W O R D G A M E N E W S The Last Word The Independent Tournament SCRABBLE® Newsletter A Monthly Newsletter Issue 20 - August 2011 Ambigrammic Letter Tiles July 4th at Albany Inaugural WGPO Word Cup The Last Word is an independent publication for tournament SCRABBLE® players. It is not affiliated with Hasbro, Mattel, the North American SCRABBLE® Players Association (NASPA), the Word Game Players’ Organization (WGPO), or the National SCRABBLE® Association (NSA). Our mission is to provide content of interest to all SCRABBLE® players, so please let us know if there are topics you would like us to add. We welcome contributions: stories, artwork, etc. For the time being, we are hoping to provide this Newsletter at no charge; however, since it is a 100% volunteer effort, we would appreciate any donations. Advertisers are encouraged, too. If you would like to have The Last Word emailed to you, please send a request with your email address to [email protected] and we will add you to our mailing list. Editor in Chief: Cornelia Guest Columnists: Joe Bihlmeyer, Jan Cardia, Timothy Cataldo, Judy Cole, Diane Firstman, Ryan Fischer, Stu Goldman, Jeff Kastner, James Leong, Joan Mocine, Art Moore, Lester Schonbrun, Larry Sherman, Chris Sinacola, Siri Tillekeratne, Linda Wancel Editors-at-large: Robin Pollock Daniel, Joe Edley, Stefan Fatsis, Ted Gest Contributors: Sandee Bloom, Vince Castellano, Roger Cullman, Peggy Grant, Cheryl Kagan, Eric Harshbarger, Keith Hagel, Cheryl Kagan, Dan Krieger, Jerry Lerman, David Lewis, Jessica Meller, Mack Meller, Judy Newhouse, Larry Rand, Richard Silberg, Allan Simon, Rebecca Slivka, Bob Umlas, Betsey Wood, Nancy Yu 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 © 2011 GuessWhat! Some data copyright ©1999-2011 NSA; copyright © 2010-2011 NASPA; and copyright © 2005-2011 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. T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S Table of Contents From the Editor 3 Advertising Section: Equipment, Tournaments, Organizations, Books 4 Emails to the Editor 9 Tournament News 11 Albany 4th of July Weekend: SCRABBLE® Fireworks! 11 WGPO Word Cup 2011 by Larry Rand 15 11th Annual Washington, D.C., Summer Tournament by Ted Gest 19 Old Greenwich: Summer SCRABBLE in the C.T. 21 Tournament Results 25 New Faces: Bob Umlas 27 Scrab-doku by Jeff Kastner 29 The Wordsmith by Chris Sinacola 32 Diane’s DEFALTS by Diane Firstman 36 What’s Your Play? 37 Mack Meller: Youngest SCRABBLE Expert by Cornelia Guest 41 Go Fish? by Mack Meller 44 Know the Rules by Jan Cardia 46 U.S. World Championship Team Selected 47 Linda’s Library by Linda Wancel 48 Club News edited by Larry Sherman 50 Ambigrammic Letter Tiles (v2.0) by Eric Harshbarger 52 One Up! Cup for August by Timothy Cataldo 54 SCRABBLE® and Scrabblers in the News edited by Judy Cole 55 Word Trivia Quiz by Siri Tillekeratne 62 Historic Moments: SCRABBLE® Throughout the Years by Stu Goldman 64 Word Star by Jeff Kastner 65 Passages edited by Larry Sherman 66 SCRABBLE® Resources 70 Tournament Calendar 73 Archives 80 2 F R O M T H E E D I T O R From the Editor As we go to press, 327 players are in Dallas for the 21st National SCRABBLE® Championship. Entries are the lowest since 1994 (294), and well off the peak of 837 in 2004. Various guesses have been made as to the reason: the economy, the WGPO controversy, the Dallas heat. But one player mentioned to me another possibility: Interest in SCRABBLE may have peaked. Is it possible? Stefan Fatsis’s fantastic book Word Freak, which attracted so many new players to the world of tournament SCRABBLE, has just been reissued in a special “10th Anniversary” issue. Stefan will be at Nationals, introducing the new edition and talking about some of the changes that have happened since Word Freak was published (many because the book was published). But have the numbers of new players gone down recently? It’s hard to say. When the NSA allowed one free tournament before becoming an NSA member, there may have been more first-timers; however, how many of them stayed with it? The WGPO lets players participate in tournaments without even joining the organization (which is free to join). But how do new players find out about their tournaments--or any tournaments? After the initial rush of interest with Word Freak, numbers seem to have leveled off. The new players I see at my tournaments learn about them mainly by word of mouth. There isn’t much promotion for tournament SCRABBLE. This past month there have been several large, multi-day tournaments with strong attendance. But not many newcomers. Albany: 114 players; 0 newcomers; WGPO Word Cup: 114 players; 1 newcomer; Old Greenwich: 68 players; 2 newcomers. The Old Greenwich Newcomers Tournament I ran attracted only 8 new faces, down from 20 who attended my 2008 Danbury Newcomers Tournament, or the 28 who came to the 2003 Danbury Newcomers Tourament in 2003--my first tournament, which I learned about from an ad in the Danbury News-Times. The tournaments that drew the most newcomers had the most publicity. Several years ago a local paper did a front-page feature about my upcoming library tournament--an unrated 4-game tournament with youth and adult divisions. The tournament sold out, with 40 players and a waiting list of 20. The next year I ran the same tournament, but got no publicity. Only 16 players attended. Unrated benefit tournaments with advance press attract large numbers. Interest is there. What can we, as organizers and directors, do to encourage new players to try tournament SCRABBLE? What can we do to ensure players come back for a second, third, and possibly 553rd tournament (go Stu Goldman!) Try to publicize the event--beyond cross-tables.com and NASPA, NSA, and WGPO calendars. Reach out to local papers--or an Internet news source such as Patch. Consider running ads, in papers or on Google or Facebook. Perhaps some of the money from NASPA participation fees could be used to advertise upcoming tournaments--at the same time promoting NASPA. Consider shorter tournaments or divisions for first-timers and younger players (4 games seems a good number; 8 scares off many of my cold callers). Offer a reduced entry fee and/or special prizes for new players. And think about how to keep new players coming back. Ira Freehof’s amazing New York tournaments showed how much fun tournaments can be--dinner, ice cream, massages! Let’s think outside the box and revitalize tournament SCRABBLE! Cornelia Guest 3 A D V E R T I S E M E N T The tiles preferred by expert SCRABBLE® players worldwide Double Injection Molded Lifetime Tiles, Custom Silkscreened Tiles, Large Font Tiles, World Class Tiles, Bulk Orders WWW.Protiles.net 4 A D V E R T I S E M E N T SamTimer.com Home of the famous Digital SCRABBLE® Clock-the Preferred Clock in most Expert Tournament SCRABBLE® Games in North America. Thousands of Satisfied Customers!! SamTimer, SamBoard and SmoothTiles were chosen to be the official Timer, Board and Tiles of NASPA NSC09! NASPA = North American SCRABBLE® Players Association SamBoards in wood, acrylic, and steel Original SamTimer Digital Clock in 3 colors SamTiles, Smooth Tiles, SamTiles Universal Apple SamBoards (red, green, orange) Board carriers Mini SamTimers in 4 colors Pocket SamTimers in 7 colors ORDERING OPTIONS: Call 1-888ORDERING OPTIONS: email Sam-Timer (1-888-726-8463) [email protected] Call toll-free from any phone in We Accept: Checks, USA or Canada International Money orders, We Accept: Checks, International Visa/Mastercard, American Money orders, Express, Discover, Diner's Club, Visa/Mastercard, American PayPal - use Express, Discover, Diner's Club [email protected] PayPal - use [email protected] SamRacks 5 A D V E R T I S E M E N T SamTimer.com Introduces the FlipTimer ™ FlipTimer ™ • • • • • • • • NEW! Scrabble®, Boggle®, Chess Unique COMPACT folding timer for tournament and friendly Scrabble® games. Conforms to all the American and International rules for overtime, hold period for word challenges, etc! Even computes actual overtime penalties! Just fold this FlipTimer to REMEMBER the time settings in the middle of a game and unfold to continue the game later, maybe in a location miles away! A FlipTimer exclusive! Folded, the FlipTimer measures an amazingly compact 5½" long, 2 ⅝" wide and 1" high! Yet, the display digits at 1" high, are taller than existing digital clocks! Incredible. Three color choices: Red/Yellow, Yellow/Fuchsia, or Blue/Green It displays actual time spent on current move, in minutes and seconds! Cool clock. -- Conrad Bassett-Bouchard We love this new clock! -- KC Frodyma We played with it at a closed tournament--we really like this FlipTimer. -- Cesar del Solar ORDERING OPTIONS: email [email protected] We Accept: Checks, International Money orders, Visa/Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diner's Club, PayPal - use [email protected] 6 A S D E V Q E U R O T I I AS BROW-RAISERS EDITION II Brow-Raisers Edition II is a brilliantly organized study guide geared towards the success of beginning and intermediate players. It provides an efficient means to learn the words most important for winning an extra game or two. Excellent Present! http://www.browraisers.com/ ADVERTISE HERE! With more than 1,000 subscribers and over 3,000 hits per issue, The Last Word is a great way to reach Scrabblers around the world. For information on our reasonable ad rates contact [email protected]. E C ML EU NB T Made for Word Lovers by Word Lovers IncredibleTileBags.com Fun. Unique. Festive. The widest variety of tile bags just about anywhere! Look for our table at the NSC 2011 in Dallas, Aug. 6-10 Check out our new flat-bottom bags! www.IncredibleTileBags.com 7 A D V E R T I S E M E N T SCRABBLE by the SEA The Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel - Asbury Park, NJ  Saturday, August 20, 2011 9:30 am Registration  This event will be organized into 3 divisions: OPEN (for expert players, and players rated over 1,000) LITE (for the casual player and players rated 1,000 and under) JUNIOR (for casual players 15 and under).  Starting at 10:00 AM, players will complete three games against opponents with similar skill levels. After the third game, the top 5 players in each category will win cash and/or door prizes. Prize amounts will vary based on number of entrants, although the top OPEN prize is expected to be approximately $250.  TICKETS: Tax Deductible Donations by Division: $20 (Junior), $35 (Lite), $50 (Open)  Early bird pricing (before August 1) is available through pre-registration at: http://www.arcofmonmouth.dreamhosters.com/wordpress/scrabble  For more information, contact [email protected] 8 E M A I L S T O T H E E D I T O R Emails to the Editor Should you wish to send an email to the editor or 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 found this pretty cool. Quoted from my LiveJournal: "Nigel, Conrad and I played three games of SCRABBLE® in the park [in early July]. Nigel and I were pitted against Conrad in the first round, and he led for the first half of the game. Then we drew DIELDRI(N) 83, FLUIDIT(Y) 98, A(L)IQUaNT 122, and CONTEMn 89 to go out and win by around 200. Next, Conrad and I were pitted against Nigel. Our first four plays were AbELIAS 64, (E) IGHTIES 89, DREID(E)LS 77, and GIRA(S)OLE 68. We then played OUZO for 44 and drew NARR (A)TER for 62. That's a total of eight bingos in a row!" I've been enjoying The Last Word, as always! Thanks for continuing to manage it. :) Best, Noah Walton _______________________________________________________________________________ Everyone-Many of you know that I have awarded a Geezer Prize at last month's Word Cup, given to the best performing senior, and you may also know that there are plans to endow the prize so it will continue after--hopefully long after--I am not around. This is to explain why there is not a similar arrangement with NASPA, and what may be done to change that. I first thought of endowing a geezer award about three years ago when I learned that I would receive a windfall from my retirement fund, though I did not know when it would happen. I wanted to give back to SCRABBLE, which has meant so much to me for nearly 40 years. I approached Chris Ctree with the idea at the first World Players Championship, and he was enthusiastic about it. After that the NSA stopped funding our tournaments and supporting our clubs, NASPA was formed, and then WGPO was formed. I was troubled by the negative attitude of NASPA toward WGPO. When my windfall came through early this year, I notified Rick Wong of WGPO and Chris Cree; but I told Chris that I could not go through with the endowment for an organization that was trying to eliminate another SCRABBLE organization. There was some discussion via email, but Chris maintains that NASPA is not willing to do anything with WGPO, which is regarded as a competitor. What I told Chris was a minimum to show that NASPA was willing to be with WGPO was elimination of the rule that a WGPO director cannot also be a NASPA director, and for NASPA to donate to cross-tables--along with WGPO, whose directors had agreed to it--so that cross-tables would list 9 E M A I L S T O T H E E D I T O R WGPO events and ratings along with NASPA. About the latter, Chris said that NASPA would not allow WGPO to advertise in the same venue as itself, which makes as much sense as Macy's saying it would not advertise in any newspaper that also had ads for Saks Fifth Avenue. My own view is that WGPO does not compete with NASPA any more than the American League in baseball competes with the National League. As in baseball, they are two organizations that promote the same activity. Many SCRABBLE enthusiasts belong to both organizations. What about NASPA and WGPO tournaments at the same time? This does happen occasionally, but in several markets a National League team occasionally plays on the same day as the American League team in the same area. (Once in the San Francisco Bay area, the Giants were playing on the same day as the Oakland Raiders and the 49ers to boot.) As for the rule about directors, it would be much more sensible to allow directors to direct for both organizations, as was done for a couple of years. This is especially important when a director wishes to have a Collins division, since only NASPA tornaments will be rated by WESPA (unless there's been a recent change tat I'm not aware of). This would require a committee vote to change. I appeal to all NASPA members going to the NSC to request that change to committee members. I regret that I cannot be there myself for that purpose. And not supporting cross-tables reporting on WGPO tournaments amnd player ratingscreates a dual sysatem that makes it difficult to see where a particular player ranks. I have tremendous respect for what Brian Galebach has done for WGPO ratings, but I believe even he would agree that a single system is better. So how about it NASPA folks? Can we have cooperation with WGPO? When there is, there will be a NASPA Geezer Award. Stu Goldman _______________________________________________________________________________ I received a comment about last months “From the Editor” correcting a misperception I had about the fine the Patrick Hodges is supposed to pay. Apparently the reason there was a $500 fine was because Patrick won $500 in prize money at the Phoenix tournament where the cheating occurred. Since there wouldn't be an easy way to take that money back and redistribute it to the folks who should have won it at the tournament, the decision was made to have Patrick donate that same amount of money to a charity of his choice in lieu of repayment. So this wasn't a case of adding a fine to the suspension; the fine was in part trying to undo the gain from cheating. 