TLW96 - Nomads Results
TLW96 - Nomads Results
TLW96 - Nomads Results
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S<br />
A quick reference to forthcoming competitions<br />
(fuller list and details inside)<br />
Date Tournament (No of games) Contact Telephone<br />
Jun 6th Melton Mowbray (5) Maureen Rayson 01664 563330<br />
Jun 6th NSC Regional - Shipley (6) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283<br />
Jun 6th NSC Regional - Southampton (6) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283<br />
Jun 7th-8th ABSP Masters (15) Phil Appleby 01590 682971<br />
Jun 12th NSC Regional - Peterborough (6) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283<br />
Jun 12th-13th Scottish Open (12) Amy Byrne 0131 661 3869<br />
Jun 13th NSC Regional - Cheshunt (6) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283<br />
Jun 13th Peterlee (5) Samantha Beckwith 0191 586 6436<br />
Jun 20th Romford (7) Phyllis Fernandez 0208 599 5937<br />
Jun 26th Luton (6) June Edwards 01908 679041<br />
Jun 27th BEST - End of Round 3 Evan Simpson 020 8429 1984<br />
Jul 17th New Malden (6) Shirley Cave 020 8540 8469<br />
Jul 17th-18th Summer Matchplay (11) Mike Willis 01908 668117<br />
July 24th Lincoln (6) Teresa Hill 01427 838741<br />
Jul 25th BEST - End of Zone Finals Evan Simpson 020 8429 1984<br />
Aug 7th-8th Nottingham <strong>Nomads</strong> (16) Clive Spate 0115 920 0208<br />
Aug 14th-15th Scottish Round Robin (14) Marion Keatings 01592 265524<br />
Aug 22nd BEST - End of Quarter-Finals Evan Simpson 020 8429 1984<br />
Aug 27th-28th BMSC Ladies’ Event (6) Ross Mackenzie 0141 886 5335<br />
Aug 28th-30th BMSC (17) Ross Mackenzie 0141 886 5335<br />
Sep 4th Havering Autumn (6) Cindy Hollyer 01277 822050<br />
Sep 5th N S C T: Final (7) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283<br />
Sep 11th East Sussex (6) Ed Breed 01424 219334<br />
Sep 12th Norwich (6) Carol Smith 01603 898791<br />
Sep 18th-19th N S C: Semi-Final (12) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283<br />
Sep 26th Middlesbrough (5) Samantha Beckwith 0191 586 6436<br />
Sep 26th BEST - End of Semi-Finals Evan Simpson 020 8429 1984<br />
Oct 3rd Bournemouth (6) Ruth Marsden 01202 707148<br />
Oct 9th-10th BEST - Final Evan Simpson 020 8429 1984<br />
Oct 16th Southend (6) Evelyn Wallace 01702 302569<br />
Oct 29th-30th Isle of Wight Vectis (5) Noel Turner 01983 614426<br />
Oct 30th-31st Isle of Wight (11) Noel Turner 01983 614426<br />
Oct 30th Elgin (5) Lorraine Gordon 01466 794332<br />
Oct 30th-31st Cardiff (14) Mary Allen 02920 757311<br />
Nov 21st N S C: Grand Final (5) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283<br />
Dec 11th-12th Stoke Rochford Xmas (12) Christina French 01708 701578<br />
The Last Word is printed by Keely Print, Beccles, Suffolk (01502) 713930<br />
APRIL<br />
7<br />
87<br />
APRIL<br />
97<br />
APRIL<br />
APRIL<br />
Alec<br />
The bi-monthly magazine of the<br />
ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH<br />
SCRABBLE PLAYERS<br />
No 96 June 2004<br />
Deadline for next issue 2nd July<br />
According to amazon.co.uk...<br />
...Collins Official Scrabble Words is due out on 5 July 2004. The synopsis describes the<br />
book as ‘the new authority on Scrabble, compiled using the Bank of English, the world's<br />
largest language database’ and ‘an essential reference for all club and tournament players.’<br />
Allan Simmons has commented ‘This book cannot be the essential reference for<br />
tournament players until the ABSP (and indeed WESPA) have found it acceptable, so that<br />
particular claim is a little exaggerated.’<br />
Indeed, the inaccuracy of the claim was such that Allan contacted Collins/Mattell on behalf<br />
of the ABSP Dictionary Commmittee pointing out their erroneous statement and requesting<br />
it to be corrected.<br />
The Dictionary Committee’s current advice is not to buy this book. You can find the latest<br />
bulletin on this matter on page 3.<br />
Enclosed with this issue...<br />
...you will find an entry form for our flagship event the British Matchplay Scrabble<br />
Championship, see page 2 for news of sponsorship for this event. Also there is an entry<br />
form for the Chester Tournament next January. This relatively small event is so popular and<br />
fills up so quickly that the entry details have been held back from the Association website<br />
until this magazine was mailed out to allow members without internet access an equal<br />
opportunity. Get your pens out. Ready, steady.......go!<br />
The importance of the deadline<br />
I would like to draw the attention of TLW contributors to the proximity of the next<br />
deadline. The August issue is date-crucial as it will contain the agenda for the AGM and<br />
MUST be with members at least 3 weeks before the meeting. Material not with me by<br />
the deadline is unlikely to be included in the magazine. (So don’t be surprised if it’s a<br />
thin one!)<br />
SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark of J.W.Spear & Sons Ltd., Maidenhead SL6 4UB
Committee Corner .......................... 1<br />
Scrabble Books .............................. 4<br />
Who’s For A Trip Down The Nile? .. 7<br />
Tournament Reports ........................ 8<br />
Letters ............................................ 18<br />
Simultaneous Scrabble Record ........ 20<br />
Ratings ............................................ 21<br />
THE LAST WORD TEAM<br />
The Last Words Team welcomes contributions from readers to their respective areas,<br />
either as letters, articles or suggestions. Contact information:<br />
Deadline for next issue 2nd July 2004<br />
ISSUE CONTENTS<br />
Across The Board ............................ 25<br />
Edgeways ........................................ 33<br />
The French Connection .................. 38<br />
Xtras ................................................ 40<br />
Forthcoming Events.......................... 44<br />
Edgeways Answers .......................... ibc<br />
Calendar of Events ..........................obc<br />
Throughout this publication, comments by the Editor do not represent the views of the<br />
ABSP Committee. Any statements by the Committee are clearly marked as such. All<br />
other contributions to The Last Word represent only the views of the contributor.<br />
General Editor:<br />
Alec Webb<br />
17 St Margarets Road<br />
Lowestoft<br />
Suffolk<br />
NR32 4HS<br />
absp.tlw@btinternet.com<br />
Games and Strategies:<br />
Phil Appleby,<br />
Thorns Cottage,<br />
Mount Pleasant Lane,<br />
Lymington,<br />
Hants SO41 8LS<br />
phil_appleby2000@yahoo.co.uk<br />
Forthcoming events:<br />
Paul Cartman,<br />
9 Chapel Terrace,<br />
Stafford ST16 3AH<br />
01785 211851<br />
paul.cartman@btinternet.com<br />
Words and Puzzles:<br />
Raymond Tate,<br />
6 Amochrie Glen<br />
Hollybrook<br />
Paisley<br />
PA2 0DY<br />
Raymond@Tate7856.fsnet.co.uk<br />
Features:<br />
Christina French<br />
127 Carlton Road,<br />
Gidea Park, Romford,<br />
Essex RM2 5AU<br />
01708 701578<br />
christinafrench@ntlworld.com<br />
In the event of issues of The Last Word not being received, or if you change<br />
your address, please contact Viv Beckmann 0191 273 1705<br />
email: howzatvb@gotadsl.co.uk<br />
LAST CHANCE<br />
Refer-a-friend Scheme<br />
If by 30th June, through your encouragement, someone joins the<br />
ABSP for the first time, you will receive a voucher giving you £5<br />
discount on your subscription for 2005. Be sure to make Viv Beckmann aware of<br />
your entitlement. Tel: 01912 731705 or email:howzatvb@gotadsl.co.uk<br />
There is a limit of three vouchers per member.<br />
COMMITTEE CORNER<br />
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2004<br />
Members are reminded that the 2004 AGM will be held at 8.15pm on Sunday 29th August<br />
at the Queens Moat House Hotel, West Bromwich, in conjunction with the ABSP’s British<br />
Matchplay Championship. All members are invited to attend. The DRAFT agenda is<br />
detailed below. Amendments to motions and new motions must be received by June 18th<br />
in order to be discussed at the next Committee meeting on June 20th. The final agenda will<br />
be published next issue.<br />
PROXY VOTES may be sent to the Chairman, Allan Simmons at:<br />
Edington House, The Bow, Coldingham, Berwickshire TD14 5NE<br />
Email proxies are allowed but you must give your full name in the email:<br />
abspchair@aol.com<br />
Proxy Voting forms will be provided with the next issue of TLW.<br />
DRAFT AGENDA<br />
1 To receive the Chairman’s report (this will be published next TLW)<br />
2 To receive and consider the accounts of the Association for 2003, and the associated<br />
Auditor’s and Treasurer’s reports (the accounts are currently being audited and will be<br />
published next issue).<br />
3 To elect the officers and other members of the Committee<br />
The current Committee consists of:<br />
Paul Allan, Viv Beckmann, Amy Byrne, Paul Cartman, Elie Dangoor, Darryl Francis,<br />
Stewart Holden, Wayne Kelly, Ross Mackenzie, Jackie Mcleod, Allan Simmons, Alec<br />
Webb, plus Philip Nelkon as the Mattel representative.<br />
The officers of the Committee are currently:<br />
Allan Simmons (Chairman)<br />
Amy Byrne (Secretary)<br />
Ross Mackenzie (Treasurer)<br />
Our honorary President is Gyles Brandreth.<br />
All the officers intend to stand again for these roles.<br />
All other Committee members are standing again<br />
4 To confirm the Auditor for the year 2004 (Yoke Shin)<br />
5 To fix the subscription for 2005<br />
It is proposed that the subscription remains at £15 per annum<br />
1
6 MOTIONS<br />
These are detailed below and will be addressed in the order shown<br />
6.1 Committee Service Reward<br />
Proposer : Allan Simmons<br />
Seconder: Amy Byrne<br />
It is proposed that Committee Members (excluding Mattel rep) receive £20 for each<br />
Committee Meeting that they attend (excluding AGMs), effective from September 2004.<br />
Note re Motion 6.1: The Committee has unfortunately not yet found anyone willing to<br />
chair an independent Committee Reward Panel to address the broad area of reward for<br />
service. Meanwhile, we have felt it essential to address the TLW editorial role and<br />
bring it more in line with that of Ratings Officer, and so agreed routine payments to<br />
the TLW editor through the March Committee Meeting (reported last TLW). However,<br />
we felt it more appropriate to seek membership approval for a more general payment<br />
for Committee members, thus this motion. Whilst we recognise that meeting<br />
attendance does not equate to ongoing effort/actions throughout the year, it does seem<br />
the only fair and easily measurable way to introduce a small financial compensation<br />
for service. For most attendees a Committee meeting takes a very long day including<br />
travelling. We trust members agree the approach we are proposing is reasonable. It is<br />
estimated the cost will be around £600 per annum which is available at existing<br />
funding levels.<br />
7 Update on Collins Scrabble books status and opportunity for discussion of Mattel switch<br />
from Chambers to Collins<br />
8 Discussion of Committee Objectives 2003-2004<br />
A review of how the Committee is performing against its Objectives.<br />
SPONSORSHIP BREAKTHROUGH<br />
The Committee are pleased to announce the ABSP’s first major<br />
sponsorship breakthrough.<br />
Chambers Harrap Publishers have agreed to sponsor the 2004<br />
ABSP Masters and the 2004 ABSP British Matchplay Scrabble<br />
Championship for a total of £2,000.<br />
The arrangement for 2004 has been cleared with Mattel. The sponsorship will be split,<br />
£400 for the Masters and £1,600 for the BMSC (spread across divisions).<br />
There will also be leather-bound dictionaries for both champions and a special Chambers<br />
trophy for the BMSC champion. Both events will be publicised as “in association with<br />
Chambers Harrap Publishers” and there will also be Chambers books donated to the prize<br />
fund.<br />
Whilst entrance fees will also contribute towards the prize funds in both cases, for the<br />
BMSC it is expected that this will enable the event to have entrance fees in line with those<br />
of 2003 and have more attractive prizes, including a special Chambers BMSC 2004 trophy<br />
for the overall winner.<br />
2<br />
ABSP MASTERS 2004 in association with Chambers Harrap publishers.<br />
This event is now scheduled to take place on Mon/Tue June 7th/8th (it would already have<br />
happened when you read this!) at a grandiose restaurant near Oxford, Le Manoir Aux Quat’<br />
Saisons, which is owned by Raymond Blanc. We are expecting to have a celebrity to attend<br />
the opening and Josh Whitehead will be there filming as part of his Channel 4<br />
documentary. The Committee is grateful to Phil Appleby and Mark Nyman for their help<br />
with the organisation.<br />
BRITISH MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIPS 2004<br />
In association with Chambers Harrap publishers.<br />
This event will be at the West Bromwich Moat House hotel over the August Bank Holiday<br />
weekend. Full details are given in the entry form with this issue.<br />
AN UPDATE RE THE COLLINS DICTIONARY ISSUE<br />
FROM THE ABSP DICTIONARY COMMITTEE (ABSP-DC)<br />
Darryl Francis, Allan Simmons, David Webb<br />
Members would have seen the ABSP-DC’s article in the last TLW which was<br />
representative of the disappointing position with Collins and their FAQ as at that TLW<br />
deadline. Since then there has been some welcome liaison from Collins. We now have<br />
some reason to be confident that less than 100 root words (plus inflexions) will disappear<br />
and none of these will be USA words. The root words that will disappear are relatively<br />
insignificant to a player’s useful Scrabble vocabulary and include such words as SYRLYE,<br />
EMBREWE, PICCADELL (plus inflexions).<br />
However, there is not time for the ABSP DC to assess the expected thousands of new<br />
words coming in from Collins’ sources and check them against the base OSW word rules,<br />
although we have seen some sample pages and advised Collins on areas they still need to<br />
address. For that reason, plus the key fact that the initial Collins book (scheduled for the<br />
Summer) cannot possible reflect the 2004 USA updates (which are still being worked on<br />
in America), we will NOT be recommending any 2004 Collins book to be adopted. We<br />
are also aware that if there are too many thousands of new words, that itself may be an<br />
unacceptable element of the change.<br />
During the course of 2004 we expect to properly assess candidate new words from Collins<br />
sources against OSW-base rules, and discuss and agree a viable future update process.<br />
When the 2004 book is published we will scrutinise it fully to assess its suitability. We<br />
hope that Collins will make copies available for others (e.g. some clubs) to review as well.<br />
In 2005 a version of the book with definitions is expected to be published. That will be<br />
the earliest opportunity to reflect updates from the USA. So, it will not be until a 2005<br />
AGM, and the publication of a 2005 book with definitions, that a vote and decision can<br />
be made.<br />
Whilst endeavouring to assist Collins in producing a book that might be acceptable to the<br />
players, the ABSP-DC equally believes that players as a group ultimately have a choice<br />
should a Collins Scrabble word book be unacceptable. To that end the ABSP DC is also<br />
exploring contingencies with Chambers.<br />
3
Scrabble Books<br />
How to Win at Scrabble, by Andrew Fisher and David Webb.<br />
ISBN: 0-7134-8820-4<br />
Published by B T Batsford, an imprint of Chrysalis Books<br />
Recommended price: £12.99<br />
The publisher’s summary describes the book thus:<br />
Scrabble is basically a straightforward game. The<br />
strategy used by top players can be easily understood<br />
and adopted by average players. Written by two<br />
international experts of the game, How to Win at<br />
Scrabble, for the first time, aims to describe in a<br />
readable and entertaining fashion the experts’ strategies and<br />
techniques for winning at Scrabble. Their advice gives even Sunday afternoon<br />
players the chance to be the best.<br />
About the Authors<br />
Andrew Fisher and David Webb are two of the most successful tournament<br />
players in the UK, and have been involved in competitive Scrabble at the highest<br />
level for over a decade. They have represented England at the World Scrabble<br />
Championships on several occasions, and also competed at the World<br />
Championships in Las Vegas in 2001.<br />
Andrew lives in Melbourne, Australia and David lives in Harpenden,<br />
Hertfordshire.<br />
Graeme Thomas writes:<br />
This is a long-awaited book on Scrabble techniques, by two of the game’s best players. As<br />
the authors point out much of this material has been available in specialist magazines, but<br />
never in book form like this. The book is eleven chapters and 160 pages long, but it is<br />
crammed with useful techniques.<br />
Chapter one is the introduction. It claims that the book is aimed at all levels of player, but<br />
I feel that the complete novice may start to become overwhelmed early on. The true<br />
market is, I feel, the player of middle or higher ability who wants to improve. But there is<br />
help for the novice, if he or she can stand the pace.<br />
Chapter two describes the words used in the game, and outlines the scale of the problem<br />
of learning them all. Short sections describe the relative advantages and disadvantages<br />
of the words of each length. This is followed by a description of hooks — what are they,<br />
and why are they important? Finally, a summary gives a suggested order for learning<br />
words.<br />
Chapter three tells how to learn words. Various techniques are given, and the merits of<br />
each are noted. This is the heart of the book. The rest of the book is important, but all of<br />
the methods described there rely on a massive vocabulary, and there is really no substitute<br />
4<br />
for learning the words. But studying this chapter should, at least, make the job a little<br />
easier.<br />
Chapter four, on strategy, is a bit of a mixture, as it covers a lot of ground. The section on<br />
“key factors” is worth the price of the book on its own. The section on defence is well<br />
worth a read, too. The authors recommend paying little attention to defence. If this view<br />
becomes more widespread, perhaps we’ll have few dull games of attrition.<br />
Chapter five covers the endgame. The authors point out that it is here that many games<br />
are won or lost, and so they devote a separate chapter to it, even though it is really part of<br />
“strategy”. Many of the concepts discussed here are simple in theory, but hard to apply<br />
properly in practice. The guidance offered here is sound.<br />
Chapter six is on the mental approach. It tends, at times, to approach the<br />
metaphysical, but the underlying theme is clear. A positive mental attitude, especially<br />
when circumstances appear to be conspiring against you, is vital for performing at<br />
your best.<br />
Chapter seven is about improving your game. The key to improvement is to measure your<br />
performance, and then see how much those measurements improve over time. Various<br />
measurement methods are given, and they’ll all lead to improved play.<br />
Chapter eight is about resources and equipment. It details where to buy the tournamentquality<br />
equipment that makes playing so much easier. The section on tile bags is<br />
particularly impassioned.<br />
Chapter nine tells us about competitive Scrabble, from clubs to the World Championships.<br />
The club and tournaments described are the UK ones.<br />
Chapter ten is a detailed analysis of a game from the 1999 World Championships, between<br />
