TLW120 - Nomads Results

C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S
A quick reference to forthcoming events
(fuller list and details inside)
Date Tournament (no. of games) Contact Telephone
Jun 6th-9th H-B Holidays - Hereford (14) Viv Beckmann 0191 2743420
June 7th-8th Edinb’h Games Fest (19) Amy Byrne 0131 6613869
Jun 15th NSC(T) Regional - North, (7) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283
Jun 15th NSC(T) Regional - Sout West (7) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283
Jun 20th-23rd H-B Holidays - Harrogate (14) Viv Beckmann 0191 2743420
Jun 21st Luton (14) Adrian Noller 01582 656234
Jun 22nd NSC(T) Regional - Scotland (7) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283
Jun 29th Nottingham Eight (8) Ben Wilson 01522 687077
Jul 5th NSC(T) Regional - Lon& SE (7) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283
Jul 5th-6th Cardiff (14) Mary Allen 029 20757311
Jul 6th Middlesbrough (6) Samantha Beckwith 0191 5866436
Jul 12th-13th New Place (Southampton) (15) Amy Byrne 0131 6613869
Jul 18th-21th H-B Holidays - Bournemouth (14) Viv Beckmann 0191 2743420
Jul 19th Romford (6) Cindy Hollyer 01277 822050
Jul 19th-20th Carlisle (14) Amy Byrne 0131 6613869
Jul 25th-27th Premier Scrabble Event (18) Viv Beckmann 0191 2743420
Aug 2nd-3rd Nottingham Nomads (16) Clive Spate 01159 200208
Aug 17th Littlehampton Round Robin - Peter Hall 01903 775396
Sep 5th-8th H-B Holidays - Southport (14) Viv Beckmann 0191 2743420
Aug 8th-10th English Open (19) John Harrison 01661 854336
Aug 9th-10th Scottish Round Robin (14) Marion Keatings 01592 265524
Aug 22nd-23rd BMSC Ladies/Men’s Event (6) Sarah Wilks 07703 014789
Aug 23rd-25th BMSC Main Event (18) Sarah Wilks 07703 014789
Sep 6th Havering (6) Cindy Hollyer 01277 822050
Sep 5th-8th H-B Holidays - Southport (14) Viv Beckmann 0191 2743420
Sep 6th Havering (6) Cindy Hollyer 01277 822050
Sep 7th Norwich (6) Carol Smith 01603 898791
Sep 13th Stafford (7) Paul Cartman 01785 211851
Sep 13th-14th NSC Semi-Final - Birmingham (14) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283
Sep 14th-28th H-B Holidays - Med Cruise (36) Viv Beckmann 0191 2743420
Sep 20th-21st Wychwood Park (Crewe) (15) Amy Byrne 0131 6613869
Sep 27th NSC(T) Final - Bradford (7) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283
Sep 28th Shipley Round Robin (6) Robert Pells 01274 510313
Oct 3rd-5th Cock of the North (22) Len Moir 01516 061112
Oct 4th Hockley (6) Les Costin 01702 523589
Oct 5th Bournemouth (entry form) (6) Ruth Marsden 01202 707148
Oct 5th NSC Final - London (5) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283
Oct 10th-12th Tuition Weekend (5) Farncombe Estate 01386 854100
Oct 10th-13th H-B Morecambe (14) Viv Beckmann 0191 2743420
Oct 12th Salisbury (7) Bob Lynn 01722 325623
Oct 18th Weston-Super-Mare (6) Jay Goddard 01934 516757
Oct 24th-27th H-B Holidays - Hereford (14) Viv Beckmann 0191 2743420
Nov 1st-2nd Cheadle House (15) Amy Byrne 0131 6613869
Nov 7th-8th Isle of Wight Vectis Noel Turner 01983 614426
Nov 8th-9th Isle of Wight Matchplay - Noel Turner 01983 614426
Nov 8 Luton (7) Adrian Noller 01582 656234
Nov 9th East Yorkshire (6) Andrew Goodwin 01482 872405
Nov 15th Lincoln Round Robin (9) Ben Wilson 01522 687077
Nov 28th-Dec 1st H-B Holidays - Harrogate (14) Viv Beckmann 0191 2742420
Dec 27th-28th Twixmas (15) Amy Byrne 0131 6613869
Jan 2nd-4th Isle of Wight Charity - Noel Turner 01983 614426
Jan 5th-9th UK Open - Coventry (38) Len Moir 0151 6061112
Jan 25th West Sussex - Peter Hall 01903 775396
The Last Word is printed by Keely Print, Beccles, Suffolk (01502) 713930
APRIL
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87
APRIL
97
APRIL
APRIL
WESPA
The bi-monthly magazine of the
ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH
SCRABBLE PLAYERS
No 120 June 2008
Deadline for next issue 5th July
The ABSP and membership of WESPA (World English-language Scrabble® Players Association)
This statement serves to enlighten ABSP members about WESPA and support the need for
ABSP to continue its membership of WESPA. I will be available at the ABSP AGM to
answer questions from members.
Background
Scrabble is played in English in numerous English-speaking countries around the World
(African countries, India, Singapore, Malaysia, as well as the expected England, USA,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand). English-language Scrabble is also played where
English is not the first-language (eg Thailand, Japan, Netherlands and Sweden). This is
reflected in the fact that over 30 nations were represented at the 2007 World Scrabble,
and that there is estimated to be over 25,000 tournament players world-wide.
WESPA is a relatively new regulatory body for Scrabble, established and run by competitive
players to coordinate international tournaments, to provide an international rating system,
to make decisions on policy (such as a standard dictionary), and to represent the interests
of players globally, especially in matters that involve the trademark owners. WESPA is
also committed to development of organized Scrabble and runs an annual World Youth
Scrabble Championship as part of this objective. Membership of WESPA is generally at a
domestic organization level (eg the UK’s Association of British Scrabble Players is a member)
but can be at an individual level where no domestic organization exists or wishes to join.
Renewals for 2008 include Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nigeria,
Malta. Other nationals are expected to join during 2008.
continued in Committee Corner
SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark of J.W.Spear & Sons Ltd., Maidenhead SL6 4UB

Committee Corner .......................... 1
Tournament Reports ........................ 3
BEST 2008 ...................................... 14
Letters ............................................ 15
Little Miss Perfect ............................ 15
Record Breaking .............................. 16
ABSP All-time Records .................... 17
ISSUE CONTENTS
ABSP Ratings .................................. 18
Edgeways ........................................ 24
Personal Profile ................................ 33
That Was Then.................................. 37
Forthcoming Events .......................... 38
World Players Championship .......... 44
Calendar of Events ..........................obc
Throughout this publication, comments by the Editor do not represent the views of the
ABSP Committee. Any statements by the Committee are clearly marked as such. All
other contributions to The Last Word represent only the views of the contributor.
THE LAST WORD TEAM
The Last Words Team welcomes contributions from readers to their respective areas,
either as letters, articles or suggestions. Contact information:
Editor:
Elisabeth Jardine
6 Wentworth Avenue
Bournemouth BH5 2ED
01202 419 708
ejardine1@btinternet.com
Games and Strategies:
and submissions for
Annotated Games
Moves to be proud of
Wayne Kelly
Waynekelly74@aol.com
Forthcoming events:
Paul Cartman,
9 Chapel Terrace,
Stafford ST16 3AH
01785 211851
paul.cartman@btinternet.com
Words and Puzzles:
David Sutton
46 West Chiltern,
Woodcote, Reading, Berks
RG8 0SG
David.J.Sutton@ukgateway.net
To join the ABSP
the easiest way is via the ABSP website:
http://www.absp.org.uk
Using the Paypal function on the site is very easy and completely safe. More traditionally
you can join or renew by sending your details and a cheque for £15 to Anne Ramsay,
membership secretary, made payable to ABSP to:
ABSP, 8 Glen Clova Place, Kirkcaldy, Fife KY2 6UL
If you wish to write to Anne her email address is anne.ramsay@blueyonder.co.uk
or telephone: 01592 640130
If you have changed your address, telephone number or email address,
please contact Anne as soon as possible with the changes.
COMMITTEE CORNER
The Committee met on the 30th March. I am pleased to announce that it was confirmed
at the meeting that Laura Finley would take over the role of Secretary to the Committee
following the AGM in August. Stewart Holden, Publicity Officer, will be standing down
from the Committee following the AGM.
The Committee recently reviewed the ‘major’ tournaments and following that review it
was decided that NO rated events would clash with one of the ‘major’ tournaments.
A new addition to the Game Rules is that it is recommended that Tournament Directors
leave a latecomer’s timer running until they are ready to start play. Effectively, the timer
will not be neutralised when the player arrives but will continue to run until they sit down
ready to play.
Tournament Organisers should note that they should have a reserve player to prevent
unplanned byes. The only reason for unscheduled byes is if a player drops out after the
tournament has started.
The next meeting is scheduled to take place on 25th May. Can I remind members that the
Committee will be discussing possible motions for the AGM at that meeting and prior to
the next issue of the ‘Last Word’. If there is an issue you wish to raise via a motion at the
AGM, please let me or any Committee member have the motion as soon as possible so
that it may be published in the next issue of the ‘Last Word’.
Amy Byrne Secr etary
cont’d om frfront
page
Continued from front cover
WESPA is formally approved by Mattel, Scrabble trademark owners outside of North
America.
WESPA’s website is under development at www.wespa.org
ABSP membership of WESPA
The ABSP is currently due to renew its membership of WESPA. The previous membership
fee was US$300. At the 2007 WESPA AGM it was agreed to reduce membership fees
because WESPA currently had minimal overheads and cost. The fee for ABSP to continue
membership of WESPA for 2008 is now reduced to US$150. While most ABSP members
will not get any direct benefit from the arrangement, I believe it is of significant mutual
benefit for the ABSP to be a member of WESPA. It is likely that WESPA will shortly be
insisting that Committee Members and other significant WESPA posts will need to have
the support of their national association, not least in that association being a paid-up
member of WESPA. Continued cont’d over page...
over
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1
Amy Byrne ABSP Secretary

Currently the ABSP has several of its officials actively involved with WESPA (myself as
Chairman, Amy Byrne as Rules Committee Chair, Darryl Francis as Dictionary Committee
Chair, and Kat Wilkes involved with Youth Scrabble). We have a lot of relevant experience
to offer WESPA and by having people in key positions we have the means to positively
influence its development. It is also important to note that WESPA is formally recognized
by Mattel, opening the doors for mutual consultation on issues that involve tournament
players throughout the world.
With ABSP as a member of WESPA any global developments can be seen to embrace the
ABSP. As a large organization member of WESPA we will be entitled to a significant vote
on key issues affecting tournament players world-wide. Smaller organizations and
individuals pay less but have less strength in voting.
I believe the revised membership fee, which represents about 75 pounds per year (or
about 10p per ABSP member per year) is a very small price to pay to support WESPA and
be an active part of the world Scrabble scene.
Allan Simmons (WESP A Chairma
ADVERTISEMENT
The Nottingham Eight
Scrabble Tournament
2
Allan Simmons WESPA Chairman
an eight-game, high prize money event
Sunday 29th June 2008
VENUE: The Millennium Suite, Richard Herrod Leisure Centre, Foxhill Road,
Nottingham, NG4 1RL. A modern, spacious playing room with adjacent bar
and plenty of room to relax.
ARRIVAL: 9.30a.m. (1st game 10.a.m.) DEPARTURE: 7.00p.m.
COST: £25.00. Add £2 if you are not an ABSP member. Deduct £5 if aged
under 18 on day of tournament.
FORMAT: 3 divisions sorted by ABSP rating. 8 rated games. 25 minutes per
player per game.
PRIZES: 1st place: £150 guaranteed, 2nd place £50, 3rd place £20 in each
division. Cash spot prizes also on offer. These figures are based on 60 players
in 3 divisions; runner-up prizes may change slightly subject to exact numbers.
ENTRY: Cheques, payable to Ben Wilson (together with SAE or email address
for confirmation) should be sent to: 7 Perney Crescent, North Hykeham,
Lincolnshire, LN6 9RJ
TELEPHONE: 01522 687 077 if you have any queries or would like more
information. Emergency contact number on the day: 07857 519 807.
St Anne’s
Mar 14th-17th (14 rounds)
East Sussex
East Sussex A
Ann Golding 5 208
Marie Perry 5 171
Kevin Synnott 5 116
Calum Edwards 4 477
SCRABBLE
SCRABBLE EVENTS
EVENTS
SCRABBLE
EVENTS
RESULTS
RESULTS
SCRABBLE EVENTS
RESULTS & & REPORTS
REPORTS
EVENTS
RESULTS &
REPORTS
RESULTS & REPORTS
Organisers are encouraged to send a list of prize winners and a brief
tournament report to the TLW editor as soon as possible after the event.
Remember I can only publish them if you send them to me!
St Anne’s A
Paul Thomson 9 370
Jill Bright 9 236
Janet Southworth 9 101
St Anne’s B
Rosalind Wilson 11 754
Barbara Hill 9 285
Irene Atkinson 8 313
Mar 15th (6 rounds)
Report from Ed Breed
Forty-nine players turned up and one didn’t!
After five rounds, Marie Perry of Canterbury was in a strong position with five wins and a
spread of +237. There were three players on four wins with club-mate Stephen Wintle on
+269. In the final round there was a combined swing of 231 points which meant that the title
went to Ann Golding of Southend by 37 points.
In the B Division Amanda Sodhy played well with five wins and a spread of +457. Local lad
Martin Smith excelled in his first tournament with five wins and a spread of -56. Shirley
Angell, an irregular member of the South Downs Club, turned up in her trainers expecting to
be a runner. She kindly consented to play and make an even number and proceeded to race
through the C Division with five wins and a spread of +507.
David Paine, South Downs President, presented the prizes and hoped that everyone had
enjoyed the day.
East Sussex B
Amanda Sodhy 5 457
Martin Smith 5 -56
Len Edwards 4 228
Paul Heasman 4 181
3
St Anne’s C
Anne Darby 11 936
Peter Lindeck 8 15
Ann Toft 8 -106
St Anne’s D
Dorothy Henry 12 1216
Rita Barton 11 724
Helen Nelson 9.5 117
East Sussex C
Shirley Angell 5 507
Renee Paine 5 334
Vera Allen 4 111
Trevor Warwick 4 50

