’s Blood is available at Amazon.com.
Linda Wancel loves reading, writing, watching films, traveling, and Scrabbling. She is the mother of
28-year-old twins and has recently retired after having been a criminal prosecutor for nearly 25
years.
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Passages
Edited by Larry Sherman
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
MIKE MULLER
Mike Eugene Muller, 60, of Memphis, TN, died on May 16. He was a director
of Memphis NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #581 for many years. Originally from
DeWitt, AR, Mike traveled extensively around the world but always returned
home to Memphis. He enjoyed volunteering, hiking with friends, swimming
laps at the gym, and playing a serious game of SCRABBLE.
According to cross-tables.com, Mike competed in 26 tourneys from 1999 to
2011, achieving a peak rating of 1058.
Roy Naylor writes: "Mike Muller’s impact on the SCRABBLE community was tremendous. As club
director here in Memphis he influenced so many. From Monday night meetings to our monthly
meetings at the library, Mike was so organized. He always made sure everything was in order and
that all ran smoothly. Other clubs from the region would make the monthly trip to play with us. These
clubs were from Paragould/Jonesboro, Arkansas, West Memphis, Arkansas and Jackson/Yazoo
City, Mississippi. Those same clubs would also request Mike’s assistance in running many
tournaments for them. He was always willing to help out. Mike had a sense of humor unlike anyone I
knew and a love for friends and life. When he made friends with you it was going to be a friendship
that would last a lifetime. In closing, I will miss him dearly. Mike was as good a man as you could
find. He was kind to many, generous to all and a person that made an impact on so many in
SCRABBLE and in life. He was very much a brother to me and I will miss him so."
Memorial contributions may be made to the E. Thayne Muller Foundation Scholarship Fund at
DeWitt Bank and Trust, P.O. Drawer 71, DeWitt AR 72042, or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
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SCRABBLE®
Resources
Has SCRABBLE®
tournament aides.
There are many study tools to
help SCRABBLE® players
hone their skills, including a
number of programs that can
be downloaded for free. This
section will offer suggestions
and links for both players and
directors.
Lists clubs throughout North
America with their meeting
times and locations.
Play Online
SCRABBLE®
POGO SCRABBLE®
The official SCRABBLE®
online game. Created under
agreement with Hasbro in
2008.
SCRABBLE® ON
FACEBOOK
Select the SCRABBLE®
application on the Facebook
home page to play the official
SCRABBLE® game. Various
groups hold tournaments at
this site, including a group
called “Mad Scrabblers”.
INTERNET
SCRABBLE® CLUB
A Romanian-based site and
application for interactive
games. A favorite site for
many of the top players.
Play Live
SCRABBLE®
CROSS-TABLES
Lists all upcoming
tournaments, as well as
results of past tournaments.
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NASPA CLUB LISTINGS
NSA CLUB LISTINGS
Lists casual clubs throughout
North America with their
meeting times and locations.
WGPO CLUB LISTINGS
Lists clubs throughout North
America with their meeting
times and locations.
Apps for Scrabblers
ZARF
A free multipurpose iPhone/
iPad utility for SCRABBLE®
players in any language. It
provides word list lookup,
pattern matching,
tournament-style adjudication
and a timer customized for
tournament SCRABBLE®
play.
ZYZZYVA/ZYZZYVA
LITE
iPhone app for practicing
anagramming skills and
learning words. Zyzzyva
includes Quiz, Search, and
Judge functions; Cardbox
Managment; Dropbox Sync;
Custom Lexicon Support; and
Lexicon Symbols. Zyzzva
Lite (free) includes Search
and Judge functions; Custom
Lexicon Import; and Lexicon
Symbols. You can sync quiz
data between the iPhone app
and the desktop program.
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WORDLIST PRO 2.0
Android 2.2+ app for
practicing anagramming skills
and learning words. Also
functions as Word Judge.
Lightning fast word searches.
Supports TWL06, OSPD4,
CSW12, and CSW12 unique
words.
CROSSWORD GAME
SCORESHEET
This app keeps track of
scoring in crossword games
such as SCRABBLE®.
