The bi-monthly magazine of the ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH SCRABBLE PLAYERS
No 102 June 2005
Deadline for next issue 8th July
2 NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Evan Simpson joined the Committee fromJune 4th and Anne Ramsay will take overfrom Viv Beckmann after this years ACM.
Sorry this issue is a bit late - my first issue as Editor and I'm apologising already! The August issue is not allowed to be late because it contains the final agenda for the AGM. Contributions for TLW 103 therefore need to be submitted very soon indeed. Things of note in this issue include the AGM Draft Agenda, FAQ on penalty challenges and a statement from the Committee regarding variations to the standard rules. Also find enclosed entry forms for the Scottish Round Robin, BMSC Mens Event and Chester 2006. / /
SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark of J.W.Spear & Sons Ltd., Maidenhead SL6 4UB ISSUE CONTENTS
Committee Corner 1 Edgeways 23 Committee Statement ... 2 Across The Board 33 AGM Draft Agenda 3 Xtras 40 Penalty Challenges FAQ 5 Forthcoming Events 43 Tournament Reports 7 Edgeways Answers 48 Ratings 17 Calendar of Events obc
Throughout this publication, comments by the Editor do not represent the views ofthe ABSP Committee. Any statements by the Committee are clearly marked as such. All other contributions to The Last Word represent only the views of the contributor.
THE LAST WORD TEAM The Last Words Team welcomes contributions from readers to their respective areas, either as letters, articles orsuggestions. Contact information:
Editors: Games and Strategies: Words and Puzzles: Ben Wilson Phil Appleby, David Sutton (odd- numbered issues) Thorns Cottage, 46 West Chillern, Mount Pleasant Lane, Woodcote, Reading, Berks Wayne Kelly Lymington, Hants SO41 8LS RG8 0SG (even-numbered issues) phil_appleby2000©yahoo.co.uk David.)[email protected]
Editorial Contact: Forthcoming events: Features: Paul Cartman, Christina French Elisabeth Jardine 9 Chapel Terrace, 57 Cranham Road, 6 Wentworth Avenue Stafford ST16 3AH Hornchurh, Bourenmouth BH5 2ED 01785 211851 Essex RM11 2AB 07736 686092 01202 419 708 paul.cartman®btinternet.com [email protected] [email protected]
In the event of issues of The last Word not being received, or if you change your address,please contactViv Beckmann
Tel: 0191 273 170S or email: [email protected] The Committee met on the 4 June, as always there are ongoing developments and issues within and outwith the Committee of which the membership should be aware. Firstly, former deputy webmaster Evan Simpson is now a full committee member and after the AGM, another committee change will lake place: Viv Beckmann, who has excelled as membership secretary for a number of years, will step down, and Anne Ramsay will take over her role. Any other members wishing to join the committee should contact the Chair (Allan Simmons) or Secretary (Amy Byrne) for more information, as there are spaces available after recent departures. Other than the three Officers the constitution allows for a further eleven Committee members, excepting the Mattel rep. With Jackie's departure it would be great if we could have someone to handle the publicity, especially for the BMSC, Masters and coordination of National Scrabble Week. Many of you will be aware ofPete Finley's penalty challenge petition seeking support for rating penalty challenge events alongside free challenge events. This was presented to committee in June alongside submissions from those who are against the idea, and the Committee has taken a decision on how the ABSP should proceed on this issue and there is a statement overleaf. How many rated games do you play in a year? If you answered "too many to count", you may be interested to know that the Committee are instituting an annual award for the most prolific player. (Amy "Every-Tourney" Byrne honourably excluded herself from this discussion!) Current thinking is to prohibit anyone from winning the award more than once within five years. If you have a view on this, contact TLW or alternatively, a private message can be relayed to the Committee through the Chair, Secretary or any other committee member. Having prepared the 2005 handbook in its new loose-leaf format and obtained the A5 binders for distribution, the Committee have decided to hold back the printing because of the potential changes after the AGM (eg Committee, Dictionary,Rules) and the fact that there were very few changes to the 2004 edition. The only change to note was rule 4.10.5 published in the last TLW. It also means we will be able to give out the binders to a lot of members at the BMSC itself and save postage. The next assembly of the committee will be in Stafford at the BMSC in August. I and the rest of the Committee hope to see many of you there! TheCommittee welcomes the fallowing new members:
Name Mem. No. Name Mem. No Name Mem. No. Gerry Gleeson 1401 Mis J. Hanson 1406 Rebecca Sheldrick 1411
Samantha Cooper 1402 Janet Hudson 1407 Melanie Beaumont 1412 Emma Brown 1403 Rael Hayman 1408 Geoff Goodwin 1413
Chris Harrison 1404 Mick Beasley 1409 Mark Newman 1414
Elizabeth McNab 1405 Hllbre Jenkins 1410 Paul McCarthy 1415 Richard Woodward 1416 VARIATIONS ON A THEME
Thii it tha committee statement on rating variationt to the standard Scrabble rules
"The committee has followed the renewed debate amongst members about varying the standard rules of play in rated tournaments. It has decided that without adequate formation about demand for, or experience of, playing to various alternative rules it can not properly or fully advise the membership whether any variation to the game rules should be allowed.
It has therefore decided that tournament organisers who wish to offer rated games using a variation of the current challenge and/or time allowance rules may do so from now until the end of 2006, when the committee will review the findings.
The committee wishes to remind members that 'free challenge' games with 25 minutes per playerare the standard for ABSP rated games. Tournament organisers MUST contact the Tournament Coordinator, Paul Cartman, if they wish to offer any variation to the existing game rules. Granting of ratings approval for any non-standard tournament will Ik? assessed by the whole committee on a case-by-case basis."
In conjunction with this, Evan Simpson has produced a set of FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) regarding Penalty Challenges which can be found after the draft agenda for the 2005 AGm to be held at Yarnfield Park during the BMSC. Speaking of which...!
LADIES ... AND NOW GENTLEMAN!
It has been talked about for many a year but this year it has finally happened thanks to Mike O'Rourke.
Therefore ABSP is pleased to announce the introduction of a mens' event to run parallel to the ladies' event at Yarnfield Park on August 26th-27th, immediately prior to BMSC on August 27th-29th. Entrants will be competing for the John Rusted Memorial Trpohy, which has been kindly donated by John's family. Entry forms are included with this issue ofTLW. Saturday lunch will be available for all players resident at Yarnfield Park on Friday night, and must be paid forat the time. Please note that lunch will not be provided for BMSC entrants arriving on Saturday. Forms should be sentto Sarah Wilks, and please remember to add £45 for theFriday night's stay at Yarnfield Park. BMSC 2005
There are still places left for the BMSC so hurry and get your entry forms in! The closing date is August 8th, although late entries maybe accepted after that date.
One of the main reason to be there is to exercise your power at the ACM by voting on i ther motions put forward by the Committee and other members ofthe ABSP. The draft agenda is printed on the following pages. The meeting will take place at 8.30pm on the 28th August at Yarnfield Park. DRAFT A6ENDA
1 To receive the Chairman's report (this will be published next TLW)
2 To receive and consider the accounts of the Association for 2004, and the associated Auditor's and Treasurer's reports (the accounts arecurrently being audited and will be published next TLW)
3 To elect the officers and other members of the Committee The current Committee consists of: Viv Beckmann, Amy Byrne, Paul Cartman, Elie Dangoor, Darryl Francis, Stewart Holden, Liz Jardine, Wayne Kelly, Ross Mackenzie, Steve Perry, Allan Simmons, Alec Webb, plus Philip Nelkon as Mattel representative. Evan Simpson would have formally joined the Committee at the meeting on June 4th. Viv Beckmann is standing down at the AGM and will be replaced by Anne Ramsay as the new membership secretary.
The officers of the Committee are currently: Allan Simmons (Chairman) Amy Byrne (Secretary) Ross Mackenzie (Treasurer) Our honorary President is Gyles Brandreth. All the officers intend to stand again for these roles. All other Committee members are standing except as indicated above.
4 To confirm the Auditor for the year 2005 (Yoke Shin)
5 To fix the subscription for 2006 It is proposed that the subscription remains at £15 per annum
6 MOTIONS These are detailed below and will be addressed in the order shown
6.1 Adoption of Collins Scrabble Words 2006 "It is proposed that the ABSP should adopt Collins Scrabble Words 2006 (CSW2006) with effect from 1 st January 2006. If adopted, CSW2006 would be the official word authority for all ABSP-rated and ABSP-sponsored Scrabble events and tournaments." proposer: Darryl Francis seconder: Allan Simmons
NB: At the time of this proposal for the draft agenda (May 2005), the ABSP Dictionary Committee has not seen a final version of CSW2006, so the above proposal is conditional on CSW2006 being ofa standard acceptable to the ABSP Dictionary Committee. As far as possible in advance of the ABSP AGM, the ABSP Dictionary Committee will clarify whether it is able to recommend CSW2006 for adoption. If the ABSP Dictionary Committee is unable to recommend adoption of CSW2006 prior to the ABSP AGM, depending on the reasons this motion may be revised or replaced by a motion for a delayed acceptance.
7 Discussion of Committee Objectives 2005-2006 A review of how the Committee is performing against its Objectives.
OPTIONAL PENALTY CHALLENGES - SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
EVAN SIMPSON, on behalf ofthe pro-Penalty Challenge lobby, provides some helpful answers to questions that might be in members' minds regarding penalty challenges.
THIS IS NOT AN ABSP COMMITTEE DOCUMENT In recent months the subject of penalty challenges has come to the fore again. The UK- Scrabble mailing list has been abuzz with almost nothing else. The debate has become quite polarised and heated. In order to expand the debate to a wider audience Pete Finley has organised a petition and I have written this FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions and Answers) to address the issues involved.
Q. What is this FAQ all about? A. A growing number of people have expressed a desire to play tournament Scrabblewith a penalty challenge rule, alongside existing tournaments with free challenges, and want those games rated. Q. What are penalty challenges?
A. In current tournament play in the UK, if a valid word is challenged there is no penalty for the unsuccessful challenger. With penalty challenges an unsuccessful challenger receives a penalty. Note that penalties only apply when the challenge of the move is unsuccessful. For successful challenges the normal procedure applies. Q. What sort of penalties are we talking about? A. There are two types of 5 point penalty. If the word(s) you challenge are all valid your opponent either 1) gets 5 extra points for their move or 2) gets 5 extra points for each word challenged. The 5 point penalty challenge rule, in either of its guises, has been used at the last two World Championships and many other international events so is becoming a de facto world standard. Q. Why do people want to play with penalty challenges? A. The two main reasons are 1) they prefer playing with them and 2) they want to play with the world standard rule. Other supporting reasons and claims include: They reward word power; They make the game flow better; They reduce noise at tournaments; They raise the standard of play by encouraging study; They eliminate frivolous challenges, where only a tiny element of doubt exists. Q. But doesn't that mean that better players might take advantage of weaker players by playing phonies? Won't the boards endup with invalid words? A. The experience of those who have played with 5pt penalty challenges is that the incidence of deliberate phonies is very small and the board does not endup with invalid words. Remember that anyone who deliberately plays a phony risks having it challenged off and losing a turn.