Peterboro’ 5pt Penalty
Mar 15th (6 rounds)
Report from Chris Hawkins
32 players entered the third Peterborough 5PP (penalty challenge) event this year, down on
the previous two years, suggesting that this variation of the rules is not really what people
want, nevertheless I’m still determined to stage them!
In Division A, Bob Violett was the first round leader after his 261 point demolition of Graham
Wakefield. He held onto the lead for one more round but after losing to Martin Harrison in
round 3, Austin Shin took over the lead, with Martin in second place being the only other
player on 3 wins. Inevitably they played each other in round 4, and Martin narrowly won by
6 points to become the only unbeaten player out of 14. Martin was paired against Maurice
Brown, who pulled off arguably the shock result of the day to win by 10. This meant going
into the final round there were four players on 4-1, Nick Deller in fourth, Maurice in third,
Martin in second and seemingly coming from nowhere Alec Webb, who led the field by 72
points of spread. The final round saw Alec playing Martin, Nick playing Maurice. In the end
Alec and Nick won fairly comfortably to finish first and second, with Austin pipping Martin
and Maurice for third. Maurice won the ratings prize.
In division B (12 players), second favourite Jill Parker led for the first four rounds after wins
against Jason Goddard, Pat Friend, Carol Smith, and despite a loss to Ginny Dixon in round
4, led five players all on 3 wins by 99 points of spread. She finally relinquished the lead in
round 5 to Neil Broom who beat her by 18 to head the field going into the last round. Neil
was drawn against Jason in round 6, who had recovered from his first round loss to Jill to win
his next four games. As it turned out the final game was a one-sided affair, with Neil winning
by 132 to take the division B honours. Carol was second and Lorna Rapley snuck up on the
rails to finish third. Jason had to settle for the ratings prize.
With only 6 players feeling brave enough to try penalty challenge in division C, there was a
round robin format here with a King of the Hill final round. Top rated player in the division
and Peterborough club player Jean Mainwaring led for the first four rounds, final losing to
second rated player Christine Cartman. This set up a KOTH battle between Jean and Clare
Violett for first place. As in division B, the final game turned out to be rather one sided, with
Clare winning by 231 to take the honours. Despite such a heavy loss, Jean still hung on to
second place, due to some big wins of her own in earlier round. Christine was third.
The results from this event are carried forward to the free challenge event in two weeks time,
for players on the day to win not only the 6 game prizes but also the 12 game ‘combined
event’ prize and the perpetual trophy. Once again there were about half the number of
challenges one would normally get at a free challenge event.
Peterbo’ 5pt pc A
Alec Webb 5 351
Nick Deller 5 92
Austin Shin 4 332
Ratings: Maurice Brown (5th)
Peterbo’ 5pt pc B
Neil Broom 5 246
Carol Smith 4 310
Lorna Rapley 4 91
Ratings: Jason Goddard (4th)
4
Peterbo’ 5pt pc C
Clare Violett 5 559
J.Mainwaring 4 140
Isca
Mar 21st - 22nd (6 rounds)
Isca A
5 426 Alec Webb (A3)
4 484 Helen Harding (A11)
4 446 Phil Robertshaw (A2)
Ratings: Amy Byrne
Exeter Matchplay
Mar 22nd - 24th (19 rounds)
Exeter A
17 1382 Brett Smitheram (A1)
14 1107 Stewart Holden (A6)
14 766 David Webb (A3)
Exeter B
14 850 Joseph McGinley (B8)
13.5 794 Frankie Mairey (B13)
12.5 588 Amy Byrne (B2)
Lothian
Mar 29th (5 rounds)
Neil Scott
Sutton Coldfield
Apr 5th (6 rounds)
Sutton Coldfield A
Steve Perry 5 231
Mike O’Rourke 4 360
Paul Richards 4 305
Ratings Ash Coldrick
Isca B
6 584 Anthony Pinnell (B13)
5 227 Nick Jenkins (B3)
4 157 Patricia Pay (B8)
Ratings: Eileen Meghen
Exeter C
14 776 David Shenkin (C9)
14 430 Moira Conway (C4)
12 438 Maureen Reynolds (C8)
Lothian A
Neil Scott 4 317
Amy Byrne 4 312
Marion Keatings 4 242
Simon Gillam 3 246
Sutton Coldfield B
Kay Powick 5 493
Donna Stanton 4 433
Jay Goddard 4 287
Ratings Geoff Goodwin
5
Isca C
5 388 Joyce Jarvis (C14)
5 362 Wasinee Beech (C11)
4 506 Peter Ashurst (C1)
Ratings: Caroline Elliott
Exeter D
15 366 Stany Arnold (D9)
13 834 Peter Ashurst (D4)
12.5 706 Dorn Osborne (D7)
Exeter E
13 518 Paul Harding (E9)
13 403 Heather Laird (E7)
11 371 Colin Nicol (E5)
Lothian B
Helen Polhill 5 353
Viv Beckmann 4 352
Sylvia Swaney 4 347
Colin Nicol 4 239
Lothian C
Gordon Winte 5 311
Robert Peters 4 190
Ian Whyte 3.5 158
Winnie Haston 3.5 131
Sutton Coldfield C
Fay Madeley 5 283
David Lavender 4 349
Heather Laird 4 295
Ratings Philip Lovell

Peterborough
Mar 29th (6 rounds)
Report from Chris Hawkins
Two weeks previously 32 players attended the 5-point penalty event in Peterborough. This time
round 70 players took part (30 of the 32 from before), possibly indicating people’s reluctance to
try the penalty challenge version of the game in this trial period. Next year’s penalty challenge
event will have a couple of changes to its format to hopefully attract more players.
Division A
Martin Harrison led after rounds 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. What counts though is who is leading after
the final round, and with Martin losing to Austin Shin in round 6, Ben Wilson snuck through
on the rails to finish on top. This was his first A division win, making it all the more special.
The game between Austin and Martin also decided who won the Pete Finley Memorial
Trophy – both players finished on 9 wins (with their results from the 5PP event carrying
forward) and Martin lost by a small enough margin to hang on by 13 points of spread! Well
done to Martin.
Division B
This division was amazingly similar to division A in that Carolyn Emery led for the first 5
rounds, but losing to Yvonne Eade in the final round meant that Yvonne won the division and
Carolyn had to settle for second. Carol Smith won the Combined Event, overcoming Neil
Broom’s one game advantage from the 5PP event in the first round and never relinquishing it.
Division C
This division saw Barbara Barker lead for the first three rounds only for up-and-coming
youngster Tim Butcher to lead after round 4 as the only unbeaten player. However he lost in
round 5 to Peterborough club player Jean Mainwaring. Jean was paired against early leader
Barbara in a winner-takes-all final round, with Barbara ultimately winning and taking the
spoils. Claire Violett won the Combined Event after having led for most of the day.
The day went incredibly smoothly thanks to a huge team of runners and other helpers (too
many to name individually), but also due to the swift co-operation of all the players involved.
Indeed, despite starting 5 minutes late, we managed to finish 15 minutes early!
Peterb’ A
Ben Wilson 5639
Martin Harrison 5619
Austin Shin 5473
Ratings (4th) Paul Bassett
Combined Event:
Martin Harrison* 9 818
Peterb’ B
Yvonne Eade 5493
Carolyn Emery 5394
Dot Taylor 5302
Ratings (6th) Andrew Eames
Combined Event:
Carol Smith 8 293
* Winner of the Peter Finley Memorial Trophy
6
Peterb’ C
Barbara Barker 5435
Audrey Harvey 5254
Gill Thompson 4 495
Ratings (6th) Malcolm Davis
Combined Event:
Claire Violett 8 499
Southampton
Apr 13th (6 rounds)
Report from Alan Bailey
Among the would-be entrants who applied too late to be admitted were
The ABSP’s foremost wordmaster;
The ABSP’s current chairman;
The reigning British Scrabble champion.
Beat that for an exclusive tournament.
At the other end of the scale, a sharp-eyed (i.e. female) early arrival noted a dearth of toilet
rolls. This was given added piquancy when another contestant reported an internal disorder
which might necessitate… well, you can complete the sentence for yourselves. Shamefully,
I as tournament director had not brought spares. Fortunately the Hall Manageress was
contactable and had rectified (?!) the problem before play started.
The 96 places, 4 divisions of 24 players, were filled well in advance. Everyone arrived on
time. There were no cancellations in the last 4 days. Volunteers readily helped set out, and
at the end restack, tables and chairs, for which I am very grateful. A slight starting delay was
my fault in not indicating that I was ready for print-outs. There were no computer hiccoughs
and the final 6th game finished well ahead of schedule.
Besides the more orthodox prizes we decided to commemorate the unlucky date by giving a
prize to the 13th in each division. Respective winners thereof were
Brian Jones in A, Wendy Lindridge in B, Jan Vokes-Taylor in C, Brian Beaumont in D.
Then at the end of the 1st game Kim Phipps revealed that she had celebrated the 13th by
being player No. 13 on table 13, and losing by 13. That was worth a bottle of Full 15
(nearest we could get; vignerons are also superstitious).
Monica Stockwell, Basingstoke, and Andy Gray, Aylesbury, distinguished themselves as the
winners of C and B respectively with 6 wins. 2nd to them on 5 wins were Tanya Robson,
Southampton, and Ros Wilson, Luton. 3rd places went to the 4-game winners with, narrowly,
the highest spreads, Mark Smith and Rita Todd, both from Portsmouth and Southsea.
Their compatriot Vivienne Newman took 2nd place in D, splitting 2 more Luton players,
Malcolm Davis in 3rd and Georgie Burchell the winner. In D, as in A, the 3 top spots went
to the players on 5 wins. Since its inauguration in 1991 the silver trophy for this tournament
has had “P. Appleby” engraved on it 6 times. At the end of round 4 P hil looked to be
heading for a 7th triumph. Whereupon he lost heavily to Gary Oliver, who took his top
spot, but for only 1 game.
In the final round Gary also lost, to the eventual winner and Southampton club-mate, subsiding
to 4th with Phil one place above him. 2nd came Maureen Chamberlain, after a dynamic
day’s work which earned her the Terry Hollington trophy for performance against rating.
Champion for 2008 is CHRIS FINLAY, at exactly the opposite end of the division to where he
had finished the previous year, and indeed at Andover the previous month. Congratulations
to them, and to the other players for a pleasant event.
7

Aylesbury
Southampton A
Chris Finlay 5 426
Mau’ Chamberlain 5 314
Phil Appleby(GM) 5 125
Gary Oliver(Exp) 4 313
Southampton B
Andy Gray 6 465
Rosalind Wilson 5 67
Rita Todd 4 229
Jill Harrison 4 210
Apr 19th (6 rounds)
Report from Graham Bonham
90 players, ranging in rating from 68 to 186 and including 4 Grand Masters and 5 Experts,
gathered at Stoke Mandeville Village Community Centre for the 2008 Aylesbury Scrabble
Club Charity Tournament. The tournament, organised by Janet Bonham and Andy Gray with
the support of other members of Aylesbury Scrabble Club, was resurrected in 2007, having
been organized during the 1990s by Edelle Crane RIP. This year’s entrants included 1993
winner Bob Violett (Exp), 1995 winner Rob Richland (Exp) and 2007 winner Austin Shin
(Exp). Stewart Holden (GM) kindly stepped in to make up numbers after one entrant failed to
turn up.
The final results were remarkable in that the winner of each of the 3 divisions was undefeated
- on 6 wins. In Division A, Robert Richland was 2nd at half-way stage, behind Philip Nelkon
(Exp), but finished 1st. Graham Bonham (Most Improved Player 2004) finished 2nd with
Paloma Raychbart in 3rd position. The Ratings prize went to Sandie Simonis (Exp).
In Division B, Paul (Hull) Thompson was 3rd at half-way stage, behind Geoff Cooper and
Evelyn Wallace, but finished in 1st place. Sarah-Jane Jamison, from Belfast, came 2nd, and
Jason Goddard (Most Improved Player 2005) came 3rd. The Ratings prize went to Janet
Bonham. In Division C, Adrian Noller was 1st at half-way stage and held on to his lead.
Mabel Choularton came 2nd and Cathy Poacher 3rd. The Ratings prize went to previously
unrated Sharon Hewitt. 2007 Division B winner, Steven Wintle, got the tuff luck prize.
The Tournament was ably directed by Andy Gray. Thanks are due to David Wilson for so
efficiently operating the computer and acting as adjudicator. Including proceeds from the
raffle, the tournament raised a total of £450 for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. Additional
funds for the charity were raised by Lou Brundell with her stall of articles for sale.
Aylesbury A
R Richland 6 605
G Bonham 5 248
P Raychbart 5 - 41
Ratings prize S Simonis
Aylesbury B
P (Hull)Thompson 6 494
S.J Jamison 5 371
J Goddard 5 313
Ratings prize J Bonham
8
Southampton C
Monica Stockwell 6 525
Tanya Robson 5 249
Mark Smith 4 192
Maureen Barlow 4 174
Southampton D
Georgie Burchell 5 348
Vivienne Newman 5 332
Malcolm Davis 5 73
Carol Bartlett 4 251
Aylesbury C
A Noller 6 466
M Choularton 5 337
C Poacher 5 162
Ratings prize S Hewitt
Aberdeen
Apr 19th (6 rounds)
Aberdeen A
Ross Mackenzie 5 202
Amy Byrne 5 25
Anne Steward 4 235
Havering Evergreen
Apr 26th (6 rounds)
Report from Cindy Hollyer
Bourne
Havering A
Sandie Simonis 5 627
Kevin Synott 5 423
Mike Whiteoak 4 183
Ratings: E Wallace
Apr 27th (6 rounds)
Bourne A
L. Rapley 6 472
N. Deller 5 505
J. Hardie 4 260
N. O’Rourke 4 242
Southsea
May 2-5 (20 rounds)
Southsea A
Moira Conway 14 868
Joy Lloyd 13 473
Peter Darby 12 396
Leonora Hutton 12 84
Aberdeen B
Alec Robertson 5 606
Margaret Armstrong5 87
Rhoda Gray 4 298
The Havering Evergreens was held on the best day of the spring but in spite of everything
appearing rosy he gremlins, as usual, had to put in an appearance. A day before the event a
cancellation was received because sadly a player’s daughter had taken a turn for the worse.
A reserve stepped in but while registration was taking place there was news that another
player had taken ill and was confined to bed. At that late stage nothing could be done.
However, all others arrived on time and we were on schedule. Towards the end of the
tournament the reserve was in so much pain he was unable to continue and had to drop out.
The best laid plans......!!!
Bourne B
S. Wilks 5 455
A. Burke 5 249
K. Bird 5 184
L. Barratt 4 298
Southsea B
Jan Bailey 15 765
Philippa Morris 12 681
Barbara Lukey 11 277
Jean Owen 11 -72
9
Aberdeen C
Bob Christie 6 513
Hilbre Jenkins 5 338
Caroline Foy 4 259
Havering B
Brenda Northcott 5 417
Joan Ellis 5 179
Ron Bucknell 4 234
Ratings: Joyce Frost
Bourne C
A. Harvey 5 412
M. Denby 5 285
V. Stokes 5 245
J. Mainwaring 4 237
Southsea C
Margaret Emmott 14.5 990
Jan Vokes-Taylor 13 642
Margaret Coleman 13 425
Vivienne Newman 12.5 653

