TLW July 2011 - The Last Word Newsletter

W O R D G A M E N E W SThe Last WordThe Independent Tournament SCRABBLE® NewsletterA Monthly Newsletter Issue 19 July 2011Tournament ResultsScrabblers in the NewsStrategic Choices !The Last Word is an independent publication for tournament SCRABBLE® players. It is notaffiliated with Hasbro, Mattel, the North American SCRABBLE® Players Association (NASPA),the Word Game Players’ Organization (WGPO), or the National SCRABBLE® Association (NSA).Our mission is to provide content of interest to all SCRABBLE® players, so please let us know ifthere are topics you would like us to add. We welcome contributions: stories, artwork, etc.For the time being, we are hoping to provide this Newsletter at no charge; however, since it is a100% volunteer effort, we would appreciate any donations. Advertisers are encouraged, too. Ifyou would like to have The Last Word emailed to you, please send a request with your emailaddress to CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com and we will add you to our mailing list.Editor in Chief: Cornelia GuestColumnists: Joe Bihlmeyer, Jan Cardia, Timothy Cataldo, JudyCole, Diane Firstman, Ryan Fischer, Stu Goldman, Jeff Kastner,James Leong, Joan Mocine, Art Moore, Lester Schonbrun, LarrySherman, Chris Sinacola, Siri Tillekeratne, Linda WancelEditors-at-large: Robin Pollock Daniel, Joe Edley, Stefan Fatsis,Ted GestContributors: Will Axford, Mike Baron, Carolyn Boyd, MatthewCable, Brenda Casey, Jeff Clark, Paul Epstein, Brian Galebach,Janet Gray, Albert Hahn, Tyler Hannan, Patrick Hodges, JessicaMeller, Mack Meller, Judy NewhouseThe Last Word is a volunteereffort. We appreciate yourdonations.(PayPal or snail mail--contactCorneliaSGuest@gmail.com)For advertising rates,please emailCorneliaSGuest@gmail.comCopyright © 2011 GuessWhat! Some data copyright ©1999-2011 NSA; copyright © 2010-2011 NASPA; and copyright © 2005-2011 Seth Lipkin and Keith Smith.SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark of Hasbro, Inc.in the USA and Canada. Elsewhere it is the trademark of J.W. Spear & Sons, Ltd.

Table of Contents2T A B L E O F C O N T E N T SFrom the Editor 3Advertising Section: Equipment, Tournaments, Organizations, Books 4Emails to the Editor 11Tournament News 15Portsmouth NH 5/13-15: Cheers! 15Linden MI 5/21 by Jeff Clark 16Norwalk: A New SCRABBLE® Venue in CT 18New England School SCRABBLE® Series 21Tournament Results 24New Faces: Matthew Cable 27What’s Your Play? 29Word Trivia Quiz by Siri Tillekeratne 33London: I Can Hear Again by Albert Hahn 35Word Star by Jeff Kastner 38The Wordsmith by Chris Sinacola 41Know the Rules by Jan Cardia 44Scrab-doku by Jeff Kastner 47Player Profile: Brenda Casey by Cornelia Guest 50SCRABBLE® and Scrabblers in the News edited by Judy Cole 52Historic Moments: SCRABBLE® Throughout the Years by Stu Goldman 62Diane’s DEFALTS by Diane Firstman 63Linda’s Library by Linda Wancel 64One Up! Cup for July by Timothy Cataldo 66Passages edited by Larry Sherman 67SCRABBLE® Resources 68Tournament Calendar 70Archives 71

From the EditorS E Q U O I A C L U BA big topic in the news this past month was that Larry Rand had welcomed Patrick Hodges, a playerunder suspension for cheating, to play at a WGPO club, allowing Hodges to make partial paymentsat the club toward the $500 fine he still needs to pay before he can play at NASPA tournaments andclubs. The reaction on cgp was immediate and strong--and the decision was reconsidered. Hodgeswill not be playing at that club until he is a reinstated NASPA member.Many questions came up in the dialogue: Is WGPO required to honor NASPA (and NSA)suspensions? How do directors know who is suspended? Should the requirements for clubs,where not all players are members of any SCRABBLE® organization, be different from those fortournaments?NASPA’s response was clear: Suspended players would not be allowed to play at a NASPAsanctionedclub, and club directors allowing it would be investigated.The question of rehabilitation came up, too. Should cheaters be banned for life? Or should thepotential for a cheater to change be considered?There is also the question of a fine. For some people $500 is pocket change. For others it is a lotof money. Not all SCRABBLE® players are wealthy.I do believe people can change--though I won’t deny I’d be watching a convicted cheater like a hawkin a game. My guess is that the NSA felt similarly when imposing the sentence; otherwise thewrongdoer would be banned for life.But I do question whether the punishment fits the crime. I was surprised, being relatively new to theSCRABBLE® scene, that Patrick Hodges was one of the top players in the country--rated in thehigh 1800s. My guess is that he may have won prize money he should not have won. And receivedrating points he should not have had.I support that a player convicted of cheating be banned from tournament and club play for a settime. However, rather than impose a fine to be paid to an arbitrary charity, why not invalidate thatplayer’s wins over a certain period? Repay those players who would have won money if the gameshad been fair? Sadly, the complications of righting the cheater’s wrongs are too many. But I wouldlike to suggest that the player’s rating be reduced, perhaps taken back to a rating a number of yearsback. And any tournament winnings could be withheld--perhaps given to the next finisher--until aset amount is reached, preferably close to the money won when cheating.I’m hoping that the new rules about picking tiles will help discourage cheating in the future. But Ithink it’s naive for anyone to think the game won’t attract cheaters. Watch your opponents whenthey draw their tiles, and let the director know if you suspect foul play. And don’t wait until after thegame to speak up--often that’s too late. I’ve played a few cheaters over the years, and I feel nothingbut pity for them. Oh, all right, a little anger, too....NOTE: Patrick Hodges’ letter of apology is included in “Emails to the Editor.”Cornelia Guest 3

A D V E R T I S E M E N TOLD GREENWICHJuly 22-24, 2011Come play SCRABBLE® this summer at the Old Greenwich, CT tournament July22-24 at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Greenwich. Four tournament options:NASPA Main Event: 16 games Friday night-Sunday afternoonNASPA Collins Main Event: 16 games Friday night-Sunday afternoonNASPA Early Bird: 5 games Friday afternoonUnrated Newcomers Tournament: 5 games SaturdaySaturday lunch included for all players. New Frank Tangredi game show Saturday Night.One Up! Contest. Free parking. Gym, pool, shuttle bus to nearby shopping. Special nightlyhotel rate for Scrabblers. Prizes galore!!! Directed by Jason Keller & Cornelia Guest.Sign up using our flyer at cross-tables.com. Contact: Cornelia Guest (914-772-6535).4

A D V E R T I S E M E N TScrabbleFor Newcomers!Two Special Events for Players of All AgesSATURDAY, JULY 16THIntroduction to Tournament SCRABBLE®:A comprehensive seminar on tournament SCRABBLE for newcomers. Learn how toplay winning tournament SCRABBLE, with strategy tips from experts, hands-onpractice with clocks and word judges, and a take-away word list.10 -11:30 a.m., Chess Club of Fairfield County,710 West Ave., Norwalk CT. $10 admission (free to players registered at upcomingOld Greenwich or Norwalk tournaments).SATURDAY, JULY 23RDNewcomers SCRABBLE® Tournament:A 5-game tournament for new players and players with ratings under 1000. Adult andYouth divisions if entries are adequate. Cash prizes for winners, awards for allplayers. Lunch included!9 a.m – 4 p.m., Hyatt Regency Greenwich, 1800 East Putnam Ave., Old Greenwich, CT.$50 entry fee ($10 discount for players who paid admission at 7/16 NorwalkSeminar). Includes lunch.To sign up contact Cornelia Guest, 203-244-5324(CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com 5

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A D V E R T I S E M E N TSCRABBLE by the SEAThe Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel - Asbury Park, NJSaturday, August 20, 20119:30 am RegistrationThis event will be organized into 3 divisions:OPEN (for expert players, and players rated over 1,000)LITE (for the casual player and players rated 1,000 and under)JUNIOR (for casual players 15 and under).Starting at 10:00 AM, players will complete three games against opponents with similarskill levels. After the third game, the top 5 players in each category will win cash and/ordoor prizes. Prize amounts will vary based on number of entrants, although the top OPENprize is expected to be approximately $250.TICKETS: Tax Deductible Donations by Division: $20 (Junior), $35 (Lite), $50 (Open)Early bird pricing (before August 1) is available through pre-registration at:http://www.arcofmonmouth.dreamhosters.com/wordpress/scrabbleFor more information, contact bcolby@arcofmonmouth.org10

Emails to the EditorE M A I L S T O T H E E D I T O RShould you wish to send an email to the editor comment on any of the Newsletter articles—or makesuggestions or corrections—please email Cornelia Guest at CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com. Snail mailis welcome at 135 Codfish Hill Road, Bethel, CT 06801. Emails chosen for publication may beedited at the editor’s discretion._______________________________________________________________________________Un-Friggin Believable! 67 jam-packed pages of everything and anything Scrabble, wonderfully laidout, organized, timely, and with full color pics. I don't know how you do it, Cornelia, but it has GOT tobe the best Scrabble mag around.Oh, about Obama's sister's prevailing over him - I can't quite figure that out. During the long 2008campaign, before and after a "Scrabbling for Obama" fundraiser, I sent his campaign workers andthe future Prez the Cheat Sheet, the Scrabble Wordbook, and a few Scrabble Travel editions of thegame. Methinks he may've been focused on other matters, hence his sister's (present) superiority atthe game. :)Mike Baron_______________________________________________________________________________I recently started playing again and couldn't find any good iPhone study flashcards so I createdsome myself and thought I'd share them. The iPhone app is called gflash and it is a flashcard studyprogram. I exported searches from zyzzyva and after using a DBMS to format them correctly Iuploaded them to gWhiz (the gflash database).Currently I just uploaded the top 5000 7's and 8's split up into 1000s. The first card just has thealphagram and the number of anagrams, and the second card has all the anagrams with front andback hooks.An example card:http://img811.imageshack.us/i/imagehrz.jpg/http://img847.imageshack.us/i/imageoan.jpg/You can find these cards in the gWhiz catalog under Scrabble wordlist 0-1000 7's and so on.(although they might still be named without the "scrabble wordlist" part.) They currently are the mostrecent uploads do they shouldn't be hard to find. Unfortunately you have to have the paid version ofgflash called gflashpro (4 bucks well worth it). Otherwise it will tell you the file is too big. I was onlyable to get about 300 at a time onto the free version so I decided to get the real app.Hopefully this will be helpful to someone else. I might upload some more cards if needed. Email me(tyth1787@gmail.com) if there are any questions.Tyler Hannan_______________________________________________________________________________ 11

To all in the Scrabble community:E M A I L S T O T H E E D I T O RMy name is Patrick Hodges, a former member of the Phoenix and Scottsdale Scrabble Clubs and,God willing, will become a member yet again some time in the future. In February 2008, I wassuspended from all Scrabble play after being accused of cheating by Jim Geary, a chargesubstantiated by several other long-standing Scrabble players. After a tribunal of sorts, taking placemostly on telephone conference calls, it was deemed that I be suspended from all Scrabble activityfor a period of two years, after which would follow a period of probation that involved several otherstipulations that need not be mentioned here. I was also ordered to donate my winnings from mylast tournament, a total of $500, to a charity of my choice.Let me be clear: I am not writing this letter to excuse my actions or make light of my infractions. Ibroke the rules, and was punished accordingly. I have since come to accept my punishment, as wellas all the consequences that come with it. Unfortunately, due to the economy being what it’s beenfor the last few years, it is only now that I have begun, with Mr. Rand’s help, to begin making themonetary restitution required as part of my punishment. But more on that later.It was back in 2000 when I originally joined the Phoenix Scrabble Club, presided over by Larry Randand Barbara Van Alen. I do not remember what prompted me to do so, but it was a decision thatwould affect the next decade of my life. I initially joined so I could have something to do one or twonights a week, but it didn’t take me long to realize, given my extensive vocabulary and manydecades of doing crosswords and other word puzzles, that it was something I could not only begood at, but excel at. To this day, I don’t think there is anything I’ve ever been as good at as I was atScrabble.What started as a game for fun became an obsession for me. When I was good, I wanted to begreat. When I became great, I wanted to be the best. Studying the dictionary, anagrams, hooks,etc., became my passion. Unfortunately, my quest for excellence drove me to make some really baddecisions. Outside of Scrabble, I was undergoing severe financial and marital pressures, and out ofdesperation, I cheated in several tournaments, reasoning that the end justified the means. Howwrong I was.After I was caught and suspended, it took me several months to realize that it was probably the bestthing that could have happened to me. I realized that it was the people that I was playing with thatmade the weekly experience of playing Scrabble special, much more than the game itself. Life ingeneral puts enough pressures on you; all the pressure that I was putting on myself to be the bestScrabble player I could be was twisting me into something that I couldn’t believe I had become. I amsorry that it took me until after the fact for me to realize that, but I am still glad that it happened, for,had it not happened, it would surely have continued. My “fall from grace” was inevitable, and, thelonger it went on, the more ignominious my exit would have been.In October 2008, I started taking some over-the-counter weight-loss pills, hoping for a “quick fix” tomy growing weight problem. They were advertised as being made from “all natural ingredients”,roots and extracts and whatnot, so I thought that taking them would be harmless. And for thesecond time that year, I found out just how wrong I was. It turns out I was severely allergic tosomething in those pills. A mere week after I started taking them, I collapsed at the office where Iworked. My throat swelled shut and my face turned blue. I had to be intubated, and I did not regain12