10 A L B A N Y Albany 4th of July Weekend: SCRABBLE® Fireworks! Every 4th of July weekend Annette Tedesco is Queen of SCRABBLE, organizing a tournament that is possibly the most popular event for Scrabblers on the East Coast. In addition to offering more games than seem possible--an 8-game Early Early Bird, a 6-game Early Bird, a 6-game Collins Early Bird, a 21-game Main Event, a 21-game Collins Main Event, and a 6-game Late Bird--Annette invites all the players and their families and friends to her house on the Hudson for a spectacular barbecue, complete with impromptu jamming and games. This year stormy weather threatened to keep players away from the outdoor event; however, tournament director John Robertson implored people to attend, promising a tent. As players headed toward Stillwater, where Annette lives, the skies cleared and a rainbow arched across the sky to greet the guests. Seems everyone loves Annette! Each year Albany attracts a goodly collection of Canadian players. July 1, the first day of the Main Event, was Canada Day; so the tournament opened with players singing of the Canadian National Anthem. Three days later, players celebrated the 4th of July by singing the U.S. National Anthem. Patriotic spirit was high with both nationalities, and many U.S. players donned red, white, and blue outfits to celebrate the 4th. Celebrating the 4th in style: (L-R) Cheryl Allen-Munley (insert of shoes); Ida Ann Shapiro, and Barb Kester. 11 A L B A N Y Barbecue at Annette’s Left and bottom right photos: Relaxing along the Hudson; Chris Lipe and Kevin Colosa jamming; the traditional end-of-barbecue marshmallow roast. Photos by Roger Cullman http:// www.rogercullman.com Bottom left photos: Sylvia Polson and Lany Ramos; Marci Mikesell and Cornelia Guest playing a pairs game; the ice cream truck drives up and attracts a crowd. Photos courtesy of Betsey Wood. 12 A L B A N Y The tournament, directed by John Robertson and Allen Pengelly, opened on Thursday, June 30, with an 8-game tournament, the first of two Early Birds. Division 1 went to Evans Clinchy, fresh from his NAST finals win. Evans finished 7-1 +501, nosing out 2nd-place finisher Jason Keller by 89 spread points. In Division 2, Judy Rosenthal won with a 7-1 +73 record over Canadian Mad Palazzo (6-2 +486). Another Canadian--Diane Brown of Toronto--took Division 3 with a 7-2 +270 record over Ida Ann Shapiro. The second Early Bird, on July 1, attracted 59 players for 6 games. Division winners were Doug Brockmeier (5-1 +416) over Seth Lipkin in Division 1; Brian Galebach (4-2+593) over David Lewis in Division 2; Mona Larsen (5-1 +417) over Judy Cole in Division 3; Cheryl Melvin (5-1 +313) over Lydia Keras in Division 4; Sam Heinrich (5-1 +480) over Susan Blanchard in Division 5; Russell McKinstry (5-1 +566) over Elouise Pearl in Division 6; and Les Hipenbecker (5-1 +418) over Glenn Aery in Division 7. Event organizer Annette Tedesco with Polish Scrabbler Michal Joska. The Collins Early Bird on July 1 featured two international players: Marion Loewenstein from Israel and Michal Joska from Poland (now living in Rochester, NY). But it was an American, Bradley Whitmarsh, who dominated, winning all his games to take the division 6-0 +714 over Richard Buck. The 21-game Main Event attracted 114 players, and another 11 competed in the Collins Main Event. The top division went to Joey Mallick, who finished with a 15-6 +956 record over Marlon Hill (14-7 +1019). Bradley Whitmarsh was third. Joey has been having an excellent year, with this his 4th Division 1 win. He is currently ranked 7th in North America, with a 2009 rating. Division 1 winner Joey Mallick Division 2 was hotly contested, with the top three finishers all having 15-6 records. Steve Tier prevailed on spread (+933) over Brian Galebach (+779) and David Lewis (+599). Sue Gable, seeded 37th, finished 4th, earning her a class prize. In Division 3, Virgil Talaid, in only his 4th tournament, prevailed with a 15-6 +383 (with one bye) over rising 8th Director John Robertson Director Allen Pengelly with his twins, Sarah and Tasha; his wife, Jenna Paikowsky; and John Robertson. Photo by Roger Cullman http://www.rogercullman.com 13 A L B A N Y grader Matthew O’Connor (14-7 +721), Susan Blanchard (14-7 +636), and Daniel Blake (14-7 +630). A tie in the Collins division helped give the win to Canadian David Boys, a former World and National Champion who will be competing for Canada at the 11th World SCRABBLE Championship in Warsaw, Poland, this October. Boys finished 18.5-2.5 +2108 to nose out Sam Kantimathi (18-3 +2061) and Joel Wapnick (17.5-3.5 +2047). But the talk of the tournament was the big upset in game 15: 536-rated Kay Faust, seeded last, beat Canadian National Champion (and former World Champion) Joel Wapnick, rated 1908, in what has to be one of the biggest upsets in tournament SCRABBLE history. Division 3 winner Virgil Talaid Just when you felt there couldn’t possibly be any more SCRABBLE, on July 4th there was a final 6-game Late Bird Open, which attracted 28 players. Doug Brockmeier finished on top, 5-1 +908, to take his second win of the Albany weekend. Following Doug were three other players with 5-1 records: Jason Ubeika (+626), Brian Galebach (+468), and Andrew Friedman (+427). Before players headed off to battle the holiday-weekend traffic, there was a hearty round of applause for Annette, who had pulled off yet another spectacular Albany July 4th Weekend of SCRABBLE. Doug Brockmeier topped the field in the 7/1 Early Bird and the 7/4 Late Bird. Photo by Roger Cullman http://www.rogercullman.com Thanks, Annette! 14 W G P O W O R D C U P 2 0 1 1 WGPO Word Cup 2011 By Larry Rand Over the Fourth of July Weekend, more than 120 players and their families gathered at the Grand Sierra Hotel, in Reno, NV, to play in the inaugural WGPO Reno Word Cup. This exciting tournament was organized by Jeff Widegren, with Rick Wong and Larry Rand directing. The members of the WGPO Executive Committee and Board of Player Representatives served as the tournament’s organizing committee; and Melissa Brown, Janice Kaye, and Bobbi Hendrickson assisted with membership, the raffle, and the WGPO business meetings. All players who entered the tournament by June 1 received a customdesigned and embroidered shirt to commemorate the first WGPO international event. Directors and volunteers who were unable to attend also received a shirt to recognize their service. Peggy Grant was responsible for this successful project, and Celebrity Cruises was the main sponsor. Sheryl DeMers, daughter of Al and Vicky DeMers (who died in 2008 in a tragic car accident) donated three beautiful Word Cup trophies that were presented to the winners in the Championship event. Each cup was engraved “In memory of Al and Vicky DeMers.” Neighboring Sparks, NV, was the DeMers’s home for many years, and many Scrabblers enjoyed their hospitality during Reno tournaments. In addition to the games, the Word Cup featured three special events. On Saturday night, Bennett Jacobstein hosted an outing to watch the Reno Aces, a triple-A baseball team, at Reno’s new stadium. On Monday night, Bennett ran a trivia contest, which attracted a large group of buffs, with Peter Dolgenos emerging as champion. On Tuesday evening, the WGPO leadership held an open meeting for all players. About 50-60 players were in attendance to ask questions of the leadership team and offer suggestions for the future of the organization. On July 1st, the first day of the tournament, 46 players competed in the Preamble event, an 8game Open tournament. The top 4 finishers were Rafi Stern, Albert Hahn, Mark Pistolese, and Nigel Peltier, with several other players earning “performance” prizes. The 35-game Championship event ran for 5 days: July 2-6. A new WGPO attendance record of 114 players competed in three divisions: Red, White, and Blue. All of the division winners were decided in the final three games of the tournament. In the Blue division, Ron Barker, James Johnson, and Erik Preamble winners 15 W G P O W O R D C U P 2 0 1 1 Sheryl DeMers presenting the beautiful Word Cup trophies she donated in memory of her parents, Al and Vicky DeMers, to division winners (L-R) Conrad Bassett-Bouchard (Red), Carlynn Mayer (White), and Ron Barker (Blue). Anderson took home the top honors. In the White division, Carlynn Mayer, Michael David, Carlene Wallis, Kay Patterson, and Michael Wier were the victors. And in the Red division Conrad BassettBouchard took home the $2,000 first-place prize money. Carl Johnson, Kenji Matsumoto, Dominick Mancine, and Jesse Day finished 2nd through 5th, respectively. With additional money added to the prize pool by the Grand Sierra Resort, the Championship events received over 100% of the entry fees back in prizes. ALL of the fun prize winners! One of the unique tournament offerings was Rick Wong’s “fun prize.” For each round in the White and Blue divisions, there was a specific play where players could earn prize money. In the White division, which had 62 players, prizes of $20, $10, and $10 were awarded. In the Blue division, which had 20 players, one player won $20 each round. The fun prize contributed to the players’ enjoyment of the event and spread the tournament prize money to over 75% of the contestants in those two divisions. $1,750 was allocated for the fun prizes. 16 W G P O W O R D C U P 2 0 1 1 Sheryl DeMers with Red Division winners Stu Goldman presents the “Geezer” award, which he sponsored, to Nancy Scott, the best performing senior. On the final day, Jeff Clark rounded up 16 players to compete in an impromptu 7-game Late Bird tournament, which was rated by the WGPO. Two groups competed, and the winners were Ron Tiekert, Winter, Ralph King, and Mary Capalbi. White Division winners Some of the tournament expenses were offset by the generosity of Gene Tyszka, Paul McCarthy, and Luise Shafritz, who donated SCRABBLE® wares to a raffle, handled by Janice Kaye. Gene donated quite a number of boards, clocks, and racks, and the organization recognized his support.  The raffle was a huge success, and several players donated their prize winnings to the WGPO. These funds enabled the organization to pay all Sheryl DeMers with Blue Division winners 17 W G P O W O R D C tournament expenses ad have a small amount of savings for a rainy day. Players agreed that the inaugural WGPO Word Cup was a success, and the organization looks forward to the 2012 WGPO Word Cup, which is tentatively sheduled for August in the Twin Cities, MN. All future WGPO Word Cup tournament sites will be decided by a vote of the membership. For complete results go to: http://www.sjscrabble.com/ wordcup2011/ U P 2 0 1 1 Play often, play fair, have fun. That, of course, is the WGPO mission, and the 2011 Word Cup in Reno provided a glittering example to the SCRABBLEplaying community of just how well that could be translated into a major WGPO event. Play often: How about 50 games for those hardy souls who played an 8-round early bird, a 35(!)-round main event, and a 7round late bird. Play fair: For an event, with as many games as the Word Cup offered, the sportmasnship and camaraderie were exceptional throughout. What a pleasure! Credit goes both to all the players and to directors Rick Wong and Larry Rand, aided by organizer Jeff Widergren and a host of other dedicated WGPO volunteers, none of whom received a dime for their efforts, Left to right: Larry Rand, assistant to the Director; Ron Barker, winner Blue Division; Carlynn Mayer, winner White Division; Conrad Bassett-Bouchard, winner Red Division; Sheryl DeMers (Al and Vicky's daughter and Word Cup benefactor); Rick Wong, Director. Have fun: If you were there, you saw it, because you couldn't miss it. The 2011 Word Cup exemplified not only rigorous competition, but also an overflowing cup of fun, both over the board and away from it. A great, most-reasonably priced venue, a more than 100 percent return on entry fees, and a range of enjoyable activities, both on- and off-site, at night combined to make the event one that abounded in smiles. Finally, I want to mention the players' meeting on Tuesday night, July 5. The WGPO leaders really didn't know how many players would show up after a long day over the board, particularly given the competing lures of good food and drink, casino action, and a variety of other enjoyable activities. So when 50-60 players not only attended, but also openly and amicably shared questions, concerns and ideas, that to me demonstrated that WGPO had become something quite special for many in our community. 2011 Word Cup commemorative shirt logo WGPO's 2011 Word Cup was a great experience. I can't wait for the 2012 event! Keith Hagel WGPO Executive Committee member 18 W A S H I N G T O N , D . C . 11th Annual Washington, D.C., Summer Tournament By Ted Gest; photos by Cheryl C. Kagan and Vince Castellano For the last 11 years, the Washington, D.C., NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #171 has held a summer tournament. It started after a previous summer tourney organized by the late Tim Maneth at a local county fair was cancelled. The D.C. tournament began as an unrated affair with 23 players. By this summer, it was a rated event that attracted 56 players to suburban Bethesda, Md. Ted Gest and Carole Denton directed, with assistance from Cheryl Kagan. The four division winners were Jason Bednarz, Ted Mast, Carol Tillson, and Harrison Pierce. We also gave prizes for high game and high word in each division. A highlight was Evan Krieger, only 9 years old and in his first rated tournament, winning the Division D high game prize with a 401-point effort. (Evan’s dad, Dan, also played.) Runners-up and other prize winners included (we gave only one prize per person, so some top division finishers had higher games and words than the listed winners): Division A: David Koenig, Jeff Jacobson. High game: Richard Popper, 500. High word: LEASHING, 122, by Shah Ali. Division B: John Stinson, Linda Oliva. High game: Gary Skowronski, 474. High word: EXPOSED 85, Robin Schlauch. Division C: John Wright, Cheryl Kagan. High game: Jacqueline Harpp, 566. High word: DELETING 149, Matthew Rupert Division D, Tat Reistrup, Betty Berger. High game: Evan Krieger, 401; High word: INVADED 97 Lily Gasperetti We usually give a special award for a word relating to a Washington, D.C, person or news development. In the past, we’ve given prizes related to election results and Tournament director Ted Gest with (top to bottom) Division A winner Jason Bednarz, Division A runner-up David Koenig, and Division C winner Carol Tillson. Photos courtesy of Cheryl C. Kagan. 