Newcastle
April 26th (6 rounds)
At the last two tournaments we had no computer, but this year we had two.
Bliss! Not only were challenges checked in record time but results were
processed extremely quickly too. In spite of a delayed start and the extra
6th game, we still managed to finish the day 15 minutes ahead of the
timetable. In Divisions A and B the winners managed to win all 6 games but
in Division C, 7 players finished on 4 wins. A 4th place was awarded in the
larger Division A. Mikki Nicholson Nichols
Newcastle A
Mikki Nicholson 6 842
Joyce Cansfield 5 448
Raymond Tate 4 373
Laura Finley 4 -75
Ratings: Viv Beckman
Malta Open
May 2nd- 4th (18 rounds)
Report from Cecil Muscat
Newcastle B
John Harrison 6 407
Joy Hodge 5 392
Sam Beckwith 3 191
Ratings: Helgmarie Farrow
Scrabble players from Malta, England, Scotland, Ireland, Romania and Israel took part in the
first Malta Open Tournament which was a big success with many of the participants pledging
to return. The hotel rates were very competitive and if one books early, when the flights are
cheap in the winter, the whole package can be quite attractive. Unfortunately the Tournament
Director could not make it on the Sunday as he contracted gastric flu and poor Janet Phillips
had to have a knee operation and retire from the tournament.
The early front runner was Mario Saliba, a Maltese, who won his first 6 games, to be overtaken
by Nuala O’Rourke, then Evan Cohen from Israel, Vincent Boyle and finally for Cecil Muscat
to finish in the lead on his own on 9 wins at the end of the second day.
The final dramatic day saw the favourite Jared Robinson taking the lead for the rest of the
tournament, going into round 17 with what looked like an unstoppable 2 game advantage
and a spread of 977. However, he was stopped in his tracks by a resurgent Paloma Raychbart
whose only loss of the day was against Cecil Muscat. Paloma also registered a good win
against the second favourite Theresa Camilleri in round 16. So in the final round Jared was
leading by 13 wins with a spread of 845 followed by Theresa on 12 wins and a spread of
1002. The last fixture was King of the Hill and in a very tense final game Theresa won by
96pts. Paloma won against Dan Sandu for second place and Jared finished third.
Theresa Camilleri was given a rapturous applause during the prize ceremony as was a delighted
Paloma Raychbart from the strong Israeli contingent. Dan Sandu and Omri Rosenkrantz
won the rating prizes. The tournament was ABSP, Maltese and Internationally rated. Small
consolation for Jared, he is now provisionally the highest rated player in Malta! with 1898pts,
followed by Paloma with 1889pts and Theresa on 1830pts. We hope to see them battle it out
again next year!
10
Newcastle C
Elisabeth Allen 4 451
Barrie Hall 4 234
Gwen Linfoot 4 196
Ratings: Gill Hunter
We aim to make this tournament a fixture in the International World of Scrabble and I am
sure we will have many more than 32 foreign competitors next time!
We tend to run it on the lines of the BMSC with an open division (entry according to the
organizers discretion) and other divisions according to entrants. For enquiries email
cmuscat@blueyonder.co.uk . Cecil@onvol.net.
Theresa Camilleri 13 1098
Paloma Raychbart13 855
Jared Robinson 13 749
Jojo Delia 12 498
Cecil Muscat 12 365
Mike O’Rourke 12 206
Spring Matchplay
May 6th (25 rounds)
Report from Stewart Holden
other Brits:
9. Bob Violett 11 639
11.Chris Keeley 11 322
13.Evelyn Wallace 11 -336
14.Vincent Boyle10.5 468
15.Kevin Synott 10.5 365
17.Nuala O’Rourke10 347
20.Maurice Brown10 17
With the absence of the Durham tournament this year, the ABSP committee decided that a
replacement Major event was needed and so the Spring Matchplay took on this title. A
mammoth 25 games over 3 days in the excellent Staverton Park in Daventry attracted one of
the strongest fields of recent months. Certain names who have become accustomed to playing
in Div A were surprised to find themselves pushed out by the 20 players rated above 165 in
the top group! Two players from Belfast and four from Ireland were a further welcome addition
to the usual crowd.
On the first day Div C was led by Sarah-Jane Jamison and Marjorie Smith. Janet Bonham’s
MRIDANGS was probably the best word of the division all weekend, tied with Ian Kendall’s
GUNMAKER. On the second day perennial lower division winner Peter Ashurst took the
lead and didn’t look back. Clearly a stronger player than the rest of the field, he was Gibsonized
with four rounds to spare.
Div B was notable for having seven games with a 1pt spread and two draws, one of which
came unexpectedly for Anne Hidden when her outplay of EJECTING (104) and 12pts of
countback suddenly levelled the scores with Graham Bonham. However it was the Aylesbury
man who had the last laugh as an impressive 17.5-7.5 record won the division, having
beaten Adrienne Berger in the crucial last round battle.
The strong field of Div A did not disappoint, with impressive plays and scorelines throughout
the weekend. Round 7 saw fireworks between Alec Webb and Elie Dangoor whose game
finished 534-523 in Alec’s favour; Elie took the ABSP record for the highest ever losing score
in a tournament game. Ben Tarlow’s MARTYRED (185) won the high word prize and Terry
Kirk recovered from recent bad form to claim second place, but the weekend clearly belonged
to Martin Harrison who put in a blistering 20-5 record to claim his first Major title. This
awesome performance put his rating from 185 up to 192 and few would deny he is now one
of the UK’s very best players.
11
21.Paul Cartman 10 97
23.Moya Dewar 10 -161
29.George Newman 9 91
36.Claire Violett 8 18
44.Philip Turner 8 -555
46.Ellie Dobson 7 -91
48.Christ’e Cartman 7 -254
54.Sim’ Rosenstone 5 -2146

Amy presents Martin with the shield
Spring A
20 1267 Martin Harrison
17.5 903 Terry Kirk
16 676 Femi Awowade
Bournemouth
Spring B
17.5 752 Graham Bonham
16 566 Adrienne Berger
16 445 Joyce Cansfield
May 4th (6 rounds)
Report from Val Wright
Our 6th Charity Tournament was held on 4 May 2008 in aid of the Bournemouth Society for
the Visually Impaired (BSVI) at their Rooper Hall in Moordown, which has now become a
regular venue. The play was in roundish robin format with 8 divisions each playing 6 games,
and the results are as below.
Highest word score during the day was ESCAPISM from Penny Downer for 203.
Congratulations go to Vera Sime for winning Group F for two years consecutively.
A raffle raised £83 for the BSVI and sales of homemade cakes raised a further £79. We were
able to donate £500 from the entry fees, even though entries are declining each year, due to the
increasing number and variety of tournaments. Thus, the BSVI benefited by a total of £662.
Late arrivals invariably have good excuses – this time it was the SATNAV, which apparently
directed it’s driver to Bournemouth Airport! However, they managed to navigate themselves
successfully from there and actually made it on time.
12
Spring C
19 1312 Peter Ashurst
17 408 Janet Bonham
16 141 Mary Doyle
Bournemouth Scrabble Club and the BSVI express their thanks to all the players for their
support of the event.
Bournemouth A
G Oliver 6 637
J Rossite 5 594
Bournemouth B
C Finlay 5 281
M Chamberlain 4.5 266
Bournemouth C
W Lindridge 4 264
C Stanley 4 192
Some of the more interesting words played included
DEFASTE, DESALINATE (from AAEELS? through IN-T),
DOGSHIP, FIBRANNE, HAEREDES, INTWIST,
ISATINIC, JAYVEE, KHANATES, NEUMATIC,
ORATORIO, SEXTUORS, TERMINATORS (from
TERM), WISEGUY, ZAMANGS.
Full live coverage was provided all weekend on the
CentreStar website (www.centrestar.co.uk), which
contains standings, statistics, photos and a few games
to play through, including the ABSP record breaking
game mentioned above.
Bournemouth D
B Margereson 5 442
P Sime 5 330
Bournemouth E
E Terry 5 143
T Robson 4 225
Bournemouth F
V Sime 5 101
E Bradshaw 4 279
Bournemouth G
C Cotton 5 441
J Milford 5 290
Bournemouth H
E Lawes 6 701
V Baker 3 - 38
English Grand Grand
May 10th-11th (17 rounds)
English Grand A
14 1189 Helen Gipson
13 792 Wayne Kelly
12 1223 Femi Awowade
11 487 Stewart Holden
10 769 Di Dennis
Ratings: Wojtek Usakiewicz
aE
Southsea
May 2-5 (20 rounds)
Southsea A
Moira Conway 14 868
Joy Lloyd 13 473
Peter Darby 12 396
Brighton
May 11th 1th (6 rounds)
Brighton A
Chris Vicary 5 517
Doj Graham 5 472
Gary Oliver(Exp) 5 361
Gary Fox 4 182
Between rounds....
at the Spring Matchplay,
Irish Scrabbler, Joe
McGinley entertains an
appreciative group of
fellow competitors with
his juggling expertise.
English Grand B
12 733 Barbara Brown
12 650 Iain Harley
12 253 Ted Lewis
12 152 David Steel
11 570 Anthony Pinnell
Ratings: Sylvia Swaney
Southsea B
Jan Bailey 15 765
Philippa Morris. 12 681
Barbara Lukey 11 277
Brighton B
Amanda Sodhy 6 256
Sally Twine 4 315
Elizabeth Terry 4 308
Pamela Windsor 4 289
13
English Grand C
14 1090 Wasinee Beech
13 1158 Colin Kendal
11 439 Geoff Cooper
11 371 Colin Nicol
11 345 Marjorie Smith
Ratings: Margaret Marshall
Southsea C
Margaret Emmott 14.5 990
Jan Vokes-Taylor 13 642
Margaret Coleman 13 425
Brighton C
Betty Simmonds 5 441
Andrea Bailey 5 118
Peter Bailey. 4 151
Vivienne Newman 4 108

Regional results to date
London East: Rachelle Winer 4 David Holmes 3 – Femi Awowade 4 Angela Evans 2
Chris Keeley 4 Phil Kelly 2 – Mike Whiteoak 4 Rachelle Winer 2
Bob Violett 4 Ben Tarlow 3
Femi or Chris plays Mike or Bob in the Regional Final
London West: Ed Martin 4 Jackie McLeod 3 – Sandie Simonis 4 Sanmi Odelana 3
Harshan Lamabadusuriya 4.5 Maurice McParland 0.5;
Di Dennis 4 Bob Berry 0 – Harshan Lamabadusuriya 5 Di Dennis 3
Ed or Sandie plays Harshan in the Regional Final
Midlands: Chris Hawkins 4 Ben Wilson 0 – Nuala O’Rourke 4 Maurice Brown 3
Joanne Hiley 4 Linda Barratt 3 – Stewart Holden 4 Heather Burnet 1
Teresa Hill 4 Chris Hawkins 3 – Mike O’Rourke 4 Nuala O’Rourke 3
Evan Simpson 4.5 Joanne Hiley 2.5 – Evan Simpson 5 Mike O’Rourke 0
Stewart or Teresa plays Evan in the Regional Final
North: Neil Rowley 2 Joyce Cansfield 4 – Andrew Goodwin 4 Russell Smith 1
John Hardie 4 Josef Thompson 3 – Laura Finley 4 Andrea Waddington 3
Lewis Mackay 4 Jason Carney 0 – John Hardie 4 Vicky Nelson 1
Andrew Goodwin 4 Joyce Cansfield 0 – Mikki Nicholson 4 Laura Finley 1
Lewis Mackay 5 John Hardie 1
Andrew or Mikki plays Lewis in the Regional Final
North West: Wayne Kelly 4 Len Moir 0 – Kathy Suddick 4 Donna Stanton 2
Mark Nyman 4 David Steel 0 – Phil Robertshaw 4 Paul Richards 2
Wayne or Kathy plays Mark or Phil in the Regional Final
Oxford & West: Stewart Houten 4 Neil Green 3 – Peter Liggett 4 Jason Goddard 1
Steve Perry 4 Karl Kwiatkowski 2
Stewart plays Peter or Steve in the Regional Final
Scotland: Ray Tate 4.5 Amy Byrne 2.5 – Anne Ramsay 4 Philips Owalabi 3
Helen Gipson 4 Ray Tate 2 – Allan Simmons 4 Colin Nicol 1
Anne Ramsay 4 Tom Wilson 1 – Neil Scott 4 Ross Mackenzie 1
Helen or Allan plays Anne or Neil in the Regional Final
South: Penny Downer 4 Peter Hall 2 – Paul Allan 4 Alan Bailey 1
David Reading 4 Elizabeth Terry 2 – Noel Turner 4 Bob Lynn 0
Penny Downer 4 Ed Rossiter 2
Paul or David plays Noel or Penny in the Regional Final
14
Unexpected Meetings
L E T T E R S
On Friday 29th February I was on my way back from a week in Tenerife, where I had enjoyed
relaxation, sun and many games on ISC.
I arrived at the airport in good time so decided to go to the toilet. As I was waiting my turn
a woman came out of a cubicle, walked up to me and said, “I have played you in Scrabble
tournaments.” This was Rosemary Jordan of the Leicester Scrabble Club. In relating this
story to friends, they remarked, “That explains why she wasn’t at the Leicester Tournament.”
On Monday morning of April 7th I was at Oxford Railway Station waiting for a train back to
Newcastle after spending the weekend with my son Tim and his partner Fiona. A woman
called out “Viv!” This was Barbara Goodban on her way to Liz Barber’s Scrabble holiday in
Bournemouth.
As things usually go in threes I am of course waiting for the third unexpected meeting.
Can any Scrabble player top these stories?
If you have anything interesting to say, perhaps even about Scrabble!
please send me a letter, preferably by email to
Little Miss Perfect
ejardine1@btinternet.com
or editor@absp.org.uk
This week Little Miss Perfect had to play against Mr Smelly-Bag.
What could she do? When she arrived at her allocated table he
had already laid out his board, his rack, his bag of tiles and his
score sheet. It wasn’t until she went to select her first seven tiles
that she noticed that the bag had never had the benefit of a wash
and on closer inspection saw the board also had its fair share of
debris. Perhaps he played over dinner, or on the beach or down at the
tip. Keen, wasn’t he? Was she pernickety? No, just everyday hygienic.
15
Viv Beckmann
Viv Beckmann

At the Spring Matchplay Tournament in May,
one of the ABSP all-time records was
broken, and this time all the game’s details
are available. The record broken was that of
Highest Ever Losing Score and was achieved
(suffered?) by Elie Dangoor in his game
against Alec Webb with a score of 523.
Elie and Alec shake hands at the end
Record Breaking
Alec: AEILNOR A E I L N O R c8a ALIENOR 66 66
Elie: BHLOORX a9a HOX 38 38
Alec: AAEILOR A A E I L O R g7a OLEARIA 68 134
Elie: ?BILORY B I L O R Y ? k4d hOR(R)IBLY 98 136
Alec: CCEFNOZ a5d CONC(H) 36 170
Elie: EGIMUVY b10a YE 36 172
Alec: AEFNRSZ A E F N R S Z m8a REZ 38 208
Elie: EEGIMUV l1d GIVE 22 194
Alec: AEFNRST A E F N R S T e5d FEN(I)TARS 94 302
Elie: DEIMRSU D E I M R S U h1a SMUD(G)IER 158 352
Alec: DEFLTTT D E F L T T T f4d TEF 32 334
Elie: AIKNNUU f2a KUIA 24 376
Alec: ADGHLTT a12a GHAT(S) 22 356
Elie: AADNNOU n9a NA 15 391
Alec: ?DLOSTW DLOSTW? c13a WO 22 378
Elie: ADMNNOU b14a UNDAM 38 429
Alec: ?DEILST D E I L S T ? d15a STILtED 86 464
Elie: BINOQUW b6d WO 28 457
Alec: EOPPTTV E O P P T T V j6a P(R)O P 31 495
Elie: BGIINQU B G I I N Q U c3d QUIN 32 489
Alec: DEESTTV D E E S T T V n1d (E)VET 14 509
Elie: ABEGIJ A B E G I J W d2d JIG 39 528
Alec: DEST DESTWWW g5d ST(ON)ED 20 529
Elie’s unplayed tiles: ABE Elie: 528 - 5 = 523; Alec: 529 + 5 = 534
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a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
SMUDG I ER
J K U I A I V
Q I V E
UG T H E T
C I F E S O
OWN E F T P RO P
NO N OL EAR I A
C A L I E N O R I R E Z
HOX T E B NA
Y E A D L
R Y
GHATS
WO
UNDAM
S T I L T ED
ABSP all-time records
All of the below are achievements which occurred during ABSP-rated matchplay tournaments,
and are believed to be the best there is. If you know of any superior claims for any of the
categories below then email the webmaster.Last updated: 3rd May 2008
Game scores
Highest score 712 D Webb, Peterborough
for one game 24 Hour Tourney 2008
Largest winning spread 543 J McLeod, NSCT Regional 2002
Highest combined 1085 D Webb (712) vs. R Blakeway (373),
score for one game Peterborough 24hr Tourney 2008
Highest losing score 523 E Dangoor vs. A Webb (534),
ABSP Spring Matchplay 2008
Highest score draw 470 N Deller vs. T Camilleri,
Isca 2006
Move scores
Highest score for 230 K Churcher, ‘GLAZIERS’
one single play East Sussex 2003
P Ashurst, ‘QUAYAGES’ BMSC 2007
Highest score for 157 F Madeley, ‘QUIZzES’
a non-9x bonus Twixmas 2007
Highest score for 144 M Lane, ‘WOODSHED’
a non-bonus play Middlesbrough 2004
Highest opening move 112 N Scott, ‘OXAZINE’ Crieff 1996
Highest outplay (last move) 221 A Davis, ‘EChOIZEd’ BEST QF 2001
Tournaments
Youngest ever tourney winner 12y 4m A Shin, Melton Mowbray 2002
Oldest ever tournament winner 82 C Budge, Scottish Cham’ships 1992
Most consecutive 27 M Nyman, Oct 2001 - Jul 2002
tournament game wins
Please note that the records must have occurred during an ABSP-rated matchplay game. Oldest
and youngest tournament win claims apply to Division A only.
17