SCRABBLE®
Play SCRABBLE® on your
iPhone/iPad. Teacher feature
allows you to see what your
best word could have been
after every turn. Now also
available for Android devices:
click here.
SCRABBLE® TILE
RACK
Turns your iPhone or iPad
Touch into a SCRABBLE® tile
rack. For use with an iPad.
WORDS WITH FRIENDS
The popular SCRABBLE®
variant for your iPhone/iPad.
Anagramming/
Practice Tools
JUMBLETIME
A free web site for practicing
anagramming skills.
MAC USERS: After you do a
Jumbletime quiz on a Mac,
the scroll bar to view the
results is missing. To make it
S
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appear, go to the lower right
corner and grab the striped
triangle and shrink the window
all the way to the top left corner.
When you pull it back, the scroll
bar to the right of the answers
to the quiz appears. (Make sure
you do this before you check
your score against other
players.)
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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.
AEROLITH
A free application for practicing
anagramming skills and
learning words.
QUACKLE
CLICK HERE TO HELP
END WORD HUNGER AS
YOU LEARN WORDS
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OSPD ([email protected]
om)
This group, dedicated to players
using The Official SCRABBLE®
Players’ Dictionary, offers lighthearted humor, daily word lists,
and more. Admission is to all
SCRABBLE® lovers. Details
can be found in the NASPA
Tournament SCRABBLE®
Newsletter #1.
WGPO Listserv
([email protected]
m)
A free application for practicing
anagramming skills and
learning words. Also has Word
Judge capabilities.
This group, open to all
members of the tournament
community, is a forum for issues
of interest to SCRABBLE®
A free vocabulary testing site.
players. No approval of any
For every correct word, grains
of rice are donated through the kind is needed to join, and
readers need not be members
United Nations World Food
of the Word Game Player’s
Program. Feed hungry people
as you expand your vocabulary! Organization (WGPO).
SCRABBLE®
DICTIONARY
Online SCRABBLE®
Discussion Groups
A free application for playing,
simulating, and analyzing
games.
ZYZZYVA
Type a word to check for
acceptability. OSPD4 words.
CGP ([email protected])
This group, for NASPA
tournament players and
directors only, has the largest
membership of any online
tournament SCRABBLE®
A full-board SCRABBLE® worddiscussion group. Most
finder program that shows you
important events and changes
every word that can possibly be
in the SCRABBLE® world are
made on an entire
discussed on cgp. Admission is
SCRABBLE® board, and
by approval only. Details can be
continuously updates its results
found at http://sasj.com/cgp/
as you type letters onto the
join.html.
board or into the rack. Full
version available at http://bit.ly/
ecwHPt
LEXIFIND SCRABBLE®
HELPER AND WORD GAME
WIZARD WORDFINDER
FOR GOOGLE CHROME
SCRABBLE® Blogs
THE BADQOPH
DIRECTORY
This is a database of blogs by
known SCRABBLE® bloggers,
primarily tournament players.
As of March 29th there were
196 blogs in the directory.
Cheat Sheets
MIKE BARON’S CHEAT
SHEET
A great cheat sheet with 2s, 3s,
vowel dumps, short high-pointtile words, and good bingo
stems. Includes useful front
and back hook letters to make
3s from 2s. Adapted from Mike
Barron’s SCRABBLE®
Wordbook and the Official
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Tournament and Club Word
List, 2nd Edition.
has a Yahoo user group you
can join as a support option.
MIKE BARON’S CHEAT
SHEET (for School
SCRABBLE® and home
play)
TOURNEYMAN
A great cheat sheet with 2s, 3s,
vowel dumps, short high-pointtile words, and good bingo
stems. Includes useful front
and back hook letters to make
3s from 2s. Adapted from Mike
Barron’s SCRABBLE®
Wordbook and the Official
SCRABBLE® Players
Dictionary, 4th Edition.
COOL WORDS TO KNOW
A terrific cheat sheet from the
National SCRABBLE®
Association for School
SCRABBLE® and home play.
Gives useful information on how
to find bingos, plus the 2s, 3s,
vowel dumps, and short highpoint-tile plays.