Q. Why should I have to play with penalty challenges if I don't want to? A. There is no suggestion that the free challenge rule in the UK is to be replaced. The issue is whether 5pt penalty challenges should coexist with free challenges allowing some tournaments to be organised with penalty challenges for those who want it.
Q. Why can't tournament organisers currently run penalty challenge tournaments? A. They can but such a tournament cannot be rated because the ABSP Game Rules do not allow penalty challenges as an option.
Q. Will this be like SOWPODS? A few people started off playing that and then suddenly we were all forced to. I don't want that to happen again. The difference from the SOWPODS issue is that free challenge/penalty challenge coexistence will not have such a polarising effect as SOWPODS/OSW coexistence because the handicap of playing to a different challenge rule is minuscule compared with the handicap of playing to a different vocabulary. Many players felt unable to play a SOWPODS tournament one week and an OSW one the next. This will not be a problem where the challenge rule is the only difference.
Q. So, would people be happy to switch between challenge rules? Or would things degenerate to a point where there is a polarisation of players again? A. Yes, those players in favour of penalties indicate they would be happy to alternate. Switching between challenge rules is much more straightforward and less onerous than switching between word sources. Changing from SOWPODS to OSW involved remembering which words were allowed in which bookand a misplay could easily lead to the loss ofa game.
Q. So what is this petition all about then? A. The petition has been organised to show that there is a demand for penalty challenge tournaments. The petition is also to ask the Committee to allow these tournaments to be rated.
Q. Can I try it to see if I like it? A. Yes. There are many ways you could do this. You could try a game or two against your regular Scrabble partner. You could organise an evening at your club where everyone tries it. There are even several tournaments (currently unrated) where you can have a go. See the Calendar on the ABSP website for details (http://www.absp.org.uk/calendar/calendar.html). If you have access to the internet you can try it out at the ISC (www.isc.ro) (bear in mind that online Scrabble is quite different from the face-to-face game even without different challenge rules). Q. So, what will happen if we allow games played to penalty challenges to be rated? A. There are already three new events on the calendar. They are all one-offs and not approved for rating but it is likely that if they are a success they will be repeated (but only if they are approved for rating in future). Other people are also likely to organise more new events. Q. But what about my favourite tournament? I don't want that to become penalty challenges. A. Few, if any,existing tournaments are likely to switch to penaltychallenges because most ABSP members prefer free challenges and it remains the default rule. No organiser would risk the potential loss of entrants that such a switch could cause. Additional tournaments are likely to be offered to cater for any demand. Q. Shouldn't this go to a vote at the AGM? (Chairman, Allan Simmons, writes: The Committee believes that changes to Game Rules should go to a vote at an AGM and that this is reflected in the Constitution. However, in order to properly assess the demand and experience of penalty challenges we have felt it a reasonable approach to allow additional PC tournaments to be rated for a limited period of time See Committee statement on Page 2. Q. Shouldn't penalty challenges just be for Division A players? A. No. Everyone should have the option to play with penalty challenges if they want to. There are people of all ratings who have entered the trial tournaments or have expressed a desire to play with penalties. Also, not all Division A players want to play with penalty challenges. Nobody should be forced to play penalty challenges if they don't want to. And don't forget that what constitutes Division A at one tournament might encompass Divisions A, B and C etc at another.
BRITISH TEAM TOURNAMENT 200S
(AKA THE HOME NATIONS TOURNAMENT)
Last year saw the inaugural British Team Tournament where England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales compete in teams offour against each other. Scotland were the victors on home territory, butthe decision was taken to rotate the venue and this year is England's turn to host and therefore the ABSP will be organising the event. The event is scheduled to take place on 29th-30th October in Ramada Hotel, Chester. Final costs are still being calculated as we are seeking sponsorship opportunities.
Each country will provide four players to play all the members of the other countries' teams, thus making a 12 game tournament, which will be played under standard ABSP rules. England's team will be chosen based on ratings at the end of June, providing they have played withinthe last year and are eligible to play for England!
1 Last year's event was a great success and here's hoping that this year's competition will be a fun precursor to the WSC the following month. Organisers are encouraged to send a list of prize winners and a tournament report to the TLW editor as soon as possible after the event.
4th-7th March
Bingley A Bingley B
Shane O'Neill 10 Carol Sienkiewicz 11 722 Barbara Goodban 9 lanet Southworth 9 266 Rhoda Gray 7 Juliet Green 8 643
Bingley C Bingley D
Brenda Baxter 12 1164 Gill Carr 11 547 Marjorie Struggles 10 562 Barrie Hall 9 257 Ruby Flood 8 -39 Frank Goodier 8 -78
Swindon 13th March (6 games) Report from Steve Perry I'll start by once again apologising to the 188 players who came to Swindon for the inordinate delay (1 hour) in getting things underway. The delay was due to a number of factors, some outside our control but some where we could have done better. There were two no shows and their names will be forwarded to the ABSP on the new form which every organiser is asked to fill in. There was also one player who turned up who hadn't registered but whom we managed to accommodate. There were several players new to tournaments, most notably Martin Gardner who had been a regular player at the Internet Scrabble Club. It was clear that he could not be put in either of the bottom divisions and, based on his ISC performance and advice from people who had played him he was placed in C division. As events were about to prove this was probably too low. The Scrabble eventually got under way at 11.20 and we then progressed through to lunch without further hitches. Early pacesetters were Femi Awowade (Middlesex League), Pat Colling (Stroud), Marion Kirk (Cirencester), Ted Lewis (London League), Mark Murray (Exeter) and Dorn Osborne (Weedon - Northants). With one Cirencester name amongst the list it's worth mentioning that Cirencester had what was probably the strongest representation ofa single club at a non-home tournament with no fewer than 13. After two more games and with the continuing excellent work from Mauro and Graeme on the computers, combined with a shortened tea break we were only 20 minules behind schedule.At this point there had been some changes to the leader boards. Dorn Osborne remained in front in F but new leaders of the other divisions were Gareth Williams (Newport), Sue Bowman (Dorian), Martin Gardner (Morley),Beryl Browner (Dorian) and Jason Goddard. (Weston-Super-Mare) There were further changes in the last two rounds. John Gray son turned things around to come back to win Division A having lost his first game. Janet Phillips (Winscombe) was one of only two undefeated players on the day in winning Division B. Martin Gardner was also invincible in Division C. The Ashworth family from Gloucester club did well in Division D with Gill taking the ratings prize and husband Paul finishing second. The winner of D was Martin Taylor of Cirencester club. Jason held on to win Division E but Evelyn Wansborough (East Berks) pipped Dorn to take the Division F titile. Many thanks to the members of Highworth Club who helped on the day and also to Mauro and Graeme who showed their consummate skills on the computers. The prizes were presented by Graziella Campisano, the local Macmillan representative and the event raised something in the region of £1500 for the charity.
s
Swindon A Swindon B Swindon C
John Cr.iyson 5 500 Janet I'liillips b 261 Martin Gardner 6 701 Femi Awowade 423 Wanda de Poitiers 5 150 Andy Gray 5 63 Carclli Williams 229 Sue Bowman 4.5 279 Ken Bird 5 28
Swindon D Swindon E Swindon F Martin Taylor 5 485 Jason Goddard 5 371 Evelyn Wansbrough 5 555 Paul Ashworth 5 419 Iris Cornish 5 255 Dorn Osborne 5 330 Peter Ernest 5 315 Jean Shaw 5 188 Hepzi Rodrigues 5 252 19th March (5games)
Lothian A Lothian B Lothian C
Caroline Atkins 5 225 Agnes Gunn 5 202 Steve Davie 5 343 Christine McKenzie 4 406 Richard Moody 4 449 Hilbre Jenkins 4 238 Tom Wilson 4 295 Miriam Moss 4 252 Sheila Johnston 4 209 Peter Igweke •4 203 Melanie Beaumont 4 232 Ian Whyte 3 256
25th-26th March Report from Ronnie Reid My first experience of TD-ing at ISCA was rather incident-free. Only one major dispute, with player A claiming that his opponent had challenged and neutralised the clock before he himself had finished his move. That was finally resolved between the two of them without having to resort to fisticuffs. OTARINE was among the words challenged,with KOR making three appearances. There were some moans that the new accommodation was too far from the playing hall and up a steep incline. Ideally, we would all be staying in the same block asthe playing hall, but it is simply not possible. The university also want to use their new facilities, while Chagford, which has previously been used, has reverted to use by students who have paid for a year-long contract. Admittedly, if you wanted to quickly nip back for a jumper, etc, it would take up most of your spare time between games. However, there is a lot of free time built into Exeter around meals and if someone wanted to lie down for 30 mins then that would be possible without any problem. I timed myself to walk from door-to-door, and it was slightly over 60 seconds with a slight incline. Maybe those who ask for en-suite accommodation next year should remember that they are likely to be placed in the new accommodation block unless they specifically ask to be in the main block. Regarding next year, rumours were spread round by one or two individuals that there will be no tournament next year. That is not true. I will be pleased to organise it all again, although I did express concerns over the prices. The university gave us two price reductions this year, and as long asthe prices arenot massively hiked next year, there should not be any reason why it will not run again. The trophies this year were large wooden ducks which I thought were excellent. They received a mixed response among scrabblers, although the majority liked them. I think the idea of novelty trophies should be continued for next year. I don't think there were any other major incidents or problems. The university staff were very friendly and helpful as always.
ISCA A ISCAB Di Dennis 494 Ian Caws 6 359 Nick Deller 387 Peter Thomas 5 360 Gary Polhill 371 Joan Caws 5 112 Shane O'Neill 242 Richard Hitchcock 4 495 Anand Buddhdev 231 Maureen Reynolds 4 445 25th-26th March Report from Andy Davis
Exeter A Exeter B
Ed Martin 13 759 Nick Deller 16 1424 David Webb 13 654 Shane O'Neill 14 689 [lie Dangoor 12.5 826 Margaret Bright 13 389 Andrew Perry 12 942 Bob Lynn 12.5 575 Theresa Camilleri 12 590 Ross MarKenzie 12 446
i i Exeter C Exeter D 1 Exeter E Bonnie Reid 14 1089 Christine Strawbridge 15 732 R. Hitchcock 15 1239 Adrienne Berger 13 549 J. Williams 13 1052 Peter Winnick 15 1057 lean Swallow 12 684 Syd Berger 13 140' P. Kelly 14 806 Peter Thomas 12 584' Peter Ernest 12 94| I. larvis 13 281 Kale letkie 11 6841 Ted Lewis 11 697| Mary Morgan 12 174
Another Easter Weekend done and dusted. I chose to step down from the organisational duties and accompanying legal responsibilities this year. Thanks to Ronnie for stepping in to take care of this side of things. To help with the smooth transition to the new management, I decided to act as TD for the main event. Doing the challenges, I learned some new words, and saw some nice plays. Those that stick in the mind are Sandie's HEADLAmP 9-timer, Chris Finlay's WASHROOM and
10 MUDFLAT, FERVENTER from Nuala O'Rourke, and MANIACAL from the E-division winner Richard Hitchcock off an M with no blanks. Also, Brett made use ofthe REPLICAS-E hook, presumably recalling the game from Allan S and Phil A's BEST match a couple of years ago. Most frivolous challenge - ITS. The A division hadan exciting finish, with a different leader almost every game in the last 6 rounds. Ed Martin was the one lucky enough to be sat on top when the tournament ran out of games. Division B wasn't quite so close. A certain Mr Deller had the audacity to win his first 15 games (a feat never before achieved at Easter). He sealedthe division win with two rounds to go, when his nearest rival Shane O'Neill lost. Ronnie managed to do something I never could, namely winning his division (C) despite organisational responsibilities. Christine Strawbridge won the D division, making it a good weekend for the Maltese contingient (the other two won a ratings prize). Division E culminated in a local derby for the top spot, Richard Hitchcock defeating fellow Exeter club member Peter Kelly to win the division. Congratulations to all the prizewinners, especially Ed for his first major title, and Nick for an outstanding performance.