Mark Nyman and Joel Wapnick. It was chosen because it illustrates the points made in the<br />
previous chapters.<br />
Chapter eleven is the conclusion. I quote, in part:<br />
The primary reason your authors play Scrabble is for the pleasure and fun it<br />
brings. We also found that the better we got, the more fun we had.<br />
Competitive Scrabble also gave us excitement, a sense of achievement, and a<br />
modicum of prize money, not to mention friendship with people from around the<br />
world who share our passion for the game.<br />
That’s what the book is all about — fun and excitement.<br />
Finally, the authors stoop to bribery:<br />
If any of our readers have been inspired by this book to enter a tournament in<br />
which your authors are also competing, please feel free to make yourself known<br />
to us. We would be delighted to hear of your progress, and one of us(!) will<br />
gladly buy you a drink.<br />
The book concludes with a glossary, several appendices, and an index.<br />
This book is an excellent description of the way to improve at Scrabble. It will take a great<br />
deal of hard work to achieve mastery, but more modest efforts will still yield improvements.<br />
I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who wants to get better.<br />
5
Can-Am 2002, by Joel Wapnick and Brian Sheppard<br />
250pp. Reviewed by Stewart Holden<br />
In November 2002 the top six American players met the top six<br />
Canadian players at Niagara Falls, Ontario to battle out in the<br />
inaugural Can-Am challenge.<br />
Each player played every opposite team member twice, with all<br />
twelve experts recording their racks and plays from every game<br />
in the hope of a book being produced at a later date. That later<br />
date has arrived with the publication of the Can-Am 2002 book.<br />
Brian Sheppard is the creator of Maven, the toughest computer<br />
Scrabble program ever written. He is an expert at<br />
understanding Maven’s simulation feature, which is used extensively throughout the<br />
annotated games. His updated version of Maven has the ability to measure the ‘winningness’<br />
of a play (expressed as a percentage), particularly invaluable when explaining the<br />
finer points of the endgames.<br />
This is not a manual of how to play beginners’ Scrabble. You are expected to understand<br />
the rules of tournament play and that, as in all North American events, the ‘double<br />
challenge’ rule was applied (where an incorrect challenge results in the loss of a turn).<br />
Although terms such as ‘rack leave’ and ‘out-play’ are given brief definitions in a Glossary<br />
at the back, this is a book written by Scrabble experts for tournament players of all levels,<br />
not a book you would find on sale in WHSmith’s.<br />
The majority of the Can-Am 2002 book is occupied by detailed annotated games and an<br />
explanation of the lessons that can be learnt from them. The annotations focus on<br />
presenting the reader with board positions, listing the different options, providing Maven<br />
simulation results and then discussing which move is the best and merits/weakness of other<br />
plays. The fact that the dictionary used is TWL (the North American word authority) makes<br />
surprisingly little difference, because this is not a book about learning words and there are<br />
no word lists, it is about knowing which move to choose out of those that are available.<br />
After analysing 17 complete games, there are a further 32 endgame positions selected from<br />
other games. It is reassuring to learn that experts make more mistakes in this area than any<br />
other part of the game, since I’m sure we all feel our endgames need to be improved!<br />
Everyone will learn from playing through the endgame positions in this book and learning<br />
how to calculate, and act upon, the many variables at this crucial stage of the game. The<br />
racks and moves from all the other games are then listed to give a complete record of the<br />
tournament.<br />
The clear board diagrams for every single play mean that you don’t need your own board<br />
out to play along, and you can just dip into a random page and read through the analysis<br />
of any move. Essays from Wapnick and Sheppard at the end of the book explain how<br />
players’ skill is measured, just how accurate computer analysis is, and also the relative<br />
importance of luck and skill in Scrabble. This book not light reading but it is an excellent<br />
tool for improving your game if you are prepared to give it the time it deserves.<br />
Stewart has a copies of Can-Am 2002 available at £16.00 plus £3.00 p+p. Cheques<br />
payable to Stewart Holden and sent to 14 Dale View Road, Nottingham NG3 7AJ<br />
6<br />
Paul Cartman asks: Who’s for a trip down the Nile?<br />
I went for a cruise on the Nile in Egypt this February from Luxor to Aswan and back.<br />
Although we saw no pyramids we visited many temple sites and learnt one or two<br />
Egyptian words that are in OWSI. The cruise liner struck me as an ideal setting for a<br />
Scrabble holiday and I would like to canvass the Scrabble community as to whether<br />
there would be enough players interested in such a venture to make it worthwhile<br />
booking the liner for early next March.<br />
For those interested the holiday can be extended to include a week at the Luxor Hilton or<br />
Red Sea with optional day trips on a hot air balloon or Cairo either the week before or the<br />
week after the cruise. There is space for 130 guests, mostly twin<br />
berthed, it has an adequate indoor playing area, a sundeck and<br />
a swimming pool. The number of games to be played will have<br />
to be worked out and will ultimately depend on when the liner<br />
is able to negotiates certain locks, this will also have an<br />
influence on when we are able to go ashore and visit the sites.<br />
The cost would be in the region of £500 to £600 per person,<br />
I am waiting for precise details, and direct flights to Luxor are<br />
from Gatwick and Manchester. Arrangements can be made for<br />
those not able to get to those airports.<br />
I can be contacted on 01785 211851, emailed on paul.cartman@btinternet.com or<br />
written to at 9 Chapel Terrace, Stafford ST16 3AH<br />
So what’s the worst that can happen when you inadvertently draw tiles<br />
from your neighbour’s bag...?<br />
Well nothing quite as bad, or as brilliant as<br />
this masterpiece. 2 complete sets - yes, 200<br />
tiles, on a regular 225 square board.<br />
The feat was achieved by Andrew Cook<br />
who says:<br />
“The solution was found by a computer<br />
program I wrote for creating crossword<br />
grids. For this Scrabble position it was<br />
restricted in the letters that it could use.<br />
I instructed it to try and use the more<br />
awkward letters first, and also restricted the<br />
number of S’s it could use early on.<br />
I tried a number of similar letters/spaces<br />
patterns until I started getting close to a<br />
solution. I found several 199s that could have<br />
been finished off if the remaining tile had been an S, so I knew the solution was getting<br />
closer - but it was still a surprise when it succeeded. In all, the process took many, many<br />
hours of searching different patterns. An exhaustive search would take far too long for<br />
my computer, so there are certain to be other solutions out there.”<br />
7<br />
QUADRUPL I CAT I ON<br />
UNWEAR I ED ZHOMO<br />
AWHA P I NG QU I T E D<br />
DEAV I NG N I RVANA<br />
R A P I N E L E V E E S L<br />
UR I NE FET I AL X I<br />
P I NG TUCHUN YES<br />
L E G F U S T E T M I N I<br />
I D F A C T O R M I R I N<br />
C J E R K E R T O E R A G<br />
ABORTED HOOVES<br />
T A W I E R J O W L E D T<br />
I L I A D B O O Z E S B E<br />
OONS MOOL EY F AX<br />
N O G B E A K Y S A Y S T
Lothian<br />
TOURNAMENT<br />
RESULTS & REPORTS<br />
13th March (5 games)<br />
Report from Alan Sinclair<br />
We had the usual good turnout for this year's Lothian tournament at our popular venue in<br />
Edinburgh. We had decided to have four divisions, one more than usual. This meant that<br />
each division had a smaller spread of ratings, people were playing opponents they<br />
normally wouldn't meet, and there were more prizes!<br />
Amy Byrne from Edinburgh continued her good form from the Pitlochry holiday tournament<br />
and the Scottish Masters to take division A with five wins. In B, four people finished on four<br />
wins, with local Kenneth Ross taking top spot. There were also four on four wins in C, and<br />
again it was local Melanie Beaumont in first place. The pattern was broken in division D,<br />
where Robin McDougall from Glasgow was the only player on five wins.<br />
Swindon<br />
14th March 2004 (6 games)<br />
Report from Steve Perry<br />
It’s hard to believe but this was the eighth Swindon tournament and was heading towards<br />
being the biggest ever. In the event there were several last minute withdrawals and the final<br />
competitor count was 188. This year the beneficiaries were once again the Prospect<br />
Hospice which is based in Wroughton, near Swindon.<br />
The tournament has been dogged by last arrivals in the past but the threat to latecomers of<br />
being left out had the desired effect and everybody had arrived by the cut-off time. Even<br />
so we were still about 15 minutes late getting going. It is clear to me now that even 15<br />
minutes is not long enough to do any last minute changes to the divisional make-up when<br />
there are so many players. Maybe the only way around this is to come clean in the<br />
timetabling and allow longer.<br />
After the first two rounds only 2 of the top nine players (180+) had won both games. The<br />
top of Division B had a Welsh flavour with Huw Morgan (Swansea) at the top followed by<br />
Tess McCarthy (Cardiff).<br />
8<br />
Lunch followed and here I have to thank three Highworth club members, Gordon, Barbara<br />
and Penny for ensuring that the arrangements for feeding over 200 people (including<br />
runners etc) went smoothly.<br />
Going into the final round, in Division A Ruth Macinerney (London League) had just beaten<br />
Gareth Williams to go into 1st place followed by Brett Smitheram. Alan Childs (Salisbury)<br />
had just taken over at the top of Division B, Ronnie Reid (Basingstoke) headed division C,<br />
Janet Bonham (Aylesbury) was the only undefeated player in Division D, whilst in E it was<br />
Janet’s son Graham Bonham who led the field.<br />
The final round saw Ruth’s first defeat at the hands of Terry Kirk who then moved in to<br />
second place. Gareth came back strongly beating Brett to secure top position whilst<br />
Abraham Sosseh (Bournemouth) beat Andy Cook to claim 3rd place. Despite winning five<br />
out of six Ruth had to be content with the ratings prize but was more than happy with that<br />
and a tournament rating of 216. In B Alan Childs was one of only two 100% players on<br />
the day, beating Graham Buckingham (Luton) in the last round. Second and third places<br />
went to Davin Shenkin (London League) and Margaret Pritchett (Melton Mowbray) with five<br />
wins each. The ratings prize went to Margaret Bright. C Division was won by Wanda de<br />
Poitiers (East Berks) by virtue of a better spread than Ronnie Reid or Jean Swallow who also<br />
finished on 5 wins. The ratings prize went to Joyce Squire (Cardiff). Janet Bonham kept her<br />
unbeaten record in the final round, beating Ken Quarshie (London League). Second and<br />
third places went to David Carrod (High Wycombe) and Irene Woolley (London League).<br />
Judy Monger (Cirencester) took the ratings prize. Graham Bonham in E Division couldn’t<br />
emulate his mother, losing to Peter Kelly (Exeter) but still hung on to second place. Jean<br />
Buckley (Newport) came through to win the division with Peter’s final round win taking him<br />
to 3rd. Margaret Firmston (Guildford) took the ratings prize. Martin Taylor in division F was<br />
the only other player with a 100% record and he won that division from Jenny Harris<br />
(Weedon) and Margaret Emmott (Cirencester) with the ratings prize going to Chris Baker.<br />
The proceedings were wound up by David Lines, General Manager of Prospect Foundation<br />
who gave a short address and then helped with the presentation of the prizes. My thanks<br />
go to the members of Highworth Scrabble Club for ensuring the day ran smoothly. The<br />
final donation to Prospect will be around £1700. I don’t like to finish on a slightly negative<br />
note but I was asked to see one of Nationwide’s Director’s when I returned to work on<br />
Tuesday. He was disgusted with the state of the front approach which he said was littered<br />
with cigarette ends. I was clearly told that a repeat of this would mean the end of the<br />
tournament. There are bins provided so there was really no excuse for this and it left a sour<br />
taste in the mouth after the success of Sunday.<br />
Swindon A<br />
G. Williams 5 295<br />
T. Kirk 5 284<br />
A. Sosseh 5 275<br />
R. Macinerney 5 148<br />
Swindon D<br />
J. Bonham 5.5 222<br />
D. Carrod 5 566<br />
I. Woolley 5 56<br />
K. Quarshie 4 319<br />
Swindon B<br />
A. Childs 6 544<br />
D. Shenkin 5 415<br />
M. Pritchett 5 206<br />
G. Thomas 4 438<br />
Swindon E<br />
J. Buckley 5 491<br />
G. Bonham 5 413<br />
P. Kelly 5 150<br />
M. Firmston 5 92<br />
9<br />
Swindon C<br />
W. Poitiers 5 513<br />
J. Swallow 5 286<br />
R. Reid 5 113<br />
L. Hillard 4.5 247<br />
Swindon F<br />
M. Taylor 6 533<br />
J. Harris 5 625<br />
M. Emmott 5 354<br />
J. Whitehead 4 192
Southampton<br />
21st March (6 games)<br />
Report from Alan Bailey<br />
Forced to find a new venue, this year's Southampton tournament moved out of the City to<br />
Holbury on Sunday, 21 March. There was plenty of playing space, abetted by an entry field<br />
reduced to be on the safe side, and then further reduced by cancellations when some of<br />
the filially conscientious found out it was Mothering Sunday. Drawbacks were that the<br />
heating was not switched on early enough (this year), there was no separate space for coats,<br />
and it was farther for most players to travel, as well as virtually inaccessible by public<br />
transport.<br />
Restriction of entries meant that Joy Fox was initially turned down, and only let in by a late<br />
cancellation. Her reaction was to win 2nd prize in Group C, and the Terry Hollington<br />
Memorial Shield for best performer against rating.<br />
"Local" Frankie Mairey secured the silver plate as Southampton Champion for 2004. She<br />
won all 6 of her games, as did the winners of Group B, Elizabeth Hull, and C, Dorothy<br />
Dean. Group D's leader did drop a game, but as he had also won his Group at Andover<br />
the previous month Graham Bonham took the setback philosophically.<br />
Despite losing 2 games Noel Turner ended with a spread of +763, which outdid every other<br />
player by at least 250. One game alone he won by a margin of 443, which is a record for<br />
us if not for other tournaments.<br />
Ruth Marsden on computers, assisted by adjudicator Jimmy Cruickshank. ensured minimal<br />
delay between rounds and an early finish, despite the delayed start. To them and the three<br />
runners I am grateful as always. I am minded to use the venue again as the feedback I have<br />
received so far has been favourable.<br />
Southampton A<br />
Frankie Mairey 6 300<br />
Ruth MacInerney 5 150<br />
Noel Turner 4 763<br />
Southampton C<br />
Dorothy Dean 6 481<br />
Joy Fox 4 426<br />
Gail Allen 4 243<br />
10<br />
Southampton B<br />
Elizabeth Hull 6 384<br />
Wanda De Poitiers 4 435<br />
Rita Todd 4 405<br />
Southampton D<br />
Graham Bonham 5 321<br />
Maureen Barlow 5 128<br />
Iris Cornish 4 222<br />
Durham<br />
27-28th March (11 games)<br />
Report by Pete Finley<br />
110 players, including our standby, gave us a perfect 10 division round robin structure for<br />
the 17th annual Durham tournament. Prizes in each division were 1st- £70, 2nd - £40,<br />
3rd - £25, with each divisional winner also receiving a pair of Edinburgh Crystal wine<br />
goblets.<br />
We had a much more international flavour than usual this year, thanks to the presence of<br />
a five-strong contingent from Ireland (Brendan McDonnell, Catherine Costello, Kay<br />
McColgan, Eileen Meghen and Joyce Caruth) plus Anand Buddhdev from Holland and<br />
expats Sandra Hoffland and Heather Frankland from Spain and France respectively. There<br />
were the usual English and Scottish mobs of course, but whatever happened to the Welsh?<br />
Forewarned that Clive Spate was going to be appearing on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire<br />
on the Saturday night, we had arranged for the college to video the show so that we could<br />
watch it after play finished. A big crowd of us duly cheered Clive on to £125,000. Jackie<br />
McLeod and Helen Grayson had been two of Clive's phone-a-friend options and had both<br />
known the answer to the £250,000 question, but sadly Clive chose the wrong friend to<br />
phone.<br />
There was clearly much celebration in the bar that evening as one highly rated player had<br />
to take a hangover break for one game on Sunday morning. It also emerged that Alastair<br />
Ives, who was attending on a non-residential basis, had to sleep on someone's floor, as he<br />
hadn't been able to get his car out of the college car park, which was locked. It didn't seem<br />
to do him any harm though as he went on to win his division.<br />
The food was particularly good this year - and that wasn't just our opinion, it was the<br />
popular view. Pride of place must go to the Saturday dinner dessert of 'Miroir Citron',<br />
which was to die for. Sunday's Sticky Toffee Pudding was excellent too.<br />
There were sterling performances throughout the field, but a few deserve a special<br />
mention. Simon Francis took third place in Div J in his first ever tournament - and he had<br />
never even played in a club before. In winning Division I, Russell Smith was the only<br />
player in any division to clock up 10 wins. Wayne Kelly won Div B with his highest ever<br />
tournament rating of 197.4. But right at the top of the tree was Adam Philpotts, one of the<br />
three lowest rated players in the A division, but still coming out on top ahead of a strong<br />
field which included three players who took part in the 2003 WSC.<br />
Congratulations to all concerned. Thanks to everyone who took part and everyone who<br />
helped make it happen, particularly Laura and Graeme.<br />
Prize winners were as follows:<br />
Durham A<br />
A. Philpotts 9 508<br />
P. Allan 8 408<br />
J. Robinson 7 38<br />
Durham D<br />
K. Leckie 8 361<br />
A. Ramsay 7 357<br />
J. Hiley 7 191<br />
Durham G<br />
A. Ives 8 387<br />
S. Thompson 8 144<br />
P. Wheeler 7 287<br />
Durham J<br />
A. Beckmann 9 740<br />
B. McLaren 8 104<br />
S. Francis 8 81<br />
Durham B<br />
W. Kelly 9 745<br />
C. Costello 8 309<br />
J. McLeod 7 284<br />
Durham E<br />
C. French 8 415<br />
T. Johnson 8 51<br />
V. Beckmann 7 371<br />
Durham H<br />
B. Hill 8 190<br />
J. Green 7 310<br />
J. Hodge 7 188<br />
(NB all results include a fictitious 1-point win over A Zother)<br />
11<br />
Durham C<br />
G. Thomas 9 663<br />
J. Cansfield 8 730<br />
C. Beevers 8 67<br />
Durham F<br />
T. Davis 9 372<br />
C. Emery 7 287<br />
S. Swaney 7 231<br />
Durham I<br />
R. Smith 10 878<br />
R. Flood 8 315<br />
G. Linfoot 8 295
Exeter Easter Weekend<br />
9-12th April<br />
Report by Andy Davis<br />
Despite losing its status as an ABSP-organised event, this tournament seems to fill up earlier<br />
each year. 106 players took part in the main competition, and at least a dozen more were<br />
disappointed to have got their entry in too late.<br />
The event took place in the presence of<br />
Josh Whitehead, the chap from Channel<br />