U
Jeff Widergren’s software for
managing tournaments.
TSH
John Chew’s software for
managing tournaments.
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.
HOW TO PLAY
SCRABBLE® LIKE A
Useful links to Collins word lists
CHAMPION
COLLINS WORD LISTS
can be found at the following
websites: http://
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/.
Tournament
Management Software
DIRECTOR!
Marc Levesque’s software for
managing tournaments. Also
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A new guide to winning
SCRABBLE® from World
SCRABBLE® Champion Joel
Wapnick. Fantastic insights into
expert playing techniques. (See
review in the October issue of
The Last Word.)
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
WORD BUILDER
Bob Jackman’s guide to
building a strong Collins
vocabulary, organized by word
length, familiarity, and part of
speech.
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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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Tournament Calendar
Our new calendar format addresses two concerns: 1) Readers wanted as complete a list as
possible of tournament dates, not just two months worth of dates; 2) Readers wanted to know easily
whether a tournament was sanctioned by NASPA, WGPO, or the NSA (or was unrated).
However, because new tournaments are constantly being added to the schedule, it is difficult to be
all-inclusive. Please be sure to refer to the Websites of the organization sanctioning the tournament
for a complete list. Click NASPA, WGPO, or NSA for the most up-to-date calendars. Links to
NASPA and some NSA tournaments are also posted at cross-tables.com.
Thanks to Henry Leong, who permitted The Last Word to adapt his calendar from the WGPO
Website.
Dates
Organization
Tournament/Location
JUNE
6/1-2
NASPA
BRANDON MS
6/2-3
NASPA
CALGARY AB CA
6/2-3
NASPA
CORAOPOLIS (PITTSBURGH) PA
6/3
NASPA
BERKELEY CA
6/3
NASPA
LAGUNA WOODS CA
6/3
NASPA
PHILADELPHIA PA (TWL & COLLINS)
6/6-20
NASPA
TORONTO ON CAN (TCC, LCT)
6/7-10
NASPA
HANCOCK MA
6/9-10
NASPA
CHARLOTTE NC
6/9-10
NASPA
SWILLLNS, CORRALES NM
6/9
NASPA
HUDSON OH
6/9-10
NASPA
KANSAS CITY MO
6/9
NASPA
TUCSON AZ
6/10
NASPA
ARCATA CA
6/10
NASPA
GREATER LOS ANGELES CA
6/15-16
WGPO
BIRCH ISLAND LAKE WI
6/16
NASPA
DALLAS TX
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6/16
NASPA
EDMONTON AB CAN
6/16
NASPA
HUDSON NY (CSW)
6/16-17
NASPA
KNOXVILLE TN
6/16
NASPA
MISSISSAUGA ON CA
6/17
WGPO
MOUNTAIN VIEW CA
6/20-7/2
WGPO
NORWAY / ICELAND CRUISE (TWL &
COLLINS)
6/23
NASPA
BAYSIDE NY
6/23
NASPA
CARY NC
6/23-24
NASPA
ROMULUS MI
6/23
NASPA
FORT LAUDERDALE FL
6/23
NASPA
OKLAHOMA CITY OK
6/23-24
NASPA
WASHINGTON DC
6/24
WGPO
SALEM OR
6/28-7/4
NASPA