Southern!
2nd April 2005 Report from Kevin Synott Three of the four divisional winners won with a clean sweep of six wins. The exception was Bob Violett, our tournament winner who was only prevented from doing the same by his drawn game with Chris Keeley who finished in 3rd place with 4 V2 wins Barry Grossman split these two players with five wins. We were pleased to see a strong A Division with 13 of the 22 players rated 160 or above. Bob's rapidly improving wife, Claire, was D Division winner. Maureen Underdown andBen Tarlow were the other divisional winners winning all six games. As always we were kept in good order and on schedule by Tournament Director, David French.
Southend A Southend B Southend C
Bob violelt 5.5 291 Bpn Tarlow f, 9f. Maureen Underdownf> 387 Barry Grossman 5 451 David Carrod 5 187 loan Lawrence S 21b Chris Keeley 4.5 270 Graham Bonham 4 568 Carole Wheatley 4 269J
10th April 2005 (6 games) Report from Alan Bailey A successful 16th annual Southampton tournament was held at Waterside, Holbury, on Sunday 10 April. 112 players in 4 equal divisions contested 6 rated games each. Minor glitches occurred, including 2 brief power failures, one of which contributed to a late start. The tournament finished on time, courtesy of Ruth 'Computers' Marsden's high octane, for which I am most grateful. Especial thanks arealso due to Andy Gray, who afterwards
11 spotted an error in the final results table. He had been credited with one win too many, at the expense of Michael Baxendale. By acting quickly he prevented the error being fossilized in the ratings. I commend him for a fine example of the spirit in which Scrabble should be contested. There were cash and small trophy prizes for the first 3 places in each division, to the players named below. The Champion's Silver Plate will have 'P. Appleby'engraved on it for the5th time in 10 years. There is alsothe Terry Hollington shield, in memory of ourclub member who instigated the rating system. It goes to the player who performs best against rating on the day Strong contenders were Ben Tarlow, Lynn Giles and Val Wright. There were also good shy wings by Heather Cruickshank, Rita Robinson and Ruth turner. The winner however was not in doubt. Into a C division for his first time, and its lowest-rated player. Peter Bailey ended up in 2nd place. The 4 highest-scoring recorded plays were neatly spread over the 4 divisions. The only fair thing was to give a prize to each, confounding your organizer who only had 3 bottles with him. Vera Allen in D scored 114 with MARQUES/GEYSERS. Sheila Booth-Millard in C scored 113 with OOZIEST - fortunately Sheila is a local club member who could be made to wait for her wine. Margaret Bright in A scored 117 with INQUEST/ZINEBS. Ian Burn, in B, who sharedwith Phil Appleby the distinction of remaining unbeaten on the day, topped them all with 158 for SHOEINGS. Commiserations are due to Portsmouth club-mates Viv Newman and Margaret Coleman, the other 2 players to win as many as5 games, yet not qualify for prizes. Finally here is a public apology to Danny Bekhor for the misadjudication of STIRE near the end of a game which he then lost by 9 points. His inevitably gentlemanly reaction made me feel even more remorseful than if he had hit me!
Southampton A Southampton B
Phil Appleby 6 768 Ian Burn 6 596 Gary Oliver 5 457 Val Wright 5 466 Elisabeth (ardine 5 298 Lynn Giles 5 181
Southampton C Southampton D
Hazel Pdtki-r 5 J87 Nicola Staunton 5 358 Peter Bailey 5 303 Jenny Sakamoto 5 316 Janet Milford 5 290 Anne Lawton 5 150
16th-17th April 2005 (10 games) Report from Pete Finley Entries for Durham followed their usual pattern of a very slow start that had us rather worried at one point, followed by a powerful late surge that took us up to our usual numbers, which ended up at 110 players. This late booking tendency seems to be getting worse every year with Durham, whereas other tournaments fill upmonths in advance. Please save us some stress and book just a little earlier. The main pre-tournament issue was where to place our four unrated players. In three cases we were able to obtain guidance from clubs or other players who know them. In the fourth
12 case, all we had to go on was ISC performances. These suggested a possible A division place for the player concerned. Much debate took place on the UK-Scrabble email list as to the rights andwrongs of thispossibility, but in the end a late cancellation from our 111 th player meant that the player in question made his debut in Division B. The issue of where to place unrated players is a difficult one for tournament organisers and the advice I received from the Tournament Organisers' Forum was to go with ISC performances where no other information is available, and that it is better to place new players too high rather than too low. On these grounds, I think we placed all four of our newcomers reasonably accurately. We were about 10 minutes late in starting because of the late arrival of a carload of players from Glasgow, but after Saturdaydinner we ran to schedule. The players in question tried to let us know they were running late by phoning the college number we had specified on the entry form but got a voice mail system. We will be taking this up with the college and willsort it out for next year. There was a slight glitch at Saturday dinner when we discovered that not enough places had been laid for our numbers - the wrong number of chairs had been placed at some tables - but this was rectified after a few minutes' consternation. Apart from that, things ran very smoothly. Feedback has been very good, as it usually is. All 10 divisions were 11-player round-robins. The results below all include a fictitious win by one point over A. Zother.
Durham A Durham B Adam Logan 11 1127 Jackie McLeod 8 290 Allan Simmons 8 100 Darryl Francis 7 245 Paul Allan 7 309 Joyce Cansfield 7 180 Neil Scott 7 -208 Ross Mackenzie 7 100
Durham C Durham D Mark Lane 8 435 Paul Richards 9 678 Chris Fenwick 8 -20 Raymond Tate 9 281 Graeme Thomas 7 476 Cathy Anderson 8 345 Peter Liggett 7 147 Adrienne Berger 7 141
Durham E Durham F Durham C
Lorna Rapley 9 352 Ian Coventry 8 689 Peter Ashurst 10 357 Kate McNulty 8 650 Jill Bright 8 257 Margaret Harkness 9 320 Len Moir 8 263 Alastair Ives 7 266 Russell Smith 8 30 Greg Kelly 8 214 Samantha Beckwith 7 193 Dot Taylor 7 550
Durham H Durham 1 Durham 1 Sheena Wilson 10 583 Mick Beasley 8 419 Yvonne Goodridge 9.5 496 Christine Gillespie 9 273 Dorothy Pearson 8 366 Barrie Hall 9 514 Julie Tate 8 170 Jessie Tollick 8 130 Remie Salazar 8 494 David Steel 7 263 Audrey Harvey 7 442 Linda Moir 7 368
While there were excellent performances in every division, Adam Logan's victory in Division A was exceptional. He was unbeaten in a division were the average rating of his opponents was 185. His spread was over 1100. It was a truly amazing performance from one of the world's great Scrabble players. Many of you will know this already, but it is
13 worth repeating that Adam has played in five of the seven WSCs to date and has never finished lower than 11th - this is phenomenal consistency by anyone's standards. Many thanks to: Graeme Thomas for providing and preparing his computer; Trish Johnson, our standby player, who didn't get to play but acted as adjudicator in the Dowrick Room; and most of all to Laura, who organised the event and played keyboard to my vocals all weekend. Prizes in each division were: 1 st - £75 plus a pair of Rockingham Crystal wine goblets 2nd - £40 3rd - £20 4th - £10 Brenfwocd 16th April 2005 (6 games)
Brent wood A Brentwood B
Bob Berry 5 387 Janet Bonham 6 480 Robert Richland 5 352 Nick Jenkins 4 336 Austin Shin 5 305 Graham Bonham 4 302
I Brentwood C Brentwood D
' Victoria Kingham 5 596 Lionel Howard 5 231 I Calum Edwards 5 276J Mavis Ernest 4 421 j^Priscilla Munday 4 247] Eileen Hunler 4 406
80 Scrabble players met at The Village Hall in Kelvedon near Brentwood on what was to be a cold but sunny day. They were split into four groups of twenty. Division A was a close run affair with Robert Richland starting with five straight wins going into the final sixth round.Robert played Austin Shin who was on four wins having lost his opening game and was clawing his way back into the leaders. Other contenders were Bob Berry, Kevin Synott and Gavin Holmes who was paired with Sandie Simonis. When the games were finished and scores handed in; Robert had lost to Austin by four points, Gavin had beaten Sandie by 11 points and Bob beat Kevin Synott by 104. It meant four players finishing with 5 wins. Bob was 35 in front of Robert, 82 in front ofAustin and 227 in front of Gavin. No such problems for Janet Bonham she was a clear winner of Division B winning all six games witha 480 spread and two wins ahead of her closest rivals one of which was her son Graham who was 3rd with 4 wins and a 302 spread. In Division C Victoria Kingham suffered an early loss but overcame leaders Margaret Seabrook and Priscilla Munday by 142 and 53 to win the Division with 5 wins and a spread of 596. Calum Edwards had also won five games but was 320 behind on spread. In Division D two of the seven players finshing 2nd to 8th on four wins were Renee Gilbert and Jessica Pratesi. Renee was the League's sole representative in this Division and finished in fifth position with a 195 spread. She lost to the eventual winner Lionel Howard in the last round by 17 points. In sixth place and with a 162 spread was 9 year-old Jessica who won the rating prize for this division. She lost to Lionel Howard by 53 in the penultimate round. Bob Berry DivisionA winner
14 23rd-24th April Report from Graeme Thomas. Some time ago I was asked to direct the Welsh Masters tournament. I agreed, and so, on St George'sDay, I found myself in Gorseinon running a tournament for the cream of Welsh Scrabble players. The format was a round robin with an odd number of players, with the spare player acting as runner. After the first round theleader was Shane O'Neill, who thrashed his opponent by 233 points. The second round saw some more high scoring, with John Grayson chalking up 315 points of spread, taking him into the lead. We then broke for lunch, provided by Jean Owen. If you ever get a chance to participate in a tournament run by the Welsh, take it, as the food is superb. A torpid groups of players waddled back to the playing room for more Scrabble. In the third round Bryn Packer managed the big win, so he gained the chance to take top spot. As was becoming a habit, the top player lost his next game. This allowed Gareth Williams to take the top spot after round 4. A break for tea allowed Gareth to contemplate his likely fate in the next round. Cakes, biscuits, and sandwiches accompanied the drinks. Gareth managed to avoid the fate of his predecessors and won round 5, maintaining the top place. Shane was in the runner-up spot. Round 6 saw Gareth losing for the first time. So didthe chasing pack, and so he stayed at the top. We hadn't had anything to eat for a couple of hours, so we broke again for the evening meal. The array of food was a mouth-watering sight. Gareth won again in round 7, so he stayed top, followed by John G and Bryn. The leaders all won again in round 8. The top places were: In the final round Gareth played John, while Bryn played Linda Hillard, and Neil Green playedShane.John needed to beat Gareth, while Bryn needed to beat Linda by more than 530 points more than the margin in the game between John and Gareth. That game was a cracker, and I believe that it will be submitted to The Last Word foranalysis. Garelh won it by seven points, making him the inaugural Welsh Masters Champion. Bryn beat Linda, giving him second place. I should also mention the last-round game between Gwynfor Owen and David Williams. Gwyn was looking at an unplayable ENRAGES, when David helpfully stuck a V in 6th position for a 9-timer. The resulting 167 points was the highest word of the tournament, and helped Gwyn to a 290 point victory.