E M A I L S T O T H E E D I T O Rconsciousness for sixteen hours. I thank God that my episode happened where it did; had itoccurred when I was at home alone, or, heaven forbid, driving somewhere, I would surely have died,and perhaps even taken others with me. It all happened just that quickly.I spent five days in the hospital, and two weeks at home after that, recuperating from my ordeal.When you have naught to do but lie in bed and think, you think about pretty much everything. Yourpast, your future, your present. All of the bad stuff you have ever done in your life, and all of thepeople you’ve let down. It was about this time that I began to realize the full scope of my crime,something I had spent the previous six months trying to push to the back of my mind, and though Iwas ecstatic to still be alive, I was overwhelmed with a profound sense of guilt.As I said, Scrabble is, and should always be, more about the community and the friendships withinthan it is about the competition. I forgot that, and I betrayed the trust of many wonderful individualswho I had spent years getting to know. I did so callously and selfishly, to the point where I believedthat the best thing I could ever do for the Scrabble community was to simply stay away in perpetuity.I thought I could do that, having taken up poker and several other activities as hobbies.Just last month, I paid a visit to my dentist, a former Scrabble player himself, Dr. Mark Budovitch.With his encouragement, I reestablished contact with Mike Wier, the director of the ScottsdaleScrabble Club, and, over the last month, I have played many friendly games with him. Needless tosay, the long-dormant passion for the game of Scrabble was reignited.Though I had long since served out my two-year suspension, there was still the matter of the $500that I still had yet to amass and donate to charity. I contacted Mr. Rand, who offered to have me“pay while I play”, until such time as my obligation was met. I want to make it clear to all: Mr. Randand Ms. Van Alen made this offer out of generosity, something I did not expect. Even though therewas litigation in the works that would preclude such an offer being made, I think that Mr. Rand andMs. Van Alen should be lauded for their offer, which I truly believe was made out of pure goodspiritednessand generosity, and not decried for “overstepping their authority” in counteracting thedecree handed down by the NSA in 2008.I have been out of the loop for three years, and a lot has happened to the world of Scrabble in thattime. With the NSA dissolving into NASPA and the WGPO, I honestly have no idea who belongs towhat, who is on the outs with which organization, and which members are currently not on termswith each other. For the purposes of my return to active game-play, that would seem to be irrelevantanyway.It is my hope, once I finally am able to amass that $500 charitable donation (which I am doing withMr. Rand’s help… he is holding the funds in escrow for me, allowing me to give what I can when Ican, even though I will not be attending club in the interim), I will be allowed to return to the PhoenixScrabble Club on a regular basis. In a recent visit to that club, I made a formal apology to all thosepresent, and it would seem that just about everyone is ready to let bygones be bygones and acceptme back, which speaks volumes about the character of the people in that club.I know full well that I will be under very close scrutiny at such time that I do return, and I amprepared for that. (I am not sure when, if ever, I will decide to resume tournament play as well.) Ialso know that there will be several, perhaps many, individuals whose trust I will never be able toregain. There are those who opposed my immediate return on the grounds that I had not fulfilled all 13

E M A I L S T O T H E E D I T O Rof my obligations, and honestly, I was expecting that. I did not think that the vehemence of thepeople who came forward preceding my tribunal to list my observed and perceived infractions wouldhave abated, even after three years, and I was right. I bear those people no malice whatsoever.I can only hope, once I have satisfied all the terms of my suspension, we can finally move on fromthis sordid business. Though I anticipate that certain individuals would just as soon I never return tocompetitive Scrabble ever again, I would like to believe that everyone else is willing to give meanother chance, if they aren’t already. Whether it takes weeks, months or years to rebuild the trustof the Scrabble community, that is what I feel I must do. Because it is the RIGHT thing to do.I truly believe that I am a changed person, with a completely different mindset than the man I wasthree years ago. I have made, both verbally and now in writing, my sincerest apologies to theScrabble community. I truly hope that I can rebuild some semblance of trust with the Scrabblecommunity, and I vow never to betray that trust ever again.This, along with making the necessary remunerations, is really all I can do. I know that for some, it isnot enough, and never will be. To those people: I can only hope that I can change their minds overtime. If there can be no forgiveness, I hope there can at least be acceptance.At the end of the day, Scrabble is, after all, just a game. A game to be played for fun, to buildfriendship and camaraderie, and not something that one can make a living doing. But now matterhow great a game it is, it pales by comparison to many other, much more serious things that lifethrows at you on a daily basis. It took a brush with death, as well as health scares involving variousfriends and family members, to bring me that perspective. It is simply not worth such a high level ofanimosity or hostility, and if there is nothing that I can do or say to placate those who would prefer totravel down that road upon my return, then so be it.It never ceases to amaze me just what an incredible variety of people comprises the Scrabblecommunity. All ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, religious affiliations, social statuses, a true meltingpot. It is a community to be proud of, and it is a community that I would be proud to rejoin.Thank you for your time. God bless.Sincerely,Patrick Hodges14

P O R T S M O U T H N HPortsmouth NH 5/13-15: Cheers!Directors and organizers looking for a novel venue for atournament will have a hard time topping Kate and Tim Fukawa-Connelly’s choice for the 5/14-15 Portsmouth NH Tournament.The Tournament was held at the Red Hook Brewery--and playersgot special coupons for free tours of the brewery (with samples!)during or after the event. Players could also purchase the wellknownRed Hook beers throughout the day--and six packs wereoffered among the prize choices. After hours players enjoyedexploring Portsmouth, a charming and historic seaport with manytourist attractions.On the Friday before the tournament, Kate held an LCT NAST satellite at a local diner. WinnerEvans Clinchy (4-1 +356) was glad he came, as he went on to win the 2011 NAST Finals--with$2,300 first prize (details to come in the next issue).Fifty-three players competed in the main event, with six playing in the Collins division. First in thatdivision with a 9-3 +647 record was John O’Laughlin, who stretched his impressive winning streakto 5. Second was Australian David Eldar, a former World Youth SCRABBLE Champion who wasone of the players in last year’s “Tournament of Champions” in Malaysia. Chris Lipe finished third.Joey Mallick came in first in Division 1, with a 9-3 +808 record. Four players in the division had 8-4records, with Jason Keller’s +564 spread giving him second place over Jamie Ryan, Cecilia Le, andRod MacNeil.Division 2 went to Connie Creed, who finished 10-2 +453 over Sue Gable (8-4 +426) and Mark Berg(8-4 +421).Newcomer Matthew Cable (our featured “New Face” in this issue) won all of his games in Division 3to finish with a 12-0 +1120 record over Deb Mulrooney (7-5 +217) and Leanne Gray (7-5 +22).Matthew’s new rating is 1381.(L-R): Winners Joey Mallick (Div. 1), John O’Laughlin (Collins), Connie Creed (Div. 2), and Matthew Cable (Div. 3);Richard Buck winning tiles and NH soda; Ed Liebfried, visiting from Oregon, with Kate Fukawa-Connelly. 15

L I N D E N M ILinden MI 5/21By Jeff Clark; photos courtesy of Will Axford, Tri-County Times22 players attended this weekend's WGPO tourney at the Loose Senior Center in Linden, MI. Toencourage new players I offered free entry for first time tourney players. We had 8 players who hadnot played in a tourney before. I set the entry fee for the usual suspects at a 1980s-ish low $20 tosee if I could bring back any players who have been sitting out due the rising costs of playing. Thatdid bring in 1 player whose NASPA membership had expired. The usual players realize that entryfees are a small part of the cost of playing tourney SCRABBLE®. All I managed to do was give outsmaller prizes for the winners. The Loose Center did not change us rent since I am a member, but Idid want to make a donation to them. We donated 50 cents/player/game to the Center which cameto $77. That is still cheaper than the $100-150 rents we have been paying to area churches andhotels. On with the results!Division 11 Jeff Fiszbein (2) 7 +742 $502 Chuck Armstrong (1) 6 +625 $303 Linda Hoggatt (6) 4 -1014 Steve Knapp (3) 3 +245 Elaine Glowniak (5) 3 -1146 Maureen Brush (7) 2 -1957 Frank Lee (8) 2 -3878 Danny Schey (4) 1 -594Linda and Elaine played each other for 3rd place inthe final game. Just after their game started, Lindarealized that she did not know where her pursewas. The last time she remembered having it was atlunch after game 3. I went back to the Coney Islandrestaurant where she had lunch while she andElaine continued their game. No purse at theConey. I happened to see a police officer in theparking lot and I explained what happened. Heasked if Linda was an older woman. We laughedabout that since I am 54 and the police officer saidhe was 52. I returned to Loose with the bad newsFrank Lee (left) vs. Jeff Fiszbein (right) and Linda was near tears. Sitting at the directorstable my old mind replayed the events afterlunch. Linda had asked me to put her purse in asecure place. I looked under the table, and there was her purse! Linda managed to defeat Elaine inthe last game even with the distraction.Danny Schey played Chuck Armstrong in round 5. Early in the game Danny played CAVITATE as a2x2 for 102 points. Chuck rallied back. Late in the game, with the score about equal, Danny isholding EFGNRS?. There is an I slotted in the 3rd position of a 3x3. Danny played FrINGERS* for158. It was challenged off. Danny saw his one of his winning plays shortly after. Chuck went on towin 452-380.16

L I N D E N M IDivision 21 Steve Robbins (1) 7 +518 $402 Cheryl Melvin (3) 3.5 +157 $203 Paul May (4) 3.5 -374 Connie Breitbeil (2) 3 -315 Mike Garner (5) 2 +13566 Mark Sienkowski (6) 2 -742Division 2 format was a 5 game RR with QOTH and KOTH. Steve Robbins was Gibsonized goinginto the last round so Cheryl Melvin and Paul May were competing for 2nd place. Their tie held upon a recount so Cheryl took 2nd place on spread.Division 3 (no seeds for newbies)1 Pam Holmquist 5 +496 deluxe SCRABBLE board with protiles2 Robert Klein 5 +373 Worddrop game3 Steve Sienkowski 5 +2254 Jim Slota 4 +2925 Ron Biggs 4 -1086 Diane Allmen 3 -2427 Fay Holmquist 2 -3488 Denny Gess 0 -688Robert and Diane have been playing at ourFlint club for about a year, so they wereaccustomed to using a clock. The otherspicked up on it quite well and there were not alot of overtime penalties. Robert is a 2-timeSCRABBLE gold medalist at the GeneseeCounty Senior Winter Games. The one yearthat he did not medal was the year that ElaineGlowniak, Linda Hoggatt, and I participated.Fay and Pam Holmquist are from Cadillac,MI. I met them in February when SteveRobbins and I traveled to Cadillac for a 2-game SCRABBLE tourney sponsored by theirfriends of the library. Pam finished 3rd in thattourney behind me and Steve Robbins. I thinkwe will be seeing more of Pam and herhusband, Fay. They want to go on aSCRABBLE cruise.Robert Klein (left) playing Fay Holmquist (right) in thenewcomers divisionWe had 2 visitors during the day. Steve Grob stopped by after lunch. He could not play in thetourney as his son Ben had an 8am soccer game (turns out that Ben's game was cancelled). Ourother visitor was a reporter from the TriCounty Times. He stayed about half an hour and took manypictures. I'll post a link to his story when it comes out. I tried to emphasize our upcoming 9/11SCRABBLE tourney. Maybe his story will attract more new players. 17

N O R W A L K C TNorwalk: A New SCRABBLE® Venue in CTBy Cornelia Guest; photos by Jessica MellerIn the five years since I started directing SCRABBLE tournaments, I’ve held over 100tournaments in numerous venues in New York and Connecticut. This spring Jessica Meller,mother of the talented Youth Player Mack Meller, told me about the Chess Club of FairfieldCounty, a new facility in nearby Norwalk, CT. We visited the space and found it perfect forSCRABBLE tournaments: clean and attractive with Internet access, easy to get to by car ortrain, near to restaurants and stores--and with tables and chairs already set up.The first tournament on March 26 attracted 41 players, many of whom returned for the nexttournaments on May 7th and June 25th. Division 1 players enjoyed playing in a special“experts‘ room, and other players appreciated the well-lit and spacious main room. The tworooms provide space for 50 players. Tournaments have been scheduled for August throughNovember, and I hope to have dates for 2012 in the coming weeks.Highlights from our first three tournaments follow.March 26Two players reached career milestones at the inaugural Norwalk event: Andrew Friedman,who won Division 1 with a 7-1 +230 record, boosting his rating from 1682 to 1792; and 11-year-old Mack Meller, who won Division 2 with a 6-2 +408 record to move from 1486 to 1582.Front row (L-R): Division 2 winner Mack Mellerand Division 1 winner Andrew Friedman, who bothreached career milestones. Back row (L-R):Division 4 winner Fred Schneider, Division 5winner Scott Morese, and Division 3 winner SueGable.Divisions 3, 4, and 5 went to Sue Gable, Fred Schneider, and Scott Morese. The tournamentattracted 3 first-time players and 5 Youth Players. A reporter and photographer from theNorwalk Hour also appeared, reporting the story in the next day’s paper (http://www.thehour.com/story/50171818

May 7N O R W A L K C TL-R: Main Event winners Kevin Gauthier (Division 3), KevinRosenberg (Division 2), and Joel Sherman (Division 1).A tragic truck accident on Interstate 95that morning affected travel, with manyplayers arriving late and some calling itquits after spending hours in standstilltraffic. The players who did make itenjoyed some great games, despitebyes in the divisions. Joel Shermanwon Division 1 (7-1 +927) over BobBecker, who finished 5-2 -67 to reach apersonal new rating high of 1626.Eighth grader Kevin Rosenbergdominated Division 2 with a 7-1 +557record, and Kevin Gauthier, who alsodirected players in a downstairs room,took Division 3 7-1 +564.There were two separate 4-game Youth Tournaments held during the main event. Eighthgrader Amy Rowland won the morning tournament, with a 3-1 +595 record. Amy, whofinished 10th in this year’s National School SCRABBLE Championship (with Kell Pogue) and3rd in the Capitol Cup (with Alexandra Kung), is one of the top girls playing SCRABBLEtoday. The afternoon Youth Tournament went to third grader Jared Tilliss, whose 3-1 +288record was enough to nose out his brother Seth, who finished 3-1 +167 for second.Youth Tournament Winners. L-R: Amy Rowland, 1st A.M.;Seth Tilliss, 2nd P.M; Jared Tilliss, 1st P.M.; Kyle Imperato,2nd A.M. 19

N O R W A L K C TJune 25A U.S. record was set at this tournament! In Division 1, which Will Anderson won with a 6-2+516 spread, 11-year-old Mack Meller finished 2nd (5.5-2.5 +1039), to become the youngestU.S. player in recorded NSA/NASPA history to reach the 1600 “expert” rank. Mack, whoscored three 500+ games the tournament, earned a 1638 rating.MACK MELLER SETS RECORD ASYOUNGEST U.S. SCRABBLE®EXPERT IN NSA/NASPA HISTORYDivision Winners (L-R): Fred Schneider (Division 3), Will Anderson(Division 1), David Lewis (Division 2), and Bob Umlas (Division 4).David Lewis took Division 2 with a 6-2 +309 record,with Adam Townsend second.In Division 3, Fred Schneider came from behind to winwith a 6-2 +424 record over Brandon Randall. Goinginto the final game 5-2 +104, Fred needed a big win tobeat Brandon, who was standing 6-2 +490. Fred foundthe amazing 3x3 play JAGGEDEr (203 pts) to win thegame, 604-284, and take the top prize--and the prizesfor tournament High Game and High Bingo.Newcomer Bob Umlas won Division 4 in an impressivedebut, finishing 7-1 +642 to gain an initial rating of 1488.Most of Bob’s games were 400+, and he demonstratedgreat word knowledge and anagramming skills. Welook forward to seeing Bob back soon--in a higherdivision!Mack Meller, an 11-year-old fromWestchester, NY, made SCRABBLEhistory at the 6/25 Norwalk CTtournament. Entering with a rating of1585, Mack’s 2nd Place, Division 1finish (with a 5.5-2.5 +1029 record)yielded +53 rating points. His new1638 rating earns him the honor ofbeing the youngest player ever toattain an official “expert level” rating(1600+) in U.S. competitive play. Inthe course of the tournament Mackscored 3 games over 500: 565, 554,and 526.Mack played his first tournament just7 months ago, winning Division 3at the 11/21/10 Ardsley NYtournament. Norwalk was his 7thtournament.20