4 who is making a documentary about<br />
Scrabble players. There was also an<br />
international presence this year,<br />
including three ladies from Malta, a<br />
gentleman from Ireland, one from the<br />
USA (easily beating the record for the<br />
longest distance travelled to get to<br />
Exeter), and a temporarily UK-resident<br />
Canadian.<br />
Our very own newsletter editor took the<br />
Isca A title, a mere 2 points of spread<br />
ahead of Ross Mackenzie. There were<br />
no prizes for brilliant plays, but if there had been, then Ross would surely have claimed<br />
one for his superb play of AEROPHONES around PHO (albeit with 2 blanks on his rack).<br />
Peter Ashurst strolled to victory in the B division with the only unbeaten record in the Isca<br />
tournament. A moment sure to raise smirks amongst those with a juvenile sense of humour<br />
(such as myself) came when Josh Whitehead, when playing a sweet, elderly lady, placed<br />
down a certain 6-letter word beginning with F, ending with R and containing a K.<br />
Tragically, his cameraman had put away his equipment for the evening, so this moment will<br />
not appear in Josh's documentary.<br />
Isca A<br />
A. Webb 5 464<br />
R. Mackenzie 5 462<br />
D. Dennis 5 288<br />
M. Chamberlain 5 41<br />
12<br />
Josh Whitehead<br />
and camera<br />
Isca B<br />
P. Ashurst 6 525<br />
J. Parker 5 353<br />
J. Adams 5 275<br />
T. Lewis 4 321<br />
Stu Goldman<br />
American visitor<br />
Exeter A<br />
P. Appleby 15 1501<br />
B. Smitheram 15 1217<br />
N. Ball 13 1137<br />
W. Kelly 13 343<br />
A. Davis 13 309<br />
Exeter D<br />
J. Parker 13 675<br />
E. Smith 12 240<br />
J. Williams 12 201<br />
D. Taylor 11 273<br />
J. Lyes 11 137<br />
Exeter B<br />
S. Holden 15 899<br />
H. Greenaway 14 743<br />
S. Simonis 13 402<br />
D. Simonis 13 391<br />
J. McLeod 11 490<br />
Onto the main event, then. Things ran smoothly for the most part. Three divisions had 22<br />
players, and were played as an incomplete round robin with king-of-the-hill (KOTH) in the<br />
final round. Division A had perhaps the most interesting conclusion. For a while, Brett<br />
Smitheram threatened to run away with the event, but he slipped up towards the end of<br />
day 2 with defeats against Wayne Kelly and Roy Miller. As fate would have it, Brett met in<br />
the penultimate round the only player who could overtake him - Phil Appleby. Brett won<br />
this game, meaning Phil had to beat Brett in the final KOTH by 56 points. Phil did so in<br />
style, winning by nearly 200 points to take his second Easter A division title.<br />
The B division did not have such a close finish. Stewart Holden was the only player to have<br />
won his division before the final round. In this division, there was an interesting battle for<br />
third place, which resulted in Sandie Simonis beating son Daniel to overtake him and take<br />
the 3rd place prize.<br />
13<br />
Exeter E<br />
V. Plewes 15 1131<br />
C. Strawbridge 15 752<br />
K. Carson 13 619<br />
J. Rees 13 451<br />
C. Osborn 12 299<br />
Exeter C<br />
A. Childs 14 1101<br />
J. Hiley 14 961<br />
M. Conway 14 317<br />
D. Beasley 13 138<br />
S. Balment 12.5 861
In the C division, Joanne Hiley needed to beat Alan Childs by over 100 points in the final<br />
KOTH to win the division, but she only managed to win by 15, so Alan was safe.<br />
Divisions D and E were both standard 19-game round robins, and were won by Jill Parker<br />
and Viv Plewes respectively.<br />
Brighton & Hove<br />
18th April (6 games)<br />
Newcastle<br />
Brighton A<br />
Karl Khoshnaw 6 507<br />
Nick Ball 5 157<br />
Simon Carter 4 362<br />
24th April (5 games)<br />
Report from Viv beckmann<br />
We used the same venue as last year but this time had a far superior dining room. One<br />
entrant suggested that the BMSC be held in the North-East as this is actually the centre of<br />
Britain!<br />
This year we had participants with ratings ranging from 184 to 78 and coming from as far<br />
afield as Wales and Glasgow. We were also pleased to welcome Cherry Chapman who<br />
commutes between Hexham and Australia and used to run the Melbourne club.<br />
Newcastle A<br />
Craig Beevers 5 727<br />
Allan Simmons 4 433<br />
Pete Finley 4 60<br />
Ratings prizes were won by Neil Rowley and Alistair Ives in Division A, by Helen Cowie in<br />
Division B and by Cherry Chapman in Division C<br />
Southend-on-Sea<br />
Brighton B<br />
Verity Cross 5 387<br />
Doj Graham 5 371<br />
Pamela Kikumu 5 191<br />
Newcastle B<br />
Russell Smith 4 457<br />
Joy Hodge 4 169<br />
Hilda Hudspeth 4 97<br />
14<br />
Brighton C<br />
Ron Bucknell 6 539<br />
Sheila Booth-Millard 5 92<br />
Margaret Seabrook 5 114<br />
Newcastle C<br />
Rachael Streather 4 428<br />
Elisabeth Williams 4 372<br />
Ena Harding 3 125<br />
24th April (6 games)<br />
Report from Kevin Synnott<br />
Amazingly everyone turned up more or less on time for our first Spring tournament at the Civic<br />
Centre venue. Those who were delayed called from mobiles to let us know which was a great<br />
help. The weather was glorious so people were able to stroll and eat lunch outside. Evelyn was<br />
convinced that we would not get enough entrants to break even. In the event we had 86 players<br />
, Our best total yet. In A and B Divisions Ed Martin and Stuart Solomons were unstoppable and<br />
always looked like winning. In C and D Divisions Marie Perry and Pricilla Munday had to work a<br />
little harder and Marie relied on spread to pip Graham Bonham. A good day too for Southend<br />
locals Beryl Shine and Noel Barnes who both won a ratings prize. Robert Richland staggered away<br />
from his encounter with Ed Martin. Ed started the game with four bonuses on the spin before easing<br />
up with a 47. Robert composed himself though and still managed second place on 5 wins.Our<br />
next tourney date at Southend is Sat 16th October<br />
MSO Cambridge<br />
2nd May (6 games)<br />
Southend A<br />
Ed Martin 6 512<br />
Robert Richland 5 225<br />
Bob Violett 4 340<br />
Southend C<br />
Marie Perry 5 519<br />
Graham Bonham 5 431<br />
Beryl Shine 5 252<br />
MSO Cambridge A<br />
George Gruner 5 509<br />
Andrew Roughton 4 377<br />
Sanmi Odelana 4 248<br />
Rhein International Tournament - Oberwesel<br />
1st-2nd May (14 games)<br />
Report from Alec Webb<br />
Maybe it’s the spectacular location, maybe its the<br />
congeniality of a group of Brits in foreign parts but,<br />
just as last year, in units of enjoyment per minute<br />
the Rhein tournament is unsurpassed.<br />
Sadly, there were only sixteen participants this year,<br />
split into 2 divisions and playing a double roundrobin<br />
format. Sarah Wilks established an early lead<br />
in Division B and held on to right to the end. In<br />
Division A Elie Dangoor lost his opening game but<br />
then won all of his 13 remaining games to be a<br />
worthy champion.<br />
Organiser Karl Khoshnaw has asked me to give<br />
special thanks to Peter Keller, a non-playing friend<br />
who made the trip just to act as tournament director,<br />
which he did flawlessly.<br />
With the disappointing number of entrants for this<br />
tournament, Karl has had to give thought to making<br />
changes for next year’s competition and would very<br />
much like to hear from former Rhein participants<br />
and those who would give consideration to entering<br />
a Germany-based tournament.<br />
Would a change of location be equally or more<br />
attractive than the current one. The alternative<br />
15<br />
Southend B<br />
Stuart Solomons 6 402<br />
David Carrod 4 490<br />
Louise Brundell 4 233<br />
Southend D<br />
Priscilla Munday 5 615<br />
Jan Gibson 4 312<br />
Joan Everitt 4 295<br />
MSO Cambridge B<br />
Chris Cummins 5 745<br />
Ken Bird 5 282<br />
Janet Bonham 4 284<br />
A Division winner Elie Dangoor (left)<br />
with Tournament Director Peter Keller.<br />
B Division winner Sarah Wilks (right)<br />
with runner-up Cindy Hollyer.
venue would be in Lower Saxony near Karl’s home. It too is a very beautiful area, although<br />
more pastoral. The towns are magnificent with an abundance of superbly preserved<br />
timbered buildings. Hopefully, any new venue would be in one such town, and not a mile<br />
mountain climb away as with Oberwesel. Karl is also thinking of moving the date of the<br />
event to July. Please let Karl know how such changes may influence the likelihood of your<br />
entering the event. Karl can be reached through The Last Word or by emailing him directly<br />
at cazique7@hotmail.com<br />
Scottish Championship<br />
Rhein A<br />
Elie Dangoor 13 1218<br />
Alec Webb 11 1261<br />
Bob Lynn 8 367<br />
10th-11th May<br />
Report from Alan Sinclair<br />
The Gannochy Suite at the Dewar’s Centres in Perth is a great room to play in: spacious,<br />
with plenty of light and good sized tables. There are lots of windows to gaze out of for<br />
those who need to contemplate what to do next to help turn the game their way!<br />
So we started on time on the Saturday morning with hopes riding high. The obvious<br />
favourites were our two highest-rated players, Paul Allan and Neil Scott, and the winner in<br />
the previous two years, Allan Simmons. After the first game I was slightly concerned when a<br />
rather highly rated player queried why winners were playing against winners! I put it down<br />
to shock and then had to convince myself that they were getting slightly mixed up with a<br />
round robin format. Paul beat Neil in the second game, but then became the first major<br />
casualty of the tournament when he was beaten by Jim Wilkie from the Lang Toun (Kirkcaldy)<br />
in the third game with a spread of 101. Jim was delighted, but it was obviously a bit too much<br />
for him, as he went on to lose both of his next two games by exactly the same margin!<br />
After the fourth game it was becoming apparent that Simon Gillam was getting back to top<br />
form. He had won all his games and had just beaten Allan Simmons. After he beat Paul<br />
in the sixth game, Simon was the only player to finish the first day on six wins. Neil and<br />
Allan followed on five wins, while Paul and Iain Harley, returning from a spell out of<br />
competition, were amongst a group on four wins.<br />
Sunday morning saw the squaring of shoulders and Simon being eyed as the man to beat.<br />
He continued his winning ways in game seven against Neil, but then hit a losing streak<br />
which allowed Paul to catch and then overtake him. After the tenth game Paul was out in<br />
front by one win, and he maintained that lead to the finish, having won all his six games<br />
on the Sunday, to become Scottish Champion for the first time. Allan was second and Iain,<br />
with five wins on the Sunday, edged out Simon for third.<br />
Scottish Championship<br />
Paul Allan 10 798<br />
Allan Simmons 9 044<br />
Iain Harley 9 405<br />
Simon Gillam 9 250<br />
Neil Scott 8 602<br />
16<br />
Rhein B<br />
Sarah Wilks 12 821<br />
Cindy Hollyer 9.5 443<br />
Ron Bucknell 8 174<br />
Bourne<br />
9th May (6 games)<br />
Report from Graham Wakefield<br />
Bourne Scrabble club held its first rated tournament on Sunday 9th May at the Corn<br />
Exchange, near the town centre. Some quick rejigging of the tournament program was<br />
needed to get the event on its inaugural path. So 10 minutes behind the official start time,<br />
3 divisions with 22 players in each, got under way, but by the start of round 3, with dinner<br />
behind us, the ship was back on course.<br />
Bourne A<br />
Evan Simpson 6 582<br />
Stewart Holden 5 671<br />
Alec Webb 4 264<br />
Bourne B<br />
Greg Kelly 6 719<br />
Carolyn Emery 5 290<br />
Ken Bird 5 – 8<br />
By the end of round 5, Adrian Noller led division C by 1 win, but was well behind on<br />
spread to the three players just behind, so couldn't afford to let up at all. Greg Kelly had<br />
taken the bull by the horns in division B and could just about coast it in the last game being<br />
5 from 5 and + 303 with Carolyn Emery, Marjorie Smith and Ken Bird all 1 win adrift.<br />
Although Ev was undefeated in the A division, he couldn't relax. If he lost to Chris Hawkins<br />
and Stewart Holden beat Alison Sadler, then Stewart could win it. If both Ev and Stewart<br />
were to lose heavily, then either Chris or Alison would have been in with a chance.<br />
So game 6 came and went with all the leaders winning. Well done to all of them. Prizes<br />
were awarded to the 1st four in each division and also a ratings prize. The ratings winners<br />
were David Darman in C in 5th place. Sarah Wilks in B, who came home in 9th place and<br />
in A, it went to Mark lane in 5th spot.<br />
Leaving tradition behind, we decided to award a shield for the best performance of the day<br />
across all divisions and this went to Greg Kelly with 6 wins and a spread of + 719.<br />
congratulations to him on his achievement.<br />
Thanks to all who helped on the day with refreshments between every round or did the<br />
running or adjudicating. We even had to tell one of our runners to slow down as she<br />
thought that a runner had to run! Not bad when all our helpers were over 55 years young,<br />
except for Yoke Shin and myself of course!<br />
17<br />
Bourne C<br />
Adrian Noller 6 205<br />
Marjorie Gardner 5 219<br />
Kathy Carson 4 507
Knowier after the event<br />
Alan Bailey: Here is a short postscript to the<br />
article by Tournament Virgin David Sutton<br />
(West Berks report, The Last Word 95).<br />
As he said, I let him in to play WONKIER<br />
by playing UH for UH/HET to score 27,<br />
with the H on B6. My other rubbishy letters<br />
on that rack included the second W. My<br />
move was quite inept, based partly on my<br />
ignorance of the fact that HET also takes as<br />
front hook the K, which David had got, as<br />
well as S. With hindsight I should have<br />
changed some tiles.<br />
What David did not know about the same<br />
game was this. I had earlier left the Q<br />
Testing the tiles in Malta<br />
Cindy Hollyer: Anxious for respite from the<br />
cold, the damp and the Beckhams, six<br />
members from Brentwood and Romford<br />
Scrabble Clubs headed for the sunshine in<br />
Qowra, Malta. I had the foresight to<br />
contact Joe Micallef, President of the Malta<br />
Scrabble Club and he met us shortly after<br />
our arrival. The result was an invitation to<br />
club nights at St. Aloysious School in<br />
Birkirkara and to their Liberation Day<br />
Tournament at the Union Club in Sliema.<br />
Their club venue was a little difficult to find<br />
even for our taxi driver. However, we met<br />
some of their players, played a few games<br />
and had an introduction to the informality<br />
of club nights. Just as well – Jacqui White<br />
was quite taken aback to have one of the<br />
members cross over and rearrange the tiles<br />
on her rack to make a word. As the word<br />
was ‘AUTO’ and she works for Fords, it was<br />
L E T T E R S<br />
t o t h e e d i t o r<br />
18<br />
floating at C1. A little later I found myself<br />
with the rack DEERUS? I spotted<br />
ESQUIRED, and firmly told myself to stop<br />
making words up, and there was no sense<br />
letting David know what I had got by<br />
playing a phoney. So I settled for QUEERS<br />
for 48, thus saving the blank for later use.<br />
Muchly chagrined was I after the game to<br />
discover that ESQUIRED now exists. It<br />
would have scored me 212<br />
In sum therefore, just two sins in one game,<br />
one of omission and one of commission,<br />
made me a gross loss of 311 points. I fear<br />
this may be a record, the sort I am not<br />
proud to have set.<br />
like carrying coals etc. He then crossed<br />
over and did the same for her opponent!<br />
Unfortunately, only Peggy Lavender of<br />
Brentwood and myself were able to attend<br />
the tournament as we had extended our<br />
stay. This venue was very ex-pat and very<br />
swish. For 6 liri we had 6 games of<br />
Scrabble, copious amounts of coffee and<br />
tea, mouthwatering cakes and lunch with<br />
waitress service. Excellent value. On the<br />
down side, games are not played in<br />
sepulchral silence, conversations are not<br />
carried out sotto voce nor are mobiles<br />
switched off - they are even answered.<br />
One elderly lady ex-pat found the noise<br />
overwhelming and left. It was only after it<br />
was felt that no more competitors were<br />
likely to arrive that the tournament<br />
commenced - as more arrived more tables<br />
were brought out. The standard was very<br />
high, the Maltese were using SOWPODS<br />
long before we accepted the inevitable.<br />
and incorrect challenges invoked a 5<br />
point penalty. What I really enjoyed was<br />
the warmth and friendliness of the<br />
members. Within a few minutes we felt<br />
like lifelong friends. “Come back Cindy”<br />
they said, “Bring some more friends and<br />
19<br />
we will arrange a special tournament for<br />
you”.<br />
I intend taking them up on this anyone<br />
interested ? The weather ? It was fair,<br />
indifferent and good - but since when has<br />
that mattered to Scrabblers.<br />
I am not on commission but I do<br />
recommend a Scrabble holiday there.<br />
In order provide information and encouragement to new tournament organisers,<br />
Carol Smith of Norwich Scrabble Club was asked to describe how she went about<br />
arranging the forthcoming first Norwich Scrabble Event.<br />
Organising the Norwich Scrabble Tournament<br />
I had been thinking about a tournament in Norwich for some time, even sounding<br />
out various hotels and conference rooms while on courses for my work, but never<br />
actually took anything on. Then last year, Mike, my husband reached the grand age<br />
of 65 so we had a surprise birthday/retirement party for him at Hethersett Village<br />
Hall. Among the guests were experienced tournament organisers, Christina and<br />
Dave French who were very quick to point out that the hall was an ideal venue for<br />
a Scrabble tournament, just off the A11 London to Norwich road, close to the A47<br />
Midland to East Coast route - easy access for all. (I must add that from the moment<br />
that Christina and Dave offered their assistance I decided to go ahead and do it.)<br />
First thing, find a suitable date Top priority - do not clash with an Ipswich home<br />
game (for clubmates Philip and Jacquie Aldous), or a holiday, or any other Scrabble<br />
event within this area (not difficult as this is not a very active Scrabble region). Of<br />
course, I also had to ensure the availability of the venue.<br />
I contacted Paul Cartman, the ABSP tournament co-ordinator, for a list of tournament<br />
dates already booked, had a look at the ABSP website and their Tournament<br />
Organisers’ Guidelines and finally settled on September 12th 2004, which would not<br />
clash with any other event.<br />
Mike and I then spent an afternoon at the home of Christina and Dave where they<br />
advised us on all the probable expenses the event would incur. These include hire of<br />
hall, tournament director’s fee, ratings levy, prize money, trophies, score sheets,<br />
refreshments and rewards for runners. Between us we worked out the budget for the<br />
tournament, with me scribbling notes to ensure nothing would be overlooked or<br />
forgotten. Christina and I then completed the Application for Ratings Approval for<br />
dispatch to Paul together with a draft copy of our entry form.<br />
Mike and I then headed home to Norfolk where we are now patiently awaiting entry<br />
applications. (At the time of writing this we are about half full).<br />
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Christina and Dave for all their<br />
assistance. I would recommend anyone planning his or her first tournament to talk<br />
to someone who’s done it before, as I found out, it makes the prospect of organising<br />
a tournament much less daunting.