Welsh Masters Gareth Williams 7 553 Bryn Packer 6 145 lohn Grayson 5 625 Shane O'Neill 4 300 Neil Green 4 63 Gwynfor Owen 4 -113 David Williams 3 -328 Thanks to Shane for organizing the tournament, Linda Hillard 2 -293 and to Jean for providing the catering. It all lohn Ball 1 -952 made for a splendid day out in West Wales.
15 23rd April (5 games) Report from Margaret Burdon We had no computer available for this event, so all paperwork on the day had to be done manually. This had been reduced by specifying a row of tables to be used by each division rather specific tables, by reverting to the 'draw for start' rule, and all names were reduced to player numbers at the start. The very late arrival of one player almost meant that a good deal of pre-tournament paperwork would have had to be re-written, but he came,and all thoseinvolved in the organisation breathed again Next year we may start the games 15 minutes later The ratings of the 40 players ranged from 191 down to 67 with 9 having no rating at all. The rest of the day continued without incident so we caught up our time and even finished ahead of schedule. A mathematical miscalculation meant that the final result sheet for Division C was incorrect - apologies to those playing in that division. The first three in each division were:
Newcastle A Newcastle B Newcastle C
Allan Simmons 4 347 Russell Smith 4 314 Owen Linfool 5 209 Craig Beevers 4 11 Melanie Beaumont 4 200 OliveSmith 4 321 Joyce Cansfield 3 257 Remie Salazar 4 197 Yvonne Goodridge 3 126
Ratings prizes were won by Raymond Tate in Division A, Richard Moody and Joy Hodge in Division B, and Michael Murray and Jean Ross in Division C. 1 29th April-3rd May
Worthing A Worthing B Maureen Chamberlain 16 738 Mary Oram 12 316 Joy Lloyd 14 570 Peter Darby 12 237 Janet Phillips 13 583 Ann Golding 12 91
Worthing C Worthing D Molly Lane 15 943 Betty Simmonds 15 965 CeliaOsborn 12 311 Amabel Winter 15 732 Leonora Hutton 11 358 Dorn Osborne 13 548
7th May (6 games)
Newport A Newport B Newport C Shane O'Neill 5 494 Gillian Ashworth 6 451 Brenda Wall 6 471 Bryn Packer 5 371 Paul Ashworth 5 377 Christine Pullen 5 87 Neil Green 5 371 Patricia Pay 5 200 Emma Brown 4 268
2nd and 3rd place in Division A was decided by "Sum of Opponent's Scores".
16 Ratings at
(GNU Grand Master (Exp) Expert 14-6-2005 ABSP membership number is shown before name At least 30 games and at least 1 since 14-6-2003 211 01249 Adam Logan 174 00478 Elie Dangoor(Exp) 202 Mark Nyman(CM) 174 00888 Chris Keeley 201 00745 Harshan 174 00814 Jared Robinson Lamabadusuriya(Exp) 174 Chris Vicary 198 00147 Helen Gipson(CM) 172 Catherine Costello 161 00836 Chris Fenwick 197 00015 Phil Applcby(CM) 172 00224 Gary Polhill(Exp) 161 Ed Garrett-Jones 195 00497 Andrew Davis(CM) 172 00162 Alec WebblExpl 161 Alan Georgeson 195 00007 Allan Simmom(GM) 171 01016 John Ashmoro 161 01129 Lee Hartley 195 01126 Brett Smitheram(GM) 171 00006 Darryl Francis(Exp) 161 John Howell 193 00751 Paul AllaniGM) 171 01295 Shane O'Neill 161 Timothy Lawrence 193 Shanker Merran 171 00101 Robert RichlandlExp) 161 00093 Ruth Maclnemey 192 00621 AndrewCook(GM) 171 00049 Bob Violett(Exp) 161 Christine McKenzie 192 00280 Andrew Perry(GM) 171 00292 Wilma Warwick 161 Dave Nunn 192 00001 Clive Spalc(GM) 170 00081 loyce CansficldlExpl 161 00116 Martin Thompson 191 00652 Nick Ball(Exp) 170 00059 Simon Gillam(Exp) 160 Chris Cummins 160 Ken Healon 191 00158 Ed Martin 170 Brendan McDonnell 160 00793 Joanne Hiley 190 00338 David Webb(GM) 170 00172 Daniel Simonis 160 01228 Mark Lane 189 00482 Neil Scolt(Exp) 169 01358 Paul Chadwick 160 00873 Matthew Pinner 188 00002 Pete Finley(GM) 169 00734 Nick Deller 160 00602 Malcolm Quirie 188 00072 John Grayson(GM) 169 00025 Richard Evans(Exp) 160 00480 Anne Ramsay 184 00846 Austin Shin 169 00079 Chris Finlay 160 Margaret Rogers 184 00005 Brian Sugar(GM) 169 00012 Ruth Morgan- Ricky Zinger 184 00041 Gareth WilliamstGM) ThomastExp) 160 01221 JOJo Delia 183 01017 Sam Kanlimathi 169 Karen Richards 159 159 00124 Ivy Dixon-Baird 183 00823 Wayne Kelly 168 00281 Steve Perry 159 00463 Helen Harding 183 00004 Philip Nelkon(GM) 167 00795 Chris Quartermaine 159 01268 Abraham Sosseh 183 00362 Gary Oliver 166 01191 Neil Green 159 00268 Donna Stanton 183 00021 Evan Simpson(GM) 166 Peter Igweke 159 00008 Graeme Thomas 183 01163 David Sutlon 166 00213 Neil Rowley 159 00966 David White 182 00058 Russell Byers(GM) 166 00017 Mike Willis(Exp) 158 00789 Alan Bailey 182 00764 Lewis Mackay(Exp) 165 00534 Caroline Alkins 158 01116 Paul Bassett 181 01355 Craig Beevers 165 00103 Danny Bekhor 158 00241 Bob Berry 181 00530 George Gruner(Exp) 165 00226 Alan Sinclair 158 00449 Alan Childs 181 01000 Stewart Kolden(Exp) 164 00199 Graham Harding 158 00055 Helen Grayson(Exp) 180 00014 Di Dennis(GM) 164 01170 Paloma Raychbart 158 00235 Martin Reed 180 00060 Terry Kirk(GM) 164 00229 Graham Wakcheld 158 00479 Andrew 179 Omar_Malleh |ah 163 Mark Hollingsworth Roughton(Exp) 178 00880 Femi Awowade 17 156 00978 Andy Becher 149 01369 Ben Tarlow 143 00120 Kate McNulty 156 00838 Theresa Cole 148 00051 Cathy Anderson 143 00707 Gwynfor Owen 156 00573 Gary Fox 148 Tolani Ayo-Awojobi 143 KayPowick 156 00299 Les Nyman 148 00228 Adrienne Berger 143 00161 Margaret Pritchett 156 01102 Paul(Sale) Richards 148 00242 Sheila Green 143 00215 lean Rappitt 156 01123 Chrystal Rose 148 Alastair Richards 143 00996 Kenneth Ross 155 00852 Maureen Chamberlain 148 00422 Carol Stanley 143 00876 Evelyn Wallace 155 Ralph Cibbs 147 00395 Pat Colling 143 00624 Lesley Watson 155 00121 DebbieHealon 147 00003 Laura Finley 143 Mandy Weatherill 155 01051 Elizabeth Hull 147 lain Harley 143 01279 Ben Wilson 155 00488 Marion Keatings 147 00086 Frankie Mairey 142 Tony Beam 155 00986 Robert Pells 147 00458 Eileen Meghen 142 00835 Maurice Brown 155 00719 Kate Surlees 147 01270 Len Moir 142 00717 Graham Buckingham 155 Karen Willis 147 Carole Rison 142 Wendy Lindridge 154 00089 Margaret Bright 147 00790 Margaret Staunton 142 Paul(Australia) 154 00084 Pauline Johnson 147 Fran Thompson Richards 154 00408 Nuala O'Rourke 147 00636 David Williams 142 00099 )osef Thompson 154 00631 Alison Sadler 146 01120 Anand Buddhdev 142 00587 Maria Thomson 153 Alan Buckley 146 00254 Ian Bum 142 Judy Wearn 153 00331 Oavina Galloway 146 00688 Lorraine Gordon 141 00252 Steve Balment 153 00609 Bob Lynn 146 Paul Howard 141 00066 Sue Bowman 153 00135 David Meadows 146 01097 Ronnie Reid 141 Peter Hunt 153 ThomasMensah 146 Alec Robertson 141 00335 Robert Johnston 153 00555 Raymond Tate 146 00870 lean Swallow 141 Keith King 152 00574 Simon Carter 146 Pam Titheradge 141 Helen Latchem 152 01243 Doj Graham 146 01057 Mike Whiteoak 141 00919 Peter Thomas 152 00553 Brian (ones 145 Oluyemi Adesiyan 141 01320 Rita Todd 152 01203 Greg Kelly 145 John Balloch 140 00922 Barbara Allen 152 00077 joy Lloyd 145 Martin Bloomberg 140 00080 Mary Allen 152 00267 Graham Maker 145 00920 Eleanor Dobson 140 00427 Peter Ashurst 152 00476 David Shenkin 145 00329 Heather Frankland 140 00822 Jill Bright 152 00657 Frances Ure 145 00507 Kathryn Henry 140 lames Crooks 152 00810 Linda Vickers 145 Martin Leverton 140 00406 Moya Dewar 152 Malcolm Wearn 145 Helen Mitchell 140 Patricia Fenn 151 Alan Catherall 145 00028 Lorna Rapley 140 00933 Ann Golding 151 00024 Angela Evans 145 00470 Norman Smith 140 01035 Andy Gray 151 00465 Christina French 144 lean Bridge 140 Alastair Ives 151 00997 Phil Kelly 144 01197 Christian Brown 140 00713 Trish Johnson 151 00100 David Lawton 144 00369 Brian Bull 140 00875 |im Lyes 151 00837 Peter Liggett 144 Moby Cook 140 00804 Mary Oram 151 00094 Rachelle Winer 144 00163 Yvonne Eade 140 00829 Kim Phipps 150 00096 Diana Beasley 144 Tim Hebbes 140 Joyce Squire 150 00544 Marjory Flight 144 01067 Gavin Holmes 140 01206 Sarah Wilks 150 00760 Sanmi Odelana 144 00177 Henry Walton 139 01211 Ian Coventry 150 00272 Ivan Swallow 144 00489 Tom Wilson 139 00967 Gerard Fox 150 Amy Willcox 143 00943 Carol Arthurton 139 00923 Teresa Hill 149 00914 Vincent Boyle 143 01145 Peter Darby 139 00523 Kate Leckie 149 Eddy Breed 143 00469 Tony Davis 139 Brenda Margereson 149 L02 Crouch 143 00755 Carmen Dolan 139 01292 Bryn Packer 149 00732 Wanda De Poitiers 143 Marta Dunsire 139 Lesley Trotter 149 00655 Mary Jones 143 00092 Priscilla Encarnacion 138 00037 Liz Allen 149 01164 Karl Kwiatkowski 143 01242 JohnGarcia 138 00738 Margaret Armstrong 149 01019 Lynne Murphy 143 Terry (ones 138 00330 Viv Beckmann 149 01368 Phil Robertshaw 143 00537 Carol Malkin 138 00511 Samantha Beckwith 18 138 01301 Richard Blakeway 132 Kate Barratt 127 00390 Betty Balding 138 01210 Graham Bonham 132 Garry Clark 127 00257 Syd Berger 138 Alasdair Dowling 132 01110 Pamela Kikumu 127 00682 Janet Bonham 138 Alan Guy 132 00370 Mauro Pratesi 127 Stella Brown 138 00547 Tess McCarthy 132 Jo Ramjane 127 Jean Carter 138 00016 Maureen Rayson 132 Becky Samuel 127 00748 Jean Crowder 138 00632 Carol(Norwich) Smith 132 Evan Terrell 127 Jean Dymock 138 00589 Anne Steward 131 00924 Linda Barratt 127 00475 Jill