N E S C H O O L S C R A B B L E S E R I E SThe New England School SCRABBLE® SeriesBy Cornelia Guest, DirectorThis year I ran a series of School SCRABBLE tournaments--one each month--hoping to give topteams a chance to play together more often and also to give new players a chance to trytournament play. The series was a great success, with over 50 players, old and new, participating,and most of the top New England Youth Players represented in at least one of the 9 tournaments.Our final tournament on May 22 was sparsely attended, though the players were of top caliber. For2012 I’m planning to have the April New England School SCRABBLE Championship as the finaltournament in the series. For many kids, building up to Nationals was enough for a year! Inaddition, with the better weather in May, sports starts drawing away some of the players.Tournament 9 (5/22): Ridgefield Library, Ridgefield, CTA small entry of 9 players at the final tournament in the series brought a creative solution: playersrotating in teams to establish two top players in each of the two divisions. In the top division, anadditional one-on-one game was played since some expected players did not show up.Finishing in the top two spots in Division A were Nicholas Vasquez and Kevin Rosenberg, withDeeAnn Guo and Amy Rowland in third and fourth.In Division B, Sheng Guo and Siya Chauhan were the top two finishers over Stephanie Adams, AvaTurner, and Steven Cahn.These placings helped determine the winning teams for the series. Note: Even if players were notalways a team, the top two finishers were placed as a team.)L-R: 4th-graders Stephanie Adams and Sheng Guo look for a winning play; 3rd-grader Ava Turner joins 7th-graderSiya Chauhan in one team rotation. Sheng and Siya were the Division B winners. 21

N E S C H O O L S C R A B B L E S E R I E SNew England School SCRABBLE® Series Final ResultsThe inaugural New England School SCRABBLE® Series atttracted more than 50 players to 9School SCRABBLE tournaments held from September through May. Two divisions were offered:Division A for Nationals-bound players, and Division B for intermediate players.Division A Champions were 8th-graderKevin Rosenberg and 5th-grader MackMeller, who ended the series with 5wins and 1 second-place finish as ateam (Mack was not able to play in thefinal tournament, in which Kevinfinished second). Reserve Championswere 6th-grader DeeAnn Guo and 7thgraderNicholas Vasquez. Each ofthese players also won their GradeChampionship for the series.Division B Champions were 4th-graderSheng Guo and 8th-grader QuinnVissak, who finished a point apart in thefinal standings. Reserve Championswere 3rd-grader Jared Tilliss and 5thgraderJason Welch. Sheng was theseries 4th-Grade Champion and Jaredthe 3rd-Grade Champion.L-R: Series Champions Mack Meller and Kevin Rosenberg.The High School Champions werefreshman Jacob Litt and junior EvanWinston.L-R: Division B Champions QuinnVissak and Sheng Guo, who wasalso the 4th Grade Champion .NIcholas Vasquez, Division A ReserveChampion and 7th Grade Champion, at theHalloween “Terror of the Tiles” tournament,which he won with partner Bradley Robbins(Mack & Kevin were 2nd). L-R: KevinRosenberg, Nicholas Vasquez, BradleyRobbins, and Mack Meller.Left: DeeAnn Guo,Division A ReserveChampion and 6thGrade Champion.22

FINAL SERIES POINTSN E S C H O O L S C R A B B L E S E R I E SDIVISION AKevin Rosenberg: 36Mack Meller 33DeeAnn Guo 17Nicholas Vasquez 16Seth Tilliss: 15Amy Rowland: 14Alexandra Kung: 10Bradley Robbins, Jacob Litt, John Schuman: 9Stephen Alt: 6Zachary Dietz, Nathaniel Jones: 5Josefina Altamiranda, Matthew O’Connor: 4Evan McCarthy, Richard Pairamazan: 3Jerray Chang, Kevin Greene, Kell Pogue, RobSalandra: 2Dan Oates: 1DIVISION BSheng Guo: 20Quinn Vissak: 19Jared Tilliss: 18Jason Welch: 11Sharon Rowland: 10Stephanie Adams 9Drew Gregory: 8Ava Turner, Isabelle Johnson: 7Nick Krasnow, Willie Sia: 6Philip Glynn, Lorenzo Kinnicutt, Reilly McManus,Alexander Pacetta, Michael Shofi: 5Siya Chauhan 4Sarah Armstrong, Quinn Barry, Kyle Imperato, EvanWinston, Thomas Wiig: 3Graham Hepworth, Emily Welch: 2Ignacio Altamiranda, Aurora Joblon, ManishaKanula: 1L-R: Mack Meller (Division A Champion & 5th Grade ChampionMack Meller; Seth Tilliss (2nd, 6th Grade Ch.); Drew Gregory(3rd, 6th Grade Ch.); Nick Krasnow (4th, 6th Grade Ch.); JaredTillis (Division B Reserve Champion & 3rd Grade Champion).GRADE CHAMPIONS3rd Grade: 1. Jared Tilliss; 2. Ava Turner4th Grade: 1. Sheng Guo; 2. Sharon Rowland; 3.Stephanie Adams5th Grade: 1. Mack Meller; 2. Jason Welch; 3.Isabelle Johnson; 4. Willie Sia6th Grade: 1. DeeAnn Guo; 2. Seth Tilliss; 3. DrewGregory; 4. Nick Krasnow7th Grade: 1. Nicholas Vasquez; 2. John Shuman;3. Nathaniel Jones/Zachary Dietz8th Grade: 1. Kevin Rosenberg; 2. Quinn Vissak; 3.Bradley Robbins; 4. Amy RowlandHigh School: 1. Jacob Litt; 2. Evan Winston; 3.Kevin Greene/Rob SalandraL-R: Jacob Litt (High School Champion); Willie Sia (4th, 5thGrade Ch.)Evan Winston, 2nd,High School Ch. 23

TournamentResultsMAY 1-31BERKELEY CA 5/11. Jesse Day2. Robin Levin3. Paula Catanese4. Carole Miller5. Peter SmithLAGUNA WOODS CA5/11. Maddy Kamen2. Gary MossVICTORIA BC CAN 5/11. Sean McCoolCALGARY AB CAN(TCC) 5/7-81. Eric Tran2. Betty BergeronDALLAS TX 5/71. Chris Cree2. Fran Silver3. Linda VillarrealNORWALK CT 5/71. Joel Sherman2. Kevin E. Rosenberg3. Kevin GauthierNORWALK CT (YOUTHAM) 5/71. Amy RowlandT O U R N A M E N T R E S U L T SNORWALK CT (YOUTHPM) 5/71. Jared TillissTWIN CITIES MN 5/71. Scott JacksonUTICA NY 5/71. Stefan Rau2. Don DrummYORK PA 5/71. Joanne Cohen2. Joshua Castellano3. Carol TillsonTRANSATLANTICCRUISE 5/7-22 (WGPO)1. Larry Rand2. Teresa SchaefferGUELPH ON CAN 5/81. Daniel BlakeINDEPENDENCE OH(LCT) 5/101. Daniel StockPORTLAND OR 5/131. Dave WiegandPORTLAND OR 5/13-151. Carl Johnson2. Matthew NelsonPORTSMOUTH NH(LCT) 5/131. Evans ClinchyBAYSIDE NY 5/141. Marc Carnegie2. Barbara EpsteinHUDSON OH 5/141. Josh KopczakPORTSMOUTH NH5/14-151. Joey Mallick2. Connie Creed3. Matthew CableSASKATOON SK CAN5/14-151. George Macaulay2. Sylvia King3. Grace McLeodVALENS ON CAN(RESTRICTED) 5/141. Jackson SmylieMOUNTAIN VIEW CA(WGPO) 5/151. Jerry LermanAUSTIN TX 5/211. Doug Riblet2. April McCarleyKELOWNA BC CAN5/21-231. Eric TanLINDEN MI 5/21 (WGPO)1. Jeff Fiszbein2. Steve Robbins3. Pam HolmquistLAGUNA WOODS CA5/21-221. Rachel KnappPINELLAS PARK FL5/211. Stefan Huber24

TUCSON AZ (COLLINS)5/211. Laurie CohenTUCSON AZ 5/211. Richard Spence2. Kayla PeckRIDGEFIELD CT(SCHOOL SCRABBLE)5/221. Nicholas Vasquez/KevinRosenberg2. Sheng Guo/Siya ChauhanATLANTA GA 5/28-301. David Gibson2. Carl Davis3. David HollmanCAMPBELL CA 5/28-30(WGPO)1. Kevin Fraley2. Dan UngerFORT LAUDERDALE FL5/28-301. Ron Tiekert2. Elaine Patterson3. Cheryl LevinHOUSTON TX 5/28-301. David Whitley2. David Gremaud3. Margaret Bee4. Lindsey DimmickMONTREAL QC CAN5/28-291. Joel Horn2. Wayne Barclay3. Joshua SokolT O U R N A M E N T R E S U L T SMONTREAL QC CAN(COLLINS) 5/28-291. David BoysSKOKIE IL (ARDENCUP)5/28-301. Scott Jackson2. Debbie Stegman3. Steve Bush4. Mina Le5. Angela ViettoSKOKIE IL (ARDENCUP;COLLINS) 5/28-301. Sam KantimathiPHILADELPHIA PA 5/291. Nancy Konipol2. Frank Jaslow3. Adam Fine4. Richard SchulzST. PAUL MN PAIRS 5/29(WGPO)1. Fran Galt & HarrietStrasbergNORTHAMPTON MA 5/301. Bradley Whitmarsh2. Mark PhillipsJUNE 1-30TORONTO ON CAN 6/1-151. Mark Edelson2. Jillian Bathgate3. Jim CaughranAKRON OH 6/21. Heather SteffyCALGARY AB CAN 6/4-51. Eric Tran2. Roland SimonCHARLOTTE NC 6/4-51. Ryan Fischer2. Daniel Novinson3. Kenny HoangKENNER (NEWORLEANS) LA 6/4-51. Marlene Milkent2. Lindsey Dimmick3. Alexander RivardLANSING MI 6/41. Chuck Armstrong2. Elaine Glowniak3. Mark SienkowsiMADISON WI 6/4 (WGPO)1. Thomas Reinke2. Vicki Zimny3. Gail SalmMISSISSAUGA ON CAN6/41. Evan Berofsky2. Shelley Ubeika3. Risa Horowitz4. Nicholas Schneider5. Vimalan RavirajPITTSBURGH PA 6/4-51. Clay Daniel2. Doug Szymkowiak3. Pamela CassREVERE MA 6/41. Evans ClinchyBERKELEY CA 6/51. Leesa Berahovich2. Bennett Jacobstein3. Michael WhiteCHARLOTTE NC 6/5 25

1. Flora TaylorGUELPH ON CAN 6/51. Heather McCall2. Sharmaine FariniLAGUNA WOODS CA6/51. Bruce D’AmbrosioMADISON WI 6/5(WGPO)1. Harriette LakernickREVERE MA 6/51. Steve Glass2. Jeffrey Nelson3. Marvin KrausTORONTO ON CAN 6/101. David WoodTORONTO ON CAN6/10-131. Joel WapnickT O U R N A M E N T R E S U L T S3. Edwin Roth4. Ted Barrett5. Mary StewartHANCOCK MA 6/161. Evans Clinchy2. Terry Kang RauHANCOCK MA 6/171. Marlon Hill2. Terry Kang Rau3. Judy Horn4. Don Drumm5. Annette ZeffHANCOCK MA 6/17-191. Kate Fukawa-Connelly2. David EngelhardtDALLAS TX 6/181. Paul Holser2. Keil Shults3. Lee Brooks4. David Saia2. Oliver Roeder3. Jack TitzmanFORT LAUDERDALEFL 6/251. Ron Tiekert2. Judith Ford3. Merlene WeithersMICHIGAN MADNESS -ROMULUS MI 6/25-261. Paul Epstein2. Mike Stafford3. Denise MahnkenNORWALK CT 6/251. Will Anderson2. David Lewis3. Frederick Schneider4. Bob UmlasBAYSIDE NY 6/111. Jeremy Hall2. Chris TsigosCORRALES NM 6/11-121. Trey WrightKANSAS CITY MO6/11-121. George Asaka2. Kirk TroutmanOLDSMAR FL 6/11-121. Doug BrockmeierWILMINGTON DE 6/121. Jason Bednarz2. Mark MillerEDMONTON AB CAN6/181. George Latis2. Rodney Weis3. Kerwin BarnesKNOXVILLE TN 6/18-191. Ryan Fischer2. David Meredith3. Wayne Scruggs4. Andrew GardnerMOUNTAIN VIEW CA6/19 (WGPO)1. John KarrisAUSTIN TX 6/251. Doug Riblet26