World Simultaneous Scrabble Record<br />
On Tuesday 11th May Pete Finley made<br />
an attempt on Chris Hawkins’ World<br />
Simultaneous Scrabble Record.<br />
This is Pete’s report:<br />
“Subject to ratification by the Guinness<br />
people, we did it.<br />
I had nineteen opponents in the end (one<br />
opponent couldn’t make it) and I won 10 of<br />
the 19 games, finishing in 2 hours 47 minutes.<br />
There were 9 opponents from Cleveland SC<br />
and 10 from Middlesbrough Gamers Club. I beat the Scrabble players 7-2 and the Gamers<br />
10-0. My two conquerors were Neil Fulton and Richard Moody.<br />
I played two moves of over 100, VERITAs and HEADRIGS, and other pleasing plays included<br />
ALAIMENT (with three overlaps) and AEQUORIN. I had two phonies challenged off -<br />
UNHOpING* (which was a desperate attempt to win an otherwise lost game) and GRAYEN*,<br />
which was just a mistake. In both cases I told my opponent to challenge because I wasn’t<br />
sure of the words.<br />
On reflection, I’m sure that my time is a very ‘soft’ record - easily beatable. Although my<br />
helpers were recording my scores for me, I did total up and announce my score for every<br />
move. If this is deemed unnecessary, I estimate that at least 15 minutes could be shaved off<br />
in this way - say 3 or 4 seconds per move, average of 15 moves per game?<br />
I could have also saved time by playing the letters out quickly in games where I was well<br />
ahead. Even in these games I did make some attempt to play something that resembled the<br />
best move. Blitzing to the finish in games that are already won could save more time.<br />
I suspect Chris Hawkins may fancy another go at the record now, and Brett Smitheram has<br />
been toying with the idea too. Good luck!<br />
Many thanks to Chris Dickson of MGC, who organised the record attempt, my wife Laura,<br />
Pauline Johnson, Sam Beckwith and Tony Davis for being helpers, and all of my opponents.<br />
The Gamers’ names would not be familiar to you, but the Scrabblers were Neil and Richard,<br />
as mentioned above, plus Trish Johnson, Yvonne Goodridge, Barbara McLaren, Flo Davies,<br />
Jessie Brown, Lis Williams and Margaret Stockton.”<br />
Pauline Johnson adds:<br />
“As one of the helpers, I can vouch that it was no easy task to play that number of people.<br />
For erstwhile organisers the room was laid out in an open square so that Pete could move<br />
around on a chair on the inner edge from table to table. He went as quickly as he could while<br />
the helpers tried to stay ahead of him and keep his opponents playing as rapidly as possible.<br />
Pete would play his move and announce the score leaving Laura to adjudicate any challenge,<br />
write down the score and replenish Pete’s rack. A second helper then came along when the<br />
opponent played their move and verified that play.For the opening move Pete started on all<br />
the even numbered tables and replied on all the odd ones. This enabled him to do one<br />
circuit while his “odd “ opponents were playing their moves. After the initial circuit he played<br />
every table in order.<br />
The facilities at our disposal were excellent and our thanks were given to Chris Dickson for<br />
doing the administration work with the centre and Guinness.”<br />
20<br />
204 N David Acton (GM)<br />
203 Y Phil Appleby (GM)<br />
199 Y Harshan<br />
Lamabadusuriya (Exp)<br />
198 Y Nick Ball<br />
197 Y Andrew Davis (GM)<br />
196 N Brett Smitheram (GM)<br />
195 Y Mark Nyman (GM)<br />
195 Y Andrew Perry (GM)<br />
193 Y Helen Gipson (GM)<br />
193 Y Adam Logan<br />
193 N Shanker Menon<br />
192 Y Clive Spate (GM)<br />
191 Y Paul Allan (GM)<br />
190 Y Andrew Cook (GM)<br />
189 Y Russell Byers (GM)<br />
187 Y John Grayson (GM)<br />
185 Y Pete Finley (GM)<br />
185 Y Terry Kirk (GM)<br />
184 Y Wayne Kelly<br />
184 Y Karl Khoshnaw (Exp)<br />
184 Y Neil Scott (Exp)<br />
183 N Sam Kantimathi<br />
182 Y George Gruner<br />
182 Y Allan Simmons (GM)<br />
182 Y Alec Webb (Exp)<br />
182 Y David Webb (GM)<br />
181 Y Femi Awowade (Exp)<br />
181 Y Elie Dangoor (Exp)<br />
181 Y Chris Hawkins<br />
181 Y Adam Philpotts<br />
181 Y Gareth Williams (GM)<br />
180 Y Brian Sugar (GM)<br />
179 Y Stewart Holden<br />
179 Y Ed Martin<br />
179 Y Steve Perry<br />
179 Y Evan Simpson (GM)<br />
178 Y Martin Fowkes (Exp)<br />
178 Y Jared Robinson<br />
177 Y Danny Bekhor<br />
177 Y Di Dennis (GM)<br />
177 N Gary Oliver<br />
176 N Gerry Carter<br />
176 Y Richard Evans (Exp)<br />
176 Y Chris Vicary<br />
175 Y Barry Grossman<br />
175 N Jake Jacobs<br />
175 N Lee Jones<br />
175 Y Lewis Mackay<br />
175 Y Gary Polhill (Exp)<br />
174 N Catherine Costello<br />
174 Y Philip Nelkon (GM)<br />
174 Y Austin Shin<br />
R A T I N G S L I S T<br />
(GM) Grand Master (Exp) Expert<br />
ABSP Member? Y=Yes N=No<br />
174 Y Sandie Simonis (Exp)<br />
173 Y Simon Gillam (Exp)<br />
173 N Brendan McDonnell<br />
173 Y Roy Miller<br />
173 Y Robert Richland (Exp)<br />
172 Y Bob Violett (Exp)<br />
171 N Craig Beevers<br />
171 Y Bob Berry<br />
171 Y Darryl Francis (Exp)<br />
171 Y Helen Greenaway<br />
171 Y Jackie McLeod (Exp)<br />
171 Y Ruth Morgan-Thomas<br />
(Exp)<br />
170 Y Daniel Simonis<br />
170 N Sheila Spate<br />
169 Y Penny Downer (Exp)<br />
169 Y Chris Keeley<br />
169 N Karen Richards<br />
168 Y Joyce Cansfield (Exp)<br />
168 Y Cecil Muscat<br />
168 N Waiyapot<br />
Suttawassuntorn<br />
167 Y Amy Byrne<br />
167 Y Ruth MacInerney<br />
166 N Paul Chadwick<br />
166 Y Graham Harding<br />
166 Y Andrew Roughton<br />
(Exp)<br />
166 Y Alan Sinclair<br />
166 Y Abraham Sosseh<br />
166 N Martin Thomas<br />
166 Y Martin Thompson<br />
166 Y Noel Turner (Exp)<br />
165 Y Theresa Camilleri<br />
165 Y Nick Deller<br />
165 N Alan Georgeson<br />
165 N Jane Gibson<br />
165 Y Bob Lynn<br />
165 Y Neil Rowley<br />
165 Y Wilma Warwick<br />
164 N Billy Dott<br />
164 Y Chris Finlay<br />
164 Y Elisabeth Jardine<br />
164 N Diane Pratesi (Exp)<br />
164 N Chris Quartermaine<br />
164 N Ricky Zinger<br />
163 Y Jojo Delia<br />
163 Y Pauline Johnson<br />
162 Y Helen Grayson (Exp)<br />
162 N Dave Nunn<br />
162 Y David White<br />
161 N Ed Garrett-Jones<br />
161 N John Howell<br />
21<br />
161 Y Mike O’Rourke<br />
161 Y Graeme Thomas<br />
161 N Dianne Ward<br />
160 Y John Ashmore<br />
160 N David Brook<br />
160 Y David Delicata<br />
160 Y Ken Heaton<br />
160 Y Brian Jones<br />
160 Y Ross Mackenzie<br />
160 Y Nuala O’Rourke<br />
160 Y Martin Reed<br />
159 N Chris Davison<br />
159 Y Chris Fenwick<br />
159 Y Graham Maker<br />
159 Y Paloma Raychbart<br />
159 N Margaret Rogers<br />
159 Y Kevin Synnott<br />
159 Y Raymond Tate<br />
158 N Amy Willcox<br />
157 N Erica Cruickshank<br />
157 Y Joanne Hiley<br />
157 N Donald MacLeod<br />
157 Y Christine McKenzie<br />
157 N Malcolm Quirie<br />
156 Y Alan Bailey<br />
156 N Paul Bassett<br />
156 N Alan Buckley<br />
156 Y Maureen Chamberlain<br />
156 Y Gary Fox<br />
156 Y Davina Galloway<br />
156 N Neil Green<br />
156 N Georgina Lawson<br />
156 Y Kate Leckie<br />
156 Y Les Nyman<br />
155 Y Theresa Cole<br />
155 Y Peter Dean<br />
155 Y Ivy Dixon-Baird<br />
155 N Ralph Gibbs<br />
155 Y Debbie Heaton<br />
155 N Mark Hollingsworth<br />
155 Y Peter Liggett<br />
155 Y Frankie Mairey<br />
155 N Thomas Mensah<br />
155 Y Alison Sadler<br />
155 N Angela Swain<br />
155 Y Graham Wakefield<br />
155 Y Malcolm Wearn<br />
155 Y Rachelle Winer<br />
154 Y Steve Balment<br />
154 N Alan Catherall<br />
154 Y Sheila Green<br />
154 Y Marion Keatings<br />
154 Y Robert Pells<br />
Ratings at<br />
18-5-2004<br />
At least 30 games<br />
and at least<br />
1 since 18-5-2002<br />
154 Y Frances Ure<br />
153 Y Moira Conway<br />
153 Y Angela Evans<br />
153 Y Phil Kelly<br />
153 Y Kay McColgan<br />
153 Y Sanmi Odelana<br />
153 Y Margaret Staunton<br />
152 Y Caroline Atkins<br />
152 Y Adrienne Berger<br />
152 Y Simon Carter<br />
152 N Iain Harley<br />
152 Y David Lawton<br />
152 Y Lynne Murphy<br />
152 Y Janet Phillips<br />
152 Y Paul (Sale) Richards<br />
152 Y Anne Steward<br />
152 Y Kate Surtees<br />
152 Y Linda Vickers<br />
151 N Eddy Breed<br />
151 Y Ian Burn<br />
151 Y Alan Childs<br />
151 Y Laura Finley<br />
151 Y Karl Kwiatkowski<br />
151 Y Carol Malkin<br />
151 Y Mary Oram<br />
151 Y Matthew Pinner<br />
151 Y Maureen Rayson<br />
151 Y David Shenkin<br />
151 Y Carol (Norwich) Smith<br />
151 Y Ivan Swallow<br />
150 Y Vincent Boyle<br />
150 Y Gerard Fox<br />
150 N Anne Hidden<br />
150 Y Margaret Pritchett<br />
150 Y Donna Stanton<br />
149 Y Tolani Ayo-Awojobi<br />
149 Y Andy Becher<br />
149 Y Margaret Bright<br />
149 Y Heather Frankland<br />
149 Y John Garcia<br />
149 Y Trish Johnson<br />
149 Y Kim Phipps<br />
149 Y Kenneth Ross<br />
149 Y Carol Stanley<br />
148 Y Ian Coventry<br />
148 Y Elizabeth Hull<br />
148 Y Mark Lane<br />
148 Y David Meadows<br />
148 N Alastair Richards
148 N Fran Thompson<br />
148 Y David Williams<br />
147 N Oluyemi Adesiyan<br />
147 N John Balloch<br />
147 Y Moya Dewar<br />
147 Y Marjory Flight<br />
147 Y Christina French<br />
147 Y Mary Jones<br />
147 Y Chrystal Rose<br />
146 Y Cathy Anderson<br />
146 N Tony Bailey<br />
146 Y Diana Beasley<br />
146 Y Brian Bull<br />
146 Y Kathryn Le Grove<br />
146 Y David Longley<br />
146 N Eileen Meghen<br />
146 N Helen Mitchell<br />
146 N Pam Titheradge<br />
146 Y Tom Wilson<br />
145 Y Philip Aldous<br />
145 N Martin Bloomberg<br />
145 Y Graham Buckingham<br />
145 Y Pat Colling<br />
145 Y Paul Howard<br />
145 N Martin Leverton<br />
145 N Wendy Lindridge<br />
145 Y Danny McMullan<br />
145 N Mandy Weatherill<br />
144 Y Christian Brown<br />
144 Y Lorraine Gordon<br />
144 N Debbie Holloway<br />
144 Y Joy Lloyd<br />
144 Y Anne Ramsay<br />
144 Y Jean Rappitt<br />
144 Y Norman Smith<br />
143 N Marta Dunsire<br />
143 N David Ellis<br />
143 N Tim Hebbes<br />
143 Y Greg Kelly<br />
143 N Brenda Margereson<br />
143 Y Kay Powick<br />
143 N Alec Robertson<br />
143 Y Lesley Watson<br />
142 N Paul Bissett<br />
142 Y Sue Bowman<br />
142 N Moby Cook<br />
142 Y Wanda De Poitiers<br />
142 Y Doj Graham<br />
142 Y Lois McLeod<br />
142 Y Huw Morgan<br />
142 Y Gwynfor Owen<br />
142 N Paul (Australia)<br />
Richards<br />
142 N Lesley Trotter<br />
141 Y Peter Hunt<br />
141 Y Nick Jenkins<br />
141 N Keith King<br />
141 Y Helen Latchem<br />
141 Y Maria Thomson<br />
141 Y Judy Wearn<br />
140 N Eryl Barker<br />
140 Y Viv Beckmann<br />
140 N Jean Bridge<br />
140 N James Crooks<br />
140 Y Tony Davis<br />
140 Y Carmen Dolan<br />
140 Y Robert Johnston<br />
140 N Terry Jones<br />
140 N Doreen Marsh<br />
140 Y Kate McNulty<br />
140 Y George Newman<br />
140 N Richard Woodward<br />
139 Y Liz Allen<br />
139 Y Maurice Brown<br />
139 Y Anand Buddhdev<br />
139 Y Edelle Crane<br />
139 Y Eleanor Dobson<br />
139 Y Carolyn Emery<br />
139 N Sheila Hinett<br />
139 Y Jim Lyes<br />
139 N Nola Marrow<br />
139 Y Joyce Squire<br />
139 Y Jean Swallow<br />
138 Y Eileen (LSL) Anderson<br />
138 N Sheila (Perth) Anderson<br />
138 Y Louise Brundell<br />
138 N Alasdair Dowling<br />
138 Y June Edwards<br />
138 N Patricia Fenn<br />
138 N Alan Guy<br />
138 N Helen Jones<br />
138 Y Lorna Rapley<br />
138 Y Kathy Swan<br />
138 Y Mike Whiteoak<br />
138 Y Val Wright<br />
137 Y Mary Allen<br />
137 Y Carol Arthurton<br />
137 Y Syd Berger<br />
137 Y Linda Hillard<br />
137 Y Tess McCarthy<br />
137 Y Bryn Packer<br />
137 Y Stuart Solomons<br />
137 Y Josef Thompson<br />
137 N Brian Watson<br />
136 Y Minu Anderson<br />
136 Y Heather Burnet<br />
136 Y Norma Howarth<br />
136 Y Pamela Kikumu<br />
136 Y Patricia Pay<br />
136 Y Ronnie Reid<br />
136 Y Marjorie Smith<br />
136 Y Jan Turner<br />
136 Y Sheena Wilson<br />
135 Y Samantha Beckwith<br />
135 Y Linda Bradford<br />
135 Y Jill Bright<br />
135 N Maureen Greening-<br />
Steer<br />
22<br />
135 Y Teresa Hill<br />
135 Y Evelyn Wallace<br />
134 Y Margaret Burdon<br />
134 N Joe Caruana<br />
134 Y Yvonne Eade<br />
134 Y Jill Parker<br />
134 Y Helen Polhill<br />
134 N Barbara Shammas<br />
134 Y Sylvia Swaney<br />
133 N Aaron Bell<br />
133 Y Agnes Gunn<br />
133 Y Sharon Landau<br />
133 Y Mary Siggers<br />
133 N Evan Terrett<br />
132 Y Peter Ashurst<br />
132 Y Michael Baxendale<br />
132 N Garry Clark<br />
132 Y Ceridwen Davies<br />
132 N Barbara Dein<br />
132 Y Chris Dossett<br />
132 N Theresa Ellis<br />
132 Y Ann Golding<br />
132 Y Andy Gray<br />
132 Y Peter Hall<br />
132 Y Alastair Ives<br />
132 Y Malcolm Roberts<br />
131 Y Margaret Armstrong<br />
131 Y David Carrod<br />
131 Y Joan Caws<br />
131 N Val Couzens<br />
131 N Pam Fairless<br />
131 Y Rhoda Gray<br />
131 Y Sandra Hoffland<br />
131 Y Gavin Holmes<br />
131 Y Maureen Reynolds<br />
131 Y Edith Smith<br />
131 Y Derrick Thorne<br />
131 Y Pat Wheeler<br />
131 Y Stephen Wintle<br />
131 N Margaret Yeadon<br />
130 N Janet Braund<br />
130 Y Rita Brookes<br />
130 Y Ann Coleman<br />
130 N Chris Downer<br />
130 Y Priscilla Encarnacion<br />
130 Y Angela Spilsbury<br />
129 Y Janice Bease<br />
129 Y Beryl Brown<br />
129 Y Verity Cross<br />
129 N Ann Davidson<br />
129 Y Norma Galley<br />
129 Y Mavis Harding<br />
129 Y Mike Holland<br />
129 Y Ann Pitblado<br />
129 Y Gertie Roberts<br />
129 N Susan Skirving<br />
129 Y Peter Thomas<br />
129 N Margaret Williams<br />
128 Y Hilary Birdsall<br />
128 Y Jill Fisher<br />
128 Y Jean Gallacher<br />
128 Y Martha Mitchell<br />
128 Y Michael Partner<br />
128 N Jo Ramjane<br />
128 N Paul Steadman<br />
128 N Rita Todd<br />
128 N Sheila Wall<br />
128 Y Jean (Cardiff) Williams<br />
127 N Stella Brown<br />
127 Y Kathy Bullen<br />
127 N Jean Carter<br />
127 Y Ian Caws<br />
127 Y Heather Cruickshank<br />
127 Y Margaret Harkness<br />
127 Y Michael Harley<br />
127 Y Ron Hendra<br />
127 Y Ruth Marsden<br />
127 Y Barbara Morris<br />
127 Y Marlene Skinner<br />
127 Y Teena Walls<br />
126 N Linda Bird<br />
126 N Jean Crowder<br />
126 N Eileen Douglas<br />
126 Y Kathleen Higgins<br />
126 N Doug Hill<br />
126 N Medina Hull<br />
126 Y Peter Lindeck<br />
126 Y Fay Madeley<br />
126 N Gerry Pearce<br />
126 Y Dorothy Taylor<br />
125 N Maureen Austin<br />
125 Y Liz Barber<br />
125 Y Janet Bonham<br />
125 N Pat Broderick<br />
125 N Jennifer Clifford<br />
125 N Joy Coomber<br />
125 Y Christine Gillespie<br />
125 Y Malcolm (Luton)<br />
Graham<br />
125 Y Jane Lowndes<br />
125 Y Yvonne McKeon<br />
125 N Janet Southworth<br />
125 Y Sue Thompson<br />
125 Y Pamela Windsor<br />
124 Y Etta Alexander<br />
124 Y Gail Allen<br />
124 N Nicholas Baker<br />
124 Y Eileen Basham<br />
124 Y Wasinee Beech<br />
124 Y Winnie Buik<br />
