February 2010 - The Last Word Newsletter

From the EditorF R O M T H E E D I T O RNew Year’s Day my daughter and I welcomed in the new decade in West Hartford, CT, at an unratedSCRABBLE® tournament organized by Dave Carlson. The tournament was open to all players, tournamentand casual, and each player brought a food item for a potluck lunch.It was an incredibly pleasant day--friends gathering to play SCRABBLE® and share each other’s company(and good food). Entry fees were low ($10 for six games)--and went back to the players as prize money.It made me realize that ratings, “participation fees,” and big payouts sometimes obscur what is best aboutSCRABBLE® for many of us: playing a game with friends.I hope in this next decade to play many more games of SCRABBLE® with friends. Thanks, Dave, forreminding me about the true joy of SCRABBLE®!__________________________________________________________________There was good news this past month for top-level players. Michael Tang, the organizer of the CausewayChallenge and other top tournaments including the 2009 WSC and WYSC, made two significantannouncements: 1) the 2010 Causeway Challenge in Malaysia will be offering a US$30,000 top prize; and2) a “Tournament of Champions,” featuring 10 of the world’s best SCRABBLE® champions, will take placeDecember 8-10, 2010, in Malaysia. With NASPA now rating SOWPODS (Collins) tournaments, NorthAmerican players may get more opportunities to practice the lexicon used at these events. Kudos toMichael Tang for his terrific work in promoting top-level international SCRABBLE®!____________________________________________________________________This month’s issue of The Last Word covers the year’s first tournament: Annette Tedesco’s Albany NewYear’s Tournament. Annette runs three tournaments a year--two in Albany and one at Lake George--anddoes an amazing job. (We’ve included Jeremy Cahnmann’s popular Albany Team Trivia Contest to try!)Jeff Widergren reports on the Reno MLK Tournament he organized with Rick Wong. The number of topplayers who attended this event was remarkable--and winner Kenji Matsumoto, fresh from winning Albany,has most definitely started his tournament year with a bang.Steve Pellinen, who will be running the North American Scrabble Tour (NAST) finals on February 7th, writesabout the Twin Cities Redeye--an incredible tournament where participants play 30 games in 41 hours. Atrue SCRABBLE® marathon!Dan Stock covers the 25th Summit Open in Hudson, OH, which used an unusual match format. WinnerBrian Bowman continues to demonstrate world-class skills.NASPA Rules Committee member Jan Dixon joins our staff as author of a new monthly column: “Know theRules.” With new rules taking effect February 2, Jan’s arrival could not be more timely. We invite readers tosend in their questions about rules to CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com.As we were going to press, an announcement was made about the formation of the Word Game PlayersOrganization (WGPO). We include details here with contact information.In response to reader requests, we are including an “Equipment Roundup,” which will list SCRABBLE®equipment with links. Readers are encouraged to contact me with suggestions of equipment to include.This month we are featuring boards; next month we will spotlight timers.In tribute to our hardworking columnists, I’ve added another new section: “Meet Our Columnists.”February’s columnist in the spotlight is Katya Lezin, who writes the monthly “Player Profile” (this monthfeaturing one of the most genial players on the SCRABBLE® scene: Denise Mahnken).4