19 W A S H I N G T O N , D . C . the economy, among other subjects. This time we decided to mark the case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who lived in D.C. as director of the International Monetary Fund until his recent encounter in a New York City hotel room. The winner was RUINOUS by Brian Galebach. Close seconds were EXPOSED by Robin Schlauch (high word in Division B), TAWDRIER by Cheryl Kagan, and the pair HORNIER by Joanna Ward and HORNIEST by David Spitzer. Other entries, for your reading pleasure: Evan Krieger, 9, won the High Game prize (401) in his first tournament. Photo courtesy of Vince Castellano. TRAMPIER, GEEZER, RAPE, SLEAZO, OUTRAGE, STUNNED, BATHER, SLITHERY, MORONIC, TRAVESTY, JAIL, FOOL, DEMESNE, SMUDGED, RETAINER, DISHY, INSNARED, ERR, SCATHED, HAUNTED, DRIP, SNEAKER, ENTWINE, UNSAVED, TONGUE BUNGLER, ROBE, SINNERS, DISGRACE, WEARIES, DERANGED, OUTSAID, QUEER, RUTTY Full results are at http://cross-tables.com/tourney.php?t=7303 --Ted Gest, Club 171 20 O L D G R E E N W I C H Old Greenwich: Summer SCRABBLE® in the C.T. The Hyatt Regency Hotel in Old Greenwich, CT, was an elegant setting for the first Old Greenwich SCRABBLE Tournament July 22-24. Seventy-four players challenged each other for three days, with some exciting firsts coming out of the tournament. First-place winners won cash prizes, trophies, and custom tile bags from Incredible Tile Bags. The tournament started Friday afternoon with a 5-game Early Bird tournament directed by Cornelia Guest that attracted 29 players, including Elena Abrahams, an Old Greenwich resident playing in her first tournament. Elena continued on to the Main Event, playing a total of 21 games in her first foray into tournament play. (She was awarded a package of SCRABBLE Cheez-Its for her fortitude!) Ben Schoenbrun, a rising college sophomore from Ardsley, NY, took Division A at the Early Bird with a 4-1 +192 record to mark his first Division 1 win. Evans Clinchy was second and Brian Galebach third. First-time player Elena Abrahams, who played 21 games over 3 days, with organizer Cornelia Guest. In Division B, 16-year-old Adam Ginzberg had the best spread of 5 players with 3-2 records to win the division over Verna Richards Berg and Peter Barkman. The division also welcomed back Ed Neugroschl, a top player who had not played in 7 years. Another young player, rising high school junior Ted Barrett, won Division C with a 4-1 +240 record over Judy Horn and Linda Wancel. Ted is the current yearly leader for most lower-division wins in NASPA tournaments, now 7. 21 O L D G R E E N W I C H Above, L-R: Early Bird winners Ben Schoenbrun (Div. A); Betsey Wood (Div. D) with Cornelia Guest; Ted Barrett (Div. C); Scott Morese (Div. E). Betsy Wood was surprised to win Division D with a 3-2 +193 record, but every player in the division was 3-2 or 2-3. Cheryl Melvin, in from Michigan was 2nd, with rising 8th grader Sam Heinrich from Massachusetts third. Cheryl is leading this year's NASPA race for most games, and her games at Old Greenwich stretched her record to 499! Division 5 went to Connecticut player Scott Morese, who finished with a 4-1 +176 record, just 5 spread points against 2nd place finisher Ida Shapiro. Bill Kaufman was third. Saturday featured an unrated Newcomers Tournament that attracted 10 local players, the youngest being 7-year-old Sophie Guo, in her first tournament. Sophie's siblings DeeAnn (11) and Sheng (10) were playing in the Main Event. The winner of the event was Rich Stein, who won all of his 5 games with a +557 spread, also winning prizes for Adult High Game (482) and High Play (RUSTING, 89). Second was rising 5th grader Jack Kochansky, who finished with a 3-2 +312 record, also winning the prizes for Youth High Game (478) and High Play (*UNPOWER, 74). The winner of the prize for "Best Hot Word" in the tournament was Sophie, who played BURN. Although adults and Youth Players played together, there were separate awards for the Youth Players, with Jack finishing on top to win a SCRABBLE Flash game generously donated by Hasbro and NASPA. The tournament attracted three other players with family members in the Main Event: Inge and Maureen O'Connor (mother and aunt, respectively, of Matthew O'Connor) and Donna Barkman (mother of Peter Barkman). Cornelia Guest directed. L-R: Newcomers Tournament winners Rich Stein and Jack Kochansky; Maureen O’Connor faces Sophie Guo, 7, the youngest player in the tournament. 22 O L D G R E E N W I C H Saturday night Frank Tangredi debuted a new team game show format, which was a huge success. The team of Mike Ecsedy, Linda Wancel, Judy Cole, and Peter Epstein won the contest, nosing out the next team by a single point in an exciting final round. Earlier in the evening Timothy Cataldo of Uppity Shirts (www.uppityshirts.com) ran an informal One Up! competition, with winners taking home games and t-shirts. The Main Event went smoothly, with expert direction from Jason Keller, assisted by Cornelia's son Andrew Mitchell. At the end of 15 games two players were Gibsonized: Kate Fukawa-Connelly in Division A and Adam Ginzberg in Division B. Kate finished with a 13-3 +1096 record, setting another new first as she reached 1900 for the first time with her new rating of 1931. Kate is now the second-highest rated female player in North America (after Laurie Cohen). Second in Division A was Joe Edley, with 11-year-old phenom Mack Meller taking third to raise his rating to 1711, the highest rating every achieved by a player his age. A classic moment for the rising 6th grader was in Game 15, when Mack challenged Joel's play of REEKIE* (good in Collins, but not TWL), on his way to a win. The division prize for High Win went to Evans Clinchy (662); Brian Galebach took the prize for High Loss (466); Brad Whitmarsh for High Bingo (DITHERER, 158); and Marjorie Schoneboom for High Non-Bingo (JEEZ, 90). Kate Fukawa-Connelly, Division A winner, flanked by Cornelia Guest and tournament director Jason Keller. Kate was Gibsonized after game 15 on her way to a 13-3 +1096 win. Adam Ginzberg’s final record in his Division B win was 13-3 +832. Verna Richards Berg was second, with Adam Townsend third. Judy Cole won the prizes for High Win (579), High Loss (469), and High Bingo (SHIELDED, 167). The prize for High Non-Bingo was shared by Adam (CHAW, 67) and Nancy Konipol (ZOO, 67). Division C went to another Youth Player, rising 8th grader Matthew O'Connor, who won with a 12-4 +1049 record over Tim Lutts and Steve Sikorski. When Matthew lost his first two games of the tournament, he joked that he was giving the competition "a head start"--a joke that proved prophetic! Tim Lutts won the division prize for High Win (518); Gerianne Abriano the prize for High Loss (427); Jo Anne Cohen the prize for High Non-Bingo (ZESTS, 74); and Bill Kaufman the prize for High Bingo (QUARTOS, 104). L-R: 16-year-old Adam Ginzberg finished first in Div. B in both the Early Bird and the Main Event; Cornelia Guest with Matthew O’Connor, winner of Div. C. 23 O L D G R E E N W I C H The Collins Division had only 4 players; however, 3 were among the elite players who will be representing the U.S. at the World Scrabble Championship this October: John O'Laughlin, Laurie Cohen, and Chris Lipe. They were joined by Judy Steward, some 500 ratings points lower. John O'Laughlin finished first with an 11-5 +795 over Laurie Cohen, in from Arizona,. Chris Lipe won division prizes for High Game (659), High Loss (448), and High Bingo (WISPIEST, 140). Judy took the prize for High Non-Bingo with ZINGER for 105 points and was also awarded the sportsmanship prize for her good cheer while winning 3 games in the world-class division. Gene Tyszka generously donated long racks for the top youth players in each division, with Mack Meller, Adam Ginzberg, and Matthew O'Connor winning them. Sheng Guo also won a prize for youngest competitor in the main event. On a weekend where the heat outside was so intense that trains were cancelled throughout the state, players at the Hyatt were almost chilly with the air conditioning. In honor of those stuck outside, we had a prize for "Best Hot Word," which ended in a tie between Rich Hamilton's SUNBURN and Chris Lipe's HUMIDLY. Collins winner John O’Laughlin finished 11-5 +795. This is John’s 4th Collins win this year. He will be on the U.S. team at the World SCRABBLE® Championship in Poland this October. The tournament was featured in a nice story by Taylor Coe in Sunday's Greenwich Time, with great photographs of some participants by Bob Luckey: http://www.greenwichtime.com/ news/article/Word-warriors-Greenwich-the-scene-ofScrabble-1556198.php Thanks again to Jason Keller, who expertly directed the Main Event; Andrew Mitchell, who assisted; Jessica Meller, who was instrumental in hotel negotiations (and acted as tournament photographer); and Frank Tangredi and Timothy Cataldo, for their great games. Mack Meller, 11, finished 3rd in Div. A to set a new record as the youngest player ever to reach 1700. Mack’s new rating is 1711. Complete results are online at http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/tourneys/2011/xt/07/021.shtml (Main Event) and http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/tourneys/2011/xt/07/019.shtml (Early Bird). 24 T O U R N A M E N T R E Tournament Results ALBANY MAIN EVENT (COLLINS) 7/1-4 JUNE 30-JULY 31 WGPO WORD CUP EARLY BIRD 7/1 ALBANY NY EARLY BIRD 6/30 1. Evans Clinchy 2. Judy Rosenthal 3. Diane Brown ALBANY NY EARLY BIRD 7/1 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Doug Brockmeier Brian Galebach Mona Larsen Cheryl Melvin Sam Heinrich Russell McKinstry Les Hipenbecker ALBANY NY EARLY BIRD COLLINS 7/1 1. Bradley Whitmarsh SAN ANTONIO TX 7/2 1. Greg Stone 2. Matt DeWaelsche 3. Michael Donegan LAGUNA WOODS CA 7/3 1. Rachel Knapp ALBANY MAIN EVENT 7/1-4 1. Joey Mallick 2. Steve Tier 3. Virgil Talaid S 1. David Boys U L T S OMAHA NE 7/9-10 1. Matthew Ridout 2. Daniel Heck BERKELEY CA 7/10 1. Rafi Stern 1. Jesse Day 2. Jon Demeter 3. Pat Diener WGPO WORD CUP MAIN EVENT 7/2-6 GUELPH ON CAN 7/10 1. Conrad BassettBouchard 2. Carlynn Mayer 3. Ron Barker 1. Evan Berofsky 2. Joseph Bowman LAGUNA WOODS CA 7/3 1. Stephen Knapp 2. Dean Scouloukas 1. Rachel Knapp ALBANY LATE BIRD 7/4 STRONGSVILLE OH 7/10 INDEPENDENCE OH (LCT) 7/12 1. Doug Brockmeier 1. Christopher Sheppard WGPO WORD CUP LATE BIRD 7/6 AKRON OH NSC QUALIFYING (TCC, COLLINS) 7/15-17 1. Ronald Tiekert 2. Ralph King ALASKA CRUISE 7/8-15 1. Jan Cardia ALASKA CRUISE (WGPO) 7/8-15 1. Mark Kenas DALLAS TX 7/16 1. Sam Dick-Onuoha 2. Mary Rhoades 3. David Saia 1. Rob Berahovich TORONTO ON CAN 7/16-17 BETHESDA MD 7/9 1. Zev Kaufman 2. Jackson Smylie 3. Bruce Gram 1. 2. 3. 4. Jason Bednarz Ted Mast Carol Tillson Harrison Pierce LUBBOCK TX 7/9 MOUNTAIN VIEW CA 7/17 1. John Karris 1. Wendy Major 2. Kay Weston 25 T O PHILADELPHIA PA 7/17 1. 2. 3. 4. Joe Petree Adam Ginzberg Jay Strieb Celia Dayrit Thompson NOCAL V SOCAL (SAN LUIS OBISPO CA, TCC) 7/22-24 1. Jesse Day 2. Judy Levitt 3. Margy Slavin OLD GREENWICH EARLY BIRD 7/22 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Ben Schoenbrun Adam Ginzberg Ted Barrett Betsey Wood Scott Morese OLD GREENWICH MAIN EVENT 7/22-24 1. Kate Fukawa-Connelly 2. Adam Ginzberg 3. Matthew O’Connor U R N A M E N T R E S FORT LAUDERDALE FL 7/23 1. Randy Greenspan 2. Larry Gradus 3. Mitchell Brown PINELLAS PARK FL 7/23 1. Doug Brockmeier VICTORIA BC CAN 7/23-24 1. Winter 2. Rhonda Reece 3. Helen B. Douglas AKRON OH 7/28 1. Joe South AKRON OH 7/28 1. Joe South AUSTIN TX 7/30 1. Kevin Leeds 2. Jean McArthur 3. Patricia Hiller CLARKSBURG WV (TCC) 7/30 OLD GREENWICH MAIN EVENT (COLLINS) 7/22-24 1. Aaron McGuffin 1. John O’Laughlin VICTORIA BC CAN 7/23-24 1. Michael Baker 2. Jane Bissonnette 3. Helen B. Douglas OLD GREENWICH NEWCOMERS TOURNAMENT (UNRATED) 7/23 1. Rich Stein 2. Jack Kochansky 26 PORTLAND OR (WGPO) 7/30 1. Julie Wright 2. Kathy Sutrov ELMHURST IL 7/30-31 1. Doug Brockmeier 2. Jonathan Kofoed 3. Brad Williams FINDLAY OH (TCC) 7/30-31 1. Brian Bowman U L T S N E W F A C E S New Faces Since our last issue, 24 new faces have competed at NASPA, NSA, and WGPO tournaments. This month our featured “New Face” is from a June Tournament: Bob Umlas, who won Div. 4 at the Norwalk CT Tournament on 6/25 (7-1 +642) to gain a 1488 rating. _________________________________________________________________________ Bob Umlas When Bob Umlas called to enter my Norwalk Tournament on June 25th, I asked if he played online or at club. “Occasionally online,” he answered. “I don’t play at a club. Mostly I play with my wife. But I’m a pretty good player,” he added. That was an understatement! Bob won Division 4 easily, finishing 7-1 +642 to gain an initial rating of 1488. Most of Bob’s games were 400+, and he demonstrated great word knowledge and anagramming skills. Bob, a 69-year-old Microsoft Excel expert from Palisades, NY, has played SCRABBLE for as long as he can remember. He is good at many kinds of games, and enjoys playing table tennis, bridge, backgammon, and chess. He has a ready sense of humor -- “I love magic tricks, jokes, and puns” -- but also appreciates the Tao. His book, This Isn’t Excel, It’s Magic!, has earned him a reverential following in the computer world. Bob did not prepare in any special way for the Norwalk Tournament. However, he did know his 2-letter words--and most of his 3s. “It was lots of fun,” he said. “The new part was keeping track of played letters. I’d never done that before.” Bob had no trouble adjusting to the clock, and he finished his games in good time. “My wife and I play pretty quickly,” he said. “And I was familiar with the clock from chess matches.” He recommends new players become familiar with “SCRABBLE” words. “In your spare time, browse the official tournament word list [the OWL]; look for odd words. Know all the 2-letter words and 3-letter words.” (Bob confessed he’s not totally memorized the 3-letter word list.) The best moment of the tournament for Bob? “Finding a bingo from ANIYSR? -- SYRINGA -a word I’d remembered from browsing that book a long time ago.” Bob looks forward to competing in more tournaments and to playing the higher-rated players he’ll now be facing. His next tournament will be in Norwalk on August 13th. But lowerdivision players aren’t necessarily safe. Bob will be bringing another newcomer with him: his wife and SCRABBLE