124 Y Shirley Chidwick<br />
124 Y Sally Fiszman<br />
124 Y Mary Hopwood<br />
124 N Nicky Huitson<br />
124 Y Margaret Irons<br />
124 Y Hazel Parker<br />
124 N Miri Purse<br />
124 Y Ken Quarshie<br />
124 N Brenda Rodwell<br />
124 Y Carol Sienkiewicz<br />
124 N Gill Thompson<br />
124 Y June Wilson<br />
123 Y Barbara Allen<br />
123 Y Alistair Baker<br />
123 N Sue Ball<br />
123 N Noel Barnes<br />
123 Y Linda Barratt<br />
123 N Harry Beckett<br />
123 Y Geoff Cooper<br />
123 Y Dorothy Dean<br />
123 N Jean Dymock<br />
123 Y Peter Ernest<br />
123 Y Phyllis Fernandez<br />
123 Y Lynn Giles<br />
123 Y Marjorie Gillott<br />
123 Y Barbara Goodban<br />
123 Y Shirley Heal<br />
123 N Jacquie Johnstone<br />
123 Y Sheila Jolliffe<br />
123 Y Marion Kirk<br />
123 N Isla Wilkie<br />
123 Y Sarah Wilks<br />
122 Y Janet Adams<br />
122 N Linda Beard<br />
122 Y Joseph Doku<br />
122 Y Joy Fox<br />
122 N Angie Jones<br />
122 Y May Macdonald<br />
122 N Joe Marsh<br />
122 Y John Mitchell<br />
122 N Sonia Temple<br />
122 Y Wendy Tiley<br />
122 N Maureen Underdown<br />
122 Y Margaret White<br />
121 N Pat Friend<br />
121 Y Jill Harrison<br />
121 Y Andrew Hart<br />
121 Y Barbara Hill<br />
121 N John Jones<br />
121 Y Stuart May<br />
121 Y Peter Sime<br />
121 N Stan Skinner<br />
121 N Rose Spencer<br />
121 Y Edith Tempest<br />
121 Y Cyndy Walker-Firth<br />
120 N Anne Backley<br />
120 N Melanie Beaumont<br />
120 N Bobbie Bennett<br />
120 Y Jake Berliner<br />
120 Y Doreen Blake<br />
120 N Georgina Cook<br />
120 Y Lena Glass<br />
120 N David Reading<br />
120 Y Malcolm Shaw<br />
120 Y Jim Wilkie<br />
120 Y Rosalind Wilson<br />
119 Y Ken Bird<br />
119 N Kate Boutinot<br />
119 Y June Clark<br />
119 Y Vera Flood<br />
119 N Joyce Gershon<br />
119 N Geoff Howe<br />
119 N Marc Meakin<br />
119 Y Philippa Morris<br />
119 N Julie Tate<br />
119 Y Elizabeth Terry<br />
118 N Shirley Angell<br />
118 Y Jessie Brown<br />
118 N Marie English<br />
118 N Janet Milford<br />
118 N Brenda Northcott<br />
118 N Harry Sinclair<br />
118 Y Russell Smith<br />
118 Y Christine Strawbridge<br />
118 N Doris Street<br />
118 Y Martin Summers<br />
118 N Rosemary Wood<br />
117 N Melanie Aked<br />
117 N Elizabeth Allen<br />
117 Y Nora Bain<br />
117 Y Betty Benton<br />
117 Y Derek Bower<br />
117 N Lorna Franks<br />
117 N Carol Grant<br />
117 Y Janet Hamilton<br />
117 Y Joy Hodge<br />
117 Y Christabel Jackson<br />
117 N Sheila Jeffery<br />
117 Y Ted Lewis<br />
117 N Angela Mort<br />
117 N Joan Price<br />
117 N Mary Shaw<br />
117 N Jo Tebbutt<br />
117 N Kathleen Ward<br />
116 Y John Ball<br />
116 N Jean Buckley<br />
116 Y Paul Cartman<br />
116 Y Dorothy Churcher<br />
116 N Barbara Kent<br />
116 Y Joan Lawrence<br />
116 N Rhian Lewis<br />
116 Y Miriam Moss<br />
116 N Helen Sandler<br />
116 Y Vera Sime<br />
116 N Peter Slack<br />
115 Y Sheila (Romford)<br />
Anderson<br />
115 Y Mabel Choularton<br />
115 N David French<br />
115 N Marjorie Hislop<br />
115 Y Val Hoskings<br />
115 N Helen Morris<br />
115 Y Marie Perry<br />
115 N Willie Scott<br />
115 Y Irene Woolley<br />
114 N John Brown<br />
23<br />
114 Y Hannah Corbett<br />
114 N Gwyneth Cox<br />
114 N Barbara Etheridge<br />
114 N June Faulkner<br />
114 Y Eileen Foster<br />
114 N Marjorie Gardner<br />
114 N Kathy Gibbons<br />
114 Y Juliet Green<br />
114 N Margaret Herbert<br />
114 N Roma Hollingworth<br />
114 Y Hilda Hudspeth<br />
114 Y Marjorie Lefley<br />
114 N Olivia Patton<br />
114 N Helen Rees<br />
114 N Joanna Skirving<br />
114 Y Jan Vokes-Taylor<br />
114 N Judy Young<br />
113 Y Doreen Acton<br />
113 N Eileen (Reading)<br />
Anderson<br />
113 Y Jean Bakewell<br />
113 N Sheila Booth-Millard<br />
113 N Martin Byrne<br />
113 Y Florence Davies<br />
113 Y Olive Dolan<br />
113 N Joan Ellis<br />
113 Y Daphne Fletcher<br />
113 Y Cindy Hollyer<br />
113 N June Lindridge<br />
113 N June Lowrie<br />
113 Y Judy Monger<br />
113 N Jean Owen<br />
113 N Joy Reason<br />
113 Y Joan Rees<br />
113 N Monica Stockwell<br />
112 Y Bill Anderson<br />
112 N Mary Brown<br />
112 N Helen Cowie<br />
112 Y John Harrison<br />
112 Y Peter Kelly<br />
112 N Norman Partridge<br />
112 Y Vivienne Plewes<br />
112 Y Stuart Ross<br />
112 N Isobel Smith<br />
112 Y Yvonne Templeton<br />
111 N Lyn Brookes<br />
111 Y Ron Bucknell<br />
111 N Marlene Diskin<br />
111 N Paula Docherty<br />
111 Y Barbara Grant<br />
111 Y Molly Lane<br />
111 N Dennis Nelson<br />
111 N Val Stewart<br />
111 Y Claudia Wiseman<br />
110 N Don Beavis<br />
110 N Margaret Bigg<br />
110 Y Graham Bonham<br />
110 Y Owen Clarke<br />
110 N Wilf Gibbons<br />
110 Y Marian Hamer<br />
110 N Paul Moorefield<br />
110 N Mary Morgan<br />
110 Y Kitty Rugman<br />
110 N Faye Spooner<br />
109 N Eileen Bradshaw<br />
109 Y Richard Hitchcock<br />
109 Y Joyce Jarvis<br />
109 N Rosalyn Lishak<br />
109 Y Denise Saxton<br />
109 N Sheila Szzvanowski<br />
108 Y Irene Atkinson<br />
108 N Beryl Browner<br />
108 N Eve Dwyer<br />
108 N Barbara Fleming<br />
108 Y Marjorie Garrett<br />
108 Y Jill Jones<br />
108 Y Rosemary Jordan<br />
108 Y Adrian Noller<br />
108 N Jane Weston<br />
107 Y Keith Churcher<br />
107 N Joy Hewgill<br />
107 Y Barbara Lukey<br />
107 N Doreen Morris<br />
107 Y Vivienne Newman<br />
107 Y Celia Osborn<br />
106 Y Sylvia Baldock<br />
106 Y Margaret Boyd<br />
106 N Sue Bullock<br />
106 N Irene Catherall<br />
106 Y Ruby Flood<br />
106 Y Peter Johnson<br />
106 Y Lorna Llewellyn<br />
106 N Ann McDonnell<br />
106 Y Sheila Miller<br />
106 Y Margaret Mitchell<br />
106 N Shirley Scoberg<br />
106 Y Beryl Shine<br />
105 Y Helen Aley<br />
105 N Stephen Lally<br />
105 Y Isabelle McLean<br />
105 Y Richard Pajak<br />
105 Y Pat Rockley<br />
105 N Fuad Shammas<br />
105 Y Jean Shaw<br />
105 N Pamela Sparkes<br />
105 N Sheila Tutt<br />
105 Y Chris Wide<br />
104 Y Peter Bailey<br />
104 N Pat Burgess<br />
104 N Eve Conlon<br />
104 N Tricia Cooper<br />
104 Y Elsie Edwards<br />
104 N Rona Falconer<br />
104 Y Audrey Harvey<br />
104 N Margaret Mills<br />
104 N Esme Norris<br />
104 Y Barbara Solomon<br />
104 Y Heather Stevens
104 Y Grace Summers<br />
104 N Amy Vye<br />
104 N Jacqui White<br />
103 Y Mary Adams<br />
103 N Beverley Burgess<br />
103 Y Shirley Cave<br />
103 Y Myra Copleston<br />
103 Y Margaret Firmston<br />
103 N Jenny Jaques<br />
103 N Jack Waley-Cohen<br />
102 Y Kathy Carson<br />
102 N Rona Dryden<br />
102 Y Jo Holland<br />
102 N Olive Holroyd<br />
102 Y Gwen Linfoot<br />
102 N Mary Manson<br />
102 Y Terry Masterson<br />
102 N Patrice McCarry<br />
102 N Josie Rogers<br />
102 Y Susan Thorne<br />
101 N Marie Davie<br />
101 N Peter Edwards<br />
101 Y June Johnstone<br />
101 Y Mary Keevy<br />
101 N Margaret Lowrie<br />
101 N Margaret Macdonald<br />
101 N Stan Morris<br />
101 Y Dorothy Pearson<br />
101 Y Connie Riach<br />
101 Y Martin Taylor<br />
101 N Cheryl Tracey<br />
100 N Sarah Addison<br />
100 N Madelaine Baker<br />
100 Y Christine Cartman<br />
100 Y Ann Clark<br />
100 Y Mavis Ernest<br />
100 N Angela Garrard<br />
100 Y May Gray<br />
100 Y Margaret Greenyer<br />
100 N Paul Harding<br />
100 N Mollie Moran<br />
100 N Magda Norris<br />
100 N Anne Richards<br />
100 N Wenna Robinson<br />
100 N Ian Smith<br />
100 N Winifred Smith<br />
100 N Sarah Taylor<br />
100 N Geoff Waters<br />
99 Y Iris Cornish<br />
99 N Jean Fothergill<br />
99 Y Sue Ison<br />
99 Y Ann Toft<br />
99 Y Jessie Tollick<br />
99 N Alice Tozeland<br />
98 N Peter Beales<br />
98 N Alex Beckmann<br />
98 N Alan Everitt<br />
98 Y Susan Richardson<br />
98 Y Margaret Seabrook<br />
98 N Christine Spicer<br />
98 Y Nicola Staunton<br />
97 N Cecilia Cotton<br />
97 Y Reg Dendy<br />
97 Y Renee Gilbert<br />
97 N Gerry Gleeson<br />
97 N Fay Goble<br />
97 Y Christine Nicholson<br />
97 N Mary Ralfs<br />
97 N Yoke Shin<br />
97 N Winifred Stitt<br />
97 N Marjorie Struggles<br />
97 N Beryl Trace<br />
97 N Su Williams<br />
97 N Sonja Wyld<br />
96 N Maureen Barlow<br />
96 N Judy Beales<br />
96 Y Anna Blakey<br />
96 N Les Costin<br />
96 Y Dorothy Edwards<br />
96 N Joan Everitt<br />
96 Y Jenny Harris<br />
96 Y Mary Lindsay<br />
96 Y Anne Partridge<br />
96 N Les Searle<br />
96 N Betty Simmonds<br />
96 N Hazel Smith<br />
96 Y Jean Stevens<br />
96 Y Marianne Ward<br />
95 Y Rita Barton<br />
95 Y Carmen Borg<br />
95 Y Fred Burford<br />
95 Y Chris Chapman<br />
95 N Jean Gelly<br />
95 Y Barbara Haggett<br />
95 Y Barrie Hall<br />
95 N Rosemarie Howis<br />
95 N Joan Johns<br />
95 Y Audrey Medhurst<br />
95 N Alice Nadin<br />
95 Y Derek Neath<br />
95 Y Sheila Reeve<br />
95 N Jean-Iris Williams<br />
94 Y Barbara Barker<br />
94 N Ruth Binding<br />
94 Y Richard Brookes<br />
94 N Prue Buckingham<br />
94 N Rose Lawson<br />
94 N Anne Lawton<br />
94 N John Macdonald<br />
94 Y Priscilla Munday<br />
94 Y Remie Salazar<br />
94 Y Claire Violett<br />
94 Y Evelyn Wansbrough<br />
94 N Dorothy Wilks<br />
94 Y Elisabeth Williams<br />
93 Y Margaret Coleman<br />
93 Y Kerry Constant<br />
93 Y Yvonne Goodridge<br />
93 N Patricia Holmes<br />
93 N Violette Little<br />
24<br />
93 N Richard Tempest<br />
93 N Christine Watkins<br />
93 Y Anne Wilkins<br />
92 Y Jacquie Aldous<br />
92 N Jan Gibson<br />
92 Y Jean Masterson<br />
92 Y Moreen Shillitoe<br />
92 Y Rose Wall<br />
91 Y Ginny Dixon<br />
91 Y Caroline Elliott<br />
91 N Agnes Gray<br />
91 N Jean Jacobs<br />
91 N Barbara Pinto<br />
91 Y Jenny Sakamoto<br />
91 Y Peter Shuttlewood<br />
91 Y Ian Whyte<br />
91 Y Amabel Winter<br />
90 Y Brian Beaumont<br />
90 N Bernard Bruno<br />
90 N Margaret Emmott<br />
90 Y Jean Greenland<br />
90 N Kitty Reid<br />
89 N Mike Adsetts<br />
89 N Joan Hughes<br />
89 N Audrey Jackson<br />
89 Y Barbara McLaren<br />
89 Y Beroze Mody<br />
89 Y Sheila Smith<br />
89 N Mary Warwick<br />
88 Y Vera Allen<br />
88 N Doreen Coleman<br />
88 N Steve Davie<br />
88 N Joyce Frost<br />
88 N Lionel Howard<br />
88 Y Mandy Isaac<br />
88 N Baldip Kaur<br />
88 Y Gordon Lamb<br />
88 N Olive Matthew<br />
88 Y Susan Paton<br />
87 N Dorothy Black<br />
87 Y Joan Garlick<br />
87 N Sheila Johnston<br />
87 N Helen Thompson<br />
87 N Rod Winfield<br />
86 N Iris Grover<br />
86 Y Lyndon Johnson<br />
86 Y Norah Thompson<br />
85 Y Peter Basham<br />
85 Y Hazel Brannan<br />
85 Y Moira Metcalf<br />
85 Y Fergus Williams<br />
85 N Reg Wiseman<br />
84 N Chris Baker<br />
84 N Florence Connell<br />
84 N Mary Craddock<br />
84 N Bernard Dolan<br />
84 Y Lionel Millmore<br />
84 Y Patrick Teague<br />
83 N Margaret Craig<br />
83 N Winnie Haston<br />
83 Y Peggy Lavender<br />
83 N Doris Mackay<br />
83 N Monica Urquhart<br />
82 Y Evelyn Mankelow<br />
82 Y Zoe Marlowe<br />
82 Y Joan Murphy<br />
82 Y Jill Russell<br />
82 Y Sheila Stanton<br />
81 Y Ted Anderson<br />
81 N Elsie Brown<br />
81 N Joyce Caruth<br />
81 N Eileen Johnson<br />
81 N Moira Mackintosh<br />
80 N Doreen Searles<br />
80 Y Margaret Webb<br />
80 N Bobby Wright<br />
79 N Peter Munt<br />
79 N Nicholas Robertson<br />
79 N Jane Thomas<br />
78 Y Pamela Brown<br />
78 N Cath Cameron<br />
78 Y Eileen Hunter<br />
78 Y Millie Ward<br />
77 Y Marcia Davies<br />
77 N Frank Goodier<br />
77 N Helen Jankowski<br />
77 N Vanw Lloyd<br />
77 N Margaret Sutherland<br />
76 Y Jean Ross<br />
76 N Pat Sinclair<br />
75 N Jessie Chisholm<br />
75 N Margaret Jaggs<br />
75 Y Michael Murray<br />
75 N Elizabeth Mustard<br />
75 N Mary Shiells<br />
74 N Norma Clunas<br />
74 Y Dorothy Henry<br />
74 Y Edna Lindeck<br />
74 N Douglas Reid<br />
74 N Carl Szzvanowski<br />
73 Y Letty Burrell<br />
73 N Ena Harding<br />
72 N Sheila Marshall<br />
72 Y Olive Smith<br />
72 N Nancy Yorkston<br />
71 N Alec West<br />
70 N Betty Meazey<br />
69 N Margaret Regan<br />
67 Y Mary Kennedy<br />
67 N Helen Tegg<br />
64 Y Ruth Turner<br />
63 Y Jean Hendrick<br />
62 Y Philip Turner<br />
60 N Barbara Yeaman<br />
55 Y Barbara Horlock<br />
No. 14<br />
25<br />
by PHIL APPLEBY<br />
Annotated Game: Evan Simpson v Stewart Holden, 27th March 2004<br />
This issue’s featured game comes from the A division at the Durham event. Although<br />
neither player was challenging for the title, for both Evan and Stewart there was plenty of<br />
pride at stake...<br />
Evan 1: CIILOTY<br />
Evan finds the ideal play, in terms of score and rack leave. The only problem is that it’s not<br />
a word! Perhaps he was hoping Stewart would play a B, D, or S, so that he could play an<br />
8-letter word next move (see page 32 for the solutions). Best is ICILY at h8a for 28.<br />
(COILY) 0 0<br />
Stewart 1: A EEFNOZ (- 0)<br />
Not a difficult choice for Stewart. ZOEAE scores the same, but the leave is substantially<br />
worse. FEAZE for 42 isn’t bad, but it’s not as good as ZONAE.<br />
ZONAE d8a 48 48<br />
Evan 2: CIILOTY (-48)<br />
Ideally Evan would like to play off one of his I’s. OILY at e7a (20) or f9a (19) would leave<br />
CIT, while YONIC at f6d (24) leaves ILT. However the best score is 34 for ZLOTY at d8d.<br />
Evan wisely decides to take the points.<br />
ZLOTY d8d 34 34<br />
Stewart 2: E F BDDNW (+14)<br />
Not a great pick-up, but Stewart finds an excellent rack-balancer with a word I didn’t know.<br />
However the more mundane DOWF at c10a for 19 actually simulates slightly better.<br />
WEBFED h4d 19 67<br />
Evan 3: CII ADEG (-33)<br />
Again Evan has lots of choices, and again the decision is whether to go for score or rack<br />
leave. The highest scoring play is OIDIA at e8d for 26, but CEG is a rather clunky leave.<br />
For better balance there’s DINIC at f6d for 18, leaving AGE, or IGAD at g2d for 16, leaving<br />
ICE. A move that achieves both score and a decent leave is WIDGIE at h4a for 22, leaving<br />
AC. Again, Evan opts for the points.<br />
OIDIA e8d 26 60<br />
Stewart 3: D N EIIUV (+ 7)<br />
Stewart does well to spot the only playable bonus.<br />
UNDIVINE f2d 75 142
Evan 4: CEG AIOP (-82)<br />
Evan has an unusual, but playable, seven-letter word on his rack - can you see it? (See page<br />
32) Of the non-bonus plays, Evan’s choice of PEACING looks as good as anything - any 6letter<br />
-ING word keeping the E back (PACING, COPING, CAPING) all take an S in front,<br />
which looks a bit dangerous.<br />
PEACING a3a 28 88<br />
Stewart 4: AEHOSWY (+54)<br />
Stewart’s word knowledge again comes to the fore, enabling him to find the best move. I’d<br />
have had to settle for the second best play of HYPO for 39.<br />
SOPHY a1d 51 193<br />
Evan 5: O EGHJR? (-105)<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
13<br />
14<br />
15<br />
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o<br />
S<br />
O U<br />
P E A C I N G<br />