ALBANY NY (TWL & COLLINS)
6/29-7/4
WGPO
WEST COACH CHAMPIONSHIP, RENO NV
6/30
WGPO
MINNEAPOLIS MN
6/30
NASPA
LA GRANGE PARK IL
JULY
7/1
NASPA
LAGUNA WOODS CA
7/6-8
NASPA
WILMINGTON DE (TWL & COLLINS)
7/7-8
NASPA
OMAHA NE
7/10
NASPA
INDEPENDENCE, OH - LCT
7/13-15
NASPA
LINDEN MI
7/15
NASPA
PHILADELPHIA PA (TWL & COLLINS)
7/20-22
NASPA
TORONTO ON CAN (TWL & CSW)
7/21
NASPA
TCC-CLARKSBURG WV
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7/21
NASPA
DALLAS TX
7/21
WGPO
MADISON WI
7/27-29
NASPA
OLD GREENWICH CT
7/28
NASPA
FORT LAUDERDALE FL
7/29
WGPO
DETROIT MI
AUGUST
8/2
NASPA
AKRON OH - LCT
8/5
NASPA
LAGUNA WOODS CA
8/3-8
WGPO
WGPO WORD CUP - BLOOMINGTON MN
(TWL & PAIRS & CLABBERS & SPEED
8/11-15
NASPA
NATIONAL SCRABBLE CHAMPIONSHIP ORLANDO FL (TWL & COLLINS)
8/18
NASPA
DALLAS TX
8/18
NASPA
EDMONTON AB CAN
8/18-26
NASPA
IRELAND TOUR AND TOURNAMENT
8/18-19
NASPA
LAGUNA WOODS CA
8/25
NASPA
BAYSIDE NY
8/25
NASPA
FORT LAUDERDALE FL
8/25
NASPA
STRATFORD ON CAN
SEPTEMBER
9/1-3
NASPA
ALPHARETTA GA
9/1-3
NASPA
IRVING TX
9/1-3
NASPA
NEW YORK NY
9/2
NASPA
LAGUNA WOODS CA
9/8-9
WGPO
ALBUQUERQUE NM
9/9
NASPA
NEWARK DE
9/11
NASPA
INDEPENDENCE, OH - LCT
9/15
NASPA
DALLAS TX
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9/15
NASPA
HUDSON OH
9/15
NASPA
MILLBURN NJ
9/19-27
NASPA
BAHAMAS CRUISE
9/21-23
NASPA
TORONTO ON CAN
9/22
NASPA
NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTH
DIVISIONS)
9/22
NASPA
REGINA SK CAN
9/23
NASPA
PHILADELPHIA PA (TWL & COLLINS)
9/24-10/3
NASPA
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE
9/27-30
WGPO
GRITS III, SAVANNAH GA
9/27-30
WGPO
GRUNTS, BENZONIA MI
9/28-29
NASPA
BLOOMINGTON MN
9/28-29
NASPA
CHARLESTON WV
9/29
WGPO
PHOENIX AZ
9/29
NASPA
ASBURY PARK NJ
9/29
NASPA
FORT LAUDERDALE FL
OCTOBER
10/4
NASPA
LCT - AKRON OH
10/6
NASPA
CAMBRIDGE ON CAN
10/6-20
WGPO
NEW ENGLAND & CANADA CRUISE (TWL &
COLLINS)
10/6
NASPA
NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTH
DIVISIONS)
10/7
NASPA
LAGUNA WOODS CA
10/10-14
NASPA
CALGARY AB CAN
10/12-14
WGPO
WISCONSIN DELLS WI
10/13
NASPA
BERLIN NJ
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10/13
NASPA
PHILADELPHIA PA (TWL & COLLINS)
10/14
NASPA
BAYSIDE NY
10/14
NASPA
TCC- GREATER TORONTO ON CAN
10/18-21
NASPA
LAKE GEORGE NY (TWL & COLLINS)
10/20-21
NASPA
ASHEVILLE NC
10/20-21
NASPA
INDEPENDENCE OH
10/27
NASPA
BERLIN NJ
10/27-28
NASPA
TCC - CAN-AM CHALLENGE, MILLBURN NJ
10/27
NASPA
FORT LAUDERDALE FL
NOVEMBER
11/2-4
NASPA
CAMBRIDGE MD
11/2-4
NASPA
FALMOUTH MA
11/2-4
NASPA
CALIFORNIA OPEN, SAN FRANCISCO CA
11/3
NASPA
BRANTFORD ON CAN
11/3
NASPA
EDMONTON AB CAN
11/4
NASPA
LAGUNA WOODS CA
11/10
NASPA
NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTH
DIVISIONS)
11/13
NASPA
INDEPENDENCE, OH - LCT
11/17
NASPA