New FacesN E W F A C E SSince our last issue, 69 new faces have competed at NASPA, NSA, and WGPO tournaments. Threeplayers won their divisions at their first tournament: Pam Holmquist, who won the unrated Div. 3 atthe Linden MI Tournament on 5/21 (5-2 +496) for a 496 rating; Richard Schulz, who won Div. 4 atthe Philadelphia PA Tournament on 5/29 (7.5-.5 +639) to gain a 1334 rating; Bob Umlas, who wonDiv. 4 at the Norwalk CT Tournament on 6/25 (7-1 +642) to gain a 1488 rating; and Matthew Cable,our featured “New Face,” who won Div. 3 at the Portsmouth NH Tournament on 5/14-15 with aperfect 12-0 +1120 record, earning an initial NASPA rating of 1381.______________________________________________________________________________Matthew CableIn 2002, 13-year-old Matthew Cable, a 7th grader at Buckingham,Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge, MA, faced 55 other teamswith his partner, Leland Fidler, and won the New England SchoolSCRABBLE® Championship with a perfect 5-0 +495 record. Thispast May 14-15, Matt Cable returned to tournament SCRABBLE®for the first time in eight years to win Division 3 at the PortsmouthNH Tournament with a 12-0 +1120 record, earning an initial NASPArating of 1381.Matt, a 22-year-old senior at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, haskept up with his SCRABBLE® by playing “a fair amount” on-line onthe Internet SCRABBLE® Club (ISC). He does not currently play ata club but he looks forward to club play in New York, where he willbe moving this fall to attend Columbia Law School.Matt started playing SCRABBLE® as a middle-school student at Mark Fidler’s school club at BB&N.He played in a few School SCRABBLE® tournaments, but until this month had never played a oneon-onetournament game. It did not appear to be a problem.“The tournament was much as I expected and not entirelydifferent from my experience at the school level. Challengesincluded adjusting to the 25-minute time system (online games Iplayed would typically be a much-shorter 5 minutes each), aswell as tracking tiles and recording scores myself as opposed tohaving the computer program take care of them.” His favoritemoments at the tournament were when there were challenges:He won all of his challenges--and his opponents lost all theirchallenges of his words.In addition to playing SCRABBLE®, Matt also enjoys bothplaying and watching sports. “I enjoy playing pick-upbasketball and golf, and I’m a fan of Boston sports teams.”Matt Cable (middle) and his partner,Leland Fidler, with their coach, MarkFidler, winning the 2002 New EnglandSchool SCRABBLE® Championship.While there is no SCRABBLE® Club or organized SCRABBLE® at Dartmouth, Matt says there aresome other “pretty serious” players at the school and at other peer schools. He feels they may beopen to a competitive SCRABBLE® scene. College SCRABBLE® anyone?Matt hopes to play in more tournaments, depending on his schedule. 27

N E W F A C E SWelcome to Matthew Cable, Pam Holmquist, Richard Schulz, BobUmlas, and the following other new faces:LAGUNA WOODS CA 5/1: Andrea Ciliberti, Jacqueline Heller, Christopher NaghibiNORWALK CT AM YOUTH 5/7: Drew Gregory, John Gregory, Kyle ImperatoUTICA NY 5/7: Timothy Florentine, Ross GetmanYORK PA 5/7: Dean Kaplan, Joel Toluba, Gerald ZubGUELPH ON CAN 5/8: Will Robertson, Wyeth RobertsonHUDSON 5/14: Jonas Kirk-BowmanKELOWNA BC CAN 5/21-23: Nick SwanLAGUNA WOODS CA 5/21: Micah Chaney, Michael ChaneyLINDEN MI 5/21: Ron Biggs, Denny Gess, Fay Holmquist, Robert Klein, Steve Sienkowski, JimSlota,TUCSON AZ 5/21: Daily McHugher, David ShelleyATLANTA GA 5/28-30: Bright Komeng, Max LenkHOUSTON TX 5/28-30: Jeffrey Gelb, Jack Titzman, Joey TitzmanMONTREAL QC CAN 5/28-29: Harry Carin, Michael Fagan, Anne JeannetSKOKIE IL 5/28-30: Kimberly FuchsgruberPHILADELPHIA PA 5/29: Paula Bub, Kevin Centofanti, Shane RempST. PAUL MN PAIRS 5/29: Nick SwartzTORONTO ON CAN 6/1-15: Liam Ferguson, Colin ViebrockCHARLOTTE NC 6/4-5: Jeffrey He, Jack Miklaucic, Nicholas Miklaucic, Midori Salgado, EdwardZhuangLANSING MI 6/4: Pamela HolmquistMADISON WI 6/4: Betty HasselkusMISSISSAUGA ON CAN 6/4: Bernadette SurmanPITTSBURGH PA 6/4-5: Ruchi Batra, Vinod Chettur, Patricia Conley, Sandra Gould Ford, TyLockett, Charles Marvin, Gerald SchaferREVERE MA 6/5: Claudia CasselBAYSIDE NY 6/11: Christopher ImperatoHANCOCK MA 6/17: Natalie GoodaleHANCOCK MA 6/17-19: John HolmesDALLAS TX 6/18: Susan GrantEDMONTON AB CAN 6/18: Eileen Raucher-SuttonMOUNTAIN VIEW CA 6/19: Dawn Anderson, James Haliburton, Dea KirstensenMICHIGAN MADNESS -- ROMULUS MI 6/25-26: Stephen Henney28

What’s Your Play?W H A T ’ S Y O U R P L A Y ?Joe Edley and Brian Galebach had interesting plays this past month. If you have a play you’d like toshare with our readers, please send it to CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com._______________________________________________________________________________From Joe Edley:Here is the interesting endgame position that I found myself in at BAT, against Rob Robinsky. I wasdown 368-385, with ACGOOST, while my opponent had DEEUWZ? And an empty bag. I had about5 minutes to figure it out, and it took me all that time to get the right idea---because he has a lot ofresource plays for me to research. Unfortunately, had I had more time, I might have seen thewinning play he had after my weaker version of the winning idea.See the play that wins the game on the next page. 29

W H A T ’ S Y O U R P L A Y ?Answer: I found his two major defenses of WALtZ 14B 72 or lAZED H11 42. The best way to blockis across row 13 under WAITRESS. Unfortunately I played COG 13F 16, with the threat of TAOSO7 25, but overlooked his gEEZ 14G 41, which was enough for him to win. If I see it, then I canblock that resource with COGS 13F 21, which wins (he plays aDZ O13 37, I go out with TAO O7 20;final score 423-422). If he blocks TAO, say with fUZED O3 22, I also have TARO K10 14, winning413-407.30

From Brian Galebach:W H A T ’ S Y O U R P L A Y ?I made a nice play during a 421-435 loss against Vince Castellano at the D.C. club on Tuesday,6/14. My rack was EILNOTY.See the next page for the play and a picture of the final board. 31

32W H A T ’ S Y O U R P L A Y ?

Word Trivia QuizBy Siri TillekeratneW O R D T R I V I A Q U I ZThe following words, the meanings of which are given, were added to the OSPD in March, 2006.What are the words?1. A small candy to decorate an ice cream2. A Japanese cultural period3. A junior college3. A Polynesian from Hawaii4. A party with kegs of beer5. A coalition of Japanese businesses6. A Ghanian fabric7. A friend on email8. A fungus used in fermentation9. A kelp used in Japanese cookery10. Croatian currencyANSWERS ON THE NEXT PAGESiri Tillekeratne is a director of the Calgary NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #374 and a former Directorof the Year. 33

W O R D T R I V I A Q U I ZANSWERS1. A small candy to decorate an ice cream JIMMIE/S2. A Japanese cultural period JOMON only3. A junior college JUCO3. A Polynesian from Hawaii KANAKA/S4. A party with kegs of beer KEGGER/S5. A coalition of Japanese businesses KEIRETSU/S6. A Ghanian fabric KENTE/S7. A friend on email KEYPAL/S8. A fungus used in fermentation KOJI/S9. A kelp used in Japanese cookery KOMBU/S10. Croatian currency KUNA/KUNE, LIPA/LIPE34

L O N D O N : I C A N H E A R A G A I N !London: I Can Hear Again!By Albert HahnAlbert Hahn competed at the English Grand SCRABBLE Tournament in Coventry May 27-30. Hereis one of his colorful posts.Len Moir,reluctantly directing since Amy Byrne got hurt just before Coventry.He prefers to playbut he's a natural for directing.Cruelbut he makes the trains run on time, I suggest.No, that was Mussolini, says Linda as sort of a desperate defense of her husband.Len's tourneys have the starting times for *each game* alreadyannounced in the flyer.Before each game he gives announcementsof varying lengthperfectly timedending at the exact second of the set-in-stone starting time whereupon he announceslet's play scrabbleand whacks the clock of any poor bloke that's still in the loo.And we unleash hellCry havoc and let slip the dogs of warfarinand other cool scrabble words.Dangafter 65 hours I already miss playing the gameyetI do love London.LOVE ITLOVE ITMore than Tom Cruise loves Katie, I declareas I'm trampolining on my chair in this Internet Cafe.Another good thing about Londonmy hearing has dramatically improved.I'm trying to hold out another two yearsbefore getting a hearing aidas when I turn 65 the government will pay for itallowing me to afford one or two more scrabble cruises.But I feared in Coventry that I would not be able to put it off that long.Len would do his pregame announcements that often involved a comic bitwith smiles and laughter all around.The guy's a naturalthe crowd loves himhe's got all the movesperfect timinggreat delivery 35

L O N D O N : I C A N H E A R A G A I N !but I can't understand ableedin'bloodyword.So I can't attest to his material, I just know it's going over very well.At one point he was having a particularly long go at Steve PerryWish I knew what he was saying.I suspect it was probably something dirty from the audience'ssubdued laughter.Blue material is best done in a very dark room so the audience memberscan laugh in anonymitynot outing themselves as people who like this sort of filth.But now in London I can suddenly hear again.I can understand people again.yayThen it hits me.It's not totally my hearing that went in Coventryit was also Lenand his accent.He lives 80 miles from Scotlandhe's formerly from Liverpool.He has the northern British equivalentof the southern American drawl.We know from My Fair Lady how much the accentscan vary just in London,not only from neighbourhood to neighbourhoodbut from street to street as Higgins informed us.Speaking of whicha woman warned me "Albert, careful you don't get eaten by a lion".I excitedly answer "Yes, I know that bit. I happen to have heard iton public radio while driving in Calgary. I love that drollunderstated delivery. I seem to remember the name Stanley Holloway doing it.Was he an actor or comedian?"She tells me "He was an actor. He played Eliza's father: I'm getting married in the morning"."Wow, that was him? I loved that. It was a show stopper."I assure North Americans if it were Len instead of 'Liza, Higgins would have lost that bet.Learn your Collins twos and a few of the threes, attend Cock of the North in Coventryand see if you agree. The English are very friendly. Oh sure there area couple of Brits that are eagerly rude, but neither of them were at the tourney:-)I'm sorry but even with the photo enhanced John Chew software used in CoventryI just can't pinpoint which woman it was that tipped me off to thosetwo great contributions to the arts by Stanley Holloway.Also I can't remember who it was that told me I have an Australian doppelganger: John Barker.I have seen him at other tourneys but Coventry was the first chance I had to talk with him.Not just an uncanny physical ressemblance but we were also finishing each other's sentences!36

L O N D O N : I C A N H E A R A G A I N !Whenever we sat next to each other at the tables of ten at communal meals we would beconversationally flitting about like two hummingbirds in Lompoc in May.Another uncanny similarity is our hearing.He would often cup his ear with his hand and we had to askeach other to repeat the majority of our remarks.John is hoping to attend the NASPA/WESPA Collins tourney scheduled for Vegas.Albertps At one of our dinners I ask one of the trivia questions from the cruise:which European capital is in the crater of a volcano.Pauline knows the answer but also says that the question isn't entirely proper.(spoiler space in case anyone wants to think about it first)///////////////////////Edinburgh, but she says that it may not be considereda capitol since Scotland is a part of the U.K.It was a fellow scrabbler that tipped me off that just the red cross on whiteof the union jack is the England part. 37

Word StarBy Jeff KastnerW O R D S T A RPlay Word Star, a word game with similarities to Boggle, created and presented each month by Phoenix, AZexpert Jeff Kastner.The puzzle grid is in the shape of a hexagram…also known as the “Star of David.”Your object is to find and list as many words as possible, using only the 7 letters contained in the Word Starpuzzle. All words must be OWL2 or Long List acceptable.There are 3 basic rules to finding words within a Word Star puzzle:1. Words must be at least 3 or more letters long (with no limit on how long the word can be).2. Words are formed by using letters that adjoin each other. For example, the words ICY andLAS are acceptable, but not SLY, because the “S” and the “L” are not neighboring letters.3. Letters within a word may repeat as many times as possible, as long as such letters arerepeated twice (or thrice) in a row, or as long as Rule 2 is followed. So, for example, CALL andSIS are acceptable. But, FALL would not be acceptable because the “F” and the “A” are notadjoining.• Note that the Center Star, located in the white middle portion of the puzzle, is the most importantletter. It is the only letter that adjoins each of the 6 others in the puzzle. In addition, there are bonuspoints awarded for using the Center Star as often as possible. The Center Star in this month’s puzzleis the letter “C.”38

W O R D S T A RMultiple forms of the same word are acceptable (for example, RATE, RATED, RATER, RATERS, andRATES would all be fine, if they were in the puzzle). No points are awarded (and no penalty points areassessed) for any entries on your word list that are not in OWL2 or the Long List, or that do not adhere tothe above rules.Points are scored as follows:• 2 Points for each WORD found.• 5 Bonus Points for each BINGO (7 or more letters) found.• 1 Point for each LETTER of every word found.• 1 Bonus Point for each CENTER STAR of every word found.Example of Points Scored:Let’s say a Word Star puzzle has an “S” as the Center Star letter, and your list consists of the followingwords:ATTIREATTIRESSATSATESATIRESATIRESTIRETIRESYour score would be:• 16 Points for the 8 WORDS found.• 10 Bonus Points for the 2 BINGOS (ATTIRES and SATIRES) found.• 42 Points for each of the 42 LETTERS used in the 8 words.• 7 Bonus Points for each CENTER STAR used (the letter “S” is used 7 times).TOTAL SCORE in this imaginary example = 75 Points.Par Scores for this month’s Word Star:200 points (Novice); 300 points (Intermediate); 375 points (Advanced)Once you’ve compiled your list, check out my SOLUTION on the next page.See you next month with another Word Star puzzle! …Jeff Kastner 39

W O R D S T A RSOLUTIONAALAASACYLALAALASALLALLYALLYLASCIASSCACACACASCALCICCALCIFICCALCIFYCALLCALLACALLASCASACASASCASSISCICALACICALASCISCLASSCLASSICCLASSICALCLASSICALLYCLASSICSCLASSIFYCLASSISCYCASFISCFISCALFISCALLYFISCSICYIFFIFFYLACLACSLACYLALLLASLASSLASSILASSISSACSACSSALSALALSALLSALLYSASSSCALLSCALYSICSICSSISSISALPAR SCORES: 200 points (Novice); 300 points (Intermediate);375 points (Advanced)BEST SCORE:2 Points for each WORD found:60 Words = 120 points.5 Bonus Points for each BINGO found:10 Bingos = 50 points.1 Point for each LETTER of every word found:291 Letters = 291 points.1 Bonus Point for each CENTER STAR of every word found:52 C’s = 52 points.TOTAL = 513 PointsJeff Kastner, originally from New York City, has been living in Phoenix, AZ since 1985. Jeff is one ofa handful of players who has ever been ranked in the USA-top-50 in both SCRABBLE® and chess.He is the 2009-2010 Phoenix SCRABBLE® Club champion as well as the 2008 and 2009Scottsdale SCRABBLE® Club champ. His chess, Sudoku, and word puzzles appear weekly in TheJewish Press newspaper and on its website. He has recently begun hosting the Internet programWho’s on the Show?, where one of his first interviews was with directors Larry Rand and BarbaraVan Alen: http://whosontheshow.com/shows.html.40