H D W<br />
Y I E<br />
V B<br />
I F<br />
ZONAE<br />
L I E D<br />
OD<br />
T I<br />
Y A<br />
This is the type of rack where the best play is dependent on the state of the game. Evan is<br />
over 100 points behind, has a blank on his rack, and needs at least one bonus. And the<br />
board isn’t exactly bonus-friendly. So he is looking for a play that opens the board and gets<br />
rid of the J. If he was well ahead, he might well settle for the highest-scoring play of HOD<br />
at d4a for 30.<br />
Evan’s choice is JO at i3d. I’d probably have played JOR for the extra points, particularly<br />
with no R’s having been played so far.<br />
JO i4d 22 110<br />
Stewart 5: AEW LRST (+83)<br />
A big mistake by Stewart. With three bonuses on the rack (see page 32), he manages to<br />
come up with a phony. How costly will it turn out to be?<br />
(WALTERS) 0 193<br />
26<br />
Score:<br />
Evan 88<br />
Stewart 193<br />
EGHJOR?<br />
Evan<br />
Evan 6: EGHR? EQ (- 83)<br />
Clever play by Evan, blocking all three of Stewart’s sevens, plus the 8-letter BLEWARTS at<br />
h6a.<br />
JOE i4d 12 122<br />
Stewart 6: AELRSTW (+71)<br />
Despite his error, Stewart still looks in good shape, with a nice 24-point play and a<br />
beautiful AERST leave. However I think I’d have played OW, keeping back the L for<br />
EEL.<br />
OWL a2a 24 217<br />
Evan 7: EGHQR? E (- 95)<br />
Holding an identical rack, Evan plays the move he would have done but for the necessity<br />
to block Stewart’s bonuses.<br />
QI e5a 22 144<br />
Stewart 7: AERST EM (+73)<br />
Nothing wrong with the pick-up, but on a tight board there are no playable bonuses.<br />
Stewart maintains his STARE, playing off EM for the maximum score. I’d have been tempted<br />
by EM at f11d for 15, on the basis that it creates an additional hook for the E and S.<br />
HEM a4a 19 236<br />
Evan 8: EEGHR? I (- 92)<br />
Like Stewart, Evan has multiple bonuses but nowhere to play them. You might like to test<br />
yourself by seeing how many 7-letter words you can find with Evan’s rack - see page 32 for<br />
the answers. Without a bonus, Evan looks to balance his rack and create a new S hook.<br />
His EH looks like a sound move.<br />
EH f11d 17 161<br />
Stewart 8: AERST AB (+75)<br />
At last Stewart gets his bonus, with the choice of ABATERS and ABREAST at i9d. With a<br />
140-point lead, he must be feeling very confident...<br />
ABREAST i9d 65 301<br />
Evan 9: EGIR? A? (-140)<br />
How quickly a 140-point lead can disappear! Note that if Stewart had played ABATERS<br />
instead, Evan could still have scored 131 points with ASSIGNER.<br />
sTRIGAtE h15a 131 292<br />
Stewart 9: ADEKORT (+ 9)<br />
Again Stewart has a 7-letter word on his rack (see page 32), but again it won’t play. KO is<br />
a best, setting up an additional bonus line.<br />
KO j2d 25 326<br />
27
Evan 10: AGEIIST (- 34)<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
13<br />
14<br />
15<br />
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o<br />
S<br />
OWL U K<br />
P E A C I N G J O<br />
HEM D WO<br />
Y I E E<br />
V B<br />
I F<br />
ZONAE<br />
L I E D A<br />
OD B<br />
T I E R<br />
Y A H E<br />
A<br />
S<br />
S T R I G A T E<br />
Things are getting very interesting, with both players holding racks full of bonus potential.<br />
Evan decides that the tiles to ditch are GI, and I agree with him. Looking at the unseen tiles,<br />
there are far more consonants than vowels to come, including four N’s and four R’s, either<br />
of which would combine beautifully with AEIST. The real question is where to ditch GI.<br />
The three prime candidates are k3d, j9d, and c1a. Evan plays the boldest of the three,<br />
making JOG/GI. It’s a straight race to see who can pick the bonus first...<br />
GI k3d 14 306<br />
Stewart 10: ADERT MU (+20)<br />
Evan’s previous move has worked out perfectly for him. If he’d played GI anywhere else,<br />
Stewart would have had MATURED at k1d for 86. Denied his bonus, Stewart has the<br />
choice of continuing to fish for a bonus, or trying to maximise his score. The bottom right<br />
corner of the board offers several opportunities: MUD at m14a for 21 leaves a lovely RATE<br />
on the rack, but it’s probably best to play more tiles and extend the lead. There are a couple<br />
of nice 5-letter plays; best is DATUM at k14a, but not far behind is Stewart’s play of<br />
MUTED.<br />
MUTED k14a 30 356<br />
Evan 11: A E I S T E N (- 50)<br />
Evan gets the bonus he was fishing for, although TENIASES at b14a would have scored 5<br />
more points and been less risky.<br />
TRAINEES h11a 66 372<br />
Stewart 11: A R CLLRT (-16)<br />
Behind for the first time, and with a horrid rack, things have definitely gone downhill fast<br />
for Stewart. Being a northerner, CLARTS leapt out at me, but Stewart’s southern roots<br />
conspire against him on this occasion, and he has to settle for CARLS instead.<br />
CARLS o7d 21 377<br />
28<br />
Unseen:<br />
AAEEIOOOUUU<br />
CDFLLMNNNNP<br />
RRRRSTTTVX<br />
Score:<br />
Evan 292<br />
Stewart 326<br />
A E G I I S T<br />
Evan<br />
Evan 12: A F N O P S T (- 5)<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
13<br />
14<br />
15<br />
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o<br />
S<br />
OWL U K<br />
P E A C I N G J O G<br />
HEM D WO I<br />
Y I E E<br />
V B<br />
I F C<br />
ZONAE A<br />
L I E D A R<br />
OD B L<br />
T I E T R A I N E E S<br />
Y A H E<br />
A<br />
S M U T E D<br />
S T R I G A T E<br />
Considering how much dross there was in the bag, this is a great pick-up. The question is<br />
how best to utilise the riches on his rack... Evan decides to take the points immediately,<br />
playing FAST using the S for JOGS. However this sets up FASTI, and the possibility of an<br />
immediate comeback for Stewart with NIX for 36, or even worse, a move such as FLUX at<br />
l1a for 42.<br />
With the GIF hook available, it would be far better to hold back the S and take the points<br />
there. FOP for 30 looks great, leaving ANST, but with lousy tiles in the bag and few<br />
openings for bonuses a better play is FONT for 28, setting up a high-scoring play from<br />
o1 involving FONTS.<br />
FAST l1d 38 410<br />
Stewart 12: LRT RROU (-33)<br />
From Stewart’s perspective, the unseen tiles are IOOU NNNPVX. Is there any possibility<br />
of eking out a win? Somehow he needs a high-scoring move involving the X, and the best<br />
possibilities still appear to be at the top of the board. I’m not sure I’d have seen it, but<br />
the move the computer likes best is TORR at k12a for 18. It leaves LU on Stewart’s rack,<br />
giving the possibility of FLUX, so a pickup which include NIX might still be good<br />
enough. Stewart’s move of UR at m13a has the advantage of leaving three tiles in the<br />
bag, but there’s surely insufficient potential left on his rack.<br />
UR m13a 12 389<br />
Evan 13: N O P NNOV (+21)<br />
Evan has a 21-point lead, with IOULRRTX unseen. What’s the worst that Stewart could<br />
do? I suppose it has to be FLUX, FLIX or FIXT at l1a for 42, and unless the X is in the bag<br />
he has to have one of ‘em. For that reason it might make sense to play a move that blocks<br />
these plays - for example ANON at l2a. However Evan adopts the alternative strategy of<br />
maximizing his score. EEVN is a difficult word to see; perhaps the presence of “Ev”<br />
helped him spot it! The other good thing about EEVN is that it leaves two vowels on<br />
29<br />
Unseen:<br />
IOOUU<br />
LNNRRRTVX<br />
Score:<br />
Evan 372<br />
Stewart 377<br />
A F N O P S T<br />
Evan
Evan’s rack, so the chances are that he can play out in two moves - whereas it’s difficult<br />
to envisage a one move out-play for Stewart after his expected 42-point X play.<br />
EEVN h5a 22 432<br />
Stewart 13: LORRT IX (-43)<br />
With no two move out-play, Stewart settles for the 42 points for FIXT.<br />
FIXT l1a 42 431<br />
Evan 14: NNOOP U (+ 1)<br />
With Stewart unable to play out, all Evan needs to do is to play out in two. His move<br />
achieves this, although there are various alternatives which would have increased his<br />
spread.<br />
PUN j7d 9 441<br />
Stewart 14: LORR (-10)<br />
Best is LOR at k10a for 9, but quite rightly Stewart tries a word that he hopes will be there.<br />
Unfortunately for him, it ain’t.<br />
(LORRE) 0 431<br />
Evan 15: O O N (+10)<br />
And Evan duly plays out to win the game.<br />
POON<br />
Final score: Evan 452 Stewart 427<br />
j7a 7 448<br />
A Tempting Setup<br />
In the Easter Matchplay, I was faced with the following situation in my game against Mark<br />
Nyman:<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
13<br />
14<br />
15<br />
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o<br />
YOB J<br />
C ONEPAT L S<br />
N Q<br />
B E U<br />
V A T A I<br />
Z A X F Y R<br />
HOAG I ES U E<br />
FORE MOWN D<br />
UKE<br />
V E L D S<br />
A W<br />
A L G E R I N E<br />
C I D U I<br />
S O R I C I N E G<br />
R I P E E H<br />
30<br />
Unseen:<br />
AAIOLTTT<br />
Score:<br />
Phil 419<br />
Mark 448<br />
DMNOR S T<br />
Phil<br />
I decided to try something clever, and played MHO at l15a for 11. My reasoning was that<br />
if I picked up a vowel I’d have a pretty much unblockable high-scoring play on the O<br />
column, making MHOS. Mark could make life slightly more difficult, but I couldn’t see any<br />
way in which he could stop me scoring 40+ points - and if he did, he would risk sacrificing<br />
the chance of playing out in two. I duly picked up one of the two A’s, but Mark responded<br />
with TOWT at k11a for 20, taking a 38-point lead, and after my DANS/MHOS for 48, he<br />
played out with TAIL/TON/AWEIGH/IT for 26, winning by 20 points.<br />
As it happens, with an A in the bag there is a way in which I can win the game. Can you<br />
see it? The answer is on page 32.<br />
An Unexpected Opening<br />
My thanks to Allan Simmons for submitting the following board position. What move<br />
provides the best winning chance in this position?<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
13<br />
14<br />
15<br />
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o<br />
Z F O B<br />
P E R V E R Y<br />
AR FELON<br />
NOD J AGER<br />
O T U G<br />
ER L<br />
MUM WO<br />
I T H A H S<br />
B E A<br />
X P O O<br />
I V A T D I C K<br />
ANOD I SE Y<br />
E U<br />
D A T I N G S<br />
Q U I N<br />
It would be very dangerous to play ZAIRE because that will empty the bag and there is a<br />
realistic threat of a bonus ending in -S or _SE from the opponent down the n column<br />
making DICKS.<br />
The opponent might well score 42 or 45 so from the Z so how do you counter both the<br />
threat of a good Z score and the threat of a bonus?<br />
See next page for a possible answer...<br />
31<br />
Unseen:<br />
CEEEIILNST<br />
Score:<br />
You 350<br />
Opp 370<br />
AAE I RSW<br />
You<br />
Contributions for Across the Board<br />
I’m always delighted to receive interesting board positions, games for annotation, clever<br />
moves, endgames, and anything else that’s happened to you across the board. You can<br />
contact me at:<br />
Thorns Cottage, Mount Pleasant Lane, Lymington, Hampshire, SO41 8LS<br />
or by e-mail at: phil_appleby2000@yahoo.co.uk
Answers to problems posed in Across The Board<br />
Annotated game:<br />
(1) The three eights with CIILOTY are BIOLYTIC, DOCILITY and SOLICITY.<br />
(2) The 7-letter word with ACEGIOP is APOGEIC.<br />
(3) The three sevens with AELRSTW are WARSTLE, WASTREL and WRASTLE.<br />
(4) EEGHIR goes with A, D, N and W to form HIREAGE, HEDGIER, REHINGE, and<br />
REWEIGH/WEIGHER<br />
(5) The 7-letter word with ADEKORT is TROAKED.<br />
A Tempting Setup<br />
The winning play is MOST at a12a for 34, giving me a 453-448 lead. After the A pick-up,<br />
I have out-plays at n7d with RAND, or k11d with DINAR. Mark’s best play is ATILT at n6d<br />
for 18, but after DINAR I win 467-464.<br />
An Unexpected Opening<br />
Play YA at m12a for 5 - you have the last hooks for YA (R and W). Your rack leave of<br />
WARIES combines with 70% of the unseen letters to make a playable bonus:<br />
• E = WEARIES<br />
• I = AIRWISE<br />
• L = SWALIER/WAILERS<br />
• T = WAITERS/WAISTER/WASTRIE<br />
Your opponent will probably have to try and block this threat, if at all possible, for example<br />
with SAT at n11d. If the opponent can’t, and has to settle for a Z score, then he will empty<br />
the bag and you will have the endgame advantage and a bonus, or at worst a high-scoring<br />
play involving YAW which might still give you a chance of the win.<br />
HB HOLIDAYS<br />
SCRABBLE HOLIDAYS 2004/5<br />
25 - 28 June Ramada Jarvis, Caledonian, Ayr<br />
23 - 26 July Ramada Jarvis, Bingley<br />
3-6 September Clifton Hill Hotel, Penrith<br />
1 - 4 October Best Western Park Lodge Hotel, Falkirk<br />
17 - 23 October Hotel Le Relais Alpin, Switzerland<br />
29 Oct - I Nov Cairn Hotel, Harrogate<br />
12-15 November Standish Moat House, Wigan<br />
4 - 11 February Hotel Sol, Magalluf, Majorca<br />
Enquiries to Viv Beckmann<br />
01912 731705<br />
howzatvb@gotadsl.co.uk<br />
32<br />
Pictured here with his bride Wendy,<br />
Brian Cappalletto, former WSC<br />
champion and arguably the worlds<br />
finest Scrabble player, was married<br />
on May 8th.<br />
EDGEWAYS<br />
Hook Trains<br />
In this puzzle, each word has a number of hooks on each end. Fill in each space with the<br />
one letter that is both an end-hook for the word preceding it and a front-hook for the word<br />
succeeding it. For example:<br />
PERFECT [ ] RING [ ] YENS<br />
PERFECT takes A, I, O and S after it; RING takes B, E, I and W before it. I is the only letter<br />
common to both lists, to make PERFECTI and IRING, so I is the answer here. Since S is the<br />
only letter that hooks onto RING, the next answer must be S, making RINGS and SYENS.<br />
Fill in the hook trains below. In each case there is only one right answer, and no letter is<br />
used more than once in either puzzle.<br />
(a) UNCLE [ ] EIGHT [ ] UNDER [ ] AUNT<br />
(b) PINK [ ] BET [ ] ARE [ ] DOS [ ] OR [ ] ACER [ ] RED<br />
Romeo and Juliet Tango in India<br />
Which seven letters of the phonetic alphabet are<br />
not in OSWI?<br />
Anananagrams<br />
Part XXIII<br />
How many words of 2 or more letters can you<br />
make from this opening rack?<br />
Compiled by Ross Mackenzie<br />
(Puzzle solutions on inside back cover)<br />
33<br />
“...but Romeo, I just<br />
want to dance”
Forgotten Fives<br />
(a word list contribution from David Sutton)<br />
Most players seem relatively weak on their knowledge<br />
on their five-letter words. Easy to understand why:<br />
the typical aspiring player learns the twos, threes<br />