BAYSIDE NY
11/17
NASPA
DALLAS TX
11/17
NASPA
FORT LAUDERDALE FL
11/23-25
NASPA
TARRYTOWN NY
DECEMBER
12/1
NASPA
CALGARY AB CA
12/1-8
WGPO
RESTRICTED - CABO SAN LUCAS MEXICO
12/1-2
NASPA
FORT LAUDERDALE FL
12/2
NASPA
LAGUNA WOODS CA
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12/2-18
WGPO
MALAGA TO RIO DE JANEIRO CRUISE
12/6
NASPA
AKRON OH - LCT
12/9
NASPA
PHILADELPHIA PA (TWL & COLLINS)
12/9
NASPA
STRONGSVILLE OH
12/15
NASPA
DALLAS TX
12/15-16
NASPA
LAGUNA WOODS CA
12/22-25
NASPA
WILMINGTON DE (TWL & COLLINS)
12/27-1/1
NASPA
ALBANY NY (TWL & COLLINS)
JANUARY ’13
1/16-28
WGPO
AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND CRUISE
1/12
NASPA
BAYSIDE NY
1/26-28
NASPA
ATLANTIC CITY NJ
FEBRUARY ’13
2/9
NAPA
NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTH
DIVISIONS)
2/10
NASPA
PHILADELPHIA PA (TWL & COLLINS)
2/13-18
NASPA
LAS VEGAS NV (TWL & COLLINS)
2/15-18
NASPA
TENTATIVE - EASTERN CHAMPIONSHIP,
CHARLOTTE NC
2/15
WGPO
PHOENIX AZ EARLY BIRD
2/16-18
WGPO
PHOENIX AZ (TWL & COLLINS)
2/22-24
NASPA
SARATOGA SPRINGS NY
MARCH ’13
3/8
WGPO
INDIALANTIC FL
3/9
NASPA
BAYSIDE NY
3/10
NASPA
PHILADELPHIA PA (TWL & COLLINS)
3/15-17
NASPA
HOUSTON TX
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3/15-17
NASPA
POUGHKEEPSIE NY
3/22-24
NASPA
PRINCETON NJ
APRIL ’13
4/20
NASPA
NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTH
DIVISIONS)
4/21
NASPA
PHILADELPHIA PA (TWL & COLLINS)
MAY ’13
5/3-5
NASPA
NEW YORK NY
5/18
NASPA
BAYSIDE NY
5/19
NASPA
PHILADELPHIA PA (TWL & COLLINS)
5/23-27
NASPA
SACRAMENTO CA
5/23-27
NASPA
TARRYTOWN NY
5/25-27
NASPA
IRVING TX
JUNE ’13
6/8
NASPA
NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTH
DIVISIONS)
6/15
NASPA
BAYSIDE NY
6/15-26
WGPO
ITALY - CROATIA CRUISE
JULY ’13
7/2-7
NASPA
ALBANY NY (TWL & COLLINS)
7/19-21
NASPA
OLD GREENWICH CT
7/27
NASPA
BAYSIDE NY
AUGUST ’13
8/31-9/2
NASPA
WILMINGTON DE
SEPT. ’13
9/21
NASPA
NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTH
DIVISIONS)
9/28
NASPA
BAYSIDE NY
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OCT. ’13
10/17-20
NASPA
LAKE GEORGE NY
10/26
NASPA
NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTH
DIVISIONS)
NOV. ’13
11/16
NASPA
NORWALK CT (REG. & YOUTH DIVISIONS)
10/23
NASPA
BAYSIDE NY
11/29-12/1
NASPA
TARRYTOWN NY
DEC. ’13
12/21-25
NASPA
WILMINGTON DE
MARCH ’14
3/21-23
NASPA
POUGHKEEPSIE NY
MAY ’14
5/22-26
NASPA
SACRAMENTO CA
5/23-26
NASPA
TARRYTOWN NY
JULY ’14
7/18-20
NASPA
OLD GREENWICH CT
AUGUST ’14
8/30-9/1
NASPA
NEW YORK NY
NOVEMBER ’14
11/28-30
NASPA
DECEMBER ’14 NASPA
12/23-28
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TARRYTOWN NY
WILMINGTON DE
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Archives
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