partner, Judy. 27 N E W F A C E S Welcome to Bob Umlas and the following other new faces: SAN ANTONIO TX 7/2: Earl Beverly, Claude Koonhow, Greg Randolph ALASKA CRUISE (WGPO) 7/8-15: Vicky Cox BETHESDA MD 7/9: Jenny Backus, Dan Krieger, Evan Krieger OMAHA NE 7/9-10: Clay Koziol, Adrian Mulele, Joan Suddarth, Christian Tinsley BERKELEY CA 7/10: Andrew Laurence INDEPENDENCE OH 7/12: Sarah Holecko, Debra Shattuck MOUNTAIN VIEW CA 7/17: Ron Genauer PHILADELPHIA PA 7/17: Erik Benson, Nicolas Constantinesco, Andy Molholt OLD GREENWICH CT 7/22: Elena Abrahams FORT LAUDERDALE FL 7/23: Jake Toffler PINELLAS PARK FL 7/23: Billy Alexander AKRON OH 7/28: Lynne Albert ELMHURST IL 7/30-31: Anthony Canzoneri PORTLAND OR 7/30: Carol Walker 28 S C R A B - D O K U 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: VAGUS RIOT Clue: Sounds like a disease one could catch at a wild frat party. SOLUTION on the page after next 29 S C R A B - D O K U Word-Finder Challenge: Here’s an additional test of your anagramming ability. Your object is to find as many words as possible that either start with or end with the letter “R”, using only the 9 letters of this month’s (Scrambled) Keyword: VAGUS RIOT. Words can be of any length, from 2 to 9 letters, and must be OWL2 acceptable. Each letter of the Keyword may be used only once within any word you find. So, for instance, RUST is acceptable, but not RUSTS. Par Scores for this month’s Word-Finder Challenge: 40 Words (Novice); 50 Words (Intermediate); 60 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 2009-2010 Phoenix SCRABBLE® Club champion as well as the 2008 and 2009 Scottsdale SCRABBLE® Club champ. His chess, Sudoku, and word puzzles appear weekly in The Jewish Press newspaper and on its website. He has recently begun hosting the Internet program Who’s on the Show?, where one of his first interviews was with directors Larry Rand and Barbara Van Alen: http://whosontheshow.com/shows.html 30 S C R A B - D O K U SOLUTION Word-Finder List Keyword (Unscrambled): TOGAVIRUS (76 Words Total) AIR AR ASTIR GAR GATOR GAUR GIAOUR GOR GUITAR OAR OR OSAR OUR RAG RAGI RAGIS RAGOUT RAGOUTS RAGS RAI RAIS RAS RAT RATIO RATIOS RATO RATOS RATS RIA RIAS RIG RIGS RIOT RIOTS ROAST ROT ROTA ROTAS ROTI ROTIS ROTS ROUST ROUT ROUTS RUG RUGA RUGOSA RUGS RUST RUT RUTS SAUTOIR SAVIOR SAVIOUR SAVOR SAVOUR SIR SITAR SOAR SOUR STAIR STAR STIR STOUR SUGAR SUITOR TAR TOR TOUR TSAR VAIR VAR VIATOR VIGOR VIGOUR VISOR 31 T H E W O R D S M I T H The Wordsmith Hooray for Americanisms By Chris Sinacola By now, I think regular readers of this column know that I have a strong preference for American English and the OWL2 lexicon. Although I appreciate that Alfred Butts’ creation has long since outgrown its American childhood, to me it is quite sufficient (and sufficiently challenging) to strive for SCRABBLE® competence in American English. Indeed, I have no more desire to play “world” SCRABBLE than I have to take up cricket, Australian rules football, or buzkashi*, that Central Asian form of polo that uses headless animal carcasses in place of a ball. Given that, nothing could have made a slightly curmudgeonly word conservative such as myself happier than to discover Mitford M. Mathews’ A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles. Published in 1951 by the University of Chicago, this 1,946-page, one-volume tome is known as the Oxford English Dictionary of American English. I found my copy recently in the used book shop at the Worcester Public Library, and wonder only that I had never encountered it before. Work on the Mathews, as I’ll call it, began in 1944, on the basis of the famous OED and its supplement, as well as the English Dialect Dictionary by Joseph Wright, and the Dictionary of American English (DAE). The DAE is itself a famous work, published between 1938 and 1944, also by the University of Chicago, with the conscious intent of picking up, for American readers, where the OED had left off. The Mathews contains a lot of phrases and hyphenated expressions, as well as words that derive from proper names or remain capitalized. All such entries are rightly excluded from SCRABBLE. But it also contains treasures which will add immeasurably to any SCRABBLE player’s understanding of and appreciation for American English. While much of what is in the Mathews also makes it into the OWL2, I won’t guarantee that reading this or any other word book will make you a better player, although that may be a happy side effect. Such reading will, however, surely open your mind further to the richness of our language – which is, in my view, a more worthy goal. Herewith, in the spirit of the Fourth of July, is an alphabetical and unabashedly American tour of the “Mathews”: A is for ARGONAUT. Yes, acceptable as a marine mollusk, but also “One who went to California to hunt gold soon after its discovery there in 1848.” The reference is, of course, to the legend of Jason and the Argonauts, who sought the Golden Fleece in classical mythology. B is for BABBITT. As a verb, this word means to line a box with an alloy consisting of nine parts tin to one part copper, invented by Isaac Babbitt of Boston, who obtained a patent for the process in 1839. But as a noun, BABBITRY or BABBITTRY, it comes from another direction entirely, meaning “a derogatory term for a vulgar, but smug, self-satisfied business man who readily conforms to the 32 T H E W O R D S M I T H views and standards of his set, so called in allusion to the novel (and its hero) of this name by Sinclair Lewis.” Don’t let the “derogatory” fool you – Lewis’ character is quite sympathetic and the novel well worth reading. C is for COALHOLE, which is exactly what it sounds like, “a hole in a sidewalk, covered by a lid, leading into a coalbin or coal cellar.” Not the first word we think of in connection with meeting energy needs these days, but a very common word in the past. D is for DOGGERY. “Surly behavior,” according to the SCRABBLE dictionary, but also “a saloon of a cheap or disreputable sort,” as in “Dutch doggery,” which meant a “low grog shop,” and was obsolete even in 1951. E is for ESTANQUILLO*, a Spanish word for a cigar shop. It appears in accounts of life in the Southwest in the mid-19th century, as in “Entering an estanquillo, or shop licensed to sell cigars….” Spanish has added many words to SCRABBLE, but not this one. My advice: If you get a chance, try it anyway. F is for FLAMBEAU, a flaming torch. But to be specific to Louisiana, “One of the kettles, especially the fourth, in a series, usually of five, in which sugar-cane juice is treated in sugar making.” It takes S and X. G is for GREASEWOOD, “a name widely applied to any one of various resinous plants and shrubs common to western desert regions.” The Mathews also gives GREASEBUSH*, GREASEROOT* and GREASEWEED*. H is for HOMESTAKE*, which meant a land claim, but with the suggestion of less permanence than a HOMESTEAD. This excerpt from Fred H. Hart’s The Sazerac Lying Club (1878), a book about life in Nevada, covers it: “Many a man made a home-stake…by standing in line till he got up pritty close to the winder, and then sellin’ out his chance … to fellers as had more money than time.” I is for IMPHEE, an African grass. I include it for those who might object to the “foreign” words that the OWL2 already contains. It’s foreign, to be sure, from the Zulu imfe, but can be found as early as 1859 in a journal of the Illinois Agricultural Society: “A meeting was convened… for the purpose of discussing all matters of interest connected with the culture and manufacture of the Chinese Sugar Cane and Imphee.” J is for JOSH, to joke, banter or tease. The origin of this word is obscure, and the Mathews settles for discounting the possibility that it derives from Josh Billings, pen name of the humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw, because the term was in use before 1860, when Shaw/Billings became well known. So serious! K is for KIBITZ, a word we all love, but an activity we discourage during SCRABBLE games. It came into English in the 1920s from the Yiddish modification of the German word kiebitzen, which means “to look on at cards.” It’s true, the Germans have a word for everything! L is for LISTABLE. Yes, something that can be written down in a particular order, but its original meanings are land or estates that were subject to taxation, and men who were considered eligible for military service, as in this 1665 reference in Rhode Island: “Their sones and sarvants that are listable, which are to be listed, and to traine.” 33 T H E W O R D S M I T H M is for MAROON. We used this word exclusively to mean to abandon in the wild, and most usually on a desert island. But it was used beginning in the late 18th century to mean “an extended camping trip or picnic.” Going for a day? That’s a picnic. Going for a week? That’s a maroon. Just don’t get lost,. N is for NOCAKE*, which is “the meal of parched Indian corn, or food made from this,” similar to HOECAKE. I intend to introduce this word into my household to describe the crisis situation in which no decent baked goods are available. O is for OQUASSA, “a small, somewhat slender lake trout, Salvelinus oquassa, found in Maine.” Indeed, in Oquassa Lake, Maine. A beautiful native American word that just happens to contain three power tiles and is seven letters long! P is for PAPOOSE, an Algonquian word for an Indian baby, but also for blue cohosh, or papoose root, so-called because, according to Mrs. M. Grieve’s famous Herbal, published in 1931, “In use it is preferable to Ergot, expediting delivery, where delay results from debility, fatigue or want of uterine nervous energy.” Yeah, but check with your doctor or midwife first! Q is for QUAWK*, which an 1844 natural history publication from New York State describes as “The Black-crowned Night Heron, or Quawk… derives its popular name from the deep guttural cry.” Heck, they let QUARK in, which particle physicists appropriated from James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake. What’s wrong with QUAWK*? R is for ROADSTER, an open automobile, but before the automotive era it meant “a highwayman, a tramp, a wanderer.” S is for SCRIMSHAW, another word of obscure origin, but a thoroughly American one, referring to “objects in ivory or bone carved by whalemen during their long voyages.” SCRIMSHANDER is also good, but not, SKRIMSHANDER*. T is for TIERRAS*, “the screenings and fine stuff from a quicksilver mine,” from the Spanish for “earth.” We know the rack AEIRRST produces ARTSIER, TARRIES and TARSIER, of course, and no TIERRAS*, but in a game that admits SIERRA and so many other words of Spanish origin, I’d vote it in if I could. U is for UNLOTTED*, which meant, in Colonial New England, land that was “owned by a colonial town and not allotted to individual settlers.” There’s isn’t much of that anymore, of course, and the word has long since fallen out of favor. V is for VOLCANO, which in addition to places like Mount St. Helens also meant a type of alcohol lamp, as well as a type of firework, or FIZGIG, which the dictionary will tell you also means a fishing implement. Around and around goes English! W is for WAGTAIL, “any one of various American birds, esp. the oven bird and water thrushes of the genus Seiurus that bob their tails as they walk.” OVENBIRD is one word, as well, and WAGTAIL is synonymous with WIGGLETAIL*, which Mathews lists, but which the OWL2 does not. X is for very little in Mathews, but it does list XERGA,* another Spanish word, meaning a saddlecloth, that was used in the Southwest. What a weapon that would be at SCRABBLE! 34 T H E W O R D S M I T H Y is for YEGG, a real “SCRABBLE” word, and another one of obscure origin. “One theory,” Mathews reads, “attributes it to an alleged John Yegg, a safeblower.” Whatever the origin, it means “a tramp, thief, safebreaker, or criminal. In full, yeggman.” Indeed, YEGGMAN and YEGGMEN are acceptable. Z is for ZIPPER, which was originally a trademark, then carried quotation marks for a while, and finally suffered a common fate – that of the BANDAID, XEROX and FEDEX. Chris Sinacola is director of NASPA SCRABBLE Club #600 in Worcester, Massachusetts. 35 D I A N E ’ S D E F A L T S Diane’s DEFALTS By Diane Firstman Diane Firstman published her first book of DEFALTS, Generous to a DEFALT: Vol. 1-3, in 2006. Since then, she has published a second volume of her humorous alternative definitions to common (and notso-common) words--DEFALTS Vol. 4--and selected DEFALTS have appeared in SCRABBLE® News and on the online SCRABBLE® discussion groups crossword-games-pro (cgp) and OSPD. The Last Word is pleased to offer the following selection of DEFALTS. BALKLINE: telephone call-in show for pitchers with bad pickoff moves BALLUTES: 1) a vehicle used to bring baseballs onto the field for pre-game practice; 2) catchy name for the Utah ballet company BALMORAL: ChapStick and similar lip balm products BANDANNA: musicians for group fronted by former tennis player Anna Kournikova BANGTAIL: in the primate world, slang for "knocking boots" BAREBOAT: "The Love Boat" for nudists BARFLIES: falsehoods told regarding how vomit ended up somewhere BARKLESS: a state of canine laryngitis BASEBORN: being brought into this world on a military base BATHETIC: 1) pathetic bathing or showering results; 2) substandard bathtub plumbing Diane Firstman is a lifelong New Yorker and has been playing SCRABBLE® competitively since 1994. When not thinking up DEFALTS, she attends crossword puzzle tourneys and writes on the New York Yankees for www.bronxbanterblog.com. She is adept at math, can reach items on top shelves in supermarkets, and does a dead-on impression of a sea lion. The collected “DEFALTS” are available at http://stores.lulu.com/dianagram. 36 W H A T ’ S Y O U R P L A Y ? What’s Your Play? David Lewis, Jerry Lerman, and Richard Silberg had interesting plays this past month. If you have a play you’d like to share with our readers, please send it to [email protected]. _______________________________________________________________________________ From David Lewis: I had a bunch of tight games and interesting positions at Annette Tedesco’s Albany tournament over the July 4 weekend, including this one, on the last day, against another player who was also in the hunt for the D2 victory. My opponent has had the last blank and has just played RUG to empty the bag, creating a second lane and hoping to draw one of the Os that are part of the drek on my rack. As it is, he has oNEIRIC/ Go for 72. He also threatens a big bingo down the O column, also forming ADZE. I didn’t see how to block either bingo while scoring enough points or clearing my rack so that I would still be ahead after he got the doubled points for the remaining tiles.   