Fisher 138 Annette Tinning 131 00668 Ceridwen Davies 127 00402 Sally Fiszman 137 00157 Eileen(LSL) Anderson 131 00868 ChristineGillespie 127 00381 Michael Harley 137 00399 Louise Brundell 131 00032 Ron Hendra 127 01007 Margaret Irons 137 Chris Downer 131 00263 Sheila Jolliffe 127 00858 May Macdonald 137 01125 Andrew Hart 131 00443 Ann Pitblado 127 Julie Nelkon 137 Sheila Hinett 131 00690 Maureen Reynolds 127 00938 Helen Polhill 137 00035 Lois McLeod 131 01003 Sheena Wilson 127 MaryShaw 137 00291 Sylvia Swaney 131 00356 Pamela Windsor 127 00995 Carol Sienkiewicz 137 Brian Watson 130 00419 Michael Baxendale 127 00152 Marjorie Smith 136 00635 Philip Aldous 130 Janet Braund 127 00036 Dorothy Taylor 136 Joe Caruana 130 Rita Brookes 127 00246 Wendy Tiley 136 01005 Verity Cross 130 00238 Margaret Burdon 127 Sheila Wall 136 00223 June Edwards 130 Pam Fairless 126 00512 Etta Alexander 136 01282 Barbara Goodban 130 00715 Barbara Hill 126 Harry Beckett 136 00656 Hinv Morgan 130 00401 Sharon Landau 126 01158 Wasinee Beech 136 00029 Marlene Skinner 130 00886 Ruth Marsden 126 00915 Shirley Chidwick 136 01287 Stuart Solomons 130 Roger Ordish 126 00539 Lynn Giles 135 00856 Minu Anderson 130 00802 Patricia Pay 126 00442 Agnes Gunn 135 01412 Melanie Beaumont 130 Malcolm Roberts 126 00737 Margaret Harkness 135 00840 Rhoda Gray 130 Angela Spilsbury 126 00975 Jill Harrison 135 01025 Marion Kirk 130 00136 Jan Turner 126 00572 Val Hoskings 135 00904 George Newman 129 01179 Janet Adams 126 Gerry Pearce 135 00729 Kalhy Swan 129 00899 Jake Berliner 126 00911 Marie Perry 134 00557 Janice Bease 129 00166 Beryl Brown 126 Janet Southworth 134 01092 Healher Burnet 129 Ann Davidson 126 00085 Derrick Thorne 134 01192 Pat Heft'ernan 129 Barbara Oein 125 Nicholas Baker 134 Helen Jones 129 00896 Chris Dossett 125 00735 Hilary Birdsall 134 Nola Marrow 129 00341 Mike Holland 125 Pat Broderick 134 00932 Jill Parker 129 Medina Hull 125 01217 Carolyn Emery 134 Barbara Shammas 129 01066 Barbara Morris 125 00298 Mavis Harding 133 Eryl Barker 129 Susan Skirving 125 00347 Kathleen Higgins 133 Aaron Bell 129 00775 Pat Wheeler 125 00798 Peter Lindeck 133 01182 David Carrod 129 Margaret Yeadon 125 01269 Richard Moody 133 00565 Ann Coleman 128 Linda Bird 125 00204 Michael Partner 133 00992 Geoff Cooper 128 00603 Linda Bradford 125 Miri Purse 133 00964 Phyllis Fernandez 128 00767 Kathy Bullen 125 00606 Teena Walls 133 Maureen Greening- 128 00107 Joan Caws 125 00248 )ean(Cardifi) Williams Steer 128 Val Couzens 125 01175 Rosalind Wilson 133 Paul Heasman 128 00641 Norma Galley 124 00977 Gail Allen 133 00608 Sandra Hoffland 128 00626 Martha Mitchell 124 Alistair Baker 133 01115 Nick Jenkins 128 00616 Gertie Roberts 124 Noel Barnes 133 Pinaach Kolte 128 01294 Christine Strawbridge 124 00543 Winnie Buik 133 01131 Russell Smith 128 00864 Margaret White 124 01265 Joy Fox 133 Carole Thomas 128 Margaret Williams 124 00320 Fay Madeley 132 Sheila(Perth) Anderson 128 01416 Richard Woodward 124 00625 John Mitchell 132 00110 Liz Barber 128 00637 Val Wright 124 00236 Hazel Parker 19 124 David Reading 119 Sonia Temple 114 00327 Jessie Brown 124 Cill(Taunton) 119 01053 Stephen VVintle 114 John Brown Thompson 119 Rosemary Wood 114 Bridget Busk 123 00518 Eileen Basham 118 Elizabeth Allen 114 Gwyneth Cox 123 01020 Derek Bower 118 Shirley Angell 114 01359 Philippa Crosland- 123 01312 Marjorie Gillott 118 Linda Beard Taylor 123 01088 Malcolm(Lulon) 118 Kate Boulinot 114 01340 Paula Dochcrty Graham 118 Mary Brown 114 Jill Dyer 123 01331 Carol Grant 118 00106 Ian Caws 114 Vera Flood 123 00776 Peter Hall 118 00948 Eileen Foster 114 Kathy Gibbons 123 00663 Linda Hillard 118 01281 Simon Francis 114 Roma Hollingworth 123 lacquie Johnstone 118 00718 Pat Friend 114 01146 Leonora Hutton 123 Angie (ones 118 01238 Juliet Green 114 01054 Barbara Lukey 123 00736 Molly Lane 118 01199 Richard Hitchcock 114 Olivia Pattern 123 Marc Meakin 118 00752 Peter Kelly 114 Joanna Skirving 123 00960 Mary Siggers 118 00806 Miriam Moss 114 Julie Tate 123 00452 Peter Sime 118 Brenda Northcott 114 01169 Wonne Templeton 123 00826 Elizabeth Terry 118 00451 Vera Sime 114 00993 Cyndy Walker-Firth 123 01273 Peter Winnick 118 01231 David Steel 113 Eileen(Reading) 122 Sue Ball 118 00052 Martin Summers Anderson 122 00982 Ron Bucknell 118 01189 Martin Taylor 113 00633 Jean Bakewell 122 Heather Cruickshank 118 Jo Tebbult 113 00709 Betty Benton 122 Eileen Douglas 118 Isla Wilkic 113 01310 Jim Blackler 122 Marie English 118 00645 June Wilson 113 Jean Buckley 122 01050 Yvonne McKeon 117 00849 John Ball 113 Joan Ellis 122 00385 Ken Quarshie 117 Martin Byrne 113 Margaret Herbert 121 Maureen Austin 117 01207 Hannah Corbett 113 00638 Joan Lawrence 121 |ill Burgess 117 00753 Janet Hamilton 113 June Lowrie 121 Jennifer Clifford 117 David Hoyle 113 Norman Partridge 121 Georgina Cook 117 01183 Priscilla Munday 113 01339 Carole Wheatley 121 01225 Lena Glass 117 01089 Vivienne Newman 113 00436 Irene Woolley 121 00921 Shirley Heal 117 Joan Price 112 Don Beavis 121 Sheila letlery 117 00477 Malcolm Shaw 112 Helen Cowie 121 01136 Ted Lewis 117 01343 Doris Street 112 01113 Christabel Jackson 121 00142 Jane Lowndes 116 01373 Stany Arnold 112 00833 Judy Monger 121 00724 Stuart May 116 00722 June Clark 112 01365 Christina Pace 121 Stan Skinner 116 June Faulkner 112 Kathleen Ward 120 Bobbie Bennett 116 00414 Jill Jones 112 01271 Claudia Wiseman 120 01049 Ken Bird 116 Rfiian Lewis 111 00771 Sylvia Baldock 120 00305 Doreen Blake 116 00211 Philippa Morris 111 Margaret Bigg 120 Joyce Gershon 116 01388 Helen Rees 111 00725 Paul Cartman 120 00634 Edith Smith 116 00169 Sue Thompson 111 00527 Dorothy Churcher 120 Maureen Underdown 115 Anne Backley 111 00513 Florence Davies 120 01149 Jim Wilkie 115 Lorna Franks 111 00640 Daphne Fletcher 119 00156 Dorothy Dean 115 David French 111 MarjorieHislop 119 Joseph Doku 115 Marjorie Gardner 111 01181 Sue lion 119 00405 Peter Emesl 115 00759 John Harrison 111 00934 Joyce Jarvis 119 Ann Fiddler 115 01257 Mary Hopwood 111 Janet Milford 119 00570 Jean Gallacher 115 01196 Maurice McParland 111 DennisNelson 119 Doug Hill 115 00952 Jean Owen 111 01159 Vivienne Plewes 119 Angela Mort 115 00782 Richard Pajak 111 Isobel Smith 119 00184 Celia Osborn 115 Gwen Roberts 111 00190 Edith Tempest 119 Willie Scott 114 01142 Doreen Acton 111 Judy Young 119 Rose Spencer 114 Nora Bain 110 01063 Irene Atkinson 20 no Beryl Browner 105 Marjorie Struggles 100 Geoff Waters 110 00894 Owen Clarke 104 01262 Ginny Dixon 99 01038 Jacquie Aldous no Marlcnc Diskin 104 Rona Falconer 99 Maureen Barlow no Wilf Gibbons 104 Marina Mehta 99 01081 Anna Biakey no Barbara Kent 104 Margaret Mills 99 Douglas Emmoll no Paul Mooreficld 103 00985 Carmen Borg 99 Joan Everill no Joy Reason 103 Bcverlcy Burgess 99 Esmc Norris no 01100 Stuart Ross 103 00384 Mabel Choularton 99 01237 Dorn Osborne no 00972 Ocnisc Saxlon 103 00526 Keith Churcher 99 Betty Simmonds no 00851 Sheila Smilh 103 00827 Ann Clark 99 00917 Nicola Staunlon no Monica Stockwell 103 Jenny Jaques 99 Alice Tozeland no Sheila Szzvanowski 103 01064 June Johnstone 99 Jacqui While 109 00953 Peler Bailey 103 01119 Anne Partridge 99 00935 Ian Whytc 109 00474 Eileen Bradshavv 103 Christine Pullen 99 Elisabeth Williams 109 Irene Calherall 103 00692 Margaret Seabrook 98 Alex Beckmann 109 OO53J Barbara Grant 103 00485 Ann Toft 98 Len Choutes 109 01077 Marian Hamcr 103 Jack VValey-Cohen 98 00683 Mavis Ernest 109 00486 Marjorie Lcflcy 103 00671 Chris Wide 98 Jean Folhergill 109 Robin McDougall 102 00951 Bill Anderson 98 loyce Frost 109 00970 SheilaMiller 102 01263 Barbara Barker 98 01134 Dorolhy Kcmlicz 109 Helen Sandier 102 Marie Oavie 98 Patrice McCarry 109 Shirley Scoberg 102 01034 Elsie Edwards 98 Sandy McLeod 109 01071 Barbara Solomon 102 00791 Rosemary Jordan 98 Connie Riach 109 Sheila Tull 102 David Paine 98 Anne Richards 109 00844 )an Vokcs-Taylor 102 (osie Rogers 98 00564 lean Sievcns 109 lane Weston 102 Amy Vye 98 00376 Claire Vtolott 108 00761 Mary Adams 101 Madclaine Baker 97 Cecilia Cotton 108 00579 Sheila Boolh-Millard 101 01248 Margaret Colemnn 97 Alan Everitt 108 00928 Iris Cornish 101 Tricia Cooper 97 01401 Gerry Gleeson 108 Eve Dwyer 101 Margaret Greenycr 97 00927 Audrey Medhurst 108 01305 Jason Goddard 101 01261 Jo Holland 97 Mollie Moran 108 01215 Mary Morgan 101 Olive Holroyd 97 00946 Sheila Reeve 108 00954 Dorolliy Pearson 101 Hilda Hudspeth 97 01171 Susan Thome 108 Joan Recs 101 00684 Mary Keevy 97 00818 Rose Wall 107 00030 Ruby Flood 101 00132 Lorna Llewellyn 97 Su Williams 107 01311 Isabellc McLean 101 Margaret Lowrie 97 00900 Amabel Winter 107 Dorecn Morris 101 Margaret Macdonald 97 Henry Woodward 107 Mary Orr 101 Mark Murray 96 00410 Myra Copleston 107 00357 lean Shaw 101 01297 Graham Pace 96 Sieve Oavic 107 00947 Jessie Tollick 101 00083 Pat Rocktey 96 01298 Helga Farrow 106 Sue Bullock 101 Beryl Shoesmilh 96 Fay Goble 106 00877 Shirley Cave 100 Helen Aley 96 Lionel Howard 106 00415 Marjorie Garrett 100 Pat Burgess 96 Rose Law-son 106 01112 