The WordsmithSome exhibits in my word museumBy Chris SinacolaT H E W O R D S M I T HLast month’s column, inspired by Jeffrey Kacirk’s The Word Museum, discussed a good number ofunusual words that are not acceptable in SCRABBLE®. I promised that this month we’d turn to asort of personal museum of words that I have been collecting during recent reading – all, or nearlyall, acceptable words this time around.Several intriguing words were gleaned from two recent selections at my book club, Evan S.Connell’s Son of the Morning Star: Custer and Little Bighorn, and Robert Graves’ autobiographyGoodbye to All That.One of the most memorable tales from Connell’s book, which is a very digressive tale and wouldhave benefited from a better editor, is that of the horse Comanche, the last survivor of the famousbattle of 1876.Nearly everything about Comanche is uncertain, including his color and how many wounds hesustained in the battle.“He is described as a claybank sorrel, buckskin, light bay, mouse-colored, or dark cream…” Connellwrites.For me, CLAYBANK leapt off the page. As a geological term, I would expect it to be two words, andthe Oxford English Dictionary does indeed list CLAY-BANK, with a hyphen, meaning exactly that, abank of clay. But I had never seen it used as a single word to describe an animal’s color, and theOED does not appear to have any such entry.However many wounds Comanche suffered in battle, it is known that he survived the battle andlived to be nearly 30 years old, dying in 1891. It was decided to preserve this animal, and the workwas carried out by naturalist L.L. Dyche at the University of Kansas, who “…built a wooden frame toconnect the skull, pelvis, and leg bones, padding this construction with excelsior, winding stringaround it to simulate musculature.”EXCELSIOR was familiar to me as the Latin motto for New York State, meaning “ever higher,” aswell as a designation for a class of starships in Star Trek. And somewhere in the back of my brain, Irecall there being an early baseball team with that name – indeed, way back in 1860, a team fromBrooklyn had that name, and compiled a record of 19-2.But in this context, EXCELSIOR means a kind of stuffing. The OED reports: “A trade name for shortthin curled shavings of soft wood, used for stuffing cushions, mattresses, etc.” More specifically, thename was applied to a machine, U.S. Patent No. 75728, that manufactured such filling.Graves’ autobiography, written when he was 33, tells of his school days and his experiences in thetrenches on the Western Front during World War I, where he was nearly killed. Coming from the penof a poet and scholar who wrote more than 60 books – including the famous I, Claudius, – you’d 41

42T H E W O R D S M I T Hexpect to find more than a few SCRABBLE® words. I’ll offer just a few – and the suggestion that ifyou’re looking for a memoir of that war, or just a great read, Goodbye to All That is worth everyminute.- COLLECT. Usually thought of as a verb, but used by Graves in the religious sense, tomean a short, general prayer.- GARDEROBE. This word, obviously French in origin, means, literally, a wardrobe, or placefor storing clothes. But Graves refers to an earlier meaning. Used in medieval architecture,it meant a latrine or privy.- QUATERNIONS. Wikipedia reports that quaternions are “ a number system that extendsthe complex numbers… first described by Irish mathematician Sir William Rowan Hamiltonin 1843.” The word crops up in Graves’ book because he was a relative of Sir William’s.Such twists abound in the book. One scene, for example, describes a meeting at OxfordUniversity among Graves, T.E. Lawrence (of “Lawrence of Arabia” fame), the Americanpoet Vachel Lindsay, and Lindsay’s aged mother.- Graves spends a good deal of time in Wales, and at one point discussed CWMBYCHAN*,which is the name of a lake there. While he gives it as one word, it is more familiar toSCRABBLE® players as CWM BYCHAN, for a CWM, as we all know, is a cirque, or a“steep-walled basin on a mountain,” or, as it appears in Graves’ book, a Welsh lake. I thinkit’s a nice example of an unusual word found in a legitimate context, not merely included ina dictionary as something to be memorized.Many other “SCRABBLE” words appear in Graves’ book, including HYPOCAUST and MANGOLD,HOLDALL, HOUSEWIFE and FAG – the last two with meanings that are likely different from theones that leap immediately to the mind of an American today. But I don’t want to ruin the book foryou.Two other words I’ve met lately came from Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, one of the manybooks that “everyone has read,” but which I managed to miss all these years.CALCIMINE is a verb meaning to coat a wall or ceiling with a zinc oxide wash. This process wasvery popular in the early to mid-20 th century, as I have discovered on occasion while redoing thewalls or ceilings of various rooms in my house, which was built about 1924.The OED notes that CALCIMINE was originally a trademark for a specific kind of whitewash. If yourhouse has CALCIMINE, it’s important to treat the walls properly before repainting or papering them,a fact alluded to in an 1885 quotation from a Chicago publication: “Yesterday the calciminersinvaded our dwelling.” Indeed, one wishes they had not. But in the “old days,” plaster took a longwhile to cure, and calcimine was the best method of preparing the walls so that work could continuewhile the curing finished. Or so I understand – if you’re a do-it-yourselfer, consult an expert, don’tquote me!Vonnegut also uses the word GOLLIWOG, which our SCRABBLE® dictionary describes simply as“a grotesque doll.” There’s more to that story.I first met the word in a musical context: “Golliwogg’s Cakewalk” is the name of a short anddelightful piano piece by Claude Debussy, the sixth part of his Children’s Corner Suite. CAKEWALKis a verb meaning “to step stylishly,” and a noun meaning an easy victory, usually in a military orsporting context.

T H E W O R D S M I T HBut there is, quite literally, a darker meaning. A GOLLIWOG, originally GOLLIWOGG – bothspellings are acceptable – was created as a storybook character in 1895 by Florence Kate Upton.No doubt Miss Upton’s motives were the best, and for some decades, her creation was theinspiration for many beloved dolls in England, America and elsewhere.But the GOLLIWOG, a black doll with white-rimmed eyes and clown lips, has come to be seen as acaricature of African-Americans, to the point where it is referred to by some as “ the least known ofthe major anti-Black caricatures in the United States.”The “WOG” part of the word may already have caught your eye, for it is defined in our dictionary asan offensive term for a person of color. One suggestion for the origin of this is that Egyptian laborersworking for the British government during the 19 th century wore armbands with the initials W.O.G.S.– Working On Government Service. The laborers were known as ghuls, the Arabic word for ghost,from which we get our English word GHOUL, of course. Their children, the story goes, would playwith stuffed dolls. The English brought some of those dolls back to England for their own children:GHUL+WOGS=GOLLIWOGGS.I’m not sure I believe it, but like so much about the origins of words and language, provingsomething is nigh impossible. In any case, we have GOLLIWOG(G) to play with, and if you happento have an antique GOLLIWOG doll, I’d say it’s probably worth quite a bit of money.I’ll close with one last word that I’ve been carrying around for years without ever remembering tolook up.Mark Twain famously wrote that the difference between the right word and the almost right wordwas “the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”A FLATBOAT, as Twain was well aware, was a flat-bottomed boat or barge used to transport peopleor goods on rivers such as the Ohio, Missouri and Mississippi. Artist George Caleb Bingham’sfamous painting “Boatmen on the Missouri” from 1846 is a fine example.But transpose the L and the A and you get FALTBOAT, which is also an acceptable word.You can be forgiven for thinking, as I long did, that this word must have made its way into a fewdictionaries long ago owing to a typesetting error, and managed to survive the scrutiny ofproofreaders and dictionary committees. Perhaps they were embarrassed to admit they didn’t knowwhat it might mean.I finally looked it up. FALTBOAT is a perfectly good word in its own right. It is a kind of small boat orkayak and derives from the German word faltboot, or “folding boat.” So that exhibit in my personalword museum is finally complete.And with that, our tour is ended for this month.Chris Sinacola is director of Worcester (MA) NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #600, and has an attic withseveral (toy) animals stuffed with excelsior. 43

K N O W T H E R U L E SKnow the RulesBy Jan Cardia, NASPA Rules Committee ChairJan Cardia, a longtime expert player and chair of the NASPA Rules Committee,writes this monthly column on rules for The Last Word. We are thrilled to haveJan sharing her rules expertise with our readers, and we encourage you toemail any questions you may have about tournament and club rules toCorneliaSGuest@gmail.com. (Photo credit: Jill Jarrell)________________________________________________________________________Question:I recently purchased a SCRABBLE® board, but the premium squares have "new" colors.Are these boards acceptable for tournament play?Answer:Yes, they are acceptable, but with a caveat. The tournament rules specify that boards withpremium square colors other than the traditional red/pink/blue are less preferred. You will berequired to play on a "traditional" board should your opponent make the request and be ableto produce such a board.Jan Cardia has been playing competitive SCRABBLE® for 32 years and in tournaments for 29years. She has been a member of the Rules Committee since its inception. She divides her timebetween New York City with her husband, Aldo, and Delaware, where her children andgrandchildren all reside.EDITOR’S NOTE:For those who have not read the NASPA bulletin:(http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/wiki/images/a/af/Rules-20110605.pdf).The rules committee has updated the rules, and those updates became effective June 16th. Most ofthe changes are simply clarifications or rewording.Please make yourself familiar with the following:1. Rule I.A.(Cheating and Collusion): This rule is now a combination of old rules I.A. (Cheating) andI.E. (Collusion). All references to gambling and “rotisserie” arrangements have been removed fromthe rules.2. Rule I.G. (Simultaneous Games): This rule was added to prohibit playing more than one game at44

K N O W T H E R U L E Sthe same time.3. Rule II.A. (Clock Neutralization): Improved the wording and added that tiles may not be tracked,the blank may not be designated, and tiles may not be touched or adjusted while the clock isneutralized.4. Rule II.C.2. (Observing Infractions): This rule now mentions observation of disconnected tiles bythird parties.5. Rule II.C. (Observing Infractions): The last paragraph was reworded to indicate that observersmay not point out mistakes regarding scoring or time clocks until the tally sheet has been signed.6. Rule III.A.2. (Tiles): It is noted that tiles which give visual clues are less preferred.7. Rule III.A.4. (Racks/Boards): It is specified that boards whose premium square colors are not thetraditional red/pink/blue are less preferred.8. Rule III.A.7. (Other Objects): The wording was slightly changed and it is mentioned specificallythat calculators may not be used.9. Rule III.C. (Arriving Late): The procedure to follow if both players are late for a game is specified.10. Rules III.F.3. (Misoriented Tiles), III.F.4. (Poorly Positioned Tiles), and III.F.5. (Disconnected Tilesor Words): The wording of III.F.3. is slightly adjusted, and III.F.4. and III.F.5. have been added tospecify how to handle sloppily placed or disconnected tiles. Tiles are considered to be in whateversquare they most cover, or to be off the board if more of the tile is off the board than in any square.The player whose turn follows a play in which tiles are not completely placed in their squares mayneutralize the clock to place them in the squares they most cover. If a tile is flipped, that player mayrestart the opponent’s clock until the tile is properly faced. If tiles are disconnected, the play is illegaland MUST be removed with loss of turn. Subsequent plays to any disconnected tiles still on theboard are also illegal and must be removed (along with the disconnected tiles they were played to).Such subsequent plays also incur loss of turn. Further details are in Rule III.F.5.11. Rule IV.B.1. (How to Draw Tiles): The wording now requires the drawer to place the bag openingabove eye level, and not to hold the bag directly between the drawer and his/her opponent.12. Rule IV.B.4.a. (Overdraw Procedure): It is clarified that overdrawn tiles placed anywhere onone’s rack are considered to be “combined” with one’s old tiles.13. Rule IV.C.2. (Counting Tiles): The wording now instructs the tile counter to place the bagopening above eye level, to not hold the bag directly between the counter and his/her opponent,and to not hold his/her own tiles in either hand while counting.14. Rule IV.C.2. (Counting Tiles): The wording is clarified to indicate that the player whose clock isrunning may request the bag even if the other player is drawing tiles.15. Rule IV.D. (Board Etiquette): It is specified that you should not touch the board or any tiles onthe board when your opponent’s clock is running.16. Rule IV.D.(Board Etiquette): A reference to IV.C.1. has been added (Keeping tiles on the rack).17. Rule IV.E.1. (Passing): The wording was slightly changed from “If you mistakenly start youropponent’s clock…” to “If you start your opponent’s clock in error…”18. Rule IV.E.2.a.(4). (Tile Exchange Procedure): The unnecessary phrase “to verify the count” afterthe phrase “placing them face down on the table” has been removed.19. Rule IV.F.1. (How to Designate the Blank): It has been added that the director may modify theblank designation procedure as s/he sees fit to accommodate blind players.20 .Rule IV.F.1. (How to Designate the Blank): The proper way to designate two blanks played onthe same turn has been defined.21. Rule IV.G.1.b. (How to Complete a Turn): Wording was changed slightly to prohibit adjusting tileplacement after starting opponent’s clock.22. Rule IV.G.1.e. (How to Complete a Turn): Wording was clarified to indicate when one’s turn ends 45

K N O W T H E R U L E Sduring an “out” play.23. Rule IV.H.3. (Willfully Fostering Incorrect Scores) It has been added that it is consideredcheating to allow a disconnected play to stand.24. Rule IV.I.1 ((When to Hold or Challenge) and Rule V.D. (Neutralizing the Clock on the Out Play):It is now specified that revealing your tiles or their point value after the last play of the game isconsidered acceptance of the play and disallows the player from thereafter holding or challengingthat play.25. Rule IV.I.2. (Holding the Play): The wording was slightly changed from “If you wish to considerchallenging a play, call ‘hold’…” to “To reserve the right to challenge a play, call ‘hold’…”26. Rule IV.I.3. (Challenging the Play): It has been added that either player may concede achallenge without a formal lookup.27. Rule IV.J.1.l. (Software Self-Lookup Procedure): It has been added that if a challenge issuccessful the written blank designation must be erased or crossed out, and it has been clarifiedthat after a challenge it is not considered a delay of game if a player records his/her cumulativescore.28. Rule IV.K.2. (The Manual Lookup Procedure): a minor wording change was made to the note atthe end of this section. The words “before the Director has adjudicated the play” were changed to“before the play has been adjudicated.”29. Rule V.C.2. (Final Play): Minor wording change to cover plays scoring six consecutive plays ofzero points involving disconnected tiles.30. Rule V.D. (Neutralizing the Clock on the Out Play): It has been added thattiles should not be touched until tally slips have been signed.31. Rule V.H. (Recounting the Game): It has been added that the Director must give a one-minutewarning before terminating a recount, and that the Director may terminate any recount deemedfrivolous (or where the players do not have the means to verify each turn quickly and withoutdispute).32. Rule V.I. (Recording the Game): This specifically defines “tally slips” and “scorecards.” It hasbeen added that it is the responsibility of the winner (or the player going first if the game is a tie) tosubmit the tally slip or scorecards.33. Appendix I.B. (Subsequent Plays): Wording was changed slightly and it has been specified that“disconnected” plays must be removed from the board.46