I later ran this game through Quackle. It pointed out a bunch of errors – I spaced on using the hooks to GIT on five successive turns – but also turned up what appears to be the only winning play in the situation above. Go to the next page to see the surprising play that wins the game. 37 W H A T ’ S Y O U R P L A Y ? ANSWER: Quackle likes BEVOR, which positions two tiles for my opponent to play 8s through, including a possible 3x3! If only I were as sure of my word knowledge! It turns out that the rack ?CEIINR through the R makes no 8s, and none of the 8s through the O play. In this scenario, the opponent plays oNEIRIC, gets another 14 points off my rack, and loses by 2. (What actually happened in the game was much less interesting – we traded big errors. I didn’t see any 7s in his rack but calculated that I could score enough to withstand an 87-point bingo from ADZE, so I played RIF/BI/OF O1 for 27. I was very surprised when he laid down a bingo and announced it as 97 points! Fortunately, it was a phony – EIReNIC turns out to be the only 7 that plays. I was able to play GO/OVA and block the bingo I knew about.) _______________________________________________________________________________ From Jerry Lerman: At the No Calif/So Calif tournament 7/22-24, I was playing David Pearl in the next-to-last round, and to my surprise I was leading the tournament. David started out the game with a double-blank bingo (not all that many points) – EnAtION going across starting at 8F. The following play he made VENATION and VOTED, going down from E8, taking a good lead. At that moment, I thought of a valuable 4 letter front-extension, but didn’t have any of the letters to make it. I wrote them down on the back of my scoresheet to remind myself that I might want to retain those letters, should I ever see them. ANSWER on the following page. 38 W H A T ’ S Y O U R P L A Y ? I managed to do that – over the course of several turns – and put down REJU(VENATION) for 63 points. ( I did manage to win the game.)    _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ From Richard Silberg Your opponent begins the game with QUICKEN H4 for 114. Your rack is EEIRSTU. Can you find all 10 playable bingos? The best play may surprise you. ANSWERS on the following page. 39 W H A T ’ S Y O U R P ANSWER 8H (K)EIRETSU 89 4H (Q)UIETERS 86 4F RE(Q)UITES 84 7F EU(C)RITES 63 10B ESURIE(N)T 62 7H (C)UTESIER 62 10D RETI(N)UES 62 10E REU(N)ITES 62 7H (C)ERUSITE 62 SURETIES and EMERITUS are the only other 8s with EEIRSTU. 40 L A Y M A C K M E L L E R Mack Meller: Youngest SCRABBLE® Expert By Cornelia Guest A little over a year ago I got a call from a mother whose ten-year-old homeschooled son was interested in joining one of my SCRABBLE classes. In my response I suggested he try the Internet SCRABBLE Club (ISC) for practice. She said he was already playing on ISC, with a rating in the 900s. I watched a few of his games and felt he was exchanging too often, sometimes throwing away a bingo he didn’t know. But he seemed to have a good sense of the board. The first night Mack Meller came to my class at the Ridgefield Library I played him to get a sense of his skills. I had an S, so set up a play where I might hook it. Mack played a double-double bingo straight away. He added up the points almost instantly. I won the game--but not by much. That was one of the last games I’d ever play where I’d beat Mack. Over the summer he studied some flash cards I’d loaned him, and he started our fall sessions with complete knowledge of the 5-vowel 7s and 8s. And he wasn’t afraid to phony, either. Mack’s first tournament was in Ardsley, NY, on November 21st. He had an inauspicious first game, losing by several points. But he won his remaining 7 games to finish 7-1 +1504 and take the division. He was our featured “New Face” in the December issue of The Last Word. But Mack was still relatively unknown in SCRABBLE circles until Annette Tedesco’s Albany New Year’s Tournament, played just days before he turned 11. He astonished all his opponents in the Main Event by finishing 19.5-2.5 +2217, Gibsonized going into the final game. His rating shot up to 1454. The world was on alert: A young star was born. It was not just Mack’s performance that drew attention--it was his poise and politeness. In a trend that continues today, one of his Albany opponents commented: “I just have to give public props to Mack Meller, who is the most adorable, quiet, shy, sweet player [and who I'm pretty sure I bored to tears during those last two games in which he totally slaughtered me]. I loved watching Mack this weekend, and his super proud parents. He rocks.” Mack quickly became friends with other youth players, and earned the respect of the adults--even those who traditionally grimace when facing a young opponent. Mack continued studying and playing top players at New York and Connecticut clubs. In March, seeded last, he won Division 2 at the inaugural Norwalk Tournament (6-2 +408), 41 M A C K M E L L E R bringing his rating up to 1582. At the May 7th Norwalk Tournament he was playing in Division 1; his 4-4 -152 finish brought him to 1585. At the June 25th Norwalk Tournament, Mack's 7th tournament in 7 months, Mack was sensational again, finishing 2nd to 1847-rated Will Anderson. Mack’s rating climbed 53 points to 1638--and the National SCRABBLE Association (NSA) announced 11-year-old Mack as the youngest SCRABBLE “expert” in official history! In researching the record, I found that Canadian champion Adam Logan also reached 1600 at a young age. However, data from that time period (mid- to late �80s) proved difficult to find. Adam himself did not recall when he reached 1600, though cross-tables.com documents him reaching 1700 at 5/23/87, at age 12, and entering that tournament rated at 1692. Further complicating the issue is that the rating system was different in the 1980s (“expert” was considered 1700 and rating points were determined differently), so it’s not a direct comparison. Putting the need to research further to rest, on July 24th Mack set another record. Playing up into Division 1 at the Old Greenwich Tournament, Mack finished third to Kate FukawaConnelly and Joe Edley, with a 10-6 +454 record, taking home a new rating of 1711. This record was easy to document--nobody younger than 12 has ever reached 1700 before--and it seems likely Mack is on his way to break more records! Over the course of the past year, Mack has studied word lists on Zyzzyva, played on Quackle, and memorized an astonishing number of words. On June 16th he won all his games at the prestigious New York City NASPA SCRABBLE Club #56, winning the Expert Division. That evening he averaged 451.5 points a game, and was the “Most Prolific Bingo Producer” with 11 bingos: SEJEANT, EUGENIA, POINTIER, RETILES, DICTATED, LAUDERS, SOFTEST, PURLOIN, TRACINGS, IONISED, and CEILERS. Former World and National Champion Joel Sherman, who has watched Mack play at Club 56, played him in tournaments, and offered him suggestions, had the following to say: “Probably Mack's greatest strength is that he makes errors, and you can be sure he remembers every improvement he's made aware of, but his temperament is coolly clinical, he takes them all in his stride and doesn't beat himself up over them; he has the patience to accept he's not going to do everything perfectly right away. If he can continue to tolerate occasional disappointment when he gets into the 1900s and above (and becomes the favorite to win every tourney he enters) as well as he does now, he can be a great champion.” Three-time National Champion Joe Edley, who has given Mack several lessons, was similarly impressed: 42 M A C K M E L L E R “Regarding Mack's playing skills: Besides quickly seeing all of the bingos he knows, an exponentially growing list, he's picked up a profound understanding of strategy, including how to play weak racks. He seems to understand that luck is a factor and doesn't get overly concerned when drawing poorly--that's a skill often underdeveloped in younger players. As far as sociability, Mack is very outgoing and personable, and is likely to develop many friendships throughout our community. He can be a great ambassador for the game.” I interviewed Mack after his record-setting Norwalk Tournament: What do you enjoy most about SCRABBLE? "I enjoy everything about it." What study methods do you use? "I use Zyzzyva to study words and Quackle to improve my play." What was your favorite game at the Norwalk Tournament? "My favorite game by far was the tie with Ben [Schoenbrun]. It was the most limited board I ever had. In the end we both had high-scoring tiles on our racks. Since we couldn't play them we passed the game out." What is your highest scoring play? "My highest-scoring play at a tournament was UNRAVELS, a triple triple for 185 points. I played it in Albany over New Year's." What is your favorite word? "That's a tough one to decide. Some top ones are TEOCALLI, an Aztec temple; CONFERVA, algae; BABASSU, a palm tree; and BOMBYX, a silkworm." What has been your highest game? "I had a 602 at a club against you!" Now that you've become an expert, what is your next goal? "I want to become a 1700!" Within weeks of the interview, Mack Meller had reached that goal at Old Greenwich. Yet when I congratulated him on reaching 1700, he commented modestly that he was “probably overrated.” I disagree--and look forward to seeing him continue playing extraordinary SCRABBLE. 43 G O F I S H ? GO FISH? By Mack Meller It’s your turn. What are your chances of catching a fish (winning) if you Go Fishing? Your Rack: Unseen: Score: You 414 - Your Opponent 477 ------------------------------------------------------------------ANSWERS: There is no play that scores enough to win if you don’t fish. What happens if you do? 44 G O F I S H ? Fishing option 1: Play off the U by playing UM at 8D for 5 points. Quackle says that this wins about 88.5% of the time, but does it? Draw one of the 4 “I”s – You simply have no bingos, your opponent will just play IFS at 5M and you are lost. Draw the “G”- Your opponent plays SI at C8, after which you have no bingo as he blocked your GARCONS. Draw the “L”- Again, you are bingoless and your opponent plays GITE at 14E. Draw the “S”- Your opponent plays LI at 13D, blocking your NARCOSES at 14B, and winning the game. Draw the “T”- Your opponent plays SIGIL at C4, blocking CARTONS, CRATONS, CANTORS, and CONTRAS, leaving you with nothing. Fishing option 2: Play off the N by playing NE at 9D for 2 points. Quackle says that this also wins about 88.5% of the time, but does it really? Draw one of the 4 “I”s – Your opponent has only one move to win here, TINE at 9B for just 5 points! This move blocks your CURIOSA and CARIOUS, winning the game. Draw the “G”- Your opponent can’t block both COUGARS at C5 and COURAGES at B14. But, if he blocks the much higher scoring bingo, COURAGES, by playing SLIT at 13C, he will win 491-488 after your COUGARS. Draw the “L”- Your opponent can’t block your bingos of CAROLUS, OCULARS, and OSCULAR. However, he can stop you from both reaching the double word score at 13C and playing CAROUSEL at 14B by playing GIT at 13D for 10 points. But, after you play CAROLUS at C6, OCULARS at C5 or OSCULAR at C4, you will win 489-487. Draw the “S”- Your opponent simply can’t block CURASSOW at 1A, and even if he could, you would have wins with CAROUSES at 14B or SARCOUS and SOUCARS at C8. Draw the “T”- Your opponent’s GLIM at 8B will block your CUARTOS, SURCOAT, and TURACOS, winning the game. CONCLUSION: The best move is playing NE at 9D, winning 25% of the time, if you draw either the S or the L. So bait your hook and GO FISH! 45 K N O W T H E R U L E S 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: I have a question in reference to Positioning Tiles. When you refer to “flipped” tiles, are you referring to tiles placed in the wrong orientation or to tiles that are actually flipped over so that the face/letter cannot be seen? I would appreciate your help in clarifying this point. Answer: A "flipped" tile is one that is actually flipped upside side so that the face/letter cannot be seen. 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.  46 U . S . T E A M S E L E C T E D U.S. World Championship Team Selected The team that will represent the United States at the 2011 World SCRABBLE® Championship was finalized on July 17th in Akron, Ohio, where a Qualification Tournament determined the last three players and the first alternate. Heading to Warsaw, Poland, for the 11th WSC October 12-15 will be the following fifteen players: Dave Wiegand Nathan Benedict Brian Cappelletto Joel Sherman Geoff Thevenot John O’Laughlin Brian Bowman David Koenig Laurie Cohen Chris Cree Sam Rosin Marty Gabriel Mark Kenas Chris Lipe Jim Kramer Bradley Whitmarsh is the first alternate. The team includes two former World and National Champions (Brian Cappelletto and Joel Sherman), dual National Champion Dave Wiegand, plus top returning U.S. players Nathan Benedict, Brian Bowman, Chris Cree, Mark Kenas, Jim Kramer, John O’Laughlin, Sam Rosin. and Geoff Thevenot. Competing in their first World Championship are Laurie Cohen, a college administrator from Tempe, AZ, and the top-ranked North American female SCRABBLE player; David Koenig, a computer programmer from Silver Spring, MD; and Chris Lipe, a computer programmer from Rome, NY. For coverage of the Akron Qualifying Tournament, won by Mark Kenas, go to http:// www.neoscrabble.com/base.cfm?page_id=1644&post_id=1279&action=view#comments. 47 L I N D A ’ S L I B R A R Y 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. ______________________________________________________________________________ Non-fiction: The Hiding Place By Corrie Ten Boom This is an absolutely extraordinary book. Never have I read a book in which the spiritual beauty of the author so resonated throughout the story. The purity of heart that manifests itself in this inspiring saga of a heroic Dutch family in Nazi-occupied Holland during World War II is stunningly beautiful. This is the true story of the Ten Boom family who, during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands, upon seeing what was happening to their Jewish neighbors and friends, asked themselves the age- old question "If not us,...who; if not now,...when?" They answered it, ultimately at great cost. The Ten Booms were devoutly Christian and lived a simple life. The patriarch of the family ran a watch shop that had been in his family for a century. Some of the family members, the author among them, worked there, selling and repairing clocks and watches. They also lived in the house in which the shop was located. When the Nazis occupied their country, the Ten Booms saw the treatment given to their fellow Dutch citizens of the Jewish faith and slowly realized what what it meant. Moved by the plight of these Jews, the author at the age of fifty, together with other members of her family, including their father who was nearly eighty, became active in the Dutch underground. When it became clear to the Ten Booms that Jews were being targeted for deportation and death, they had a false wall constructed in the author's bedroom, thereby creating a secret room. There they would hide terrified Jews who were staying with them in the event of a Nazi raid upon their own homes. Eventually denounced to the Nazis, the Ten Booms were arrested and their home raided and torn apart by the Gestapo in their search for the Jews they believed to be hiding there. At the time of the raid, the Ten Boom home was filled to capacity with Jews in hiding. So well concealed was the hidden room that these poor, terrified Jews managed to escape detection. 