A B S P R a t i n g s Ratings at
210 Nigel Richards
199 0764 Lewis Mackay(Exp)
198 Wale Fashina
198 0774 Brett Smitheram(GM)
197 Andrew Fisher(GM)
194 0497 Andrew Davis(GM)
193 Chris May
193 1626 Olatunde Oduwole
193 0338 David Webb(GM)
192 0751 Paul Allan(GM)
192 0280 Andrew Perry(GM)
191 0880 Femi Awowade(GM)
191 1368 Phil Robertshaw
190 0015 Phil Appleby(GM)
189 0147 Helen Gipson(GM)
189 0823 Wayne Kelly(Exp)
189 0745 Harshan
Lamabadsuriya(GM)
188 0777 Adam Philpotts(Exp)
187 1355 Craig Beevers(Exp)
187 Shanker Menon
185 Andrew Cook(GM)
185 0057 Mark Nyman(GM)
185 0814 Jared Robinson(Exp)
185 0846 Austin Shin(Exp)
184 0158 Ed Martin(GM)
184 1427 Mikki Nicholson
183 1000 Stewart Holden(GM)
182 0734 Nick Deller
181 1570 Adrian Tamas
180 1220 Theresa Camilleri
180 0478 Elie Dangoor(Exp)
180 Dick Green(Exp)
179 0530 George Gruner(Exp)
179 1428 Martin Harrison
179 0362 Gary Oliver(Exp)
179 1488 Edward Rossiter
179 0162 Alec Webb(Exp)
178 0072 John Grayson(GM)
178 0770 Jake Jacobs
178 1497 Azu Ogbogu
178 Biyi Oyadiran
177 0060 Terry Kirk(GM)
177 0007 Allan Simmons(GM)
176 Omar_Malleh Jah
176 Philips Owolabi
176 0041 Gareth Williams(GM)
175 Gerry Carter
175 0014 Di Dennis(GM)
(GM) Grand Master (Exp) Expert
ABSP membership number for members
is shown before name
175 0005 Brian Sugar(GM)
175 1163 David Sutton
174 Christian Brown
174 0368 Chris Hawkins(Exp)
174 0224 Gary Polhill(Exp)
174 0482 Neil Scott(GM)
173 Adekoyejo Adegbesan
173 Steve Hilton
173 Richard Kennedy
173 0021 Evan Simpson(GM)
172 Fidelis Olotu
172 0281 Steve Perry
172 1469 James Rossiter
171 Richard Evans(Exp)
171 Peter Igweke
171 0004 Philip Nelkon(GM)
171 0049 Bob Violett(Exp)
170 Mark Goodwin
170 0999 Kay McColgan
170 0795 Chris Quartermaine
170 0172 Daniel Simonis
170 Chris Vicary
169 1016 John Ashmore
169 0058 Russell Byers(GM)
169 0012 Ruth Morgan-
Thomas(Exp)
169 Shane O Neill
169 1102 Paul{Sale} Richards
169 Ben Tarlow
169 0123 Noel Turner(Exp)
169 1057 Mike Whiteoak
168 0241 Bob Berry
168 1375 Michael Chappell
168 0006 Darryl Francis(Exp)
168 0059 Simon Gillam(Exp)
168 0888 Chris Keeley
168 0428 Kwaku Sapong
167 Philip Cohen
167 1408 Rael Hayman
167 0101 Robert Richland(Exp)
167 0017 Mike Willis(Exp)
166 1460 Paul Burton
166 0115 Diane Pratesi(Exp)
166 0479 Andrew Roughton(Exp)
165 0914 Vincent Boyle
165 0019 David Brook
165 0609 Bob Lynn
165 1006 Ross Mackenzie
165 0038 Jackie McLeod(Exp)
18
23-1-2008
At least 30 games
and at least
1 since 24-1-2006
164 Neil Green
164 0199 Graham Harding
164 0463 Helen Harding
164 Mark Hollingsworth
164 0165 Cecil Muscat
164 1663 Mihai Pantis
164 Jin_Chor Tan
163 0837 Peter Liggett
163 0213 Neil Rowley
163 Kevin Synnott
162 0045 Barry Grossman(Exp)
162 0986 Robert Pells
162 0919 Peter Thomas
161 1116 Paul Bassett
161 0103 Danny Bekhor
161 0343 Amy Byrne
161 0766 Christo Davison
161 0202 Penny Downer(Exp)
161 0573 Gary Fox
161 1429 Stewart Houten
161 Jeff Ngeze
161 0020 Janet Phillips
161 Malcolm Quirie
161 0226 Alan Sinclair
160 1145 Peter Darby
160 0836 Chris Fenwick
160 1362 Graham Haigh
160 1404 Chris Harrison
160 1129 Lee Hartley
160 1228 Mark Lane
160 Ricky Zinger
159 0534 Caroline Atkins
159 1221 JOjo Delia
159 1423 Calum Edwards
159 Ed Garrett-Jones
159 Ken Heaton
159 1203 Greg Kelly
159 Paul Nind
159 1363 Stephen Pearce
159 0088 Sandie Simonis(Exp)
159 Frances Ure
159 0810 Linda Vickers
159 0489 Tom Wilson
158 1211 Ian Coventry
158 Christine McKenzie
158 Roy Miller
158 1170 Paloma Raychbart
158 Angela Swain
158 0229 Graham Wakefield
157 Gboye Balogun
157 1210 Graham Bonham
157 1120 Anand Buddhdev
157 0079 Chris Finlay
157 0154 Mike O Rourke
157 0408 Nuala O Rourke
157 1097 Ronnie Reid
157 1279 Ben Wilson
156 0978 Andy Becher
156 Andrew Goodwin
156 1243 Doj Graham
156 1419 John Hardie
156 0105 Elisabeth Jardine
156 0488 Marion Keatings
156 1164 Karl Kwiatkowski
156 Dave Nunn
156 0760 Sanmi Odelana
156 0555 Raymond Tate
156 0292 Wilma Warwick
156 0018 Karen Willis
155 1440 Tim Charlton
155 Chris Cummins
155 Brian Jones
155 0093 Ruth MacInerney
154 0838 Theresa Cole
154 Ralph Gibbs
154 0688 Lorraine Gordon
153 0081 Joyce Cansfield(Exp)
153 Billy Dott
153 Christina French
153 Helen Grayson(Exp)
153 Timothy Lawrence
153 1619 Joseph McGinley
153 1198 Maurice McParland
153 0480 Anne Ramsay
153 1294 Christine Strawbridge
153 0272 Ivan Swallow
153 0116 Martin Thompson
153 1389 Paul{Tranmere}
Thomson
152 0835 Maurice Brown
152 0069 Moira Conway
152 0997 Phil Kelly
152 0631 Alison Sadler
151 0051 Cathy Anderson
151 1046 Paul Ashworth
151 0399 Louise Brundell
151 0469 Tony Davis
151 1466 Suzanne Dundas
151 0967 Gerard Fox
151 0331 Davina Galloway
151 Alan Georgeson
151 1051 Elizabeth Hull
151 0719 Kate Surtees
151 0094 Rachelle Winer
151 1053 Stephen Wintle
150 Eddy Breed
150 0852 Maureen Chamberlain
150 0024 Angela Evans
150 0121 Debbie Heaton
150 0655 Mary Jones
150 1019 Lynne Murphy
150 Abraham Sosseh
149 0789 Alan Bailey
149 Tony Bearn
149 1573 Owen Bondin
149 0732 Wanda De Poitiers
149 0406 Moya Dewar
149 0232 Iain Harley
149 Frankie Mairey
149 0790 Margaret Staunton
148 0080 Mary Allen
148 0228 Adrienne Berger
148 0254 Ian Burn
148 1202 Jason Carney
148 Simon Carter
148 Alan Catherall
148 1322 Frank Forster
148 0793 Joanne Hiley
148 Theo Kumi
148 0267 Graham Maker
148 Chrystal Rose
147 1301 Richard Blakeway
147 0042 Barbara Brown
147 Alan Buckley
147 Pinaach Kolte
147 0100 David Lawton
147 1645 Jay Osborn
147 0802 Patricia Pay
147 0476 David Shenkin
147 0637 Val Wright
146 0635 Philip Aldous
146 John Balloch
146 0822 Jill Bright
146 1092 Heather Burnet
146 Alan Childs
146 1486 Ashley Coldrick
146 0003 Laura Finley
146 0576 Carole Rison
146 Lesley Trotter
145 0899 Jake Berliner
145 1269 Richard Moody
145 Bryn Packer
145 Russell Smith
145 1287 Stuart Solomons
145 0589 Anne Steward
144 0369 Brian Bull
19
144 1115 Nick Jenkins
144 0713 Trish Johnson
144 0268 Donna Stanton
144 1459 Ronan Webb
143 1412 Melanie Beaumont
143 0089 Margaret Bright
143 Jean Bromley
143 1242 John Garcia
143 0084 Pauline Johnson
143 0458 Eileen Meghen
143 1270 Len Moir
143 Lesley Watson
142 0330 Viv Beckmann
142 William Coleman
142 0395 Pat Colling
142 1005 Verity Cross
142 Patricia Fenn
142 1067 Gavin Holmes
142 0875 Jim Lyes
142 0537 Carol Malkin
142 Matthew Pinner
142 0690 Maureen Reynolds
142 0422 Carol Stanley
142 0636 David Williams
141 0252 Steve Balment
141 Michael Baxendale
141 Martyn Colebrook
141 James Crooks
141 0544 Marjory Flight
141 0035 Lois McLeod
141 Huw Morgan
141 1380 Anthony Pinnell
141 Kay Powick
141 0996 Kenneth Ross
140 Brenda Baxter
140 Tim Hebbes
140 1025 Marion Kirk
140 0523 Kate Leckie
140 1136 Ted Lewis
140 Wendy Lindridge
140 0150 David Longley
140 0120 Kate McNulty
140 Gerry Pearce
140 0161 Margaret Pritchett
140 Jean Rappitt
140 0016 Maureen Rayson
140 0876 Evelyn Wallace
140 0775 Pat Wheeler
139 0096 Diana Beasley
139 0066 Sue Bowman
139 Jean Bridge
139 0061 Lorraine Crouch
139 0124 Ivy Dixon-Baird
139 0776 Peter Hall
139 0471 Anne Hidden
139 0923 Teresa Hill