and some of the fours, then rushes on to study the<br />
high-probability six- and seven-letter bonus stems,<br />
meaning to return to the uncommoner fives in due<br />
course, but somehow never quite gets round to<br />
learning any more of them than a few useful vowel<br />
dumps and a selection of the JQXZ words. This<br />
is a pity. The bonus sevens and eights might<br />
be the knockdown blows of Scrabble, but the fives<br />
are the short-range body punches that wear an opponent down. Below are fifty five-letter<br />
words that have two things in common: they are all medium probability, containing at<br />
least one three or four pointer, and they are all words that I have played in recent months<br />
against opponents at my local West Berks club and which they (mistrustful lot that they<br />
are) have challenged. How many would you have challenged? And how confident are<br />
you of the hooks? My opponents have, for example, tried -S hooks on CHODE, PEART<br />
and WAIDE. This is not to be recommended!<br />
ABLOW ALEFT BECAP BIFID BIGAE<br />
BLAUD BONIE CHODE CUBEB CURDY<br />
DONAH DOUMA FUGIO GEYAN GIBUS<br />
GLEEK GREWS HALON HEROE HOWBE<br />
ILIUM KYANG LINDY METIF MOYLE<br />
MUDGE MUNGO MURRY NEAFE NOILY<br />
PEART PIERT SAYID SCUTA SOILY<br />
SOWAR SPROD SWELT SWIRE TAMAL<br />
TUPEK VACUA VIMEN VINCA VITTA<br />
VIVAT WAIDE WEFTE WILED YERBA<br />
First and last<br />
Complete the following words, given just the length of the word and the first and last<br />
letters. In each case there is only one answer:<br />
(a) E __ M (3 letters)<br />
Y __ __ O (4 letters)<br />
V __ __ __ B (5 letters)<br />
Z __ __ __ __ P (6 letters)<br />
T __ __ __ __ __ W (7 letters)<br />
A __ __ __ __ __ __ W (8 letters)<br />
V __ __ __ __ __ __ __ K (9 letters)<br />
34<br />
Now complete the following words, given just the first and last letter. This time you have<br />
to work out the number of letters yourself! Again, there is only one answer in each case.<br />
(b) A ____________ J<br />
T ____________ V<br />
D ____________ U<br />
X ____________ G<br />
V ____________ F<br />
Phoney Goings On (3) (contributed by David Sutton)<br />
My friend Jeremiah Wanwordy, whose idiosyncratic approach to Scrabble involves<br />
learning everything that is not a word on the grounds that whatever then remains on his<br />
rack, however improbable, must be a valid play, has recently been entranced to discover<br />
that almost any word can be transformed into a non-word by the addition of almost any<br />
letter on the front of it, and has been spending much time on the study of these ‘antihooks’,<br />
as he terms them. I happened to be glancing at one of his rather thick notebooks on the<br />
subject , and noticed that once again he has made a number of mistakes and some of his<br />
more spectacular antihooks are in fact perfectly valid. Can you put him right? In each case,<br />
one of the three words is genuine.<br />
ANTELOPE CANTELOPE a kind of melon<br />
GANTELOPE an armoured glove<br />
PANTELOPE a mediaeval clown, a buffoon<br />
ACONITE BACONITE one who believes that Shakespeare’s plays were written<br />
by Bacon<br />
RACONITE a radar control beacon<br />
TACONITE a type of iron-bearing rock<br />
IMPLEMENT DIMPLEMENT the state of being dimpled<br />
PIMPLEMENT a small pimple<br />
SIMPLEMENT a medicinal herb<br />
INDIGO BINDIGO a vagabond who carries his possessions in a bundle<br />
MINDIGO a large Canadian lake fish<br />
WINDIGO a mythical monster of American Indian legend<br />
RABBIT DRABBIT a low-class wench, a slattern<br />
FRABBIT cross, peevish<br />
GRABBIT a hand-tool, a kind of wrench<br />
URSIFORM BURSIFORM shaped like a purse or pouch<br />
CURSIFORM of earthworks, having a curved shape<br />
NURSIFORM (US) a nurse’s uniform<br />
35
Anagrid<br />
1a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
13<br />
14<br />
15<br />
Horizontal clues: Vertical clues:<br />
1: PREJEES - DUFFIES a: BADJEB - EIKIER<br />
2: VILLAUA - AKENESS b: TELEAU - STEFTE<br />
3: NULGLIB - MOKCIAO c: LELS - EASLY - LAAR<br />
4: SLABIS - INTERE d: LIUP - NOARS - APEG<br />
5: UHM e: ILVE - SAYUP - NEOX<br />
6: DEALY - LARSE f: SRIN - NIGS<br />
7: PYRAT - ANOAX g: SERTHEO<br />
8: AUSRERE - BEEVORS<br />
9: SPROO - ESSAM i: AXYOMMS<br />
10: EKENS - ROOTH j: NOIK - ATEN<br />
11: OSS k: EMEF - SLOAS - TYPM<br />
12: EAPEST - BENBYL l: IRAF - NEARA - EBUT<br />
13: LANXIER - SUEMALE m: AUNI - TARSE - NILB<br />
14: OGGIESA - PIESTAB n: CRESTO - SLEATH<br />
15: NEERENT - SENTTAT o: KERESS - SEESOY<br />
36<br />
Numbergrid<br />
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z<br />
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13<br />
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26<br />
I<br />
37
Herve Bohbot, the French representative at last year’s WSC is one of very few Frenchmen<br />
who play Scrabble in English. Although not his first language he<br />
still managed to win 8 games at that elevated level<br />
What chance would we have of playing in French? Well, according<br />
to Geoff Cooper we are already using several French words...<br />
The French Connection<br />
Geoff Cooper, (currently sojourning in Northern France)<br />
The following French words in capital letters are all allowed in<br />
Scrabble but you won’t find these definitions in Chambers. LES VOILA !<br />
[nb in French, nouns and their pertinent adjectives are designated either (m) masculine or<br />
(f) feminine and/or (pl) plural]<br />
AI = Have fr avoir - to have - j’ai, tu as,<br />
DE = Of - a useful word which eliminates the possessive apostrophe.<br />
EN = In ( and a variety of alternative meanings)<br />
ES, EST = Are or Is, from être - to be - je suis, tu es, il est<br />
ET = And LA = The (f) - le, la, les MA = My (f) - mon, ma , mes<br />
OU = Or TA = Your (f) - ton, ta, tes UN = A or one<br />
ANE = Ass BAS = Low or low down BEL = Fine, handsome, beautiful<br />
CAP = Cape - Cap Gris Nez is where you would swim to from Dover and your nez<br />
would be bleu<br />
CAR = Coach or bus DIT = Say or said, from dire - to say - je dit = I say<br />
FAR = Speciality flan from Brittany FIN = End JEU/X = Game/s<br />
LES = The (pl) LOT = French Département also name of river MAL = Bad<br />
MON = My (m) NON = No - what a NICE girl says? NOS = Our<br />
PAR = By PAS = Not RIZ = Rice SEC = Dry<br />
SON = His, hers or its when the noun is (m) - son, sa, ses<br />
TES = Your (pl) TON = Your (m)<br />
VIN = Wine - don’t drink VIN du CHATEAU - (see CHAT) ABBE = Priest<br />
ATOC = (Sorry - the supermarket chain is Atac and it’s also found in Spain)<br />
AUTO = Motor car - to be utterly confused see also CAR and VOITURE<br />
BIEN = Well - as in didn’t he do....<br />
BAUD = Breton town which stages Camion Cross or Truck Racing<br />
BORD = Edge or rim BRIE = Famous cheese<br />
BRUT = Rough or crude. Opp DOUX describing cider<br />
CAFE = Coffee CENT = One hundred<br />
CHAT = Cat - do not confuse with poussez (push)<br />
CHEZ = At or to the house of - CHEZ NOUS - our house<br />
COIN = Corner CUIT = Cooked - (BIEN CUIT - well done)<br />
DANS = In or into DENT = Tooth<br />
DOUX = Soft or sweet. Opp BRUT describing cider<br />
FORT = Strong HAUT = High<br />
HERM = Island - not French but closer to France than England<br />
JOUR = Day MAIN = Hand<br />
MIDI = Noon (In 30 minute’s time everywhere closes for 2 hours)<br />
NICE = Where all the Nice French girls come from?<br />
38<br />
NOUS = Us or we - people from Leeds usually say this when they mean NOS though<br />
CHEZ NOUS is “us ‘ouse” PAIN = Bread<br />
PLAT = Dish or course - eg PLAT du JOUR PAYS = Country - eg Pays de Galles=Wales<br />
PONT = Bridge - there’s an incomplete one at Avingnon<br />
POUR = For - and a pourboire is a tip (for a drink) ROTI = roasted<br />
ROUE = Wheel - as on a CAR (bus or coach ), AUTO or a VOITURE<br />
ROUX = Red, ginger SANG = Blood<br />
SARK = Island - not French but closer to France than England<br />
SENE = A town on the Golfe de Morbihan close to Vannes<br />
SEPT = Seven TETE = Head TIRE = Shoot, also a shot played in PETANQUE<br />
TOIT = Roof TOUR = Tower eg Eiffel TOUT = All TRES = Very<br />
TROP = Too - my PETANQUE approach play is often TROP FORT<br />
ARRET = Stop BOULE = Ball - metal ball used to play PETANQUE<br />
CARTE = Map CHAMP = Field<br />
DROIT = Right - drive on this side. To confuse the British TOUT DROIT means straight ahead<br />
FILET = A net - I thought that my steak was a bit stringy<br />
JETON = I think this is a token. Anyway I have to put them in the slot for the campsite<br />
washing machine to work<br />
JEUNE = Young LAPIN = Rabbit<br />
MERDE = A French expletive very common at JEUX des PETANQUE<br />
PARIS = Capital of France PARTI = Left, from partir meaning ‘to leave’<br />
PEAGE = Toll or toll road PERDU = Lost PETIT/E = Small, little, also a young child<br />
PHARE = Lighthouse PLAGE = Beach PLUME = Pen<br />
REDON = Town on the River Vilaine only a few kms from where I am now.<br />
ROCHE = Rock - The town (excusez-moi, petite cité de caractère) of La Roche Bernard,<br />
also on the Vilaine, is even nearer - just down the N165<br />
ROUEN = French city (or CITÉ) SABLE = Sand<br />
SALLE = Room - SALLE À MANGER - dining room<br />
SEINE = Famous river running through PARIS and ROUEN<br />
SELLA = Ex-international rugby player TOURS = Towers - also name of a French town<br />
ANGERS = Yet another French town ATTEND = wait, from attendre - to wait<br />
BRETON = Sort of French Plaid Cymru - someone who<br />
paints out road signs if they are not in his language<br />
GAUCHE = Left - don’t drive on this side unless you are<br />
mad enough to attempt to overtake a Frenchman<br />
MANGER = To eat MOULIN = A Mill<br />
ORLEANS = French city also a common bonus<br />
VOITURE = Car - not a motor coach or a bus but a motor<br />
car. Again to confuse the Brits also a coach or carriage<br />
FATIGUÉ = What I am after compiling this article and<br />
what you are if you’ve read this far.<br />
PS I am puzzled by Paté à l’Ancienne. I don’t know whether it is made at Ancienne or<br />
by old people, for old people or even from old people. Well, Paté du Lapin isn’t made by<br />
rabbits and I’ve not seen any lapins buying it in Intermarché. At €10.17 per kilo that<br />
certainly makes me worth a “bob or two” but they’d probably use me to make Paté de<br />
l’Âne. Geoff<br />
39
X8 tras<br />
No 12 from Christina French<br />
WHAT’S A COUPLE OF WORTH TO YOU?<br />
Why? you may ask. Well because ABSP member Mary Brown of the Carshalton Club<br />
played SQUEEZES for 275 when she was playing Barbara Allan on 14th April in one of the<br />
Division games at the club. Can any of you keen tile pickers match or beat that score for a<br />
word you have played recently?<br />
LITTLE INNOCENTS<br />
Childhood photos featured last issue were of Wayne<br />
Kelly and the couple were ‘my significant other’ and<br />
myself. I thought I would start off with some easy ones<br />
and they obviously were. Some of your guesses were<br />
half right and half wrong but well done to Viv<br />
Beckmann and Robert Richland for their correct<br />
guesses. Their prize is the very mention of their names<br />
within these revered pages.<br />
I’ve upped the anti this time - just a little bit harder.<br />
But hey! Who is this cute little poser?<br />
YOUNG COUPLES<br />
40<br />
Wayne Kelly, then and now<br />
Shouldn’t be too difficult to identify<br />
this well known Scrabble couple.<br />
Don’t you just love<br />
a little bit of romance tile pickers?<br />
Of course you do, and what a story of Scrabble Love Jill Harrison has<br />
to tell us ...<br />
Last June, Cirencester Club invited Gloucester Club to come<br />
over and play a few friendly games.<br />
After this enjoyable evening, one member of the Gloucester Club,<br />
Norman Partridge, decided he would like to continue to join us<br />
every week. This he did and very soon he became friends with<br />
another of our members, Anne Stevens. Over the next few<br />
months, romance blossomed and on March 20 they got married!<br />
Several of us took our bags of tiles to the reception and shook<br />
them vigorously to “introduce” one of the speeches.<br />
Who needs Speed Dating when there are Scrabble Clubs all<br />
over the country?<br />
Jill Harrison<br />
Anne is an ABSP member - Norman is<br />
not - Anne’s next wifely duty is<br />
obviously to get Norman to join the<br />
ABSP.<br />
If you know of a Scrabble romance we should<br />
all be made aware of you should let us know<br />
immediately ... not that we’re a nosey bunch.<br />
41
Spotted on the internet:<br />
Collective nouns for Scrabble Tiles<br />
(suggested by Jeffrey Clark and Susi Tiekert)<br />
Five or more vowels on your rack? You have an ABOITEAU of vowels! How about a<br />
like number of consonants? Now you have a CRWTH of consonants!<br />
Holding 4 A’s? - an ATALAYA of A’s<br />
4 E’s? - a FREEBEE of E’s<br />
4 I’s? - a VISIBILITY of I’s<br />
4 O’s? - a POOLROOM of O’s<br />
Holding all the U’s? - A muumuu of U’s<br />
Finally - Old MacDonald rack? - Any two tiles + EIEIO “Scrabble” mugs are too small<br />
appeals Peter Bailey of Hove in Sussex<br />
I won a “Scrabble“ mug as a ratings prize.<br />
After my last tournament, I decided to wash my Scrabble tile<br />
bag and needed to put the tiles somewhere while the bag was<br />
drying. As I don’t use my “Scrabble“ mug for drinking from, I<br />
thought this would be the ideal tile holder. As you know, there are<br />
100 tiles in a set. The “Scrabble” mug only holds 93 standard tiles.<br />
Shouldn’t future mugs be a little larger?<br />
I have been much saddened to hear of the passing of Don Davis who contributed<br />
letters to TLW in the past - interesting ones too.<br />
Daphne Fletcher of the Hove Scrabble Club wrote:<br />
Don collapsed and sadly died of a heart attack on the way to our club in April. His<br />
funeral was well attended by numerous friends and the many organisations he<br />
belonged to.<br />
He thoroughly enjoyed competitive scrabble, to “keep the brain cells active” (aged<br />
85) and was an excellent player, always cheerful (with the exception of Scrabble<br />
“vowel trouble”) and was a loyal Club supporter.<br />
Don was a popular man and a great advertisement for Scrabble holidays and<br />
tournaments (the I.O.W. was his favourite) when we usually travelled together<br />
exchanging scrabble ideas en route.<br />
He will be greatly missed.<br />
42<br />
ABSP MEMBER INTERVIEW STELLA WILKINSON<br />
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY PAMELA WINDSOR<br />
Many thanks to Pam Windsor for interviewing Stella for the newsletter. Pam tells me “we<br />
are all very proud and fond of Stella”.Two for the price of one here as not only is Stella<br />
