Scramble for scrabble supremacy
Scrabblers from around the world are yexed and bumbazed after five intense days of oppugnancy.
The Christchurch Bridge Club hummed yesterday at the fifth annual World Senior Scrabble Championship Final, where New Zealand representative Joanne Craig came out on top, beating Wellingtonian Howard Warner on points.
More than 170 top scrabblers from France, Scotland, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand battled it out for the top prize of US$1000 (NZ$1453.70).
The minimum age at the seniors’ championships is 55 and it is part of the general World Scrabble Championship series.
By the 24th round on the final day, yesterday, two scrabblers had risen to the top.
Before the final game, Warner acknowledged that Craig was ahead of him by more than 300 points and his chances of winning were ‘‘tiny’’.
‘‘We pretty much know what’s going to happen now bar a miracle from me.’’
Warner has earned a nickname for surprise victories at tournaments.
‘‘I gained the name of ‘the Burglar’ because a couple of times I have burgled the tournament from an impossible position,’’ he said.
Players at this level use words from the everyday to the obscure – such as zyzzva, a type of weevil, or ujamaa, a component of 1960s Tanzanian political theory.
By the end of the last round, both Craig and Warner were unsure who won, because Craig had lost her game and Warner had won his. It soon became apparent that Craig had still won by 315 points.
Warner was humble in defeat. ‘‘It was very close . . . it has been a good fight.’’
Craig attributed her victory to luck despite an already wellestablished reputation in the Scrabble world. ‘‘I think I was very lucky with the way the tiles fell this time,’’ she said.
Her winning word in the final round?
‘‘I started with doodles. I did have a blank, it was worth 60-odd points. I got off to a good start.’’