139 0608 Sandra Hoffland
139 Robert Johnston
139 Gwynfor Owen
139 Colin Parker
139 0632 Carol{Norwich} Smith
139 Carol{Ryde} Smith
139 1206 Sarah Wilks
139 1273 Peter Winnick
138 Janet Adams
138 Oluyemi Adesiyan
138 0856 Minu Anderson
138 Chris Downer
138 1519 George Downing
138 Heather Frankland
138 1282 Barbara Goodban
138 0242 Sheila Green
138 Andrew Hart
138 David Meadows
138 0960 Mary Siggers
138 0291 Sylvia Swaney
138 0177 Henry Walton
137 Nick Baker
137 0924 Linda{Lincoln} Barratt
137 Alan Guy
137 Alastair Ives
137 Victoria Kingham
137 0077 Joy Lloyd
137 0829 Kim Phipps
137 0099 Josef Thompson
137 1149 Jim Wilkie
137 Richard Woodward
136 Alasdair Dowling
136 Dan Harris
136 Sheila Hinett
136 0456 Margaret Keegan
136 Esther Kumi
136 Tess McCarthy
136 0932 Jill Parker
136 0911 Marie Perry
136 0028 Lorna Rapley
135 0738 Margaret Armstrong
135 0565 Ann Coleman
135 1217 Carolyn Emery
135 Peter Hunt
135 Sally Lewis
135 Roger Ordish
135 0443 Ann Pitblado
135 1510 Jessica Pratesi
135 Fred Rankin
135 1231 David Steel
134 Liz{Leicester} Allen
134 Gillian Ashworth
134 Joe Caruana
134 0933 Ann Golding
134 0663 Linda Hillard
134 1608 David Holmes
134 Nola Marrow
134 1050 Yvonne McKeon
134 0029 Marlene Skinner
134 1189 Martin Taylor
134 Carole Thomas
133 0238 Margaret Burdon
133 1331 Carol Grant
133 1035 Andy Gray
133 Terry Jones
133 Malcolm Roberts
133 0423 Alec Robertson
133 Carol Sienkiewicz
133 0470 Norman Smith
133 0264 Evan Terrett
133 1320 Rita Todd
133 Wojtek Usakiewicz
132 0992 Geoff Cooper
132 0092 Priscilla Encarnacion
132 1265 Joy Fox
132 0840 Rhoda Gray
132 0032 Ron Hendra
132 0505 Gordon Procter
131 0922 Barbara Allen
131 Sheila{Perth} Anderson
131 0557 Janice Bease
131 Mick Beasley
131 1559 Joe Bridal
131 0442 Agnes Gunn
131 1607 Annie Hawes
131 Helen Jones
131 Brenda Margereson
131 Mary Oram
131 Gilli Simmons
131 Amanda Sodhy
131 Jenny Woodroffe
130 0511 Samantha Beckwith
130 Kathy Bullen
130 1182 David Carrod
130 Jean Dymock
130 June Edwards
130 Phyllis Fernandez
130 0475 Jill Fisher
130 Mick Healy
130 1199 Richard Hitchcock
130 Norma Howarth
130 0414 Jill Jones
130 Jo Ramjane
130 Annette Tinning
129 Noel Barnes
129 Jean Carter
129 0718 Pat Friend
129 Maureen Greening-
Steer
129 0401 Sharon Landau
129 David Reading
129 Martin Sheehan
20
129 0634 Edith Smith
129 0152 Marjorie Smith
129 1468 Kathy Suddick
129 Wendy Tiley
129 Sheila Wall
128 Gail Allen
128 1262 Ginny Dixon
128 0920 Eleanor Dobson
128 0868 Christine Gillespie
128 Janet Southworth
127 0943 Carol Arthurton
127 1513 Linda Bird
127 Rose Calder
127 Barbara Dein
127 1305 Jason Goddard
127 Paul Heasman
127 0263 Sheila Jolliffe
127 0886 Ruth Marsden
127 0938 Helen Polhill
127 0036 Dot Taylor
127 0136 Jan Turner
126 0512 Etta Alexander
126 0735 Hilary Birdsall
126 1020 Derek Bower
126 Janet Braund
126 0748 Jean Crowder
126 1238 Juliet Green
126 0975 Jill Harrison
126 1257 Mary Hopwood
126 0625 John Mitchell
126 1066 Barbara Morris
126 Julie Nelkon
126 0904 George Newman
126 Brenda Rodwell
126 0972 Denise Saxton
126 1593 Tom Sharp
125 0639 Esther Bacon
125 John Ball
125 1455 Angela Burke
125 0106 Ian Caws
125 Jennifer Clifford
125 0163 Yvonne Eade
125 0572 Val Hoskings
125 0211 Philippa Morris
125 Hari Nanayakkara
125 1237 Dorn Osborne
125 Mauro Pratesi
125 1175 Rosalind Wilson
124 1373 Stany Arnold
124 0390 Betty Balding
124 0493 Kate Boutinot
124 1473 Neil Broom
124 Jean Gallacher
124 1484 Karen Game
124 1413 Geoff Goodwin
124 0381 Michael Harley
124 0759 John Harrison
124 David Hoyle
124 Medina Hull
124 1146 Leonora Hutton
124 1533 Colin Kendall
124 May Macdonald
124 Miri Purse
123 Elizabeth{IW} Allen
123 0427 Peter Ashurst
123 0110 Liz Barber
123 Beverley Calder
123 0725 Paul Cartman
123 0107 Joan Caws
123 0915 Shirley Chidwick
123 0948 Eileen Foster
123 Pamela Kikumu
123 1535 Marc Meakin
123 0236 Hazel Parker
123 0616 Gertie Roberts
123 Heather Roberts
123 0532 Kathy Rush
122 Alistair Baker
122 1456 Andrew Eames
122 1027 Margaret Firmston
122 1212 Marjorie Gillott
122 Jayanthi Kannan
122 0320 Fay Madeley
122 1215 Mary Morgan
122 0397 Norma Nicholson
122 0952 Jean Owen
122 Christina Pace
122 0864 Margaret White
122 Judy Young
121 Sue Ball
121 0682 Janet Bonham
121 Pat Broderick
121 0982 Ron Bucknell
121 1207 Hannah Corbett
121 Terry Corps
121 0668 Ceridwen Davies
121 Kathleen Higgins
121 0715 Barbara Hill
121 1007 Margaret Irons
121 1159 Vivienne Plewes
121 Helen Rees
121 0169 Sue Thompson
120 Jim Blackler
120 0579 Sheila Booth-Millard
120 Georgina Cook
120 Val Couzens
120 1667 Mary Doyle
120 1424 Len Edwards
120 1383 Sarah-Jane Jamison
120 Angela Mort
119 1544 Anne Atherton
119 Harry Beckett
119 Jill Burgess
119 0402 Sally Fiszman
119 1479 Bob Jarvie
119 0833 Judy Monger
119 Mark Murray
119 1655 Maria Treadwell
119 0248 Jean{Cardiff} Williams
118 0518 Eileen Basham
118 Bobbie Bennett
118 0257 Syd Berger
118 Doreen Blake
118 Carmen Dolan
118 Eileen Douglas
118 Marian Hamer
118 0626 Martha Mitchell
118 1666 Brid Ni Bhriain
118 Ken Quarshie
118 Maureen Underdown
118 0356 Pamela Windsor
117 1391 Jan Bailey
117 0854 Joseph Doku
117 0737 Margaret Harkness
117 Sue Ison
117 1634 David Lavender
117 Ann McDonnell
117 Ralph Obemeasor
117 1649 Paul{Hull} Thompson
116 Shirley Angell
116 1602 Kim Hands
116 Joanne Hawkins
116 1169 Yvonne Holland
116 0477 Malcolm Shaw
116 0452 Peter Sime
116 0052 Martin Summers
116 Jo Tebbutt
116 Jane Weston
116 Carole Wheatley
115 1532 Lyn Allcock
115 Linda Beard
115 0603 Linda Bradford
115 Maisie Culpin
115 Dorothy Dean
115 Ann Fiddler
115 Peter Kelly
115 1054 Barbara Lukey
115 Willie Scott
115 Marjorie Struggles
115 Michael-John Turp
115 Sandra Walton
115 Martin Waterworth
115 1003 Sheena Wilson
114 Maureen Austin
114 1263 Barbara Barker
114 1049 Ken Bird
114 1002 Margaret Boyd
114 Jane Comer
21
114 Marie English
114 0736 Molly Lane
114 0798 Peter Lindeck
114 Rose Spencer
114 Julie Tate
114 1434 Kat Wilkes
114 Rosemary Wood
113 Rhian Lewis
113 1183 Priscilla Munday
113 Barbara Solomon
113 1478 Vivienne Stokes
113 Sally Twine
113 Cyndy Walker-Firth
113 1521 John Wilcox
112 1259 Sheila{Rmfrd}
Anderson
112 Joyce Ashmore
112 Irene Catherall
112 Eve Dwyer
112 1298 Helgamarie Farrow
112 Marjorie Gardner
112 Wilf Gibbons
112 1113 Christabel Jackson
112 1080 Margaret Mitchell
112 Norman Partridge
112 0692 Margaret Seabrook
112 0917 Nicola Staunton
112 0826 Elizabeth Terry
112 1523 Kath Williams
112 June Wilson
111 0761 Mary Adams
111 1063 Irene Atkinson
111 0953 Peter Bailey
111 1158 Wasinee Beech
111 0709 Betty Benton
111 Joyce Gershon
111 Kathy Gibbons
111 Joy Reason
111 Jeanne Rossiter
111 Monica Stockwell
111 Kathleen Ward
110 Doreen Acton
110 1503 Maureen Barlow
110 Fran Burling
110 1489 Anne Cheesman
110 1555 Bob Christie
110 Ann Croll
110 Marie Davie
110 1064 June Johnstone
110 1452 Ivo Kiddle
110 1315 Tanya Robson
110 1171 Susan Thorne
110 0844 Jan Vokes-Taylor
110 1520 Paul Walford
109 1029 Tricia Cooper
109 1439 James Couch

109 Noel Foulkes
109 Lena Glass
109 Doug Hill
109 Mary Orr
109 Jean Robinson
109 1276 Evelyn Wansbrough
108 1038 Jacquie Aldous
108 Beryl Browner
108 Gill Carr
108 Joan Ellis
108 1073 Jenny Harris
108 0934 Joyce Jarvis
108 Margaret Johnson
108 0184 Celia Osborn
108 0851 Sheila Smith
108 0134 Isla Wilkie
108 1271 Claudia Wiseman
107 Nora Bain
107 Jenny Burgess
107 0827 Ann Clark
107 1340 Paula Docherty
107 1112 Peter Johnson
107 Barbara Kent
107 Jean Mainwaring
107 James Mutton
107 Joan Rees
107 1009 Jenny Sakamoto
107 Helen Sandler
107 Shirley Scoberg
107 0451 Vera Sime
107 1341 Pamela Sparkes
107 1506 Gill{Norwich}
Thompson
107 Carmen Toscano
107 1450 Christine Tudge
107 Sheila Tutt
107 Irene Woolley
106 0951 Bill Anderson
106 Betty Bates
106 0474 Eileen Bradshaw
106 0928 Iris Cornish
106 Marlene Diskin
106 Matthew Edwards
106 Marjorie Lefley
106 1398 Jill Warren
105 Miles Daniels
105 1119 Anne Darby
105 0513 Florence Davies
105 1306 Margaret Emmott
105 1458 June Faulkner
105 Fay Goble
105 0374 Joy Hodge
105 Rosemary Jordan
105 0976 Adrian Noller
105 David Paine
105 0782 Richard Pajak
105 0564 Jean Stevens
105 0671 Chris Wide
104 Madelaine Baker
104 Bridget Busk
104 1222 Bronagh Kenny
104 Barbara McLaren
104 Sheila Reeve
104 1118 Remie Salazar
104 0357 Jean Shaw
104 0376 Claire Violett
104 1504 Andrea Waddington
104 1441 Jean{Ryde} Williams
103 Elisabeth{Clvlnd} Allen
103 Sylvia Baldock
103 Martin Byrne
103 1540 Rowan Callaghan
103 Gwyneth Cox
103 1200 Caroline Elliott
103 0640 Daphne Fletcher
103 1052 Barbara Haggett
103 0298 Mavis Harding
103 0927 Audrey Medhurst
103 0931 Janet Milford
103 1511 Colin Nicol
103 1085 Betty Simmonds
102 Eileen{Rdng} Anderson
102 0985 Carmen Borg
102 Sue Bullock
102 Dorothy Churcher
102 1289 Kerry Constant
102 Cecilia Cotton
102 Barbara Etheridge
102 Rona Falconer
102 1008 Yvonne Goodridge
102 Paul Harding
102 1509 Heather Laird
102 June Lindridge
102 Sandy MacLeod
102 Dieter Turk
102 1442 Gordon Winter
101 1625 Georgie Burchell
101 1248 Margaret Coleman
101 Les Costin
101 Joan Everitt
101 0941 Audrey Harvey
101 1261 Jo Holland
101 0970 Sheila Miller
101 1502 Cathy Poacher
101 Gwen Roberts
101 Beryl Shoesmith
100 Alex Beckmann
100 0384 Mabel Choularton
100 Len Choules
100 Maggie Fleming
100 Joyce Frost
100 Hilbre Jenkins
22
100 Mollie Moran
100 1554 Vicky Nelson-Owen
100 1560 June Peck
100 0083 Pat Rockley
100 Josie Rogers
100 Heather Stevens
100 Derek Turner
100 1253 Philip Turner
99 Marie Anderson
99 Jack Baker
99 0405 Peter Ernest
99 0415 Marjorie Garrett
99 Renee Paine
99 Jean Turner
99 Jacqui White
98 Gilly Batten
98 1168 Brian Beaumont
98 Jean Buckley
98 0758 Kathy Carson
98 Anne Connolly
98 David Darman
98 0783 Barrie Hall
98 John MacLellan
98 1304 Linda Moir
98 Vivienne Newman
97 Jenny Corps
97 Steve Davie
97 Peter Dittert
97 Douglas Emmott
97 Alan Everitt
97 0799 Cindy Hollyer
97 Pete Ison
97 1134 Dorothy Kemlicz
97 1492 Peggy Moore
97 Graham Pace
97 0578 Susan Richardson
97 1454 Janet Watson
96 Anna Blakey
96 0563 Fred Burford
96 0877 Shirley Cave
96 1525 Caroline Foy
96 1496 Margaret Keeper
96 Susan Paton
96 Doreen Searles
95 Keith Churcher
95 Terry Masterson
95 1030 Derek Neath
95 Hazel Parsons
95 Moreen Shillitoe
95 0818 Rose Wall
95 Henry Woodward
94 Mary Connell
94 1453 Anne Corpe
94 Josephine Croasdale
94 Patricia Holmes
94 Rosemarie Howis
94 Jean Masterson
94 Isabelle McLean
94 1633 Robert Peters
94 Sonja Wyld
93 1385 Mark Bradley
93 0030 Ruby Flood
93 1616 Iris Grover
93 1487 Sally Hanson
93 Patrick Kelleher
93 Esme Norris
93 Irene Swan
92 1104 Hazel Brannan
92 1558 Maxine Brookes
92 Prue Buckingham
92 Joan Johns
92 Sheila Johnston
92 1654 Ian Kendall
92 1176 Gordon Lamb
92 1648 Irene Lawes
92 Rose Lawson
92 Monica Marden
92 Hepzi Rodrigues
92 Rena Waddell
92 0900 Amabel Winter
92 1332 Sheila Wyatt
91 Betty Hallett
91 Dorothy Henry
91 1480 Doreen Jarvie
91 Charles Tollit
90 Bernard Bruno
90 Paul Carter
90 Paul Grimshaw
90 Mary Keevy
90 Gwen Linfoot
90 1147 Brenda Lock
90 John Macdonald
90 Olive Matthew
90 1587 Irene Newberry
90 Winifred Stitt
90 Richard Tempest
90 0935 Ian Whyte
89 1148 Renee Gilbert
89 Anne Lawton
89 0132 Lorna Llewellyn
89 0828 Moira Metcalf
89 1068 Lionel Millmore
89 Patricia Parton
89 0119 Mary Ralfs
89 Beryl Trace
89 1174 Peter Trembath
88 0726 Christine Cartman
88 Jan Gibson
88 Olive Martin
88 1267 Margot Montgomery
87 0517 Peter Basham
87 0683 Mavis Ernest
87 Joan Garlick
87 Marcia Hall
87 Matthew Hall
87 0998 Jean Hendrick
87 1392 Chris Leathem
87 Pat MacLellan
87 Nicholas Robertson
87 Jill Russell
87 1252 Ruth Turner
87 1084 Rod Winfield
86 0359 Vera Allen
86 Florence Connell
86 Judith Puttick
86 1390 Maria Raffaelli
86 1448 Joy Rowe
86 Reg Wiseman
85 1235 Rita Barton
85 1465 Doreen Clayton
85 Michelle Minnaar
85 John Wilman
84 Frank Goodier
84 Lionel Howard
84 Eileen Hunter
84 Margaret{Edbgh}
McGhee
84 1405 Elizabeth McNab
84 1546 Grace Peel
84 Alison Peters
84 1629 Maggie Shutt
84 Alison Stilwell
83 Hazel Boddy
83 1039 Dorothy Edwards
83 Jan Hudson
82 1524 Malcolm Davis
82 June Lovett
82 1574 Ken McGinness
82 Michael Murray
82 1399 Carol Russell
81 Chris Baker
81 1588 Angela Rigley
81 Trevor Warwick
80 Alice Bennell
80 0410 Myra Copleston
80 Ena Harding
80 1531 Lydia Sharkey
79 Helen Thompson
78 Hilda Bristow
78 Ann Gregson
78 Teresa Haycock
78 Connie Hudson
78 Jacqueline King
78 Peter Munt
78 1545 Helen Nelson
78 1527 Brian Rowell
77 1290 Mary Kennedy
77 Iris Semus
23
76 1548 Viv Bishop
76 1586 Sheila Cresswell
76 Dorothy Double
76 Mary Harris
76 Margaret Jaggs
76 1541 Marjorie Lunn
76 1334 Catherine McMillan
76 Joan Murphy
76 Jude Pettigrew
76 Jean Ross
75 1135 Sylvia Oates
75 Audrey Paley
75 Olive Smith
75 Patrick Teague
74 1316 Veronica Baker
74 Marie Cross
74 1086 Margaret Webb
73 0908 Ted Anderson
73 0541 Pamela Brown
73 1485 Winnie Haston
73 Keith Woodruff
73 Nancy Yorkston
72 Pat Carr
72 Eileen Johnson
72 Muriel Mortimer
72 Maria Moseley
72 George Sinclair
72 Millie Ward
71 Michael Double
71 Connie Hardacre
71 Jane Thomas
70 Nora Bown
70 Christine Hall
69 1581 Mollie Allam
69 Doreen Coleman
69 Margaret Scott
68 Peggy Lavender
68 Michael Slow
67 1474 Carol Mouncey
66 Shelagh Howes
65 Jessie Chisholm
65 Glenys Jones
65 Helen Tegg
63 0949 Barbara Horlock
63 0153 Mary Lindsay
61 Bill Croft
61 Kath Harrison
61 1247 Edna Lindeck
60 1284 Margaret Hallin
59 Zandra Begg
59 1386 Betty Meazey
57 1615 Barbara Yeaman
56 Maureen Knox
53 Simon Rosenstone