48 L I N D A ’ S L I B R A R Y The Ten Boom family did not fare so well. It was upon their arrest that they learned firsthand of man's inhumanity to man, and their faith was put to a test that they had never dreamt possible. It was faith, however, that sustained the author in what was to be her darkest hour of deepest despair. To find out what happened to the Ten Booms, read this book. It is the story of an incredible family who had the courage to put their convictions to the test. This book is a masterpiece. The reader is sure to be captivated by the goodness and spiritual beauty contained within its pages. The Hiding Place is available at Amazon.com. Fiction: Fall of Giants By Ken Follett This is a huge, sweeping story, encompassing many characters, events, and countries. At nearly a thousand pages, this book is not for the faint of heart. What it is, however, is a wonderful, entertaining work of historical fiction written by a master storyteller. With well-developed characters and a riveting plot, the author takes the reader down memory lane. The world of the early twentieth century is presented with all its class distinctions, and the events that lead up to World War I and beyond are beautifully integrated into this sweeping saga that focuses on the British, the Americans, the Germans, and the Russians. The tragedy of World War I and its aftermath, the Russian revolution, the suffragette movement, the erosion of class distinctions, and the emergence of a middle class are some of the seminal historical benchmarks that are touched upon in this epic novel. The evolvement of these events is seen through the lives of the main characters, and the reader is able to see how these events impact upon each of them. I really enjoyed this well-written book and could not put it down for the two days that it took me to read it. It was certainly time well spent, and I most definitely look forward to reading the other two books that will be forthcoming in this trilogy. Fall of Giants 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. 49 C L U B N E W S Club News Larry Sherman, Editor If you'd like your club to be considered for an article or if a newsworthy event has taken place at your club in the last month, please submit material to [email protected]. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Words Ending with B By John Robertson On July 15 there was an interesting and unprecedented occurrence at NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #471 in Cambridge, Ontario. Each club night four $2 cash prizes are awarded for specialty categories of words played. (We call them minor prizes.) On July 15 one of the categories was "high-scoring word ending in the letter B." At the end of the night four different people had each played a 24-point word ending with a B. Our club has been meeting since February 1996. This marked the first four-way split of a prize in the club's history. (There had been darn few three-way splits, much less a four-way split.) The end result: The prize was divided four ways. Each player got a whopping 50 cents. Cambridge (ON) NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #108 (the Golden Triangle SCRABBLE® Club) meets on Friday nights at 7:15 p.m. at Riverbend Place, Lower Level Rec Hall, 650 Coronation Blvd., Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Contact: John Robertson, 519-621-6432, [email protected]. _______________________________________________________________________________ Roy Kamen New Club #350 Champion Roy Kamen ( http://www.cross-tables.com/results.php? p=1587 ) is the new champion of NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #350 (Costa Mesa/El Toro/Aliso Viejo) for the 2011-2012 year. He beat out a field of fierce competitors over 8 games at Borders in Costa Mesa, California to earn the title, the trophy, and a full year of 'FREE' scrabble at the club. See all the stats and photos at: http://web.mac.com/jftsoi/ 2011_Cl_%26_Trn/CLUB_350_Tourney_Finish.html Costa Mesa/El Toro/Aliso Viejo (CA) NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #350 meets on Thursday nights at 6:00 p.m. at Denny’s, 105 East 17th St., Costa Mesa, CA; Wednesday nights at 6:15 p.m. at Arby’s, 23862 Bridger Rd., El Toro, CA; and Sunday afternoons (except the 1st Sunday) from 12:30-4:00 p.m. in April-October at Neigborhood Cup, I Journey, Aliso Viejo, CA. Contact: Gary Moss, 949-510-1673, [email protected]. 50 C L U B N E W S Cell Phone Circus at Club #276 By Sandee Bloom After four consecutive months of no cell phones ringing, the silence at club was finally broken when we heard the melodic ring of RANDY GREENSPAN's phone! Randy was everyone's best friend that night because this meant that the cell phone fund had finally reached the required $5.00 plateau which was necessary for the prize to be awarded the following week. In addition to the two times that Randy's phone went off during the past months, the other contributors to this $5.00 plateau were KAREN MATLES, LYA KORDA and MARY CAPALBI. It's interesting to note this time it took eight months to reach the $5.00 plateau! On July 27 we all tried to score the highest word beginning with the natural letter "C" for "cell phone" or "caught you!" CHERYL LEVIN scored 72 points for "CLEANERS" and MICHAEL VACIANA tied with 72 points for his word "COUNTERS." Instead of having a "bakeoff" for the $5.00 it was decided to split the money and both Cheryl and Michael were happy with the $2.50 they each received. Lauderhill FL Scrabble® Club #276 meets Wednesday nights from 5:45-9:00 p.m. at Veterans Park, 7600 NW 50th Street, Lauderhill, FL 33351. Fee is $3 per week; score sheets and “cheat sheets” are supplied, but please bring sets and clocks. Contact Sandee Bloom, 954-726-6449, [email protected]; or Larry Gradus, [email protected] _______________________________________________________________________________ New Calgary Club Player Excels At the Calgary tournament on June 4-5, Roland Simon, who had recently moved to Calgary from Brantford, ON, won Division 2 with a record of 13-1. He was seeded 10th out of 19 players going into this event. Calgary (AB) NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #374 meets on Thursday nights at 7:00 p.m. at West Hillhurst Community Center, 1940 6 Ave. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Contact: 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]; or visit the club website: http://www.calgary374.org/ HomePage.php. 51 A M B I G R A M M I C L E T T E R T I L E S Ambigrammic Letter Tiles (v2.0) By Eric Harshbarger I decided to add a new twist to my favorite crossword board game. These Ambigrammic Letter Tiles are designed such that many of the square pieces, when rotated 90 degrees, display an alternate letter. Some of the tiles can be used for up to three different letters! The hope is that these tiles will inject a new skill requisite into a typical game. Beyond word knowledge, board tactics, and letter leaves, now spatial manipulation becomes important. Being able to mentally rotate tiles will help a player notice more possible words than before. The tiles pictured above are engraved and laser-cut from 1/4" poplar wood. They are 3/4" squares (not slightly oblong...since you may be rotating them and playing and playing them in 90-degree increments). You can see all of the different possible letter orientations. You'll note that some letters get both upper- and lower-case representations. The illustration below shows the full set of 100 tiles I made. SCRABBLE players will note that not only is the letter distribution among the tiles different from the standard version of that game, but the point values associated with each letter are also altered. I changed some of the values for a few reasons: 1.Since most of the "power" letters can be used as other letters, and because there are often more of them (many more possible Js and Qs), I lowered their values. 2.I think the values of Q and Z are a bit better since QI and ZA are acceptable (and powerful) plays under the Tournament Wordlist. X was also devalued a bit simply because of its strong ability to form two-letter words. 3.I have always felt some of the other tiles were a bit overvalued (C, H, and P in particular). 4. 52 [v2.0] Because of the added versatility of the tiles, I have removed the usual "blank" tiles. Omission of blanks also removes any issues of "brailling" blank tiles. And, of course, there are those players who think the blanks add too much luck to the game anyway. A M B I G R A M M I C L E T T E R T I L E S Of course, since tiles can possibly rotated and used as different letters, some of them have more than one score/value on them. The point value in the lower right corner indicates the value of the tile in a particular orientation. Here is a set of pictures that shows the versatility these Ambigrammic Letter Tiles can add to a play. This rack of seven tiles shows the six letter word SHADOW. Not bad, but with the right rearrangement and reorientation of tiles, a player might find the word POACHES. With a little more investigation, the same tiles can also be used to form the word DYNAMOS. I’ll let someone else now calculate the new possibilities for the AEINRST rack... [grin]. 53 O N E U P ! C U P One Up! Cup for August By Timothy Cataldo Since we're well aware that the brainiacs in the crowd love a real challenge, and to ultimately conquer the rest of the world with their big dictionaries and high IQs, we've come up with what we're calling the One Up! Cup. Every month we'll post a “game situation” and ask the word heads to send in their best answer for the next play. We've decided that since there will be no “perfect” or “right” solution, necessarily, we will randomly pick a winner from what we think are the most deserving. Being fastest and first is all well and good, but we want you to be a bit creative, and to show some originality and cheek, too. Send your best guess (one entry per person, please) to One Up! Cup. 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, which will be a $250 gift certificate to Uppityshirts.com. (For rules on playing One Up! click here.) July was a tough one, since we had several clever entries, but we finally decided to award the One Up! Cup to Linda Stephens: "Starting with JETSAM, I turn it into SCRAMJET, as in the sentence: 'The JETSAM floating on the ocean was observed from above by the pilot of the SCRAMJET.'" June’s winner was our old friend Jeff Scrabbleman, who sent in this: "Inspired by my first car, a PONTIAC, I convert the word POINT into CAPTION (or its anagram PACTION)." Co-winner for May (with Shaina Lesniewicz) was Devorah Pashev: “From the word TREAD I'll make BAREFOOTED. The uppity tile can be used as one of the O's. “It reminds me of a line in a poem I had read in high school: �Barefooted, I lightly tread...’” Great stuff - keep 'em coming! 54 S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W S 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]). _______________________________________________________________________________ Oh, Canada! Coverage of the Canadian National SCRABBLE Championship, held in Toronto (ON) in early June, included: JULY MILESTONES • Canada NewsWire (06/08/2011) - This press release profiled many of the "colorful" players scheduled to compete in the championship. http:// www.digitaljournal.com/pr/331472 MATT CANIK reached 1700 for the first time at the Austin (TX) Tournament. • CHCH (06/10/2011) - CHCH TV interviewed former Canadian champion Ron Hoekstra and NASPA co-president John Chew as the tournament got underway. KATE FUKAWA-CONNELLY reached 1900 for the first time at the Old Greenwich (CT) Tournament. BRIAN GALEBACH reached 1700 for the first time at the Albany (NY) Tournament. KEVIN LEEDS reached 1700 for the first time at the Austin (TX) Tournament. MACK MELLER reached 1700 for the first time at the Old Greenwich (CT) Tournament. WALLACE SCHULTZ reached 1700 for the first time at the June Hancock (MA) Tournament. DANIEL MILTON reached 1600 for the first time at the Albany (NY) Tournament. JOE SOUTH reached 1600 for the first time at the AKRON (OH) Tournament ADAM GINZBERG reached 1500 for the first time at the Old Greenwich (CT) Tournament. http://chch.com/index.php/home/item/3901spellings-a-game-for-these-competitors PRASHANTH SEETHARAM reached 1500 (Collins) for the first time at the Akron (OH) Tournament. MURRAY WEBER reached 1500 for the first time at the Victoria (BC) Tournament. • Canada NewsWire (06/13/2011) - This press release includes a brief interview with champion Joel Wapnick and lists some of the high-scoring plays in the finals - DEISTIC (81), FEIJOAS (84), and ZARF (48).http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/335569 • Ottawa Citizen (06/16/2011) - Three-time Canadian champion Adam Logan, who placed second in this year's championship, shares his love of the blank and notes that luck is enhanced by skill. "As in a lot of things, the better you are at something, the more likely you are to be lucky. And Joel is very good at Scrabble. If I’d been playing someone else, maybe that person wouldn’t have thought of the words that Joel thought of." http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Three+time+Scrabble+champ+unfazed +defeat+finals/4953451/story.html 55 S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W S Holy MACKerel The National SCRABBLE Association (NSA) issued a press release on July 7, 2011, to announce that at 11 years old, Mack Meller is the youngest person to achieve an expert rating above 1600. The NSA reports that the press release (http://www2.scrabble-assoc.com/ main.asp?id=1) has been picked up by, among others: • Yahoo! - http://finance.yahoo.com/news/11YearOld-WestchesterBoy-prnews-4040418477.html?x=0&.v=1 • Yahoo! Canada • CNBC.com • Reuters • Providence Journal • Las Vegas Review-Journal • The Austin American Statesman • The Sacramento Bee • Worcester Telegram & Gazette • Syracuse.com • WTVF-TV CBS-5 Phoenix, AZ • WFSB-TV CBS-3 Hartford, CT • WISTV NBC-10 Columbia, SC • WKRN ABC-2 Nashville, TN Tilting at Windmills The Ask.Com Question of the Day on June 13, 2011, highlighted the highest scoring SCRABBLE words played in TWL and Collins games - QUIXOTRY and CAZIQUES (good in both dictionaries). ! The QUIXOTRY game took place on October 12, 2006, at the Lexington (MA) NASPA SCRABBLE®Club #108 between Michael Cresta and Wayne Yorra. The final score was 830 to 490. You can review the game details at http://wolfberg.net/scrabble/lexington/score830/. 