Peter Johnson 100 RegDendy 96 Alice Nadin 106 June Lindridge 100 Paul Harding 96 01280 Moreen Shillitoc 106 01009 Jenny Sakamoto 100 00374 Joy Hodge 96 Hazel Smith 106 01341 Pamela Sparkes 100 00799 Cindy Hollyer 96 01314 Evelyn Wansbrougl 105 01259 Shcila(Romford) 100 Jean Mainwaring 95 Peter Bcales Anderson 100 Magda Norris 95 00758 Kathy Carson 105 Margaret Boyd 100 Renee Paine 95 Jan Gibson 105 Barbara Etheridge 100 00578 Susan Richardson 95 01218 Terry Maslcrson 105 01027 Margarcl Firmston 100 01118 Romie Salazar 95 01285 Susan Paton 105 01080 Margaret Mitchell 100 Winifred Smilh 95 01315 Tanya Robson 105 Fuad Shammas 100 01099 Heather Stevens 95 01174 Peter Trembath 21 95 Chrislino Watkins 88 Baldip Kaur 80 Brenda Burdctt 95 01258 Anne Wilkins 88 Monica Marden 80 Maggie fteming 94 Judy Scales 88 Kitty Reid 80 01324 Margaret Jaggs 9-» Pnie Buckingham 88 Doreen Searles 80 01390 Maria Rafraelli 94 00726 Christine Girtman 88 00253 Peter Shuttlewood 80 Sheila Stanton 94 Lcs Coslin 87 Dorothy Dlack 80 Bobby Wright 94 01148 Renee Gilbert 87 01104 Hazel Brannan 79 00541 Pamela Brown 94 01073 Jenny Harris 87 Bernard Bruno 79 Dorothy Henry 94 Joan Johns 87 Josephine Croasdalc 79 01026 Peggy Lavender 94 01304 Linda Moir 87 Joan Garlick 78 01143 Lelty Burrcll 94 01030 DerekNeaih 87 01332 Sheila Wyatt 78 lacqueline King 94 00976 Adrian Noller 86 01275 Jo Calvcrt-Mindcll 78 01377 Maria Moselcy 94 Beryl Trace 85 0090B Ted Anderson 78 Peter Munt 93 Chris Chapman 85 Zoe Marlowe 77 Mary Harris 93 Patricia Holmes 85 Olive Matthew 77 Helen Jankowski 93 01299 Rosemaric Howis 85 00826 Moira Mclcalf 77 Vanw Lloyd 93 Sheila Johnston 85 01267 Margot Montgomery 77 Muriel Mortimer 93 01219 Jean Mastcrson 85 01141 Michael Murray 76 Ena Harding 93 00119 Mary Rail's 85 Barbara Pinto 76 Teresa Haycock 93 01076 Marianne Ward 85 Nicholas Robertson 76 Margaret Regan 92 01039 Dorothy Edwards 85 Roy Smith 76 George Sinclair 92 01052 BarbaraHaggett 85 Fergus Williams 76 Pat Sinclair 92 01185 Lyndon Johnson 84 Chris Baker 76 Jane Thomas 92 01176 Cordon Lamb 84 00517 Peter Basham 75 Elizabeth Mustard 92 Anne Lawton 84 Florence Connell 75 01135 Sylvia Oates 92 00859 |ohn Macdonald 84 Mary Craddock 75 00031 Norah Thompson 92 01114 Barbara McLaren 84 01306 Margaret Emmolt 74 Norma Clunas 92 Peggy Moore 84 Audrey Jackson 74 01121 Arm Gregson 92 Winifred Slill 84 00153 Mary Lindsay 74 01247 Edna Lindeck 92 Sonja Wyld 84 June Lovclt 74 01069 Olive Smith 91 01235 Rita Barton 84 01188 Evelyn Mankclow 74 01086 Margaret Webb 91 01168 Brian Beaumont 84 01068 Lionel Millmore 74 Nancy Yorkston 91 00563 Fred Burford 84 01251 Jill Russell 73 lessie Chisholm 91 01008 Yvonne Coodridge 84 Kalpana Thakker 71 Margaret Scott 91 00783 Barrie Hall 64 Helen Thompson 71 01205 Patrick Teague 91 00778 Cvvcn Linfoot 63 00290 May Gray 71 01252 Ruth Turner 91 01277 Vivian Mifsud 83 Doris Mackay 70 01290 Mary Kennedy 91 01137 Bcrozc Mody 83 Joan Murphy 70 Carl Szzvanowski 91 Richard Tempest 82 Frank Goodier 70 Doreen Throsscll 90 00359 Vera Allen 62 01229 Eileen Hunter 69 Marcia Davies 90 Ruth Binding 82 Monica Urquhart 69 01334 Catherine McMillan 90 01289 Kerry Constant 82 Rena Waddcll 69 01386 Betty Meazcy 90 01001 lean Greenland 82 01288 Millie Ward 69 Alec West 90 00941 Audrey Harvey 82 Reg Wiseman 68 Alan fothergill 90 Jean Jacobs 81 Joyce Caruth 67 00998 Jean Hendrick 90 Lcs Scarte 81 01323 Sylvia Colledgc 65 Helen Tegg 89 MikeAdsetts 81 Winnie Haston 64 01284 Margaret Hallin 89 Agnes Gray 81 Eileen Johnson 64 Maureen Knox 89 Iris Grover 81 Moira Mackintosh 59 Barbara Yeaman 89 Joan Hughes 61 01234 Jean Ross 56 00949 Barbara Horlock 89 Mandy Isaac 81 01399 Carol Russell 89 00193 Christine Nicholson 61 01253 Philip Turner 88 Doreen Colcman 80 01316 Veronica Baker 88 01200 Caroline Elliott 80 Alice Bennell 22 David Sutton le ablutions on page 48)f|l Throughout Edgeways, words not in OSWI are marked by an asterisk • The Five-Minute Anagram Challenge Below are four sets of anagrams, presented in ascending order of difficulty based partly on the likely familiarity of the words and partly on the nature of their 'pattern1. Each anagram has a unique solution. It is suggested that full marks in set A corresponds to an ABSP rating of around 125; in set B to 150; in set C to 1 75; and in set D to 200, though of course people differ in their vocabularies and anagramming skills so any such categorisation can only be loose and intuitive. Give yourself five minutes for the chosen set. Of course, by all means try the harder sets, but don't be discouraged if the going gets tough! A. HATPLEEN MONDAIDS AMAGRID STUDWAS SEACUBE THANGUY HITZENS SPURULS LYNSTER PAINSITS B. HATTLES CRINKEST FONDLET NETMODS ROSEEYE WHITFAL HAYLEES ANTILUMP SUMMUSE CUTFLAY C. UWCHUSE WOWHILT REDSWIM PEWFING SUBPINY PANTOES GINGQOS TAGBUSH DACKERY ONTRAYS D. HOOPLINE WOGTIMES MYTHPEN UPSLEEP PIGRACES PIRATIZE YESNESS SUBDECK POXYHEN HEXONIC Meet My Twin Many common seven-letter words have exactly one somewhat less common anagram. Being aware of such alternatives can help you in those all-too-frequent situations where findinga bonus is one thing, but finding a bonus that fitsis quite another. Practise by finding the common anagrams of these less common sevens... EDUCTOR MUSCONE UNCOPES BUNCOED BESCOUR OCELOTS CROUPED BARDING PROTORE PROETTE WONNERS RE BOZOS BELGARD BAUSOND GAMBREL QUINATE QUORATE DOLMANS TYLOSIN SIMARRE 23 Author!Author! The seafaring novels of Patrick O'Brian, chronicling the (■'<■ '■ r'ij- adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend Stephen Maturin in the Napoleonic wars, have taken a long time to come to public awareness but are now being acclaimed as the greatest historical novels ever written. They are certainly a wonderful read, and O'Brian's , passion for exactitude, - "!:'.. Patrick O'Brian coupled with his remarkably eclectic knowledge, means that from the Scrabble point of view it would be an unusual player indeed who didnot come away from the series several hundred words the wiser. Here is a small sample to whet your appetite: ,, BECKET a loop of rope with a knot on one endand an eye at the other. _ BILANDER a two-masted merchant vessel, mm used for coastal work. BITTS a strong pair of posts close to the - ■'■:1fli!.»j'is*.il>1iii:.::' ■''•'' ':. masts for securing bits of running rigging. BURGOO a kind of coarse porridge. CALENTURE a tropical disease characterised by a delirium in which thevictim believes the-*^^*"*8^ sea to be green fields and wants to leap overboard. CATLIN, CATLING a long straight surgeon's knife used to perform amputations. CATHEAD a projection near the bow of a ship to which an anchor is secured. The custom was to decorate these with carvings of lion heads. ■ ■:-. Curio Corner In earlier forms of English the prefix A could be used with the suffix -INC to emphasise an ongoing state. This usage can still be heard in folk songs e.g. 'Three maidens a-milking did go'. Most of these forms, if used at all today, are hyphenated, but there are four examples that survive in OSWI, and so allow a somewhat surprising A- hookon the normal participle. These are AGOING, AMISSING, AWANTING and ABUILDING. These words are not normal participles, so beware of attempting back-formations: there is of course a word AMISS, which can have a plural AMISSES, but don't try AWENT', AGOES* (but AGONE is OK), AMISSED*, AWANT*, AWANTS', AWANTED', ABUILDS*, ABUILDED* or ABUILT*. Note also ABORNING: in the process of being born. This differs, however, in that there is no word BORNING*. CAUDLE warm drink given to the sick, consisting of thin grueld mixed with ale. spiced and sweetened. CROIIK a triangular sail. (Contracted from CROSSJACK). «il> DRABLER, DRABBLER a piece of canvas fastened by lacing to the bonnet of a sail, to give it a greater depth, or more drop. FLEMISH to coil a rope so that it lies flat for stowing. HUSSIF a small case for sewing gear, such as needles. (From 'housewife'). LANGRAGE a type of shot consisting of canister |iv .„ containing irregular pieces of iron, formerly used to I- damage sails and rigging. Also LANGREL, LANGRIDGE. LIBECCIO inItalian, the south-west wind. LOBLOLLY a kind of thick gruel. MUMCHANCE silent, struck dumb. Also (noun)a silent game with cards #■■. or dice. $;;■■!!;;■<..., NEGUS a hot drink of port and lemon juice, %i ^ ::> usually spiced and sweetened. — REPIQUE at piquet, a score of 30 points made from the cards held by a player before play begins STINGO strong beer or ale. SWIFTER (noun) a rope used to tighten or keep a thing in place: so SWIFTERS is an -S hook worth remembering. TIMENOGUY (pron. 