EDGEWAYS
Compiled by David Sutton
(Puzzle solutions on inside back cover)
Author! Author!
I have been reading Krakatoa! by
Simon Winchester, a fascinating
account of the best-known
volcanic eruption of historic times
(though actually only the fifth
largest), that took place in 1883
when the Indonesian island of
Krakatoa was destroyed. It is full of
local colour and cultural
background, and in addition to
terms from vulcanology
contains many words particularly associated with that
exotic part of the world:
alang, lalang a coarse grass of the Malay peninsula
arak, arrack a strong alcoholic drink made in Asian
countries from toddy, or the fermented juice of the
coco and other palms
atap, attap a kind of palm tree, aka NIPA
barbet a tropical bird
bergamot a citrus tree, bearing fruit similar to an orange,
from the rind of which a fragrant essence is prepared
bulbul a tropical bird, famous for its song
caldera a large crater formed by the collapse of the
central part of a volcano after eruption
campong, kampong a Malay village
cattie, catty, kati, katti a unit of measure used in SE Asia
dengue a tropical fever
fumarole, fumerole a hole emitting gases in a volcano
or volcanic region
24
Simon Winchester
barbet
fumarole
gamelan an orchestra of SE Asia consisting of percussion, wind instruments and stringed
geneva a spirit distilled from grain and flavoured with juniper berries
godown a Malayan warehouse
jaggery, jaggary, jagra, jagger, jagghery a coarse dark sugar made from palm sap
lahar a mudflow composed chiefly of pyroclastic material on the flanks of a volcano
maund a measure of weight in Asia; also an obsolete verb meaning to beg
neroli a fragrant oil distilled from orange flowers
picul, pikul a unit of weight used in China and SE Asia, equal to about 100 CATTIES
prahu, prau, proa, prao a Malay sailing boat
quintal an old unit of weight equal to 100 kilograms
rutter a book of sailing directions
sambal any of various foods served with curries in
Malaysia and Indonesia, e.g. peppers, pickles,
salt fish, coconut, etc.
solfatara a volcanic vent emitting only gases
tamarind a large tropical tree, or its fruit
tephra ash and debris ejected by a volcano
touraco, turaco, turacou any of various brightlycoloured
tropical birds
touraco
physeter
The Five-Minute Anagram Challenge
Below are four sets of anagrams, presented in ascending order of difficulty. Each anagram
has a unique solution. It is suggested that full marks in set A corresponds to a ABSP rating
of around 125; in set B to 150; in set C to 175; and in set D to 200, though of course
people differ in their vocabularies and anagramming skills so any such categorisation can
only be loose and intuitive. Give yourself five minutes for the chosen set. Of course, by
all means try the harder sets, but donít be discouraged if the going gets tough!
The observant will note that as a slight twist all the words in this challenge contain the
letter J.
A. AGJO IJOST ADIJNO AEGJLNR AEGJLTS
BEJO GIJNO EIJNNO CEEIJOR EIJNPRU
B. EIJMO AIJORS AEIJLNW AEJMRST IJLNOQSU
AAJRT AEFIJO ADEEJIT ACEHIJKR CJNOORRU
C. AJLOU ABEJNT AEIJNRS AEEJNRST AEEJOPRT
AAGJN AIJMOR ACEJNOT AEIJORST AEIJLOSU
D. ABEIJNS AAAACJRR ABDJMOOR BEEIJORT AGHIJNRT
AAEJOPR AEGHIJR ABEHJORS ACEJNNOO AAEJMNRY
25

Watch Your Language: 9. Chinese
Continuing our series in which we take a look at some of the more exotic languages that
have contributed to the Scrabble playerís lexicon. Those wishing to pursue a particular
language more fully might care to look at the Words page on the ABSP web site.
Here is a selection of shorter words that have come to us from Chinese; words that have
come in new with Collins are marked with a +.
amban a Chinese resident official in a dependency
bohea an inferior kind of black tea. [From the Wu-i hills
in China]
catsup, catchup, ketchup a yukky red stuff used for
spoiling the taste of food. [Cantonese k'e chap,
tomato juice]
cheongsam an oriental dress with a slit skirt and a
mandarin collar; from Chinese, literally, long gown
chiao a Chinese monetary unit, one tenth of a YUAN. No
-S! (But the Korean equivalent JIAO does take an
ñS)
cochin a large variety of the domestic fowl, originally
from Cochin China
congo, congou a kind of black Chinese tea
cheongsam
cumquat, kumquat a kind of fruit
cumshaw (in Orient) a present, gratuity; a bribe
fum fung a fabulous Chinese bird
garoupa+ the grouper fish, as used in Chinese cuisine
genseng, ginseng a plant of the genus Aralia, the root of
which is highly valued as a medicine among the
Chinese
guanxi+ a Chinese social concept based on the exchange
of favours
hoisin+ a sweet spicy reddish-brown sauce, made from
soy beans
cochin
honan a PONGEE fabric of even color made originally by
silkworms from Honan province, China
hyson a fine sort of green tea
joss a Chinese figure of a god, an idol
kang a Chinese sleeping platform
kaoliang sorghum grain of several varieties; an alcoholic
drink made from it. [Chinese 'tall grain']
kaolin, kaoline a very pure white clay used to form the
paste of porcelain, aka China clay
kotow, kowtow the prostration made by mandarins and
others to their superiors, either as homage or
worship, by knocking the forehead on the ground
kylin a fabulous animal figured in the decoration of
Chinese pottery
kotow
26
langshan a small black Chinese hen. [From a place near
Shanghai]
laogai+ a Chinese forced labour camp
leechee, lichee, lichi, litchi, lychee a Chinese fruit
lapsang a variety of SOUCHONG tea with a smoky
flavour
li a Chinese unit of distance
liang a Chinese weight: 37.24 grams
likin formerly, a Chinese transit duty
lomein a Chinese dish of noodles, meat and vegetables
loquat a Chinese and Japanese tree or its small, yellow,
edible fruit
longan, lungan a pulpy fruit related to the litchi, and
produced by an evergreen East Indian tree.
[Chinese lung-yen, dragon's eye]
mahjong, mahjongg an old Chinese table game
mee+ noodles or a dish containing noodles
menshen+ a Chinese door god. No -S
moutan the Chinese tree peony, a shrub with large
flowers of various colors
nankin, nankeen a durable buff-coloured cotton. [From
Nanking in China]
oolong, oulong a kind of tea. [Chinese wu-lung, black
dragon]
packfong, pakfong, paktong, pakthong+ a Chinese alloy
of nickel, zinc, and copper, resembling German
silver
pakapoo a Chinese version of lotto
peke a breed of small dog. [From Peking]
pekin a fine soft silk. [From Peking]
pekoe a kind of tea. [Chinese pek-ho, white down]
pela white wax from a scale insect. [Chinese peh-la, white wax]
petsai Chinese cabbage
petuntse, petuntze a feldspathic rock used in making Chinese
porcelain
pinyin a system for romanizing Chinese ideograms
pongee a thin, soft silk from China, naturally coloured beige or
tan
putonghua+ the Chinese language, standard Mandarin
qi chi the physical life-force postulated by certain Chinese
philosophers
qigong a system of Chinese meditational exercises
qinghaosu a crystalline compound obtained from artemisia
renminbi a Chinese coin
saimin a Hawaiian noodle soup. [Chinese sai minh, fine noodles]
samfoo, samfu an outfit worn by Chinese women
27
kylin
mahjong
menshen
samfoo

sampan, sanpan a flat-bottomed Chinese skiff usually
propelled by two short oars
samshoo, samshu a spirituous liquor distilled by the
Chinese from the yeasty liquor in which boiled
rice has fermented under pressure
sancai in Chinese ceramics, a three-colour glaze
sang a Chinese organ played by mouth: worth noting
because it means SANGS is valid
shanghai to force aboard a ship for service.
[Shanghai in China]
shantung a plain rough cloth of wild silk. [Shantung
province in China]
shwanpan, swanpan a Chinese abacus
28
sampan
souchong, soochong a fine sort of black China tea. [hsiao, small, + chung, sort]
subgum a Chinese dish of mixed vegetables and diced meat
sycee lumps of pure silver bearing the stamp of a banker or assayer and formerly used as
money in China
taipan a foreigner living in China and head of a foreign business there. (Also, from an
unrelated Native Australian root, a large venomous Australian snake)
tanka, tankia the boat-dwelling population of China
tao a path of virtuous conduct in Chinese philosophy
tatsoi+ a variety of Chinese cabbage
towkay+ sir, master
tuchun a Chinese military governor
tuina a Chinese therapeutic massage system
tung a Chinese tree
twankay, twanky a variety of green tea; (sl.) gin. [After
Tong-ke in China]
typhoon a violent cyclonic storm of the China Sea. [T'ai
fung, big wind]
wampee a tree of the Orange family, growing in China and
the East Indies; also, its fruit, which is about the size
of a large grape, and has a hard rind and a peculiar
flavor. [Chinese huang, yellow, + pi, skin]
whangee a kind of grass related to the bamboo; a cane
made from the stem of this. [Chinese huang, yellow, + li, bamboo]
wock wok a pan used in Chinese cookery. [Cantonese wohk, pan]
wuxia
wonton in Chinese cuisine, a spicy dumpling containing minced pork, esp. served in soup
wushu the Chinese martial arts
wuxia+ a genre of Chinese fiction involving the adventures of sword-wielding heroes.
yamen, yamun the offices and residence of a mandarin
yang one of the two opposing principles of Chinese philosophy
yen a Chinese currency
yin one of the two opposing principles of Chinese philosophy
yu a precious jade
yuan a Chinese monetary unit
yulan a kind of magnolia, producing large white flowers
Cryptogram
16 7 3 12 1 13 13 15 18 7 22 15 18 7
8 4 20 7 13 11 3 8 9 1 6 8 13
25 11 13 24 1 20 22 17 7 20 24 1 6 13
26 7 6 24 17 7 8 7 20
1 6 6 2 20 22 1 3 1 22 8 10 1 13
11 7 10 19 22 22 7 1 1 14 1 6 24
13 25 1 22 1 6 11 6 19 13 24 6 1 13
21 3 1 23 1 23
23 19 3 7 6 1 1 4 8 7 6 20 13 2
12 1 8 22 1 22 7 2 3 1 22 20 1
1 24 1 13 20 7 22 7 23 7 15 7 22 7
13 24 5 7 22 22 20 22 6
13 7 20 6 20 22 3 3 20 22 26 3 8 13
8 14 1 11 1 1 7 6 13 2 7 6 1
6 1 13 1 15 7 13 7 6 24 20 13 24 13
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
X
29

Curio Corner
I am indebted to S.H.Cheah for contributing the following collection of acronyms, or
words formed from the initial letters of phrases.
alnico(s) ALuminium, NIckel and CObalt: an alloy of iron, nickel, aluminium, cobalt and
copper
amu Atomic Mass Unit.
arpa Address and Routing Parameter Area: an Internet top-level domain used
exclusively for Internet-infrastructure purposes. It originates from Arpanet,
originally developed by the US Advanced Research Projects Agency.
asdic Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee: an early sonar
aspro in Australian slang, an ASsociate PROfessor
awol Absent WithOut Leave
bambi a Born Again Middle-aged BIker.
buppy, buppie Black Urban Professional: a black yuppie.
codec COde and DECode: apparatus for coding and decoding signals
conelrad CONtrol of ELectromagnetic RADiation: a US emergency warning broadcast
system in the event of attack
elint ELectronic INTelligence: intelligence gathered by electronic means;
eniac Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator: an early American electronic
computer:
eprom Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
fedex FEDeral EXpress: to air freight
figjam F--k I'm Good, Just Ask Me: (Australian slang) a very conceited person
fubar, foobar F--ked Up Beyond All Recognition
gestapo GEheime STAatsPOlizei: Secret State Police
gox Gaseous OXygen
gulag the system of political prisons and forced labour camps in the Soviet Union;
camp for the detention of political prisoners: an acronym of the body
administering the system: Glavnoe Upravlenie ispravitelnotrudovykh LAGerei.
jafa Just Another F---ing Aucklander
jato Jet-Assisted Take-Off
kreep potassium (Kalium), Rare Earth Elements, and Phosphorus: a basaltic lunar rock.
laser Light Amplification By Stimulated Emission of Radiation
loran LOng RANge navigation: a radio navigation system operating over long distances
magnox MAGnesium No OXidation: a type of container for nuclear reactors
mips Million Instructions Per Second: a measure of a computer's processing speed
mirv Multiple Independently-targeted Reentry Vehicle, as in nuclear warheads
modem MOdulate DEModulate: a device which converts digital data into analogue
signals which can be sent over a telephone system. Also a verb
nairu Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment
navarho NAVigation Aid RHo (a navigation symbol for distance): a low-frequency longrange
navigational system for aircraft
nicad a battery, usually rechargeable, with NIckel anode and CADmium cathode
nife NIckel FErrum (iron): the supposed material of Earth's core.
nimbyism from Nimby, a person willing to have something occur so long as it does not
30
affect him or take place in his locality: 'Not In My Back Yard'
nox Nitrogen OXide.
oflag OFfiziersLAGer: a German prisoner-of-war camp for officers
omov One Man, One Vote: a voting system
perfin PERForated INitials: a stamp perforated with the initials of firms, to prevent theft
by employees.
pomo POst-MOdernism
quango QUasi-Autonomous Non-GOvernmental organisation
radar RADio detection And Ranging
rato Rocket Assisted Take-Off
rurp Realized Ultimate Reality Piton: a very small hooklike piton used in
mountaineering
scuba Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
shoran SHOrt RANge navigation: a short range radar system
sial, sialic the lighter upper part of the earth's continental crust composed of rocks rich in
SIlica and ALumina
sialon various ceramic materials consisting of SIlicon, ALuminium, Oxygen and
Nitrogen
snafu Situation Normal: All F--ked Up: confusion or chaos regarded as the normal state
sonar SOund Navigation And Ranging: an underwater communication and position
finding device
spif Stamp Perforated with the Initials of Firms, to prevent theft by employees.
spim SPam Instant Messaging: unsolicited commercial communications received on a
computer via an instant messaging system
stalag STAmm LAGer: a base camp (for prisoners of war)
taser Thomas A Swift's Electric Rifle: a small gun-like device which fires electrified
barbs, used to stun.
twoccer, twoccing, twocker, twocking Taking Without Owner's Consent: a technical name
for the offence of stealing a car
vatable, vatman Value-Added Tax
waac member of the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps
wof Waste Of Flesh: (Australian slang) fool, idiot
wysiwyg What You See (on the screen) Is What You Get (on the printout)
ufo Unidentified Flying Object, such as a flying saucer
yaba Yet Another Bloody Acronym. Yes, that is really what it means.
yag Yttrium Aluminium Garnet: an artificial garnet
yuppy, yuppie Young Urban (or Upwardly-mobile) Professional
31