56 S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W S Ovarian Odyssey Charlotte (NC) SCRABBLE player Katya Lezin shares what she has termed her ovarian odyssey with readers of her column in the South Charlotte News. Our best wishes go out to Katya as she continues her odyssey amid a full slate of SCRABBLE tournaments, including the Albany (NY) July 4th tournament and the Nationals in Dallas (TX). South Charlotte News (07/20/2011) http://www.charlotteobserver.com/ 2011/07/20/2457055/finding-the-positives-in-a-bad.html Standing on the Corner In the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens (NY), a street sign - 35T1H4 A1V4E1N1U1E1 - was erected in 1995 to commemorate the location where Alfred Butts developed SCRABBLE in 1938. The sign mysteriously disappeared in 1998; one neighborhood wag blogged that it had been moved to a corner with a triple word square. Through the efforts of Councilman Daniel Dromm, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg signed legislation on July 11, 2011, to have the sign reinstalled. The councilman is a SCRABBLE® enthusiast and in his former career as a teacher, taught the game to his 4th grade students New York Times (07/16/2011) http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=817115&f=22&p=0 SCRABBLE Celebrities Celebrities share our love of the game. • On the June 27, 2011, episode of Good Morning America, lifestyle anchor Lara Spencer revealed that Jennifer Anniston likes to play poker and SCRABBLE on weekends. Words with Friends indeed! http://abcnews.go.com/watch/good-morning-america/ SH5587637/VD55132748/gma-627-bristol-palin-tell-all (approximately at the 48-minute mark) 57 S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W S • In an interview with the Financial Times, novelist Alan Hollinghurst admits that his sportsmanship was tested when his 92-year old mother thrashed him recently in five games of SCRABBLE. Financial Times (06/24/2011) http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/a9229750-9cbe-11e0bf57-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1TANzqfFe • Back to the Future star Christopher Lloyd played a Chicago version of SCRABBLE on the patio of the Lux Bar on July 2, 2011. Chicago Tribune (07/06/2011) http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ celebrity/aboutlastnight/chi-sighting-john-cusack-ataccanto-20110706,0,1014265.story • Upon learning of the death of basketball player Armen Gilliam, Washington Post sports columnist Mike Wise recalls that during the spring of 1995, the reporters covering the New Jersey Nets were prone to trash talk over SCRABBLE in the locker room. Armen overheard the reporters and threw down the gauntlet: "I want in. Your hyperbole and language skills mean nothing to me." Armen, known as the Hammer, brought his own board to Wise's apartment one evening and hammered the reporters over the course of three hours. Among his plays were AMBIDEXTROUS. Washington Post (07/08/2011) http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/on-ateam-of-characters-armen-gilliam-actually-had-some/2011/07/08/ gIQAnIwQ4H_story.html • Dawn Tripp's latest mystery novel, Game of Secrets, unfolds over weekly SCRABBLE games played by two women at the Westport (CT) Council on Aging. “A lot of the way I work is like a game of SCRABBLE. I start with little scattered pieces that I build into a larger whole. I thought about a few different games, but at the end of the day, it had to be a SCRABBLE game. In the book, how two women play SCRABBLE is a metaphor for how they live their lives,” said Tripp. The Herald News (06/25/2011) http://www.heraldnews.com/lifestyle/x177089019/MYSTERYWOMAN-Dawn-Tripps-latest-novel-interwoven-with-local-lore 58 S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W S • New York Yankee reliever David Robertson is so competitive that his wife, Erin, cannot play SCRABBLE with him because she usually wins! The Wall Street Journal (07/08/2011) http://online.wsj.com/article/ SB10001424052702303365804576432380295436692.html? mod=googlenews_wsj • Singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler admits to an obsession with SCRABBLE, or rather Lexulous for the extra letter that it provides. She finds it a healthy alternative to drinking in bars. She hopes to challenge fellow musician Moby who admitted his addiction to Facebook SCRABBLE in an NPR interview. Pitchfork (07/13/2011) http://pitchfork.com/features/guest-lists/8002-marissa-nadler/ SCRABBLE Bling# Seven teenagers from Sir John Nelthorpe School in Scunthorpe (UK) won three trophies in the Yorkshire and Humber Young Enterprise Awards for their custom SCRABBLE jewelry business. The team won awards for Best North Lincolnshire Company, Best Financial Administration, and Best Quality Service and made a total profit of £550 from sales at craft fairs and other events. Scunthorpe Telegraph (06/02/2011) http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/Enterprising-teens-scoopawards-Scrabble-inspired/story-12656609-detail/story.html School Days Even after the National School SCRABBLE Championship, students continue to compete over the board around the country. • Merrick (NY) - At the end of May, about sixty 5th and 6th graders competed in the annual SCRABBLE tournament hosted by the Merrick Kiwanis. The tournament, held at the Merrick Library, awarded prizes to the top three teams in each grade as well as prizes for High Game, High Word, and Best Sportsmanship. Long Island Herald (06/02/2011) http://www.liherald.com/stories/Merrick-Kiwanis-Clubs-Scrabble-tourney-a-hit,33237? content_source=&category_id=5&search_filter=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&list_type=&or der_by=&order_sort=&content_class=&sub_type=&town_id= 59 S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W S • California (PA) - California University of Pennsylvania hosted the sixth annual SCRABBLE® tournament for students in Grades 4 through 12 from Brownsville middle and high schools as well as the Avella, West Greene, and Central Greene school districts. Davis and Davis, a local law firm, sponsored the tournament and supplied trophies for the 18 first- and second-place finishers. Herald Standard (05/31/2011) http://www.heraldstandard.com/news/local_news/local-studentscompete-in-scrabble-tournament/article_8263262f-2f8c-58c5-ad80-53dfd5c69171.html • Burlington (MA) The Burlington Public Library's SCRABBLE Club meets every other Tuesday during the summer months. The club gives kids an opportunity to improve vocabulary and math skills as well to meet others their own age. Bradley Robbins was slated to appear at the July 19th meeting to talk about his book (The Official Kids' Guide to Scrabble), share tips, and play a few games. Burlington Patch (07/07/2011) http://burlington.patch.com/ articles/scrabble-club-at-the-bpl#photo-6892157 Pub SCRABBLE An eleven-minute film, Rule Number Three, stars About A Boy and X-Men:First Class actor Nicholas Hoult and 28 Weeks Later actress Imogen Poots as a couple playing a pub game of SCRABBLE that takes a sinister turn. The film, directed by Tom Ludlow, is a finalist in the Film London’s Best of Boroughs Awards, in which 11 films battle for the public vote, each representing a different London borough. Enfield Independent (07/18/2011) http://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/localnews/ 9145312.Filmmaker_represents_borough_in_London_awards/ SCRABBLE Arts and Crafts Home will truly be sweet when you enhance your decor with a set of SCRABBLE pillows. Find out how at http://www.diylife.com/2011/06/08/how-to-make-apillow-inspired-by-scrabble/. 60 S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W S Keep your tables spotless with SCRABBLE coasters. http://craftingagreenworld.com/2011/06/18/how-to-scrabble-drink-coaster/ SCRABBLE can also inspire your baking and other home activities. http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/style-inspiration/inspirationscrabble-148904 League of SCRABBLE The East End United Community Center (EEUCC) in Uniontown (PA) plans to stimulate interest in SCRABBLE in the Fayette County area this summer through a series of leagues. People can play as individuals or as part of a team and will be organized into leagues by age - juniors (elementary school children), intermediates (high school students), and seniors (those 18 and over). Dr. Barbara Wright, EEUCC executive director, hopes that some participants are inspired to go to NASPA tournaments and that the leagues can continue this fall and winter. Herald Standard (06/10/2011) http://www.heraldstandard.com/entertainment/spinit_weekend/ scrabble-league-offers-unique-outlet-for-summer-fun/article_b5711074-5fab-51b2-b13aaf93cc858819.html _______________________________________________________________________________ Going Once... On February 28th the Literacy Volunteers of Greater Syracuse held their first “SCRABBLE Mania”--an evening of food, fun, local celebrities, and competitive team SCRABBLE to benefit the LVSG. Three hundred people attended, and more than fifty volunteers helped. The group also offered a guide on “How to Host a SCRABBLE Party” fundraiser. Local celebrities were auctioned off before each round of competitive play--and 12-year-old SCRABBLE champ Matt O'Connor stole the show! Matt was auctioned for a whopping $370, and took over the Emcee’s role in the process! See the wonderfully funny video at http://www.vimeo.com/20803856. And the Grand Champions? Matt's Team: SU CPCS! See http://www.lvgs.org/scrabble2010/. 61 W O R D T R I V I A Q U I Z Word Trivia Quiz By Siri Tillekeratne The following unique meanings are of new words added to the OSPD 4 in 2006. What are those words? 1. A Canadian one-dollar coin 2. One who separates merchandise into lots 3. A gathering promoting good feeling 4. Moving with a heavy gait 5. The central hall of n ancient Greek house 6. The art of skin painting with henna 7. A condition indicated by black, tarry stool 8. A tripe/chili stew 9. A mixture of tender green herbs 10. A powder for developing photos ANSWERS ON THE NEXT PAGE Siri Tillekeratne is a director of the Calgary NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #374 and a former Director of the Year. 62 W O R D T R I V I A Q U I Z ANSWERS 1. A Canadian one-dollar coin LOONIE/S 2. One who separates merchandise into lots LOTTER/S 3. A gathering promoting good feeling LOVEFEST/S 4. Moving with a heavy gait LUMBERLY 5. The central hall of n ancient Greek house MEGARON/RA 6. The art of skin painting with henna MEHNDI/S 7. A condition indicated by black, tarry stool MELENA/S 8. A tripe/chili stew MENUDO/S 9. A mixture of tender green herbs MESCLUN/S 10. A powder for developing photos METOL/S 63 H I S T O R I C M O M E N T S Historic Moments: SCRABBLE® Throughout the Years Coffeehousing By Stu Goldman In case anyone is not familiar with this term, it means using words, gestures, or anything to influence an opponent into making a wrong choice by misleading or distracting him or her. Strictly forbidden in tournaments, it has often been used to good effect in club and informal play. For example, a fine player told me once he once induced a challenge by moving his hand back from the clock after starting to punch it and then finally hitting it. He once told me, "I don't know what to do," when he was to play with one tile left to draw, the Q not played and not in my rack. I assumed he had just drawn the Q, but when I challenged his phony I drew it! But the most hilarious example of coffeehousing I ever saw was in a game I kibitzed in the old Game Room. The late Steve Pfeiffer was playing Linda Gruber, one of the first female experts, who hasn't played competitively for over twenty years. This is how I described it in Confessions of a Compulsive Tile Pusher: "(Steve) drew the Z. . . . Rather than taking a decent play of 30-odd points, (he) placed an F six spaces above a TWS square. . . . When he picked up his new tiles we both saw that he could play FOZIER . . . and it would be worth 84 points. "For her play Linda made just a few points, . . laying a tile in the way of FOZIER. . . . As she hit the button of her clock she drew back her hand, saying, 'I'm not sure I want to do that.' "She looked to see if she had started Steve's clock . . . . We all saw that the clock was neutralized . . . 'Can I take it back?' she asked. “Any other player would have assented, being careful only not to appear too eager. For (Pfeiffer) not seeming too eager involved a full coffeehousing minute of head-scratching, weightshifting, arm-twitching, leaning-of-the-chin-on-the-hands and other gestures designed to simulate deep thought over the strategic considerations and ethical principles involved in taking it back. Finally, waving his arm in a gesture of resignation, he said, 'Do wot ya want.' “Linda played elsewhere and Steve cashed his 84 points without a hint of triumph over his success in disguising his motivation. But Linda knew she had been had all the same." Stu Goldman lives in California and has been playing tournament SCRABBLE® for 37 years. 64 W O R D S T A R 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 DOZE and DOT are acceptable, but not SET, because the “E” and the “T” 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, ZOO and DID are acceptable. But, IODIZES would not be acceptable because the “I” and the “O” are not adjoining. • 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 “Z.” 65 W O R D S T A R 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: • • • • 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: • • • • 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: 175 points (Novice); 250 points (Intermediate); 315 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 66 W O R D S T A R SOLUTION DID DIDIE DIDIES DIDO DIE DIES DIESES DIZZIES DIZZIEST DODO DOODIES DOODOO DOOZIE DOOZIES DOT DOTS DOZE DOZES DOZIEST ESES ESS ESSES ODD OOT OOTS OOZE OOZES OOZIEST OTTO SEE SEES SEI SEIZE SEIZES STOOD STOT STOTS STOTT STOTTS TOD TODDIES TODIES TOO TOOT TOOTS TOOTSES TOT TOTS ZEE ZEES ZEST ZESTS ZOO ZZZ PAR SCORES: 175 points (Novice); 250 points (Intermediate); 315 points (Advanced) BEST SCORE: 2 Points for each WORD found: 54 Words = 108 points. 5 Bonus Points for each BINGO found: 8 Bingos = 40 points. 1 Point for each LETTER of every word found: 251 Letters = 251 points. 