Scrab-dokuBy Jeff KastnerS C R A B - D O K UIn a standard Sudoku, your object is to fill in every square of the grid so that all nine rows across, all ninecolumns down, and all nine 3-by-3 boxes contain the numbers 1 through 9, with no repeats.Same rules apply to this Scrab-doku, but I’ve added a few twists to help you solve it. First of all, I use lettersto replace the numbers. These letters are part of a “Keyword” which I’ve scrambled below. I’ve also provideda clue to help you find the correct anagram. Once you’ve unscrambled the Keyword, one of the rows orcolumns will contain all of its 9 letters in the proper order.This week’s “Scrambled” Keyword: U S LEXICONClue:Inclusion of its synonyms should help you find the keyword: ostracism, banishment, omission,disqualification, and rejection.SOLUTION on the page after next. 47

Word-Finder Challenge:S C R A B - D O K UHere’s an additional test of your anagramming ability. Your object is to find as many words as possiblethat contain the letter “X”, using only the 9 letters of this month’s (Scrambled) Keyword: USLEXICON.Words can be of any length, from 2 to 9 letters, and must be OWL2 acceptable. Each letter of the Keywordmay be used only once within any word you find. So, for instance, EX is acceptable, but not EXES.Par Scores for this month’s Word-Finder Challenge:15 Words (Novice); 22 Words (Intermediate); 28 Words (Advanced)Once you’ve compiled your list, check out my SOLUTION on the next page.See you next month with another Scrab-doku puzzle and Word-Finder Challenge! …Jeff KastnerJeff Kastner, originally from New York City, has been living in Phoenix, AZ since 1985. Jeff is one ofa handful of players who has ever been ranked in the USA-top-50 in both SCRABBLE® and chess.He is the 2009-2010 Phoenix SCRABBLE® Club champion as well as the 2008 and 2009Scottsdale SCRABBLE® Club champ. His chess, Sudoku, and word puzzles appear weekly in TheJewish Press newspaper and on its website. He has recently begun hosting the Internet programWho’s on the Show?, where one of his first interviews was with directors Larry Rand and BarbaraVan Alen: http://whosontheshow.com/shows.html48

S C R A B - D O K USOLUTIONWord-Finder ListKeyword (Unscrambled): EXCLUSION (35 Words Total)COXCOXESCULEXEXEXCLUSIONEXONEXONICEXONSILEXLEXLEXICONLEXICONSLEXISLOXLOXESLUXLUXELUXESNEXUSNIXNIXENIXESOXOXENOXESSCOLEXSILEXSIXSOXUNISEXUNSEXXENICXIXISXU 49

50P L A Y E R P R O F I L E : B R E N D A C A S E YPlayer Profile: Brenda CaseyBy Cornelia GuestGuilford, Connecticut’s Brenda Casey has been part of the tournamentSCRABBLE® scene for over twenty years. She’s played in some 77tournaments, including 6 Nationals. As any player who has ever faced Brendacan attest, she’s a sharp opponent who fights to the finish. She’s also funny,smart, and friendly—a welcome addition to every tournament she attends.If you’re lucky enough to attend a tournament with a piano, you might alsodiscover that Brenda is a professional pianist. Since the early 1980s Brenda hasplayed every week at restaurants, libraries, art galleries, and special functions,specializing in Broadway standards by Gershwin, Cole Porter, and JeromeKern. She plays by ear so can take requests, and she has a CD, “Americans inParis,” and two audiotapes: “Off Broadway” and “Notes from Paris,” where shesings as well as plays piano. This July 28 th she’ll be presenting a free outdoorconcert, “More Songs from the Sidewalks of Paris,” at the Guilford Library(www.guildfordfreelibrary.org) with Jeff Fuller on bass. (Brenda’s currentschedule and recordings are listed at her website: www.brendacasey.net.)Brenda has been a fan of SCRABBLE for many years, first playing with her mother, and later withher own family, especially her daughter. In the 1980s she was a subscriber to The SCRABBLENews, but she found the emphasis on math and probability daunting. She let her subscription lapse,thinking she could never master the skills needed for tournament play.In 1998 Brenda’s life changed when she saw a poster advertising the Housatonic Valley TourismDistrict’s sponsored “Introduction to SCRABBLE seminar,” run by Joel Sherman and Ed Neugroschl.The seminar was a precursor to the upcoming Newcomers Mini Tournament at the Danbury EasternRegionals. Brenda thought she’d give it a try, and found the seminar a wonderful experience. “It wasvery friendly, with a Q & A session followed by an informal game between Joel and Larry Sherman.Joel had a blackboard and wrote ‘CANISTER’ on it; then he explained what the letters meant interms of leave. It was great. I was hooked!”Brenda faced 30 other green players at the Danbury Newcomers Mini Tournament, where shefinished 7 th . She remembers her first game, where she was paired against Betsy Neuburg, the topseed. “She had this analog clock set to two different times. Joel hadn’t covered clocks, and I hadnever seen a chess clock. I assumed an alarm would go off when the time was up. I made a greatplay--JEUX, with J on the double and X on the triple word square to win by 20 or 30 points. I was sopleased. Then Betsy announced that I was 6 minutes over on my clock, and she’d won.”Brenda returned the next year to the Newcomers Mini, coming in 3 rd . She received $25 and a notefrom director Ron Tiekert, which she framed: “Congratulations! We hope you’ll continue yourcareer.”But when Brenda tried to play a third year she was told her rating was too high. She stepped intoopen play, and never looked back. In 2002 she had her first “big moment,” winning Division C at theCape Cod Tournament.She also became involved in club play, driving an hour each way to Dave Carlson’s West HartfordClub, and a few years later driving three hours each week to play in Westfield, MA, at Roberta

P L A Y E R P R O F I L E : B R E N D A C A S E YWechter’s on Friday nights. Her informal group often included Mike Fleck, Dave Carlson, and JoeBihlmeyer. When that group disbanded, Brenda joined the New Haven SCRABBLE Club currentlyrun by David Lewis. Summer meetings include Mike Ecsedy, Joe Bihlmeyer, and Annette Bailey.Brenda at the 2008 OrlandoNationals with Susi Tiekert andat the 2010 Dallas Nationalswith Sherrie Saint John.Brenda’s first Nationals was the 2004 New Orleans event, where sheplayed in Division 4. ESPN was filming that Nationals, and Brendafound herself in an unusual situation. As the cameras rolled filmingher game, she and her opponent noticed there were 3 blanks on theboard. “Sherrie came over and said ‘Just exactly what’s happeninghere?’ We never figured out how it happened, but she told us to justplay with it. I lost the game, of course, because my opponent drewthe 3 blanks!”Since then Brenda’s been to 5 other Nationals. “I loved Renobecause it had a casino. At Phoenix I would get in the pool anddogpaddle over to the bar to play SCRABBLE with Karen Fishman.”She also won a SamBoard at the 2009 Dayton Nationals, where shewas seeded 88th in her division, for “Best Record, Day 3, Lower Half,Division 2” for a 6-1 +708 finish.Other than SCRABBLE and piano, Brenda’s other passion is forFrance. Originally from Kansas, Brenda double-majored in music andFrench and went on to get her doctorate in French. She lived in Parisfor several years, and she has taught French at the college level(she’s still an adjunct professor at Southern Connecticut StateUniversity). She has played French SCRABBLE, but prefers the U.S.version. “There’s nothing but Q’s in the French language. In the French edition of SCRABBLEthere’s one Q--and it’s worth 8 points!”Brenda is in the process of putting together a French lexicon for SCRABBLE--words that came fromFrench. The project is on hold for now, as the player she’d been working with moved. She hopes torevive it though, and talks of the fun she’s had with it. “We call phonies ‘faux amis.’” Brenda’s listnow tops 1,800 words.Unlike many players, Brenda does not play online SCRABBLE. “If I can’t get a live game, I playQuackle—without the clock. A lot of my game is intuitive. I prefer to see my opponent. Sometimes Itest his knowledge with a plausible phony, so I can usually tell when he’s doing the same thing tome.”“Every day I try to do 4s and 5s on Aerolith, and the Ottawa SCRABBLE Club quizzes on the top5000 7s and 8s (www.ottawascrabbleclub.com). I also study lists of high-probability 7s and 8s.Mike Fleck has shared playability lists of the top 3000 5s and 6s, as well as 6- and 7-letter stems.His most recent list is the top 3000 7s and 8s—in order of playability—with no E or S in any word.When I work with lists I always begin with definitions. To remember a word, I have to know what itmeans. A holdover from teaching French grammar, no doubt.”Brenda spends about an hour a day at the piano, and 2-3 hours with SCRABBLE. She also playsgolf and tennis. “I do what’s fun.”What’s fun is playing and getting to know Brenda Casey! 51

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SSCRABBLE® and Scrabblers in the NewsEdited by Judy ColeSee something about SCRABBLE® or a SCRABBLE® player in the news? Let us know! Send yourstories to Judy Cole (judithcole@msn.com).MAY/JUNE MILESTONESLate Night SCRABBLE®National School SCRABBLE® Champions Alex Li andJackson Smylie appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live(05/04/2011) to play the late night host in a game wherevictory went to the first side to score 200 pointsWILL NEDIGER reached 1800 for the firsttime at the June Toronto (ON CAN)Tournament.DAVID WHITLEY reached 1800 for the firsttime at the May Houston (TX) Tournament.NANCY KONIPOL reached 1600 for thefirst time at the Philadelphia (PA)Tournament after reaching 1500 for the firsttime at the May Bayside (NY) Tournament.DAVID GREMAUD reached 1600 for thefirst time at the May Houston (TX)Tournament.BOB BECKER reached 1600 for the firsttime at the May Norwalk (CT) Tournament.Jackson and Alex scored 90 points for a double-doublebingo of POINTER while Jimmy kept things close with hisown bingo of PHASING for 92 points. The play hadoriginally been scored as 84 points until Jackson, living upto the Canadian reputation for politeness andsportsmanship, corrected the score.The champions won by a score of 249-155 with a final playof JAGER, which Jimmy challenged but was ruledacceptable by John D. Williams, executive director of theNational SCRABBLE® Association. Jimmy showed his ownsportsmanship by presenting the champions with iPads.http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/canadian-teenscrabble-champions-defeat-jimmy-kimmelstyle-173500725.htmlIn an interview with City News, Jackson and Alex discussedthe championship and offered insight into their studytechniques along with advice to novice players. Forexample: “The two-letter words to a Scrabble player are likethe hammer to a construction worker.”!MACK MELLER reached 1600 for the firsttime at the June Norwalk (CT) Tournament.DAVID WOOD reached 1600 for the firsttime at the June Toronto (ON CAN)Tournament.SHAN ABBASI reached 1500 for the firsttime at the May Montreal (QC) Tournament.STEVE BUSH reached 1500 for the firsttime at the May Skokie (IL) Tournament.RICHARD SPENCE reached 1500 for thefirst time at the May Tucson (AZ)Tournament.MARC CARNEGIE reached 1500 for thefirst time at the May Bayside (NY)Tournament.ROLAND FILIO reached 1500 for the firsttime at the June Laguna Woods (CA)Tournament.STEFAN HUBER reached 1500 for the firsttime at the June Odsmar (FL) Tournament.MATTHEW LAROCQUE reached 1500 forthe first time at the June Calgary (AB CAN)Tournament.52

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SCity News (05/21/2011) http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/life/family/article/131913--younglocal-word-whizzes-outline-their-path-to-scrabble-stardomJackson followed up the victory over Jimmy Kimmel with a first place finish at the EasternQualifying Tournament in Valens (ON) on May 14, 2011. Jackson and Shan Abbasi, who placedsecond, qualified for the Canadian National SCRABBLE® Championship.The Record (05/16/2011) http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/532593--a-word-to-the-wisefrom-scrabble-whizClinchying VictoryTufts Now interviewed Evans Clinchy who made his debut on theSCRABBLE® tournament scene during his sophomore year at TuftsUniversity in 2007. Evans compared the atmosphere to a golftournament “where it’s courteous to be as quiet as possible, but thatdoesn’t happen in reality.”Evans’ first opponent, his mother, can still give him a run for the tiles asher victories during the Thanksgiving holiday demonstrated.!!Tufts Now (04/27/2011) http://now.tufts.edu/articles/evans-clinchyscrabbleOh Canada!The Stittsville/Richmond (ON) EMC News interviewed tournamentdirector Matthew Tunnicliffe and player Donna Balkan aboutthe recent John Weston Memorial Tournament held in Stittsvilleon April 30 and May 1, 2011.Matthew and Donna discussed how SCRABBLE® combinesstrategy and luck to make each game different and unpredictable.Stittsville/Richmond (ON) EMC News (05/04/2011) http://www.emcstittsvillerichmond.ca/20110505/news/Stittsville+hosts+major+Scrabble+tournament! 53

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SCanadian player Jim Masluk, who relocated from southern Ontario to NovaScotia in 2001, is spearheading an initiative to make Halifax the firstsanctioned club east of Montreal.Jim hopes to have a club with at least sixteen players up and running afterLabour Day.!Halifax News (05/31/2011) http://www.halifaxnewsnet.ca/News/2011-05-31/article-2547262/-Playon-words/1Trivial PursuitsDaily Candy in Chicago (IL) lauded the trivia nights hosted by Jeremy Cahnmann at Firkin &Pheasant on Tuesday and Sunday nights.Daily Candy (05/05/2011) http://www.dailycandy.com/chicago/article/101931/Chicagos-Best-Trivia-NightsHome from OrlandoIn the weeks after the National School SCRABBLE® Championship, local media celebrated theteams returning from Orlando.• Charlotte (NC) – Tournament regular ElizaLieberman and 3 classmates represented RandolphMiddle School in Orlando this year.Both teams won two games during the competitionand vow to study more and return next year.Charlotte Observer (05/04/2011) http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/05/04/2260031/middle-schoolers-took-their-lexicon.html• Magnolia (TX) – Six teams traveled to Orlando fromMagnolia this year – including the Texas statechampions, Amanda Sass and Emily Ward, whoplaced 7 th in the National School SCRABBLE®Championship for the highest Texas finish to date.!Amanda’s mother visited the Houston SCRABBLE®Club and recruited Benjamin Withers to coach theteams who learned strategy, time management andthe ability to recognize words fast.The Tribune (05/02/2011) http://www.tribunenews.com/news/1862-magnoliascrabble-team-spells-success.html!54