Anagrid:
1a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
HORIZONTAL CLUES: VERTICAL CLUES:
1. BIROMUIC a. SAUTEJAG
2. SOUSASAQ b. MOVSICAL
3. NOSHDETZ c. ANISBEAK
4. TRAUMAGE d. SCUMTEED
5. URRENCES e. ZERODIXI
6. LINNERIC f. WHIPSANG
7. ORALFAWD g. DEETLYEE
8. DINGASOME h. ACCEDNUA
9. ERASEST i. AEREMOSIS
10. UNREISED j. PIELEAK
11. HISJADE k. ROSSDIVEE
12. SEATBIAS l. RESCART
13. CREENII m. RENDETION
14. LEANDEEM n. EEFIRRI
15. GESSERY o. FIRMGASTS
32
Personal Profile: Andrew Fisher
This is a series in which well-known players are encouraged to
reflect on the game and reveal the secrets of their success. For this
issue I am pleased to welcome Andrew Fisher. Andrew is a player
of vast experience and legendary word-power: for many years a
top player in the UK he emigrated to Australia in 2002 and it is
perhaps no coincidence that Australia’s rise to a world power in
Scrabble dates from about that time.
Andrew, can you start by saying a little about how you got into Scrabble, and your progress in
the game?
I have always enjoyed the game, and started up a lunchtime club at school which attracted
a few members. I remember one of my fellow pupils impressing me with AMBROSIA to
which I responded with DUSTBIN, so we were no slouches. I eventually realised that there
was a competitive scene and joined a local club near Manchester, and this was my entrypoint
to tournaments; I was also a keen club-goer while at university, and learned a lot from
John Place and Barrie Knox. Consequently I have been enjoying competitive scrabble for
well over twenty years. I think I first came to people’s notice with a second place in the
Winter Matchplay, held in Cambridge in 1988 as I recall, and this was particularly sweet
(in an oedipal way) as it involved a late-round defeat of John himself. My first major win
was at Durham in 1992 which pushed me into the 190’s for the first time, and since then I
have had a few victories including the UK and Australian NSC, BMSC, UK Masters and
BEST. My final tournament before emigrating in April 2002 was the Exeter event of that
year, which happily for me also finished as a win. I was one of the SOWPODS pioneers in
the UK (consequently winning some ‘SOWPODS’ divisions of major events which are not
recorded as title wins), and internationally have notched up second-place results in
Singapore and Bangkok as well as being placed fifth in two WSC’s.
How many rated games do you reckon to play per year?
I usually play around 100 games, but Australian events tend to have more games than the
UK (e.g. our Nationals has 24 games, and our Masters 19). This does not include
international events, so my tally of competitive games would be 25-50 higher depending
on the year (in fact this coming November/December I expect to play 24 games against
New Zealand and 45 games at the Causeway Challenge).
Approximately how many hours per day, on average, do you devote to the play and/or study of
the game, and what form does your study take?
I haven’t played on ISC for a while, and my only face-to-face games outside tournaments
tend to be at the regular club nights most Thursdays (three or four games). I do some form of
studying virtually every day, whether just the Jumbletime daily challenges, more focused listreviewing
or analysis of my own games using Quackle, but I cannot quantify an average.
I have always had a retentive memory, and early on I absorbed a huge Scrabble vocabulary
simply by repeatedly reading through OSW on bus trips and underlining interesting words.
Memory helps, but there’s no doubt that you have to put in the hours to get a solid
33

grounding. I then started to focus on combinations (6+1, 7+1, 6+2) for bingo study. This
was helpful at the time, but since the advent of LeXpert and Zyzzyva with their ability to
produce word lists in probability order, I now study anagrams and hooks virtually
exclusively in this manner, mainly onscreen but sometimes using printouts. I use
Jumbletime to test my knowledge and train my speed of recall, rather than as a wordlearning
tool. I examine many of my tournament games using Quackle simulations, and
quite often play through libraries of other games online (including TWL games from US
websites which tend to be more voluminously supplied). I am also a fan of tough cryptic
crosswords, so have spent many hours trawling through dictionaries.
Can you say roughly what proportion of your study time you spend on each of the word lengths
from 4 to 8?
I probably concentrate too much on bingo sets overall (including a bit of work on nines).
Recently I have been reviewing the fours, and will start revision of the fives before long. I
have been through all the sixes at one time or another, but these would be the weakest part
of my armoury. I have no set proportion of study time devoted to word lengths, but just plan
things in accordance with what I wish to focus on over a period.
I study in probability order, but aim to cover all words.
Do you use any mnemonic techniques, e.g. anamonics, associative phoneys, or the kind of more
elaborate techniques described in ‘How To Win at Scrabble’?
Not consciously or extensively. There are always some patterns that can be detected in
word study – I mean words that the mind tends to group together, like
PAILLARD/PALLIARD/GAILLARD/GALLIARD – and using these is a form of mnemonic
technique. Anamonics have the drawback that they often need to be updated when the
wordlist changes.
When you analyse your own games, do you find that when you miss the optimum move, this is
most often a) because you simply don’t know the word, b) because you know the word but don’t
find it or c) because you know the word and find it but fail to recognise that it is the optimum
move?
Many of my misses are simply through doziness, e.g. missing front hooks, or not noticing
multiple overlap plays; sometimes I am guilty of not looking in all areas of the board (so
that I might miss XENIC, for example, from an initial X); and sometimes I miss words that
have not embedded themselves sufficiently strongly in my mind (e.g. a recent miss of
BRUXED, which theoretically I ‘know’ perfectly well but which did not suggest itself during
the game). I have a fairly good sense of what will simulate well, but this sometimes leads
me into rash decisions such as opening up TWS files when I have the game sewn up: one
must remember that the ‘best’ move is not always the winningest move.
Can you give a rough idea of what proportion of the current SOWPODS lexicon up to and
including 8 letter words you would claim that you do know, in the sense of being able to state
confidently that any given word from it is valid or not?
Nearly all.
34
Do you attempt to ‘peak’ for certain events (i.e. intensify your study)?
I try to keep at a consistent level generally, but the advent of a major international
tournament tends to inspire me to increase the rate somewhat.
To what extent do you find that once you have learnt words you tend to remember them and to
what extent do you find that your word knowledge suffers from ‘fade’ and requires constant
reinforcement?
They generally stay put, but some are difficult to master (e.g. the Maori words and their
hooks). If I stopped studying completely, there might be a degree of fade but I think the
words stay fresh because I am constantly reviewing something.
How interested are you in the meanings of the words, on a scale of 1 to 10?
8-9. I can recall words without knowing their meanings, but I am always interested, and
tend to store this information away as well (without guaranteeing accuracy).
Would you describe your attitude towards significant extensions to the Scrabble lexicon (such
as happened with the change to OSWI and last year to Collins) as apprehension, excitement or
something between?
I sometimes find them daunting, and some of the fatuous inventions foisted on us by Collins
were highly annoying, but I enjoy studying words. On a scale of 1 to 10 with excitement
at the top, I would say 9.
Do you feel that as far as individual tournaments go, being ‘in form’ plays a significant role
in Scrabble success, or that any such factor is swamped by the luck of the tiles?
Assuming you are relatively fit (i.e. not ill, jetlagged or unduly drunk), and if you keep the
desired equable temperament, then it’s just a matter of the tiles you draw, and the result of
the previous game should have no bearing on the next one.
How much do you think success at Scrabble depends on a natural ability which, perhaps like
musical ability, one tends to have or not have and how much do you think it is overwhelmingly
a matter of application?
Some people study quite extensively but never seem to progress much. That suggests to me
that a certain level of innate ability is needed as a starting-point.
Do you feel that you yourself have pretty much got as far as you’re going to in the game, or
do you feel that you have the potential to get (even) better?
I don’t think I will get significantly better unless I am able to retire while still compos
mentis, and devote even more time to the game. There are faults in my game which I
recognise but which are still hard to eliminate, and I don’t think word knowledge is a
weakness (in other words my faults are probably character- or temperament-driven).
Do you think that you would study more and take the game more seriously if the material
rewards were greater, e.g. serious prize money in tournaments?
That is a plausible scenario.
35

Do you think the standard of play has improved over the years, with consequent hardening of
‘ratings’?
With the availability of free word-learning or analysis software (not just the samizdat Maven
which keen players used to have to beg or borrow) and a number of excellent books on the
subject of Scrabble, standards have improved a great deal since I started attending
tournaments. I’m not sure if the bar is continuing to be raised.
Do you have any reflections on differences in the Scrabble scene between Britain and
Australia? For example, it seems that Australia tends to punch above its weight on the world
scene, considering its relatively small population and the distances people must have to travel
to get to tournaments. Do you have any thoughts as to why this should be?
Naween Fernando and I both happened to emigrate to Melbourne in 2001/2002, and the
arrival of two experienced internationals seems to have had a beneficial effect on certain
aspirational players, particularly in that city (which is the home of David Eldar, for
example). There are some very strong players here, but probably not as much strength in
depth as might be seen in the UK. I would also say that a lot of the very good players in the
UK seem to have stopped playing regularly enough to qualify for international events, and
their absence from the upper echelons is having a weakening effect. Travel is viewed in a
different light here – people think nothing of driving for three hours to get to a picnic site
and then back again, and jetting between the capitals is a fairly normal part of life. There
is also a good spirit of team camaraderie among the top Australian players, which probably
helps us get by.
Thank you very much, Andrew, and long may you continue to inspire the rising generation!
36
THAT
10 years ago:
APSP Newsletter, issue 60,
June 1998, editor Phil Appleby
The ongoing “will it-won’t it” saga with
the 1998 NSC was finally ended . . . it
was to go ahead . . . at the Britannia
Hotel in Wolverhampton in October.
A Hasbro CD computer program won 6
games to 3 against the combined brains
of the then WSC champion Joel Sherman
and runner-up Matt Graham.
“Club Corner” focused on Bournemouth
Scrabble Club, soon to celebrate its 10th
anniversary later in 1998. Margaret Bright
filled in the rest of the club’s details.
Nick Deller (under the heading
“Leomania”) gave us a list of useful 5vowelled
eights (LEOMANIA* not being
one of them!)
Recent tourney wins included:
Peter Preston (Durham)
Phil Appleby (Southampton and Exeter)
Ian Gucklhorn (Romford)
Terry Kirk (Exeter ISCA)
Kate Leckie (Aberdeen Bon Accord)
Mary Grylls (Melton Mowbray)
Brett Smitheram (Gwent)
Neil Scott (Scottish Championship)
Ken Matthews (Cleveland)
Sandie Simonis (Romford high-score)
Andrew Perry (Romford duplicate)
Top 3 in the ratings (May 20th 1998)
1 Allan Saldanha 199
2 Phil Appleby 197
3 Mark Nyman 196
WAS
Collated by Robert Richland
37
THEN
5 years ago:
TLW, issue 90, June 2003,
editor Alec Webb
Amy Byrne explained all you needed to
know about the Scottish Scrabble League
(ABSP rated since 1995).
Raymond Tate (under the heading “What
should I play at K9?”) boned up on
breeds of dog that were allowed (and
disallowed) in OSWI. He also added
some crossbreeds which should be
allowable . . for example “Collie + Lhasa
Apso = Collapso, a dog that folds up for
easy transport”!!!
Femi Awowade (2003 Easter Matchplay
champ) was the ABSP member
interviewed this issue. He said he
started wearing a face [baseball] cap
ever since he started playing competitive
Scrabble. Many of us would struggle to
recognise him without one!!!
Recent tourney wins included:
Ross Mackenzie (Lothian)
Alec Webb (Melton Mowbray and
Romford)
Nick Ball (Southampton)
Allan Simmons (Durham)
Stewart Holden (ISCA)
Femi Awowade (Easter Matchplay)
Neil Rowley (Newcastle)
Adam Philpotts (MSO Cambridge)
Top 3 in the ratings (May 19th 2003)
1= David Acton 204
1= Paul Allan 204
1= Andrew Fisher 204

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Three Counties Hotel, Hereford
6 th – 9 th June
Contact Viv Beckmann
0191 272 2420
or John Harrison
01661 854336
Edinburgh Festival (19 games)
Saturday 7 th – 8 th June
Contact Amy Byrne
0131 661 3869
NSC(T) Regional - North, (7 games)
Sunday June 15th
Contact Philip Nelkon
01628 500283
NSC(T) Regional - S.West, (7 games)
Sunday June 15th
Contact Philip Nelkon
01628 500283
Best Western Cedar Court, Harrogate
20 th – 23 rd June
Contact Viv Beckmann
0191 272 2420
or John Harrison
01661 854336
Luton (6 games)
Saturday 21 st June
Contact Adrian Noller
01582 656234
Venue Whitefield Junior School,
Stockholm Way, Luton.
Emergency no. on day only
07753 143262
38
Compiled by Steve Perry
Registration 09:20
First game 10:00 Departure 17.40
4 divisional tournament.
Tea/Coffee and squash available at points
during the day but lunch is not provided.
Entry costs: £13.00 for ABSP member
£15.00 for non-ABSP member
Cheques payable to Luton Scrabble Club
and sent to Adrian Noller, 1 Wendover
Way, Luton LU2 7LS
NSC(T) Regional-Scotland, (7 games)
Sunday June 22nd
Contact Philip Nelkon
01628 500283
Nottingham 8 (8 games)
Sunday 29st June
Contact Ben Wilson
01522 687 077
Venue Richard Herrod Leisure
Centre, Foxhill Raod,
Nottingham NG4 1RL.
Emergency no on day only
07857 519 807
Registration 09:30
First game 10:00 Departure 19.00
3 divisional tournament. Tea/Coffee and
squash available at points during the day
but lunch is not provided.
Entry costs: £25.00 for ABSP member
£27.00 for non-ABSP member
Deduct £5 if under 18 on day of event
Cheques payable to Ben Wilson and sent
to: 7 Perney Crescent, North Hykeham,
Lincolnshire, LN6 9RJ.
NSC(T) Regional-London/S.E. (7games)
Sunday July 5th
Contact Philip Nelkon
01628 500283
Cardiff Weekend
Saturday 5 th – Sunday 6 th July
Contact Mary Allen
0191-273-1705
Middlesbrough Open (6 games)
Sunday 6th July 2008
Contact Samantha Beckwith
01915-866436
Venue Linthorpe Community
Centre, Linthorpe Road,
Middlesbrough
Divisions/prizes according to entries
Registration 9.45
First game 10.15 Departure 17.30
Tea/Coffee and biscuits available before the
start and between games
Entry costs: £12.50 For ABSP members
£14.50 for non-ABSP member
Deduct 50p if you are able to bring and
lend a timer. Cheques payable to Cleveland
Scrabble Club and sent to Samantha
Beckwith, 91 Hatfield Place, Peterlee, Co
Durham SR8 5SU
New Place, Southampton (15 games)
Saturday 12 th – Sunday 13 th July
Contact Amy Byrne
0131 661 3869
Carrington House Hotel, Bournemouth
Friday 18 th – Monday 21 st July
Contact Viv Beckmann
0191 272 2420
or John Harrison
01661 854336
Carlisle (15 games)
Saturday 19th – Sunday 20th July
Contact Amy Byrne
0131 661 3869
39
Romford (6 games)
Saturday 19 th July
N.B. Change of Venue
Contact Cindy Hollyer
01277 822050
Emergency number on the day
07712 960642
Venue St John’s Hall, Church Road,
Mountnessing, Brentwood,
Essex CM15 0TH
Division according to entries
Registration 9.15
First game 10.00 Departure 18.00
Tea/Coffee and biscuits available before the
start and between games
Entry costs: £12.50 For ABSP members
£14.50 for non-ABSP member
Deduct 50p if you are able to bring and
lend a timer. Cheques payable to Romford
Scrabble Club c/o Cindy Hollyer, 78
Peartree Lane, Doddinghurst, Brentwood,
Essex, CM15 0RH
Premier Scrabble Event
Friday 25 th – Sunday 27 th July
Venue Aston Court Hotel, Coventry
(For players rated above 130 on 31 st March)
Contact Viv Beckmann
0191 272 2420
or John Harrison
01661 854336
Nottingham Nomads (16 games)
Saturday 2nd– Sunday 3rd August
Contact Clive Spate
01159200208
English Open
Aston Court Hotel, Coventry
Friday 8 th – Sunday 10 th August
Contact Len Moir
0151 6061112