'TIMONOGGY'). A taut rope running between different parts of a ship to preventa sheet from fouling. TRISMUS lockjaw. TROCAR, TROCHAR a surgeon's stylet, usually with a triangular point, used e.g. for withdrawing fluid, as in dropsy. ADVERTISEMENT Would you like to spend o week or two in congenial company playing yourfavouritegome? Then why not join us on a holiday to Madeira from 9- 16th January 2006. Competitive (non-rated) Scrabble is played in the evenings; your days will be free for sight-seeing, sunbathing, swimming or even more Scrabble. Non-Scrabblers are also welcome. Further details are availablefrom: Kathy Rush, 10 The Quay, Frodsham WA6 7JG TeU 01928733565 Email: [email protected] 25 Anagrid: HORIZONTAL CLUES: VERTICAL CLUES: 1. RENSIBLY a. VAGINIST 2. RANAE - NIGGIE b. SNAVAR - FARAE 3. MIRVOGON - DAGAE c. ENOLU - JABLEALS 4. LUNNII - CANOISM d. NITHOLE - UNMILE 5. STAINILY - FOLOA e. INSAM - CTELIOID 6. ESSETT - ROSSTAIN f. INEBRIST - ERCOLS 7. SWAH g- HAAH 8. TISCALI h. WINGLAY 9. ISHH i. SRAI 10. NALGICAL - GRUNEL j- SANGAN - OLDCHRIS 11. ORFUL - EGOROLLI k. NOODLIES - SURAE 12. EMTABLE - ARALIC 1. ONARSE - RECINKS 13. SEBIA - KRIBNESS m. MISDIGSO - ERGOI 14. NAFROC - EDERE n. SNIFE - LEANET 15. TELESINS o. BRUMLEST 26 Words In The Wild In Robert Burns's famous poem 'To A Mouse' there is a reference to 'a daimen icker in a thrave'. Like much of Burns this is likely on first reading to seem complete gibberish to anyone born south ofthe Border, but actually we have here three perfectly good Scrabble words. DAIMEN means single, occa sional. This is an adjective, so no -S hook. An ICKER (pi. ICKERS) is an ear of corn. And THRAVE (also THREAVE) is a collective noun for a number of sheaves of corn, two stooks of twelves sheaves each. So, the line decodes as 'a single ear of com in a lot of sheaves'. There. You really don't need to be frightenedof these poets, even Scots ones. Multipack Monsters There are many variants of the word URALI, meaning the plant that yields the paralytic drug CURARE. These are worth knowing as dumps for some rather unattractive racks of the kind that you might otherwise be tempted to throw back. The full list is: OORALI URALI WOORARI OURALI URARI WOORALI OURARI WOURALI WOORARA The name of the poison itself, CURARE, has the following variants: CURARE URARE CURARA CURARI Note also two rather similar words, OORIAL and URIAL, which are names for a wild sheep of thePunjab. It doesn't actually matter if you confuse OORIAL with OORALI and URIAL with URALI, unless of course you happen to be an anaesthetist. Spot ThePhoney A lot of adjectives canbe formed with the suffix -LIKE. Seven of the following should look to you definitely WRONCLIKE. Or do I mean WRONCLIKE*? ANTLIKE BEELIKE FLYLIKE WASPLIKE OAKLIKE FIRLIKE PINELIKE DRUMLIKE HARPLIKE FLUTELIKE HORNLIKE BEAKLIKE NAILLIKE HEADLIKENOSELIKE EYELIKE KINGLIKE QUEENLIKE SACKLIKE BAGLIKE 27 YouCan Put An S On That?! Continuing our series on words that we don't normally think of as being pluralisable, but which can nonetheless take an -S. Here are some beginning with P - S: PARTIAL PERT PLUMPER POPULAR PORTABLE POTENT PRELATES PROFOUND PRONE PRY RANDOM RARE REAL RIBALD RIPER RIPE RODE ROSIER ROTTEN ROTUND RUDE RURAL SAID SALTIER SAME SANG SENILE SENSIBLE SENT SHINES Front Hook Fun A little poser from Ross. The following ten words all take one or more front hooks. The words have been specially selected so that one and only one takes an A- hook, one and only one takes a B- hook, and so forth all the way to Z without exception. Your task is to find the twenty-six words in question, matching the letters to thestem. _AIDS .ENATION _EROSES _LEAL _OLENT _OWLER _RITE _UPAS _VERT _YAFFED ADVERTISEMENT blue books The neatest way to keep a record of your games 100x A5 scoresheets per book (50 leaves printed both sides onlOOgsm paper) Wirobound with stiff blue card cover. Book folds back on itself making it ideal for restricted playing areas Each scoresheet has: • spaces for tournament and opponent details • an alphabetic tile tracking grid (now in a slightly bigger and bolder font, but printed greyso that your crossings-through will stand out) • columns for words played, move scores and cumulative scores. Books will be available at Lincoln (My), the Nomads (August) or from: Price: £2.50 per book Alec Webb, 17 St Margarets Road, Lowostoft, Suffolk NR32 4HS p. & p. perbook: £0.50p email: [email protected] 28 L Annotated Game: Shane O'Neill v Nick Deller, ISCA event 200S In Division B of the 2005 Easter Matchplay, Nick Deller and Shane O'Neill met twice, with Shane winning on both occasions. However it was a case of Shane winning the battle, but Nick winning the war; after his magnificent 15-game winning streak to start the event, Nick was deservedly crowned Division B Champion. Nick and Shane also met in Game 4 of the ISCA event, the traditional precursor to the Easter Matchplay, and it's the ISCA game that's annotated here. Shane 1: AEINOOS Lotsto discuss on this opening rack... The choice is between playing and changing, and having made that choice, the question is what to play or change. Shane considered changing AINOO, keeping ES, but eventually played AEON in a position that set up the AEON-S hook to maximum advantage. My immediate reaction on seeing the rack was to play OO, keeping the five tiles from the RETAINS set. However is it worthwhile scoring a mere 4 points whilst retaining a slight vowel-consonant imbalance? On reflection a change of AOO (keeping SINE) or IOO (keeping SANE) look better. Or possibly even a change of OO, on the grounds that you'll give away more than 4 points by exposing a DLS two ways! A lengthy computer simulation indicated a change of AOO to be best, with a change of OO second a point behind,with a play of OO next best 2.5 further points back, closely followed by a change of IOO. Keeping just ES was a further 4 points behind, with AEON at hi some 14 points adrift of changing AOO. Another simulation would no doubt produce slightly different results, butthe bottom line is that this is a rack on which to change, rather than play. AEON h8a 8 8 Nicki: FULLS? (-8) A nice start for Nick. He chooses to play FILLIpS at I2d for the maximum score of76. There are three other words that score 76 - canyou see them? (See page 39) FILLIpS I2d 76 76 Shane 2: I O S A E G H (-68) Shane spots the only bonus on the rack. He could have scored an extra point by playing it at c9a, but rightly avoids placing the O next to the DLS at d8, which could lead to a high- scoring response from Nick on the a8 triple-word. HOAGIES d8a 71 79 29 Nick 2: D E NN W Y ? (-3) Despite Shane's bonus response, Nick must be feeling good after picking the second blank. No bonus this move, but surely it's only a matter oftime. In terms of balancing the rack for a bonus, getting rid of the Y and a duplicate N seems like the sensible course of action. Nick settles for NY at el Oa for 28; I'd have been inclined to play off the W too with WYN at mid for 30. Computer analysis suggests that the best move is thehighest-scoring play, DEWY at clOa for 42, despite the NN leave. NY elOa 28 104 Shane 3: CEMNOQV (-25) It's hardly a great pick-up, but at least Shane can take advantage of the a8 triple-word, his play of VENOM maximizing the score. An alternative is COVEN for 2 points less, leaving the slightly more helpful M to go with the Q. VENOM a8a 44 123 Nick 3: D E N W ? C X (-19) WEXING at i3a for 42, leaving D?, looks pretty good - unless you know DEWaXING, which scores 100 at g3a. WEXINGi3a 42 146 Shane 4: CQ EEFCN (-23) Excellent play by Shane, who considered changing but decided on GEN in part to prevent Nick taking advantage of the ell hotspot. The leave of CEFQ might look a bit daunting, but it can be a positive to have a couple of high-scoring consonants on the rack, especially the versatile F, in that Shane is likely to be able to score wellnext move even if he can't use the Q profitably. The best change (keeping EN) simulates over 10 points worse than GEN. GEN e11a 28 151 Nick 4: D! ADEOR (-5) Finally Nick gets his bonus. bOARDED or hOARDED in the same spot score2 points more, by placing the D on the DLS. RADiOED d4a 76 222 Shane 5: CEFQIRZ (-71) The Z couldn't have arrived at a more convenient moment! Under normal circumstances I might have preferred REZ, on the grounds that the expected response from Nick onto the hi TWS will score 9 points less. However holding Ql it's certainly better to dangle the F over the TWS in the hope that Nick's best play will leave QI/IF next move. FEZ h2a 74 225 Nick 5: ABEPSTU (-3) A brilliant spot by Nick, although he admitted "on another day I would have arranged this on my rack, laughed and said Nah - a total guess". UPBEATS g12a 80 302 30 Shane 6: CIRQAEN (-77) As Shane said in his comments on the game, "Nick's UPBEATS really hurt - his third bonus in five moves". But at least Shane has the ammunition to come back. Ql reduces the deficit to 29, and CANER is a very promising leave. The only real problem for Shane is that openings for bonus plays are starting to dry up. Ql g1a 48 273 Nick 6: BHJPRSU ( + 29) a b c d e f g Score: Nick 302 Shane 273 |B H J P R S Nick Nick's move of JAP is understandable, retaining his only vowel and leaving BRUSH on his rack. However it does provide an E hook OAP-E). Moreover, with three S's and both blanks gone this is an ideal opportunity to create