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W S• Ridgefield (CT) – The Ridgefield Library Scrabble team of Amy Rowlandand Kell Pogue placed 10 th in this year’s competition as well as last year’scompetition. (Photo courtesy of Patricia A. Hocker, National SCRABBLE®Association.)The Ridgefield Press (05/11/2011) http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/theridgefieldpress/people/93417-ridgefield-scrabble-team-does-well-innational-meet.html!Who Wants to Be an 11K-aire?La Grange (IL) SCRABBLE® player Diane Pietrzak won $11,000 on the May 6, 2011, episode ofWho Wants to Be a Millionaire.To prepare for her appearance, Diane listened repeatedly to recordings of herself recitingpresidential trivia and state capitals. Wonder if she uses the same technique to learn HighProbability 5s?La Grange Suburban Life (05/03/2011) http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/lagrange/newsnow/x1621727846/La-Grange-resident-to-be-on-Who-Wants-To-Be-A-MillionaireLuck of the IrishDuring the recent Dublin (IE) Writers Festival, six writersplayed a game of SCRABBLE® against Irish Timesjournalist Sara Keating. The writers, each of whom madeone move, included the National Poet of Scotland (orMAKAR), Liz Lochhead.Although the writers scored 82 points for PLASTER, Lizeked out a victory by 2 points - 154 to 152 after six moveson each side.!The Irish Times (05/31/2011) http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2011/0531/1224298134170.htmlMay I Have a Definition?When playing SCRABBLE®, Northeast Ohio player Tony Incorvati cannot askfor the derivation, language of origin, or part of speech of the words played byhis opponent. That information, however, can be valuable to spellers in theScripps National Spelling Bee.!In his third year of competition, the 13-year old 8th grader made it to Round 5of the Semifinals this year on June 2, 2011. You can watch the Semifinalscompetition at http://espn.go.com/espn3/player?id=187542&league=Spelling%20Bee. 55

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SSCRABBLE® ShuffleAn experiment at the University of California, Santa Cruz, tested the hypothesis that people takephysical actions to become more effective problem solvers.In the experiment, 20 students were given five minutes to find as many words as possible from theracks ADLNORS and AEEGMPT. Half of the test subjects were allowed, but not required, to shufflethe tiles while the other half could not use their hands to rearrange the tiles.Overall, more words were found by the shufflers – in particular on what seemed to be the moredifficult set of letters (AEEGMPT) for the test subjects.http://adrenaline.ucsd.edu/kirsh/articles/cogsci-final2/cogsci-final2.htmlCowboys vs. IndiansThe Frazz comic strip (05/14/2011) determined that SCRABBLE is a battlefield where cowboys(Dallas) and Indians (Cleveland) can meet on common ground.http://news.yahoo.com/comics/frazz!Look What the Cat Threw UpDiscussing the NBA Championship on the June 2, 2011, show,Jimmy Kimmel explained how Miami Heat center ZydrunasIlgauskas got his name: “In Lithuania, when a baby is born, theyfeed a bag of SCRABBLE® tiles to a cat, and whatever it throwsup, that’s your name.”Jimmy Kimmel Live (06/02/2011) http://abc.go.com/watch/jimmy-kimmel-live/SH559060/VD55129650/jimmy-kimmel-livegame-night-2---62!Senior SCRABBLE®The Sequim (WA) Senior Activity Center celebrated its 40 thanniversary on May 26, 2011. Among the more than 30 eventsheld at the center are weekly SCRABBLE® games on Thursdayafternoons.Sequim Gazette (05/25/2011) http://www.sequimgazette.com/news/article.exm/2011-05-25_still_plenty_to_do_after_40_years!56

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SAs part of the celebration of the Kingston (UK) University of theThird Age, 28 members gathered on May 21, 2011, to play 3games of SCRABBLE®. The group is open to anyone in the ‘thirdstage’ of life and brings together over 700 members to learn andshare knowledge, to take part in activities, and to go on visits.Kingston Guardian (06/05/2011) http://www.kingstonguardian.co.uk/news/9065523.Anniversary_celebrations_for_volunteer_group_continue/!Shake That THANG, GRRRL!The recently announced additions to the Collins Official Scrabble (CSW) list used outside of NorthAmerica sparked a flurry of media coverage, much of it centering on words in the followingcategories:• Slang – BLINGY, GRRL, GRRRL, INNIT, THANG• Internet – BLOOK, FACEBOOK, FANSITE, MYSPACE, WEBZINE, WIKI• Overseas English - ALU, ALOO, GOBI, KEEMA• Q Without U –FIQH (Islamic jurisprudence) and QIN (Chinese musical instrument)Coverage included:• Daily Mail (05/09/2011) - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1384999/Thang-innit-grrl-addedlatest-Scrabble-Bible.html• The Telegraph (05/09/2011) - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8500975/Thang-innitand-grrl-added-to-Scrabble-dictionary.html• The Register (05/10/2011) - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/05/10/scrabble_facebook/• USA Today (05/10/2011) - http://content.usatoday.com/communities/popcandy/post/2011/05/early-buzz-lonely-island-scrabble-sandwiches-and-more-news/1• Salon (05/11/2011) - http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/05/11/scrabble_new_words_facebook/• PC Magazine (05/12/2011) - http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2385310,00.asp• Financial Times (05/16/2011) http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/9031449a-7ff3-11e0-b018-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Mv7DYWvmAmid the clicking of tiles, The Current, a daily Canadian radio show, asked players at a tournamentin Saskatoon (SK) for their reaction to the new words and interviewed Shan Abbasi on the May 20,2011, broadcast.CBC Radio – The Current (05/20/2011) http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2011/05/20/scrabbledictionary/Stefan Fatsis cleaned the slate of the misinformation and confusion over the new words with anoverview of how SCRABBLE® came to have two lexicons.Slate (05/12/2011) http://www.slate.com/id/2293903/ 57

No Need to Buy a Vowel HereS C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SThe first tossup round on the May 27, 2011, episode of Wheel of Fortune featured the followingpuzzle:S C _ _ _ B L E_ _ U _ _ A M _ _ TSCRABBLE® FundraisersSCRABBLE® tournaments and events as fundraisers are in the news:• Literacy Volunteers of America Northern Connecticut –The seventh annual SCRABBLE® Challenge for Literacy tookplace on April 28, 2011, at the Enfield (CT) Holiday Inn.George Burtch, vice president of global integration at HasbroGames, spoke on the importance of literacy: “Until third grade,children are learning to read. After third grade, they arereading to learn.”Prizes were awarded for first and second place, bestcostume, most spirit, and best theme word about weather.!ReminderNews (05/04/2011) http://www.remindernews.com/article/2011/05/03/scrabblechallenge-raises-money-for-literacy• Cabarrus (NC) Literacy Council – A SCRABBLE® Nightdrew nearly 20 players to the Afton Tavern in Concord (NC) inApril. The tavern donated 10% of its evening sales to theCouncil to supplement the $10 entry fee paid by each player.The next SCRABBLE® night will be held on May 11 th as thisevent joins the ranks of other fundraisers held by the council,including its signature event, the spelling bee in September,and its popular pancake breakfast in March each year.!Charlotte Observer (05/04/2011) http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/05/04/2259633/scrabble-night-benefits-literacy.html• Fairview (OH) Academic Association – The FairviewAcademic Association held its third annual SCRABBLE®tournament on March 19, 2011, at the Gilles-SweetElementary School. The Fairview Academic Association is agroup of interested parents, teachers, and communitymembers who strive to support the Fairview schools andstudents in achieving academic and personal excellence.The Crescent-News (05/05/2011) http://www.crescentnews.com/news/simple_article/5029774?page=0!58

Backyard SCRABBLE®S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SIf you'd like to play SCRABBLE® outdoors instead of inside ahotel ballroom, you might follow the example of Sacramento(CA) architect Kristy McAuliffe who created a 5-foot squareSCRABBLE® board as part of her backyard patio.http://www.sunset.com/garden/backyard-projects/backyardscrabble-00400000013845/!SCRABBLE® CelebritiesCelebrities share our love of the game.• At the Spring Luncheon benefiting the Nexus Recovery Center, Barbara and Jenna Bushrevealed that visits to their parents in Dallas include “intense” SCRABBLE® games as well asbreakfast with the Dalai Lama.The Dallas Morning News (05/12/2011) http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/downtown-dallas/headlines/20110512-bush-twinsbarbara-jenna-recount-presidential-family-life-atdallas-fundraiser.ece• Canadian artist and broadcaster Marilyn Lightstone, who hosts Nocturne on Classical 96.3 inToronto (ON), discussed SCRABBLE® strategy and vocabulary as well as her participation in theannual SCRABBLE® With the Stars charity tournament.!The Globe and Mail (05/19/2011) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/drawnoff-topic/marilyn-lightstone-on-the-finer-points-ofscrabble/article2028538/ 59

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W S• On the May 20 th episode of The View, Joy Beharconfessed, “Ever since I had SCRABBLE® on myiPad, I’m a virgin again.”The View (05/20/2011) at about the 8:30 markhttp://abc.go.com/watch/the-view/SH559080/VD55128055/the-view-520!• As Oprah ends her daytime TV show, it pays to remember that SCRABBLE® in both theDiamond Edition and iPad formats – is among her favorite things.!Argus Leader (05/20/2011) http://www.argusleader.com/article/20110520/LIFE/105200337/Find-few-Oprah-s-Favorite-Things-• From May 17 through May 26, Words With Friends who played the Lady Gaga word of the dayearned an entry into the Words With Gaga sweepstakes.http://www.wordswithfriends.com/ladygaga/SHHH - SCRABBLE® UnderwayA new building for the Bridgeville (PA) Library provided a venue andopportunity for a SCRABBLE® club, which meets every Friday at 1.According to Bridgeville Public Library Director Donna Taylor, theSCRABBLE® Club is the “quintessential library experience.”!Players can consult dictionaries and play with nine tiles instead ofseven but still score 50 additional points for words that use seven ofthe nine letters on the rack.!The Almanac (05/18/2011) http://www.thealmanac.net/alm/story10/05-18-2011-BR-Scrabble-club60

S C R A B B L E I N T H E N E W SLove Is in the Air and on the WallCharlotte (NC) newlyweds Kelly Smith and Will Setzer take a breather beneath a quartet ofSCRABBLE® pillows.!Will proposed to Kelly by spelling “WILL YOU MARRY ME KELLY” on a SCRABBLE® board.Presumably, a blank tile posing as a Y helped to seal the proposal.Carolina Bride (05/16/2011) http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/05/16/2301700/an-uptownaffair.htmlPhotographer Jeff Gurwin outdid Will by painting amural on the corner of Avenue A and 2nd Street in theEast Village (NY, NY).You can view a time-lapse video recording the mural'screation and the response of his girlfriend, CaitlinFitzsimons, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m_Ajrcxfug.!Judy Cole is co-director of the Lexington (MA) NASPA SCRABBLE® Club #108 and solvescrossword puzzles when not playing SCRABBLE®. 61

H I S T O R I C M O M E N T SHistoric Moments: SCRABBLE® Throughout the YearsAlways Look for a Better PlayBy Stu GoldmanThat's an old chess saying, and it works equally well in SCRABBLE. When giving advice to a newplayer, I will often direct them to look for three plays before making a move.That may be more easily said than done on occasion. In a recent online game I had just playedTImELIER off a T on B3 and drew the rack AAEQNTV. I saw QANAT immediately and noted that itfit on the bottom row for 47 points.If my opponent had played quickly that's what I would have done, since my bingo gave me a surewin as there were no more tiles to be drawn by me. However, while she took time to make her playI noticed there was an I under the DLS square on row 1. You may have already figured out what Iproceeded to do. Yes, QANAT fit perfectly over the ImELI in TImELIER. When it was not blocked, Ireeled in the 104 points (remember, the M was a blank), a personal best for a non-bingo play!It only goes to show what looking for a better play can produce. In tournaments, where point spreadmay mean the difference between a prize or none, that is a given--even when not necessary to wina game.62

Diane’s DEFALTSBy Diane FirstmanD I A N E ’ S D E F A L T SDiane Firstman published her first book of DEFALTS, Generous to aDEFALT: Vol. 1-3, in 2006. Since then, she has published a secondvolume of her humorous alternative definitions to common (and notso-common)words--DEFALTS Vol. 4--and selected DEFALTS haveappeared in SCRABBLE® News and on the online SCRABBLE®discussion groups crossword-games-pro (cgp) and OSPD. TheLast Word is pleased to offer the following selection of DEFALTS.ARCHAEON: a divine power emanating from Ronald McDonaldARMYWORM: archfoe of the NAVYWORM* in the annual annelid football game betweenthe two academiesARSENITE: an evening in which you make an ass of yourselfBACKBEAT: caning or whippingBACKFITS: chiropractic distressBACKHAUL: drag oneself into the chiropractor when suffering from BACKFITSBACKLAND: a county with a high percentageo of acupuncturists, chiropractors andmassage therapistsBACKRUSH: 1) the carrying of the football by a running back; 2) the campaignslogan for Mr. LimbaughBACKWASH: very specific and limited bathingBACKWRAP: a plastic covering to keep one's backside freshDiane Firstman is a lifelong New Yorker and has been playing SCRABBLE® competitively since1994. When not thinking up DEFALTS, she attends crossword puzzle tourneys and writes on theNew York Yankees for www.bronxbanterblog.com. She is adept at math, can reach items on topshelves in supermarkets, and does a dead-on impression of a sea lion. The collected “DEFALTS”are available at http://stores.lulu.com/dianagram. 63