1 Bonus Point for each CENTER STAR of every word found: 22 Z’s = 22 points. TOTAL = 421 Points 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 2009-2010 Phoenix SCRABBLE® Club champion as well as the 2008 and 2009 Scottsdale SCRABBLE® Club champ. His chess, Sudoku, and word puzzles appear weekly in The Jewish Press newspaper and on its website. He has recently begun hosting the Internet program Who’s on the Show?, where one of his first interviews was with directors Larry Rand and Barbara Van Alen: http://whosontheshow.com/shows.html. 67 P A S S A G E S 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 ESLA BYNOE-ANDRIOLO EWIDA The SCRABBLE community mourns the tragic death of Esla Ewida, 81, in a fire at her Jersey City home the morning of July 31. Esla was a teacher of English as a Second Language for many years, receiving high marks from her students at New Jersey City University, where she taught until recently. She was a deeply involved and well-loved member of the congregation at the Christ United Methodist Church; she led the church choir and organized several women groups. At the time of her death she lived by herself, using a scooter to get around. Originally from Trinidad, Esla spoke several languages, including Spanish, French, and Swahili. Starting tournament play in the 1980s, Esla competed in more than 80 tournaments, including 13 National SCRABBLE Championships, the most recent in 2008. She was 8th of 133 players in Division 3 the 1998 NSC, and she reached a peak rating of 1514 in 1994. She was co-director of the now-inactive Monclair NJ NSA SCRABBLE Club #169. Esla is best known, however, as director of the Atlantic City Tournament, which she ran for many years with the late Margaret Bauer Williams. Esla’s warm personality and sense of humor made the tournament one of the most popular in the country. The 1995 January event attracted 286 players, making it one of the largest non-Nationals tournaments ever. Esla was also instrumental in the planning of the 2007 Players Championship, and she served as Division 2 assistant to Judy Newhouse in Dayton. This 2007 cgp post from Esla gives a good sense of her love of running a tournament--and her amazing generosity of spirit: “As I write this, I'm a little misty-eyed. I'm picturing myself standing on the Atlantic sea coast, with my back to the ocean, and my arms outstretched sideways. My right hand grasps Kath Mullholand's, and my left, John Luebkemann's. We look at each other with pride and satisfaction and smile contentedly. �Good job,’ we say to each other. We look north, raise our voices and say together, �And you too, Siri.’ He waves excitedly as our words reach him and shouts, �Keep up the good work.’ “This weekend, the sound of rattling tiles will be heard along the East Coast. Starting south in Charlotte, NC, moving northwards to Atlantic City, NJ, continuing through Dover, NH, and finishing in Calgary, Alberta. This will be the culmination of months of preparation and hard work. There has been a concerted effort to make tournaments as attractive as they can be, and the beneficiaries are the players. The organizers seek the best prices, venues, food, computerized equipment, lighting, 68 P A S S A G E S temperature, seating, entertainment, any and everything to keep the players content. We hope we succeed. “On behalf of Vernon and myself, I would like to wish our fellow organizers, Kath, John, and Siri lots of luck, and to the players, the same. “LET THE GAMES BEGIN!” A funeral service for Esla is being held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, August 6th at Christ United Methodist Church, 2811 Kennedy Boulevard, Jersey City, New Jersey: (201) 332-8996 _______________________________________________________________________________ STAN SCOTT By Bob Umlas According to cross-tables.com, SCRABBLE expert Stan Scott, who was a top software designer for the large tax-services provider KPMG, played in 34 tourneys and achieved a peak rating of 1872. He was a popular attendee at N.Y.C. Club #56 during the 1990s. His friend, Bob Umlas, is a new NASPA player. “Stan Scott was not just bright, he was brilliant.” That’s how tax partner Paul Goldberg described his friend and colleague Stan Scott at a memorial service at Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York City. Stan, whose KPMG career spanned 32 years, passed away on February 14, 2011, after a long and hard-fought battle with leukemia. Stan is survived by his spouse, Bruce Shenitz; his mother, Elizabeth; his sister, Susan Sievers; a large extended family; and many good friends. Stan was respected throughout his career for his creativity and ability to blend his tax technical knowledge (including his Harvard Law degree) with his exceptional software development skills to deliver innovation for the tax practice. He also loved challenges and as such continually evolved his technology skills from his early use of VisiCalc to 1-2-3 to Symphony to Excel to complex Web applications such as Sharepoint. Stan was known for his sharp wit, wry sense of humor, and his love for games such as SCRABBLE, which he played regularly. He was a true friend to many and will be greatly missed. Donations in Stan Scott’s memory can be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or to organizations that care for animals (such as Shelters, ASPCA, Humane Society, Greyhound rescue organizations). Donation acknowledgements and/or cards can be sent to: Bruce Shenitz 165 W. 66th Street #16J New York, NY 10023 69 S C SCRABBLE® Resources 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. Play SCRABBLE® On Line 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. 70 R A B B L E R E S O U Has SCRABBLE® tournament aides. NASPA CLUB LISTINGS Lists clubs throughout North America with their meeting times and locations. 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. 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 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.) AEROLITH A free application for practicing anagramming skills and learning words. R C E S QUACKLE A free application for playing, simulating, and analyzing games. ZYZZYVA A free application for practicing anagramming skills and learning words. Also has Word Judge capabilities. SCRABBLE® DICTIONARY Type a word to check for acceptability. OSPD4 words. LEXIFIND SCRABBLE® HELPER AND WORD GAME WIZARD WORDFINDER FOR GOOGLE CHROME A full-board SCRABBLE® word-finder program that shows you every word that can possibly be made on an entire SCRABBLE® board, and continuously updates its results as you type letters onto the board or into the rack. Full version available at http://bit.ly/ecwHPt 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. S C R A B B L E R E S O U Tournament SCRABBLE® Newsletter #1. SCRABBLE® Blogs THE BADQOPH DIRECTORY CLICK HERE TO HELP END WORD HUNGER AS YOU LEARN WORDS This is a database of blogs by known SCRABBLE® bloggers, primarily tournament players. As of March 29th there were 196 blogs in the directory. A free vocabulary testing site. For every correct word, grains of rice are donated through the United Nations World Food Cheat Sheets Program. Feed hungry people MIKE BARON’S CHEAT as you expand your vocabulary! SHEET Online SCRABBLE® Discussion Groups CGP ([email protected]) This group, for tournament players and directors only, has the largest membership of any online tournament SCRABBLE® discussion group. Most important events and changes in the SCRABBLE® world are discussed on cgp. Admission is by approval only. Details can be found in the NASPA Tournament SCRABBLE® Newsletter #1. 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 Tournament and Club Word List, 2nd Edition. MIKE BARON’S CHEAT SHEET (for School SCRABBLE® and home play) 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 OSPD ([email protected] 3s from 2s. Adapted from Mike Barron’s SCRABBLE® om) Wordbook and the Official This group, dedicated to players SCRABBLE® Players using The Official SCRABBLE® Dictionary, 4th Edition. Players’ Dictionary, offers lighthearted humor, daily word lists, COOL WORDS TO KNOW and more. Admission is to all A terrific cheat sheet from the SCRABBLE® lovers. Details National SCRABBLE® can be found in the NASPA Association for School R C E S SCRABBLE® and home play. Gives useful information on how to find bingos, plus the 2s, 3s, vowel dumps, and short highpoint-tile plays. COLLINS-ONLY CHEAT SHEET A cheat sheet of short Collins words NOT found in the OWL2. 2s, 3s, short high-point-tile words, and Q-without-U words. COLLINS WORD LISTS Useful links to 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 has a Yahoo user group you can join as a support option. TOURNEYMAN Jeff Widergren’s software for managing tournaments. TSH John Chew’s software for managaing tournaments, recently updated with new features. 71 S C R 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 CHAMPION 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. 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.) 72 A B B L E R E S O 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.) U R C E S T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A R 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 SEPTEMBER 9/2-5 NASPA PORTLAND OR 9/3-5 NASPA ATLANTA GA 9/3-5 NASPA BURLINGTON MA - TWL & COLLINS 9/3-5 NASPA TAMPA BAY (PINELLAS PARK) FL 9/4 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 9/10 NASPA BALTIMORE (CANTONSVILLE) MD 9/10 NASPA DALLAS TX 9/11 NASPA BERKELEY CA 9/11 NASPA GUELPH ON CAN 9/11 NASPA NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTH DIVISIONS) 9/10 WGPO TWIN CITIES MI 9/11 WGPO LINDEN MI 9/13 NASPA INDEPENDENCE OH - LCT 9/16-18 NASPA CHARLESTON WV 9/16-18 NASPA IRVING TX 9/17 NASPA BAYSIDE NY 73 T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A R 9/17-18 NASPA HUDSON OH 9/18 NASPA PHILADELPHIA PA - TWL & COLLINS 9/22-25 NASPA TORONTO, ON, CAN - COLLINS 9/22-25 WGPO GRITS II, CHARLESON SC (RESTRICTED) 9/23-25 NASPA TORONTO ON CAN 9/24 NASPA AUSTIN TX 9/24 NASPA CHEHALIS, WA (TCC) 9/24 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FL 9/24-25 NASPA REGINA SK CAN 9/25 NASPA NEWARK DE 9/30-10/2 NASPA BLOOMINGTON MN OCTOBER 10/1 NASPA BERLIN NJ 10/1 NASPA CAMBRIDGE ON CAN 10/1 WGPO PHOENIX AZ 10/2 NASPA BERKELEY CA 10/2 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 10/2 NASPA PHILADELPHIA PA (TWL & COLLINS) 10/6 NASPA AKRON OH - LCT 10/7 WGPO WISCONSIN DELLS WI 10/8-9 NASPA ORLANDO FL 10/8-9 WGPO WISCONSIN DELLS WI 10/12-16 NASPA CALGARY AB CAN 10/13-16 NASPA LAKE GEORGE NY 10/15 NASPA DALLAS TX 10/16 WGPO MILL VALLEY CA 10/17-11/1 WGPO HAWAII CRUISE 74 T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A R 10/22 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FL 10/22 NASPA NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTH DIVISIONS) 10/22 NASPA YORK PA 10/22-23 NASPA ASHEVILLE NC 10/23 NASPA ELK HORN IA 10/28-30 NASPA CALIFORNIA OPEN, SAN FRANCISCO CA 10/29 NASPA AUSTIN TX 10/29-30 NASPA BATON ROUGE, LA 10/29 NASPA SOUTH LYON MI 10/29 NASPA TAMPA BAY (PINELLAS PARK) FL NOVEMBER 11/4-6 NASPA NACOGDOCHES TX 11/5 NASPA BRANTFORD ON CAN 11/5 NASPA PITTSBURGH PA 11/5-6 WGPO TWIN CITIES MI 11/6 NASPA BERKELEY CA 11/6 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 11/6 NASPA PHILADELPHIA PA (TWL & COLLINS) 11/6 NASPA TORONTO ON CAN 11/8 NASPA INDEPENDENCE OH - LCT 11/10-13 WGPO GRAND CANYON AZ (TWL & COLLINS) 11/11-13 NASPA EMERALD CITY (SEATTLE) WA 11/12 NASPA BAYSIDE NY 11/12 NASPA CHICAGO IL 11/12 NASPA EDMONTON AB CAN 11/12-13 NASPA BRANDON MB CAN 75 T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A R 11/13 NASPA GUELPH ON CAN 11/13 NASPA NORWALK CT (REGULAR & YOUTH DIVISIONS) 11/13 NASPA ROCKY RIVER OH 11/18-20 NASPA ESSEX VT 11/19 NASPA DALLAS TX 11/19 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FL 11/19 NASPA TAMPA BAY (PINELLAS PARK) FL 11/19 NASPA TENTATIVE - GREATER DETROIT MI 11/20 NASPA TENTATIVE - GREATER DETROIT MI 11/25-27 NASPA PARSIPPANY NJ DECEMBER 12/1 NASPA AKRON OH - LCT 12/1-8 WGPO LOS CABOS MEXICO 12/3-4 NASPA FORT LAUDERDALE FL 12/4 NASPA BERKELEY CA 12/4 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 12/4 NASPA PHILADELPHIA PA (TWL & COLLINS) 12/9-11 NASPA STAMFORD CT (TWL & COLLINS) 12/10-11 NASPA ATLANTA (COLLEGE PARK) GA 12/10 NASPA BETHESDA MD 12/11 NASPA GUELPH ON CAN 12/17 NASPA DALLAS TX 12/17 NASPA TAMPA BAY (PINELLAS PARK) FL 12/17-18 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 12/23-26 NASPA WILMINGTON DE 12/29-1/2 NASPA ALBANY NY (TWL & COLLINS) 76 T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A R JANUARY 2012 1/1 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 1/7 NASPA BAYSIDE NY 1/10 NASPA INDEPENDENCE OH - LCT 1/13-16 WGPO RENO NV 1/14-15 WGPO TWIN CITIES REDEYE, BLOOMINGTON MN 1/14-16 NASPA DURHAM NC 1/14-16 NASPA NEW ORLEANS LA (TWL & COLLINS) 1/21-23 NASPA ATLANTIC CITY NJ (TWL & COLLINS) 1/28-29 NASPA KNOXVILLE TN 1/29 NASPA PHILADELPHIA PA - TWL & COLLINS FEBRUARY ’12 2/5 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 2/12 NASPA PHILADELPHIA PA - TWL & COLLINS 2/17 WGPO PHOENIX AZ 2/17-20 NASPA LAS VEGAS NV (TWL & COLLINS) 2/18-20 NASPA EASTERN CHAMPIONSHIP, CHARLOTTE NC 2/18-20 WGPO PHOENIX AZ (TWL & COLLINS) MARCH ’12 3/4 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 3/13 NASPA INDEPENDENCE, OH - LCT 3/14-26 WGPO JAPAN/KOREA/TAIWAN CRUISE 3/16-18 NASPA DALLAS TX 3/16-18 WGPO INDIATLANTIC FL 3/17 NASPA BAYSIDE NY 3/17-18 NASPA ELYRIA OH 3/18 NASPA PHILADELPHIA PA - TWL & COLLINS 3/30-4/1 NASPA PRINCETON NJ 77 T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A R 3/31-4/1 NASPA ROCHESTER (WEBSTER) NY APRIL ’12 4/1 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 4/7 NASPA BAYSIDE NY 4/13-15 NASPA BAT (BOSTON AREA) MA 4/14-15 NASPA EDMONTON AB CAN 4/15 NASPA PHILADELPHIA PA - TWL & COLLINS 4/21-22 NASPA TENTATIVE - CUYAHOGA FALLS OH 5/4-6 NASPA GATLINBURG TN 5/6 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 5/6-13 NASPA BERMUDA TREASURES SCRABBLE CRUISE 5/8 NASPA INDEPENDENCE OH - LCT 5/18-19 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 5/19 NASPA BAYSIDE NY 5/25-28 NASPA TENTATIVE - PARSIPPANY NJ JUNE ’12 6/3 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 6/16-17 NASPA KNOXVILLE TN 6/20-7/2 WGPO NORWAY / ICELAND CRUISE - TWL & COLLINS 6/28-7/4 NASPA ALBANY NY (TWL & COLLINS) JULY ’12 7/1 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 7/5-8 NASPA WILMINGTON DE 7/13-15 NASPA WILMINGTON DE AUGUST ’12 8/5 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA MAY ’12 78 T O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A R 8/3-8 WGPO WGPO WORD CUP 8/11-15 NASPA NATIONAL SCRABBLE CHAMPIONSHIP ORLANDO FL 8/18-19 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA SEPTEMBER ’12 9/2 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 9/29 WGPO PHOENIX AZ OCTOBER ’12 10/6-20 WGPO NEW ENGLAND & CANADA CRUISE (TWL & COLLINS) 10/7 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA NOVEMBER ’12 11/4 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA DECEMBER ’12 12/2 NASPA LAGUNA WOODS CA 12/15-16 LAGUNA WOODS CA NASPA 79 A R C H I V E S Archives To download previous issues of The Last Word click here. 80
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