Scottish Round Robin
Saturday 9 th – Sunday 10 th August
Contact Marion Keating
01592-265524
Littlehampton Round Robin
Sunday 17 August 2008
Contact Peter Hall
01903-775396
Emergency number on day only
07724-545641
Venue United Services Club,
Maltravers Road,
Littlehampton, West Sussex,
BN17 5DA
Registration 9:00
First game 10:00 Departure 17.45
Tea/Coffee available throughout the day
Entry costs: £13.00 for ABSP member
£15.00 for Non-ABSP member
Cheques payable to Rustington Scrabble
Club and sent to Peter Hall, 34 Lawrence
Ave, Rustington, West Sussex, BH16 3HX
BMSC
Friday 23rd Aug – Monday 26 Aug
Venue Yarnfield Conference Centre,
Yarnfield, Stone, Nr Stafford
Contact Sarah Wilkes
Email amethyst_sarah7@yahoo.co.uk
Royal Clifton Hotel, Southport
Friday 5th – Monday 8th September
Contact Viv Beckmann
0191 274 2420
or John Harrison
01661-853135
Havering (6 games)
Saturday 6 th September
Contact Cindy Hollyer
01277-822050
Venue Kelvedon Hatch Village Hall,
K’n Hatch, Brentwood, Essex
40
Registration 09:15
First game 10:00 Departure 18:00
Tea/Coffee available at points during the day
but lunch is not provided.
Entry costs: £12.50 for ABSP member
£14.50 for non-ABSP member
Deduct 50p if bringing clock which you are
prepared to lend. Cheques payable to
Havering Scrabble Club and sent to Cindy
Hollyer, 78 Peartree Lane, Doddinghurst,
Brentwood, Essex, CM15 0RH
Norwich (6 games)
Sunday 7 th September
Venue Hethersett Village Hall,
Hethersett, Norwich, Norfolk
Registration 09.30
First game 10:15 Departure 18.00
2 or 3 divisional tournament depending on
entries. Tea/Coffee provided (but not lunch)
Entry costs: £11.00 to ABSP members
£13.00 to non-ABSP players
No further discounts. Cheques payable to
Carol Smith, 31Christine Road, Spixworth,
Norwich, NR10 3PH Sae for directions
NSC Semi- Final (14 games)
Saturday 13th September - 14th Sept
Contact Philip Nelkon
01628 500283
Stafford (7 games)
Saturday 13th September
Contact Paul/Christine Cartman
01785 211851
Emergency Number on the day
07792591089
Venue Stafford Elim Christian
Centre, St Patricks Street,
Stafford, ST16 2PL
Registration 09.00 – 09.50
First game 10.00 Departure 19.15
3 divisions: A Open, B and C Round Robin
Refreshments will be provided during intervals
Entry costs £14.50 for ABSP members
£16.50 for non-ABSP members
Parking limited at church. Nearby parking
£3 per day, £1 of which will be refunded.
Sharing a car recommended. Deduct 50p if
bringing a timer which you are prepared to
lend. Cheques payable to ‘Stafford
Scrabble Club’ c/o Christine Cartman, 9
Chapel Terrace, Stafford, ST16 3AH
Mediterranean Cruise
Sunday 14 th – Sunday 28 th September
Contact Viv Beckmann
0191 272 2420
or John Harrison
01661 854336
Wychwood Park, Crewe (15 games)
Saturday 20 th – Sunday 21 st September
Contact Amy Byrne
0131 661 3869
NSC(T) Final Bradford (7games)
Saturday Sept 27th
Contact Philip Nelkon
01628 500283
Shipley (6 games)
Sunday 28 th September
Contact Robert Pells
01274-510313
Emergency no on day
0798 1884537
Venue The Anchorage Association,
47 Westcliffe Road, Shipley,
West Yorkshire, BD18 3DX
Registration 09.00
First game 09:45 Departure 17.15
Tea/Coffee available at points during the
day but lunch is not provided.
Entry costs: £12.50 for ABSP member
£14.50 for non-ABSP member
Deduct 50p if bringing clock and are
prepared to lend it
Cheques payable to Shipley Scrabble Club
and sent to Robert Pells, 34 Kent Road,
Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 4PF
41
Cock of the North (Coventry) 20 Games
Aston Court Hotel, Coventry
Friday 3rd October – Sunday 5th October
Contact Len Moir
0151 6061112
Lothersdale Hotel, Morecambe
Friday 10th Oct– Monday 13th Oct
Contact Viv Beckmann
0191 274 2420
or John Harrison
01661-853135
Hockley (6 games)
Saturday 4 th October
Contact Les Costin
01702 523589
Emergency Number on day
07891 143691
Venue Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints, 98 Grovewood
Avenue, Leigh-on-Sea,
Essex, SS9 5EG
Registration 09.15 First game 10:00
Depart 17.45
3/4 divisional tournament. Tea/Coffee
available on arrival and between games.
Entry costs: £12.50 for ABSP member
£14.50 for non-ABSP member
Deduct 50p if bringing clock
Cheques payable to Les Costin, 60
Bramble Road, Eastwood, Essex, SS9 5HB
NSC Final -London (5games)
Sunday October 5th
Contact Philip Nelkon
01628 500283

Bournemouth (6 games)
Sunday 5th October
Contact Ruth Marsden
01202 707148
Emergency number on day only
07720 949 825
Venue Rooper Hall, 5 Victoria Park
Road, Moordown,
Bournemouth
Registration 09:30
First game 10:10 Departure 17.30
3 / 4 Divisional tournament
Tea/Coffee available throughout the day
Entry costs: £12.50 for ABSP member
£14.50 for Non-ABSP member
Tuition and Competitive Scrabble
weekend (5 games)
(The course will be run by Allan Simmons)
Friday 10th Oct - Sunday 12th Oct
Contact Farncome Estate Centre
Worcester
01386 854100
Salisbury (7 games)
Sunday 12th October
Contact Bob Lynn
01722-325623
Emergency Number
0771-818-9630
Venue Winterbourne Glebe Hall,
Winterbourne Earls,
Salisbury, SP4 6HA
Registration 09:00
First game 10:00 Departure 17.30
Round Robin of 8 players
Tea, coffee and biscuits available between
games. Lunch is not provided
Entry costs: £14.00 for ABSP member
£16.00 for non-ABSP member
Deduct 50p if willing to lend a timer
Cheques payable to Robert Lynn Scrabble
Account, and addressed to Bob Lynn,
4 George Street, Salisbury, SP2 7BA
42
Weston-Super-Mare (6 games)
Saturday 18th October 2008
Contact Jason Goddard
01934 516757
Emergency number on the day
07881 956520
Venue Cleeve Village Hall, Main
Road, Cleeve, BS49 4PH
Divisions/prizes according to entries
Registration 9.15
First game 10.00 Departure 18.30
Tea/coffee and biscuits through the day
Entry costs: £13.00 For ABSP members
and WSM club members
£15.00 for all others
Deduct 50p if you are able to bring and
lend a timer. Cheques payable to Jason
Goddard and sent to 84 Appletree Court,
Worle, We’-super-Mare, Somerset, BS226BA,
Three Counties Hotel, Hereford
Friday 24th – Monday 27th October
Contact Viv Beckmann
0191 274 2420
or John Harrison
01661-853135
Cheadle House, Cheadle, Cheshire (15
games)
Saturday 1st Nov– Sunday 2nd Nov
Contact Amy Byrne
0131 661 3869
Isle of Wight (Vectis) (5 games)
Friday 7th– Saturday 8th Nov
Contact Noel Turner
01983 614426
Isle of Wight (Main) (11 games)
Saturday 8th– Sunday 9th Nov
Contact Noel Turner
01983 614426
Luton (7 games)
Saturday 8 November
Contact Adrian Noller
01582 656234
Emergency number on day only
07753 143262
Venue Whitefield Junior School,
Stockholm Wy, Luton LU33SS
Registration 09:20 First game 10:10
Time of departure 18.00
Tea/Coffee available throughout the day
Entry costs: £13.00 for ABSP member
£15.00 for Non-ABSP member
Cheques payable to Luton Scrabble Club
and sent to Adrian Noller, 1 Wendover
Way, Luton LU2 7LS
East Yorkshire (6 games)
Sunday 9 November
Contact Andrew Goodwin
01482 872405
Emergency number on the day
07912539560
Venue Beverley War Memorial Hall.
Lairgate. Beverley. HU17 8HN
Divisions/prizes according to entries
Registration 9.30
First game 10.15 Departure 17.30
Tea/coffee and biscuits available up to the
end of the 5th game
Entry costs: £10.00 For ABSP members
and Hull club members
£12.00 for all others
Deduct £1 if you are able to bring and lend
a timer. Cheques payable to Andrew
Goodwin, and sent to 105 Mintfields Rd
Beverley E Yorks. HU17 0QZ
Lincoln 10 player Round Robin (9games)
20 minutes per game
Saturday 15th November
Contact Ben Wilson
01522 687 077
Emergency number
07857 519 87
Venue New Life House, 22 Newland,
Lincoln, LN1 1XD
Registration 09.00
43
First game 09.30 Departure 18:40
Refreshments available betwen rounds
Entry costs: £17.50 for ABSP member
£19.50 for non-ABSP members
Add 50p if not bringing timer which you ae
prepared to lend. Cheques payable to Mr.
B. J. Wilson, 7 Perney Crescent, Norh
Hykeham, Lincoln, LN6 9RJ. Closing date
for entry is October 31st. Entries after this
date will only be considered if a round
robin division needs filling.
Cairn Hotel, Harrogate
Friday 28th Nov – Monday 1st December
Contact Viv Beckmann
0191 274 2420
or John Harrison
01661-853135
Twixmas
Sunday 28th Dec – Monday 29th Dec
Venue Staverton Park, Staverton,
Daventry, Northamptonshire,
NN11 6JT
Contact Amy Byrne
0131 661 3869
2009
Isle of Wight Charity (16 games)
Friday 2 January – Sunday 4 January
Contact Noel Turner
01983 614426
UK Open (38 games)
Monday 5 January – Friday 9 January
Venue Aston Court Hotel, Coventry
Contact Len Moir
0151 6061112
Tuition and Competitive Scrabble
weekend (5 games)
(The course will be run by Allan Simmons)
Friday 23rd Jan - Monday 25 Jan 2009
Contact Thorpness Hotel, Thorpness,
Suffolk
01728 452176

West Sussex (6 games)
Sunday 25 January 2009
Contact Peter Hall
01903-775396
Emergency number on day only
07724-545641
Venue The Woodland Centre,
Woodlands Ave, Rustington,
West Sussex, BN16 3HB
Chester (17 games)
Friday 30 Jan – Sunday 1 February 2009
44
Registration 10:00
First game 10:20 Departure 17.45
Tea/Coffee available throughout the day
Entry costs: £12.00 for ABSP member
£14.00 for non-ABSP member
Deduct 50p if bringing a clock. Cheques
payable to Rustington Scrabble Club and
sent to Peter Hall, 34 Lawrence Ave,
Rustington, West Sussex, BH16 3HX
Contact Kathy Rush
01928 733565
2008 World Players Championship
American Scrabble player Chris Cree has announced that he is organising a 2008
World Players Championship to be held November 14-16 in Dallas, Texas, USA. The
tournament will be played to Collins Scrabble Words
Chris writes, “As many of you know, Hasbro has decided against sponsoring a World
Championship and Mattel has been graciously doing so on a biannual basis. Many
wish to have an annual major event. This WPC is to serve as a world class event to give
our game’s globe trotters a chance to come back to North America, to induce our top
North American players back into the world scene and to afford to anyone who has
wished to play in, but in prior years could not qualify for a major international event
the opportunity to compete with the very best in the world“.
The particulars have yet to be finally determined, but the following decisions/
parameters have been made/set:
1.) Thursday evening - November 13, 2008 - Reception/Dinner/Meet The Players.
2.) Friday through Sunday - 21-24 games.
3.) Entry Fee - $250 (£126) including opening dinner. This will afford the opportunity
to have a top prize of $10,000 (£5046) and a generous prize pool predicated upon 100
entrants.
4.) Qualifications - The event is OPEN to anyone who has played in a sanctioned event
in their home country and is a member of their national game association.
5.) Hotel - The Crowne Plaza Suites Dallas Park Central has newly remodeled suites
and will offer players the incredible rate of $89.00 (£45) per night.
6.) 2007 WSC rules in effect.
Interest has already been shown by Current World Champion, Nigel Richards; former
World Champions, Brian Cappelletto, Joel Wapnick, David Boys and Mark Nyman plus
other representatives from Nigeria, Thailand, England, Australia and New Zealand.
A website will be created at the end of May with finalized details, registration forms
and registration deadline. Email ccree@earthlink.net for latest details.
Edgeways Solutions
The Five-Minute Anagram Challenge
A. GAJO JOIST ADJOIN JANGLER JETLAGS
JOBE JINGO ENJOIN REJOICE JUNIPER
B. OJIME RIOJAS JAWLINE RAMJETS JONQUILS
JARTA FEIJOA JADEITE HIJACKER CONJUROR
C. JOUAL BEJANT INJERAS SERJEANT PEJORATE
GANJA ROMAJI JACONET JAROSITE JALOUSIE
D. BASENJI JARARACA DOORJAMB BOERTJIE NIGHTJAR
APAREJO JAGHIRE JOBSHARE JONCANOE MARYJANE
Anagrid Cryptogram
V T P C I B O R I U M
OQUAS SAS V N I
C M H D O Z E N T H S
AGERATUM R E G
L S W CENSURER
I N C L I N E R I N A
S E N A A R D W O L F
AM I DOGENS E D T
J K X Y E A S T E R S
U R E D I N E S P R E
T B D L J E H A D I S
ABAT I SES L C F
G N Z T E I R E N I C
ENAMELED K R E
S S R D G E Y S E R S
1=E, 2=H, 3=G, 4=B, 5=F, 6=R, 7=A,
8=O, 9=Z, 10=M, 11=Y, 12=L, 13=S,
14=X, 15=D, 16=J, 17=W, 18=V, 19=U,
20=I, 21=Q, 22=N, 23=P, 24=T, 25=C,
26=K.