Linda’s LibraryBy Linda WancelL I N D A ’ S L I B R A R YAs an avid reader and book lover, I have found that many other Scrabblers also share my passionfor books and for reading. So I am happy to have this opportunity to share some of my favoritebooks with you. These reviews, for the most part, were written for Amazon.com, where I have beenwriting reviews under a pseudonym for over ten years. I hope that the book lovers among you mayfind your interest piqued by some of these books.______________________________________________________________________________Non-fiction:Dress Codes: Of Three Girlhoods--My Mother’s, My Father’s, and MineBy Noelle HoweyThis is a well-written memoir by a remarkable young woman who, at the ageof fifteen, was made aware of the fact that her father was suffering fromgender dysphoria. Her father enjoyed cross-dressing and had decided that hewould prefer to do so all the time. He had come to a realization that he wasactually a transsexual and not just a transvestite.This wryly funny memoir is not just the author's memoir but that of her motheras well (and to some extent that of her father, though, as in life, his essenceremains the most elusive). The author is clearly an intelligent, perceptiveyoung woman, and she lays bare her parents' relationship, to the extent thatshe can, with their blessing. She shares her recollections of growing up in ahousehold where the father was evidently deeply troubled by his genderissues, outlining the impact this had on him and, consequently, on her and hermother, as well as on the family dynamics. She fully discusses the changes that his coming outabout his gender issues would confer upon them all, both good and bad.Informative as well as entertaining, the author manages to infuse a great deal of perceptiveness inanalyzing the familial relationships. She supported her father's decision, though some of the issuesthat she had with him were not as a direct result of his gender dysphoria, but rather with the way hetreated both her and her mother as she was growing up. Still, as someone who grew up in aseemingly traditional nuclear family, only to find herself in a nontraditional one, the author hasremained remarkable sanguine about the entire experience.This is a wonderful book that gives a bird’s-eye view of the experience of living with someone withgender dysphoria. It is also gives the reader a peek into a family that was simply trying to cope thebest they knew how, given the little they knew about what was really at the core of many of thetroubling dynamics within the household. It is a book that grounds what some may perceive as anunreal situation in the context of a vital family that was simply struggling to survive a complicatedsituation into which they were thrust by forces beyond their control. It is a portrait of a family in painthat survives and comes to terms with its permutation.Dress Codes is available at Amazon.com.64

Fiction:L I N D A ’ S L I B R A R YA Dangerous FortuneBy Ken FollettThe author, a masterful storyteller, weaves an intriguing and mesmerizingtapestry of events that surround the wealthy Pilaster banking family in the latterpart of nineteenth-century England. The book’s panoramic sweep will hold thereader in its thrall. This complex story tells of the ebb and flow of the family’sindividual personal fortunes and the personalities that are to profoundly affectthem, for better or worse.Augusta Pilaster is the scheming, socially conscious, self-appointed matriarchof the family. She is a woman who will stop at nothing to ensure that herreckless and easily manipulated husband, Joseph, and their indolent,dissolute, and lackluster son, Edward, will get and retain control of the Pilasterbanking enterprise. Her Machiavellian machinations, however, will eventuallytrigger the downfall of the family's fortune.Hugh Pilaster, Augusta's nephew by marriage, is the Pilaster who has the brains and work ethic totake the Pilaster banking fortunes to a new level. His Achilles heel is that he is attracted to workingclasswomen, a chink in his armor that Augusta Pilaster uses to her and her immediate family'sadvantage. Hugh is also Augusta Pilater's unwitting pawn, until the day of reckoning comes.Micky Miranda is the romantically handsome scion of a wealthy, unscrupulous, and power-hungrySouth American businessman. Micky attended an exclusive school with Edward and Hugh Pilasterwhen they were young. While there, tragedy struck when a mysterious swimming "accident" tookthe life of one of their friends, an event that was to shadow their lives in ways no one could haveimagined. Micky Miranda would eventually enter into into a web of complicity with Augusta Pilasterthat would impact on the fortunes of both the Miranda and Pilaster families.This book takes the reader through all strata of English society, from the drawing rooms of the upperclasses to exclusive men's clubs and brothels that cater to exotic appetites. It is a totally engrossingand absorbing tale of love, hatred, and treachery that spans three decades. A Dangerous Fortune isa story that those who like well-written historical fiction will enjoy.A Dangerous Fortune is available at Amazon.com.Linda Wancel loves reading, writing, watching films, traveling, and Scrabbling. She is the mother of28-year-old twins and has been a criminal prosecutor for nearly 25 years. 65

One Up! Cup for JulyBy Timothy CataldoO N E U P C U P !Since we're well aware that the brainiacs in the crowd love a real challenge, and to ultimatelyconquer the rest of the world with their big dictionaries and high IQs, we've come up with what we'recalling the One Up! Cup. Every month we'll post a “game situation” and ask the word heads to sendin their best answer for the next play.We've decided that since there will be no “perfect” or “right” solution, necessarily, we will randomlypick a winner from what we think are the most deserving. Being fastest and first is all well and good,but we want you to be a bit creative, and to show some originality and cheek, too. Send your bestguess (one entry per person, please) to One Up! Cup. The winner will receive a One Up! and havehis or her name put in the drawing for the grand prize at the end of the year, which will be a $250 giftcertificate to Uppityshirts.com. (For rules on playing One Up! click here.)Here's July's challenge:The winner for May is: ShainaLesniewicz, who sent in this - "I use myTROWEL to plant the beautifulFLOWERETTE! (Uppity Tile is the letter'T')." Fantastic, and thanks to all whoentered.BTW, we haven't picked a winner forJune yet, so if you'd like to try, here it is:66

PassagesEdited by Larry ShermanP A S S A G E SEach month we will be including information about SCRABBLE® players (births, deaths, marriages,etc.) Please send your news to Cornelia Guest at CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com.______________________________________________________________________________DEATHSSONIA LYDABy Paul Epstein and Janet GraySonia Lyda, of Ulster Park, NY, died on Saturday, June 25th from cancer. She was 60.Janet Gray and I regret to inform the SCRABBLE community that we lostone of our most cherished members here in Michigan, Sonia Lyda, onSaturday, June 25th. I understand she died peacefully. She was battlingcancer and had become weaker in recent days. Originally from Queens,New York, Sonia arrived here in 1999 during the first Michigan Madnessand immediately became one of us. She brightened every tournament,every room she entered. We will miss Sonia terribly. During ourSCRABBLE session here at Janet's house, we are thinking of her andplaying in honor of her memory. Paul E. & Janet G.JANE TACKERBy Judy Newhouse and Carolyn BoydHouston Club #359 member Jane Tacker passed away Thursday, June 30th.She had been battling cancer the past few months.Jane was a dear friend to so many of us and we will miss her greatly. She wasan integral part of Club #359 -- a gracious winner or loser across the board, andquick to pitch in and help. What a blessing she was to Cyndi Hughes and mewhen she stepped up to the plate, took the Director's Test, and helped us withthe club the past couple of years.Jane was always generous to others, especially to our SCRABBLE community. When she had tocancel out of the Bayou Bash in May, she made a donation to the prize fund. She said that would beher way of participating this year.She also had a fantastic sense of humor, and loved to share laughs with others.We miss you, Jane. Judy NewhouseJane was the very first person I played at Club #359. I didn't have a clue about the clock and waskinda freaking out. Jane was extremely helpful and patient in stepping me through the clock andscoring procedures. She always gave you a "hello" and quick smile, and was very generous andkind. Jane, we'll miss you. Carolyn Boyd 67

SCRABBLE®ResourcesThere are many study tools tohelp SCRABBLE® playershone their skills, including anumber of programs that canbe downloaded for free. Thissection will offer suggestionsand links for both players anddirectors.Play SCRABBLE®On LinePOGO SCRABBLE®The official SCRABBLE®online game. Created underagreement with Hasbro in2008.SCRABBLE® ONFACEBOOKSelect the SCRABBLE®application on the Facebookhome page to play the officialSCRABBLE® game. Variousgroups hold tournaments atthis site, including a groupcalled “Mad Scrabblers”.INTERNETSCRABBLE® CLUBA Romanian-based site andapplication for interactivegames. A favorite site formany of the top players.Play LiveSCRABBLE®CROSS-TABLESLists all upcomingtournaments, as well asresults of past tournaments.S C R A B B L E R E S O U R C E SHas SCRABBLE®tournament aides.NASPA CLUB LISTINGSLists clubs throughout NorthAmerica with their meetingtimes and locations.NSA CLUB LISTINGSLists casual clubs throughoutNorth America with theirmeeting times and locations.Anagramming/Practice ToolsJUMBLETIMEA free web site for practicinganagramming skills.MAC USERS: After you do aJumbletime quiz on a Mac,the scroll bar to view theresults is missing. To make itappear, go to the lower rightcorner and grab the stripedtriangle and shrink thewindow all the way to the topleft corner. When you pull itback, the scroll bar to theright of the answers to thequiz appears. (Make sure youdo this before you check yourscore against other players.)Also, before running a quiz,you might want to first pressControl and scroll with themouse to enlarge the screenso that you can more easilyview the jumbles. (Thanks toLarry Rand and MoniqueKornell.)AEROLITHA free application forpracticing anagramming skillsand learning words.QUACKLEA free application for playing,simulating, and analyzinggames.ZYZZYVAA free application forpracticing anagramming skillsand learning words. Also hasWord Judge capabilities.SCRABBLE®DICTIONARYType a word to check foracceptability. OSPD4 words.LEXIFIND SCRABBLE®HELPER AND WORDGAME WIZARDWORDFINDER FORGOOGLE CHROMEA full-board SCRABBLE®word-finder program thatshows you every word thatcan possibly be made on anentire SCRABBLE® board,and continuously updates itsresults as you type lettersonto the board or into therack. Full version available athttp://bit.ly/ecwHPtFRANKLINSCRABBLE® PLAYERSDICTIONARYAn electronic handhelddictionary and anagrammer,with many helpful options andgames. Includes the latestword lists, and can beadjusted from OSPD4 toOWL2 lists with a code.68

S C R A B B L E R E S O U R C E SCLICK HERE TO HELPEND WORD HUNGER ASYOU LEARN WORDSA free vocabulary testing site.For every correct word, grainsof rice are donated through theUnited Nations World FoodProgram. Feed hungry peopleas you expand your vocabulary!Online SCRABBLE®Discussion GroupsCGP (crossword-gamespro@yahoogroups.com)This group, for tournamentplayers and directors only, hasthe largest membership of anyonline tournamentSCRABBLE® discussion group.Most important events andchanges in the SCRABBLE®world are discussed on cgp.Admission is by approval only.Details can be found in theNASPA TournamentSCRABBLE® Newsletter #1.OSPD (ospdscrabble@yahoogroups.com)This group, dedicated to playersusing The Official SCRABBLE®Players’ Dictionary, offers lightheartedhumor, daily word lists,and more. Admission is to allSCRABBLE® lovers. Detailscan be found in the NASPATournament SCRABBLE®Newsletter #1.SCRABBLE® BlogsTHE BADQOPHDIRECTORYThis is a database of blogs byknown SCRABBLE® bloggers,primarily tournament players.As of March 29th there were196 blogs in the directory.Cheat SheetsMIKE BARON’S CHEATSHEETA great cheat sheet with 2s, 3s,vowel dumps, short high-pointtilewords, and good bingostems. Includes useful frontand back hook letters to make3s from 2s. Adapted from MikeBarron’s SCRABBLE®Wordbook and the OfficialTournament and Club WordList, 2nd Edition.MIKE BARON’S CHEATSHEET (for SchoolSCRABBLE® and homeplay)A great cheat sheet with 2s, 3s,vowel dumps, short high-pointtilewords, and good bingostems. Includes useful frontand back hook letters to make3s from 2s. Adapted from MikeBarron’s SCRABBLE®Wordbook and the OfficialSCRABBLE® PlayersDictionary, 4th Edition.COOL WORDS TO KNOWA terrific cheat sheet from theNational SCRABBLE®Association for SchoolSCRABBLE® and home play.Gives useful information on howto find bingos, plus the 2s, 3s,vowel dumps, and short highpoint-tileplays.COLLINS-ONLY CHEATSHEETA cheat sheet of short Collinswords NOT found in the OWL2.2s, 3s, short high-point-tilewords, and Q-without-U words.COLLINS WORD LISTSUseful links to Collins word listscan be found at the followingwebsites: http://www.absp.org.uk/words/words.html; http://www.math.utoronto.ca/jjchew/scrabble/lists/; http://www.scrabble.org.au/words/index.htm; http://members.ozemail.com.au/~rjackman/.TournamentManagement SoftwareDIRECTOR!Marc Levesque’s software formanaging tournaments. Alsohas a Yahoo user group youcan join as a support option.TOURNEYMANJeff Widergren’s software formanaging tournaments.TSHJohn Chew’s software formanagaing tournaments,recently updated with newfeatures. 69

BooksBOB’S BIBLEA terrific book to build wordpower for tournaments.BOB’S BIBLE, SCHOOLEDITIONFor School SCRABBLE® andhome play.BROW-RAISERS IIA brilliantly organized studyguide geared towards thesuccess of beginning andintermediate players.HOW TO PLAYSCRABBLE® LIKE ACHAMPIONA new guide to winningSCRABBLE® from WorldSCRABBLE® Champion JoelWapnick. Fantastic insights intoexpert playing techniques. (Seereview in the October issue ofThe Last Word.)ENGLISH LANGUAGEWORD BUILDERBob Jackman’s guide tobuilding a strong Collinsvocabulary, organized by wordlength, familiarity, and part ofspeech.EVERYTHINGSCRABBLE®, THIRDEDITIONThe ultimate guide to winning atSCRABBLE@ by 3-timeNational Champion Joe Edleyand John D. Williams, Jr.Completely updated to includeall new words. (See review inthe January issue of The Lastword.)70S C R A B B L E R E S O U R C E STHE OFFICIALSCRABBLE® PLAYERSDICTIONARY, FOURTHEDITIONThe official word source forSchool SCRABBLE® andcasual play.THE OFFICIALTOURNAMENT ANDCLUB WORD LIST, 2NDEDITIONThe official word source forNASPA tournament and clubplay.SCRABBLE®TOURNAMENT & CLUBWORD LIST (COLLINS)The official word list forinternational tournament play.(Available at SamTimer.com.)SCRABBLE®WORDBOOKA great word book forSCRABBLE® players by MikeBaron. OSPD4 words. (POOLists available with wordsexcluded from the OWL2.)

Tournament CalendarT O U R N A M E N T C A L E N D A RWe are in the process of changing the format for the Tournament Calendar. In the meantime, checkfor upcoming tournaments at the following sites:NASPA Tournaments: www.scrabbleplayers.org, cross-tables.com; www.cross-tables.comWGPO Tournaments: www.wordgameplayers.orgNSA School SCRABBLE® and Fundraiser Tournaments: www.scrabble-assoc.com 71

ArchivesA R C H I V E STo download previous issues of The Last Word click here.72