an ABSP member but she has just joined the exclusive 090 Club and is member No 6.<br />
When did you join Carshalton SC?<br />
I joined the Club in October 1982.<br />
Do you enjoy captaining a team playing in the Southern<br />
Counties League?<br />
Yes, in spite of the frustrations of finding dates to suit all<br />
the right players in each match.<br />
Why does playing Scrabble interest you so much?<br />
Having always liked mind games and doing crosswords,<br />
Scrabble appealed to me when I played my first game with<br />
my sister in about 1965.<br />
Is Scrabble your main hobby?<br />
My other pastime is doing jigsaw puzzles and although I am not very mobile I do go to<br />
several Whist Drives in the wintertime.<br />
Tell me about your career and marriage.<br />
I left school at 14 years of age and was immediately apprenticed to the millinery trade. I<br />
travelled every day to the Barbican from Windsor where I lived then, and did so four for<br />
years until we moved to London. I married in 1935, had three daughters and now have six<br />
grand children and seven great grand children.<br />
Do you mind people knowing your age?<br />
Not at all. I was 91 years old on 6th January 2004 and at the Club on the Wednesday we<br />
all enjoyed a chocolate cake made by one of the members and they all sang “Happy<br />
Birthday”.<br />
When was the above photograph taken?<br />
On my 90th birthday last year.<br />
Remember if you would like to join The 090 Club the criteria for joining is you MUST be<br />
over 90 - a couple of young things in their 80s tried to join in the past and obviously their<br />
application was declined.<br />
PHOTOGRAPHS - Over the last few years I have amassed quite a few photographs.<br />
If you have given me a photograph and I have not returned it please do not panic - they<br />
are all safe and I will return them as and when.<br />
43
FORTHCOMING EVENTS<br />
Scottish Open Tournament<br />
12th-13th June<br />
Best Western, Bridgend<br />
11th - 14th June<br />
Peterlee Matchplay (5 games)<br />
Sunday 13th June<br />
Contact: Samantha Beckwith<br />
0191-586-6436<br />
Venue The White House Community<br />
Centre, Eden Lane, Peterlee,<br />
Co Durham<br />
Registration: 10:00<br />
First game: 10:30 Departure: 17:00<br />
Compiled by Paul Cartman<br />
Each tournament approved for rating will get a listing including: date, number of games<br />
and contact details. For one day tournaments, further details will be given as regards<br />
pricing, start times etc, to allow members to utilise the generic entry form. Note that<br />
some organisers have indicated that rated tournaments will occur on particular dates,<br />
but that full details are not yet available. These tournaments are included for<br />
completeness and once details are known, they will be published as appropriate.<br />
This symbol denotes that the tournament organiser has let it be known that<br />
the venue is disabled friendly. The absence of a symbol does not mean that<br />
disabled access is not possible, and in these circumstances the prospective<br />
entrant should check with the organisers<br />
Note to Entrants<br />
These rules apply to all tournaments<br />
The entry cost of all rated tournaments includes the ratings levy<br />
Positions are determined on win and spread unless otherwise stated<br />
Smoking is not permitted in the playing area(s)<br />
You will normally be placed in a division equivalent to your rating or ability. You<br />
may request to enter a higher division but the Tournament Organiser reserves the<br />
right to reject your request.<br />
Entries are at the sole discretion of the Tournament Organiser.<br />
You must always include a SAE with your entry for application.<br />
Please arrive on time<br />
44<br />
Contact: Amy Byrne<br />
0131 661 3869<br />
Contact: Viv Beckmann<br />
0191-273-1705<br />
Tea/Coffee available at points during the<br />
day but lunch is not provided.<br />
Entry costs: £9.50 For ABSP members<br />
£11.50 For non-ABSP members<br />
Deduct 50p if bringing a timer<br />
Closing date for entries 31st May 2004<br />
Cheques payable to:<br />
Samantha Beckwith, 91 Hatfield Place,<br />
Peterlee, Co. Durham, SR8 5SU<br />
Romford (7 games)<br />
Sunday 20th June 2004<br />
Contact: Phyllis Fernandez<br />
0208 599 5937<br />
Venue Dukes Hall, Maygreen<br />
Crescent, Park Lane, Romford,<br />
Essex<br />
Ample parking available<br />
Registration: 8.30 a.m.<br />
First game: 10:00 Departure: 18.15<br />
Jarvis Caledonian, Ayr<br />
25th - 28th June 2004<br />
Luton (6 games)<br />
Saturday 26th June<br />
Contact: June Edwards<br />
:01908 679041<br />
Venue: Lealands High School, Sundon<br />
Park Road, Luton<br />
Emergency No. on day only 07905 677488<br />
Registration: 09:20<br />
First game: 10:00 Departure: 18:00<br />
3/4 divisional tournament.<br />
Summer Matchplay<br />
July 17th-18<br />
New Malden (6 games)<br />
Saturday 17th July 2004<br />
Contact : Shirley Cave<br />
020 8540 8469<br />
Venue: Christ Church Centre, Coombe<br />
Road, New Malden , KT3 4RE<br />
Registration: 9.15<br />
First game: 10:00 Departure: 17.45<br />
Lincoln (6 games)<br />
Saturday 24th July<br />
Contact: Teresa Hill<br />
01427-838741<br />
Venue: Bracebridge Community<br />
Centre, Newark Road/Maple<br />
Street, Lincoln<br />
Registration 10:00<br />
First game 10:30 Departure 17:30<br />
2/3 divisional tournament.<br />
45<br />
Round Robin, tables of 8 players playing 7<br />
games<br />
Tea/Coffee and biscuits available between<br />
games, lunch is not provided.<br />
Entry costs: £12.00 For ABSP members<br />
£14.00 For non-ABSP members<br />
Cheques payable to Romford Scrabble Club<br />
and sent to Phyllis Fernandez, Oakdove<br />
Nursing Home, 41 Barley Lane,<br />
Goodmayes, Essex IG3 8XE<br />
Contact Viv Beckmann<br />
0191-273-1705<br />
Tea/Coffee available at points during the<br />
day but lunch is not provided.<br />
Entry costs: £11.50 For ABSP members<br />
£13.50 For non-ABSP members<br />
Deduct 50p if bringing timer<br />
Cheques payable to Luton Scrabble Club<br />
and sent to<br />
Mrs June Edwards, 39 Parklands, Great<br />
Linford, Milton Keynes, MK14 5DZ<br />
Sae, to June Edwards for directions<br />
Contact: Mike Willis<br />
01908-668117<br />
3/4 Divisions<br />
Entry costs: £12.00 For ABSP members<br />
£14.00 For non-ABSP members<br />
Deduct 50p if bringing timer<br />
Tea, Coffee and biscuits will be provided<br />
Cheques payable to S I Cave, 14 Linden<br />
Gate, 9 Church Walk, Raynes Park,<br />
London, SW20 9DL<br />
Tea/Coffee available on arrival, at lunctime<br />
and after fourth game<br />
Entry costs: £10.50 For ABSP members<br />
£12.50 For non-ABSP members<br />
Deduct 50p if bringing timer<br />
Cheques payable to Lincoln Scrabble Club<br />
and sent to Teresa Hill, Granville,<br />
Heapham, Nr Gainsborough, Lincs, DN21<br />
5PT<br />
Closing date for entries 12th July 2004
Ramada Jarvis, Bingley<br />
23rd - 26th July<br />
Nottingham <strong>Nomads</strong> (16 games)<br />
Saturday 7th - Sunday 8th August<br />
Scottish Round Robin<br />
14th-15th August<br />
ABSP British Matchplay Scrabble Tournament<br />
Ladies Event 27th-28th August<br />
Main Event 28th-30th August<br />
Clifton Hotel, Penrith<br />
3rd - 6th September<br />
Havering Autumn Scrabble Tournament (6 games)<br />
Saturday 4th September<br />
Contact: Cindy Hollyer<br />
01277-822050<br />
Emergency No. on day<br />
07952 557324<br />
Venue: Kelvedon Hatch Village Hall,<br />
Kelvedon Hatch, Brentwood,<br />
Registration: 09:30<br />
First game: 10:15 Departure: 18:00<br />
East Sussex (6 games)<br />
Saturday 11th September<br />
Contact: Ed Breed<br />
01424 219334<br />
Venue: Hailsham Community Hall,<br />
Vicarage Lane, Hailsham<br />
Registration: 9:00 First game: 10:00<br />
2/3 divisional tournament.<br />
Norwich (6 games)<br />
Sunday 12th September<br />
Contact Carol Smith<br />
01603 898791<br />
Venue Hethersett Village Hall,<br />
Hethersett, Norwich, Norfolk<br />
Registration: 09.30<br />
First game 10:15 Departure 18.00<br />
46<br />
Contact: Viv Beckmann<br />
0191-273-1705<br />
Contact: Clive Spate<br />
0115-920-0208<br />
Contact: Marion Keating<br />
01592 265524<br />
Contact: Ross Mackenzie<br />
01592 265524<br />
Contact Viv Beckmann<br />
0191-273-1705<br />
Tea/Coffee available at points during the<br />
day but lunch is not provided.<br />
Entry costs: £11.50 For ABSP members<br />
£13.50 For non-ABSP members<br />
Deduct 50p if bringing timer<br />
Cheques payable to Havering Scrabble<br />
Group and sent to:<br />
Cindy Hollyer, 78 Peartree Lane,<br />
Doddinghurst, Brentwood, Essex,<br />
CM15 0RH<br />
Tea/Coffee available at points during the<br />
day but lunch is not provided.<br />
Entry costs: £11.00 to ABSP members<br />
£13.00 to non-ABSP members<br />
Deduct 50p if bringing a timer<br />
Cheques payable to East Sussex Scrabble<br />
Tournament and sent to:<br />
Ed Breed, 19 Magdalen Road, Bexhill-on-<br />
Sea, East Sussex<br />
3 divisional tournament.<br />
Tea/Coffee and homemade cakes provided<br />
(but not lunch)<br />
Entry costs: £10.00 to ABSP members<br />
£12.00 to non-ABSP members<br />
No further discounts<br />
Cheques payable to Carol Smith,<br />
31 Christine Road, Spixworth, Norwich,<br />
NR10 3PH<br />
Middlesbrough (5 games)<br />
Sunday September 26th<br />
Contact: Samantha Beckwith<br />
0191-586-6436<br />
Venue Linthorpe Community Centre,<br />
Linthorpe Road, M’brough<br />
Registration: 10.00<br />
First game 10:45 Departure 17.30<br />
Best Western, Falkirk<br />
1st - 4th October<br />
Bournemouth (6 games)<br />
Sunday 3rd October<br />
Contact: Ruth Marsden<br />
01202 707148<br />
Venue: Rooper Hall, 5 Victoria Park<br />
Road, Moordown,<br />
Bournemouth<br />
on day only 07720 949 825<br />
Registration: 09:20<br />
Southend-on-Sea (6 games)<br />
Saturday 16th October<br />
Contact: Evelyn Wallace<br />
01702-302569<br />
Venue: The Civic Centre, Victoria<br />
Avenue, Southend-on-Sea,<br />
Essex<br />
Registration 09:30<br />
First game 10:00<br />
Hotel Le Relais, Alpin, Switzerland<br />
Sunday 17th - Saturday 23rd October<br />
Elgin (5 games)<br />
Saturday 30th October<br />
Contact: Lorraine Gordon<br />
01466-794332<br />
Emergency no on day:<br />
07713 876842<br />
Venue Elgin Community Centre,<br />
Trinity Road, Elgin<br />
Registration :10:00<br />
First game 10:45 Departure 17:30<br />
47<br />
Food not included so bring packed lunch<br />
Entry costs: £9.50 to ABSP members<br />
£11.50 to non-ABSP members<br />
Deduct 50p if bringing timer<br />
Cheques payable to: Cleveland Scrabble<br />
Club and sent to:<br />
Samantha Beckwith, 91 Hatfield Place,<br />
Peterlee, Co. Durham, SR8 5SU<br />
Closing date for entries: 12th September<br />
Contact Viv Beckmann<br />
0191-273-1705<br />
First game: 10:00 Departure 17.30<br />
Tea/Coffee available throughout the day<br />
Entry costs: £12.50 For ABSP members<br />
£14.50 For non-ABSP members<br />
Deduct 50p if bringing timer<br />
Cheques payable to Bournemouth Scrabble<br />
Tournament and sent to:<br />
Ruth Marsden, 27 Spencer Road, Canford<br />
Cliffs, Poole, BH13 7ET<br />
4 divisional tournament.<br />
Tea/Coffee available at points during the<br />
day but lunch is not provided.<br />
Entry costs: £12.50 For ABSP members<br />
£14.50 For non-ABSP members<br />
Deduct 50p if bringing timer<br />
Cheques payable to Southend-on-Sea<br />
Scrabble Club and sent to<br />
Evelyn Wallace, 2 Shakespeare Avenue,<br />
Westcliff on Sea, Essex, SS0 0ST<br />
Contact Viv Beckmann<br />
0191-273-1705<br />
2 division tournament<br />
Tea/Coffee and biscuits on arrival, lunch<br />
and refreshments prior to leaving<br />
Entry costs: £14.00 to ABSP members<br />
£16.00 to non-ABSP members<br />
No further discounts<br />
No further discounts<br />
Cheques payable to Elgin Scrabble Club<br />
and sent to Lorraine Gordon, Glenview,<br />
Aberdeen Road, Huntly, Aberdeenshire,<br />
AB54 6JD
Cardiff Weekend (14 games)<br />
30th-31st October<br />
Isle-of-Wight<br />
29th-31st October<br />
Contact: Noel Turner<br />
Cairn Hotel, Harrogate<br />
29th October - 1st November<br />
Standish Moat House, Wigan<br />
12th - 15th November<br />
Milton Keynes<br />
27th-28th November<br />
Contact: Mike Willis<br />
Stoke Rochford (12 games)<br />
Saturday 11th - Sunday 12th December<br />
Pitlochry<br />
Contact : Wilma Warwick<br />
0131 669 7319<br />
2005<br />
Pitlochry<br />
Contact : Wilma Warwick<br />
0131 669 7319<br />
Chester<br />
28th-30th January<br />
Venue: The Ramada Hotel, Chester<br />
48<br />
Contact: Mary Allen<br />
029 20757311<br />
01983 614426<br />
Details not yet finalised<br />
Contact Viv Beckmann<br />
0191-273-1705<br />
Contact Viv Beckmann<br />
0191-273-1705<br />
01908 6688117<br />
Details not yet finalised<br />
Contact: Christina French<br />
01708 701578<br />
Sunday23rd - Wednesday 26th January<br />
15 games<br />
Wednesday 26th - Friday 28th January<br />
10 games<br />
Sunday23rd - Wednesday 26th January<br />
15 games<br />
Wednesday 26th - Friday 28th January<br />
10 games<br />
Contact: Kathy Rush<br />
01928 733565<br />
Don’t forget to enclose a stamped self-addressed<br />
envelope when making entry applications<br />
Answers to Edgeways XXIII<br />
Hook Trains:<br />
(a) W (UNCLEW, WEIGHT), S (EIGHTS, SUNDER), N (UNDERN, NAUNT).<br />
(b) Y, H, A, T, F, B.<br />
Romeo and Juliet Tango in India:<br />
Disallowed are INDIA, JULIET, NOVEMBER, OSCAR, QUEBEC, XRAY and YANKEE. The<br />
others (all allowed) are ALPHA, BRAVO, CHARLIE, DELTA, ECHO, FOXTROT, GOLF,<br />
HOTEL, KILO, LIMA, MIKE, PAPA, ROMEO, SIERRA, TANGO, UNIFORM, VICTOR,<br />
WHISKEY and ZULU.<br />
Anananagrams:<br />
There are twelve: AA, AN, NA, ANA, ANN, NAN, ANAN, ANNA, NAAN, NANA,<br />
ANANA and NANNA.<br />
First and Last:<br />
(a) ELM, YUKO, VOCAB, ZIPTOP, TRISHAW, AIRSCREW, VIDEODISK;<br />
(b) AFLAJ, TAV, DETENU, XEROXING, VEINSTUFF.<br />
Phoney Goings On:<br />
The valid words are: GANTELOPE, TACONITE, DIMPLEMENT, WINDIGO, FRABBIT and<br />
BURSIFORM<br />
Anagrid:<br />
Numbergrid:<br />
J E E P E R S D I F F U S E<br />
A L L U V I A S K E A N E S<br />
BUL L I NG OOM I ACK<br />
BAS I LS NER I TE<br />
E T H U M O R<br />
D E L A Y E Y L A E R S<br />
YRAPT XOANA<br />
E R A S U R E O B S E R V E<br />
S O P O R M E S A S<br />
K E E N S O A O R T H O<br />
I F S O S A Y<br />
E T A P E S N Y B B L E<br />
R E L A X I N A E M U L E S<br />
I SAGOGE BAP T I SE<br />
E T R E N N E A T T E N T S<br />
1=C, 2=Z, 3=Q, 4=D, 5=M, 6=T, 7=W, 8=F, 9=G, 10=A, 11=U, 12=S, 13=H, 14=K, 15=J,<br />
16=P, 17=Y, 18=I, 19=R, 20=V, 21=B, 22=E, 23=O, 24=X, 25=N, 26=L.<br />
49