a set-up play. Moves such as JAUP or BAJU at k11 d provide an additional floater, but more importantly they set up 50+ plays on row 15, particularly as Nick has the H for SH- beginnings from k15a. The fact that they use Nick's only vowel isn't particularly problematic, in that 20 of the unseen 41 tiles are vowels; a three-consonant pick-up would be extremely unlucky. JAP e3d 24 326 Shane 7: ACENR LIT (-53) A good spot by Shane, although the anagram of ENACTURE in the same spot would have been a little safer (see page 39). Slightly better plays are the 7-letter words UNCRATE at b13a for 78, and CENTAUR at d6a for 76, using the JAP-E hook. ENACTURE bid 74 347 Nick 7: BHRSU MO (-21) I think most players would have done as Nick did, and pounced on the ai TWS without further ado, but this is one of those classic situations where, if someone told you there was a playable 7-letter word on this unlikely-looking rack, you might just spot it (see page 39). Could this turn out to be a critical moment in the game? HUB aid 45 371 31 Shane 8: DEIIOVW (-24) There is one move that stands out, and it involves knowing that MONC takes on O hook. VIDEO/MONCO for 34 is much the best. Shane's choice of DIVI might well be next best. OWED is a nice combination to keep. DIVI f4d 20 367 Nick 8: MORSDOR (+4) The highest-scoring play without using theS is MORRO at a12a for 28, again using the MONGO hook. I'd still be looking to create a set-up for the S, so MOOR at k13a might be tempting.But on balance I think theobjective for Nick should be consolidation, and PROM looks to fit the bill, scoring reasonably well and keeping a balanced DORS. PROM h12d 24 395 Shane 9: DEOWKTU (-28) There are no obvious best moves. Given his deficit, I'd go along with Shane's choice of KUE. His objective must be to keep the scores tight, and hope to snatch the win in the endgame. KUE k11a 30 397 Nick 9: DORS RTV (- 2) abcdefgh j k I m n o Score: Nick 395 Shane 397 Unseen: AAAAEEIIIOO CDLLRTTTW Nick Nick has several things to consider. The game is up for grabs; he'll retake the lead after his next move, but what should be his tactics? To maximise his score, or restrict possibilities for Shane? He decides on the latter, blocking off the O and M floaters in PROM. It's a decent move, but at this stage of the game grabbing a few extra points could be critical. Furthermore, ROOTY could give away quite a few points on either the a15 or o15 TWS, with moves such as CRADLE or ATWEEL. I rather like RORY at h13a for 25. The 4- consonant leave shouldn't be a problem, with over half of the unseen tiles being vowels. ROOTY f14a 18 413 32 Shane 10: DOTW ACL (-16) As Shane says in his comments on the game, "I was looking for the highest possible score". WAT isn't quite the highest - AGLOW at n2d scores 3 more points. But with the unseen tiles from Shane's perspective being the very bonus-friendly AAEEEIIODLRRSTT, AGLOW looks very dangerous. Again, I think he makes a fine choice,scoring well and giving little away. WAT k13a 31 428 Nick 10: D R S A A I O (-15) Not for the first time, it would seem that the best move involves knowing MONGO. Although RADIO/MONGO scores 2 fewer points than Nick's play, it retains the invaluable S. However an even better play, if you know it, and more importantly if you know that it takes an S, is AROID at j 15a for just 12 points. It's a perfect set-up play. Shane may be able to restrict its use with a move such as ELD at n13d for 15, but in doing so he can play only two tiles, and if Nick can go out in two moves then he's likely to win the game. Computer analysis suggests that AROID wins 84% of games, whereas RADIO wins only 60% and SOLAR 57%. SOLAR j5a 24 437 Shane 11: CDLOEET (-9) abcdefghijklmno Score: Nick 437 Shane 428 Unseen: AAIIIDLRT Shane Outstanding play by Shane. I'll let him explain the reasoning behind his move: "I sensed my best hope of victory involved playing off CLO leaving DEET, saving the D for c3, and with possibilities of the triple at a15." My immediate thought when I saw the rack was to go for a two-move outplay, which involves playing off as many tiles as possible. CLOTE or DOLCE at b13a are possibilities, leaving ED or ET respectively. In fact Shane's CLOP significantly outperforms either move, winning 88% of endgames, as opposed to 61% for DOLCE. CLOP i7a 21 449 33 Nick 11: ADIILRT (-12) With Shane holding IDEATE, the game is lost for Nick. He has to block Shane's out-play, butwith 29 points available for TID at dd, he can't score enough points. ARID works out slightly better than Nick's AIRT, but at this stage it really doesn't matter. AIRT d11d 13 450 Shane 12: D E ET A I (-1) TID dd 29 478 Nick 12: DI L (-28) LID mlOa 10 460 Final score: Shane 475 Nick 463 Summary: A terrific game, and with the exception of the two missed bonuses by Nick, a very well- played one. There's no doubt that Shane is destined for great things in UK Scrabble - so all credit to Nick for beating him to the Division B title! ADVERTISEMENT Over the last couple of years I havebeenasked dozens of times whether I sell round wooden Scrabble boards. For legal reasons (Mattel, Hasbro, etc.) I have never seriously researched the idea, but I have recently been investigating the cost a one-off shipment of custom-made Scrabble boards from North America. I am pleased to be able to offer an extremely competitive price for custom-made boards from a respected board maker. You pick the colour of the board, the colour of the surround and a small degree of personalisation, e.g. name or ISC alias around the edge. Fancy artwork and graphics are available but at an extra cost. The boards come complete with a leather bag. They are made by Kelly Smith; her website can be found at http://www.sparkyenterprises.com and contains pictures of the beautiful boards she has already designed for players in the UK and around the world. A round board from any of the North American suppliers will usually cost £120-150, plus postage and then plus 17.5% VAT and 4.8% customs tax payable upon receipt (as a regular importer of timers, tiles and so forth, I'm very familiar with the costs involved!). The price of boards on this one-off shipment is £125. That includes import taxes and postage to you - no hidden costs. You simply will not be able to get a customised round board from NorthAmerica for less than that, so the time is now! To register for a board, send a deposit of £50 (cheques payable to Stewart Holden) to 14 Dale View Rd, Nottingham NG3 7AJ by Friday 15th July. I will write back with full details of how to place your order and we can discuss how you would like the board to be personalised. 34 Moves to be proud of Here are some more fine plays made by ABSP members. See page 39 for the moves played. As always, it's nice to receive contributions from new names, so if you come up with anything to rival these moments of brilliance, do send me details! I need the board position, your rack, the score, and details of when and where the game took place. 1. Played by Chris Finlay. New Maiden, February 2005 abcdcfghijklmno Score: Opponent 119 Chris 119 Chris 2. Played by Brian Sugar, BMSC, August 2004 a b c d c f I I Score: Brian 78 Opponent 104 ■ P[E[ I lOlRlTlYb Brian 35 3. Played by Ross Mackenzie, Club game, May 2005 b c d e f g h i k i m n 0 1 '"■■ t ■ i;_ S L - :■ i 2 I Z •>.■ Q A T w IS Opponent: DHOT? 3 I ■,- E 0 R ;|E 4 B 0 R E ft • v.v. 1 o"1e Score: Opponent 396 5 F 1 R E ::i]c J. a|m Ross 368 6 w A B F R Y H 7 M El M f 8 w a A 1 A A X 9 R IS 5 dKj G if 10 A c A N 1 N G T E 11 N u Y 0 U J E N E E NO 12 GU N K 11 |V| 1 0 L A S 13 T i: I Ross i ■ 1 14 IS L 15 sir JIf? R 0 V E A challenging decision Geoff Cooper sent me the following position from a game he played at the Durham event in April: abcdefghijklmno Unseen: AEEIO GRSW? Score: Geoff 275 Opponent 252 Geoff 36 Geoff's opponent played NEARInGS at b8d. What would you do in Geoff's situation? Understandably he challenged, and the move was disallowed. But even before the challenge slip was returned, he was wishing he hadn't. Can you see why? The answer is that NEARInGS sets up QUAI at a12d for 99 points, giving Geoff a 52-point lead and a definite win. As it happens Geoff can still win the game, because he can block all of his opponent's possible bonus plays which require either the N at b8 (NARGILES) orthe A at d8 (moves such as VAGARIES). However he needs to be very careful; it would be easy to let his opponent in witha 7-letter word below Geoff's blocking play. One possibility is ANT at b9a for 11. He also needs to ensure that hecan score enough points with his Q to counteract his opponent's non-bonus responses. ANT would be fine, in that it leaves QIS at f1Od for 38, or SUQ at o2d for 30 if that's blocked. If I was in Geoff's position, and spotted the possibility of QUAI before challenging, I would definitely let NEARInGS stay on the board. Having an immediate 100-point winning move is a lot less stressful than trying to work out how to block all possible bonuses. However I know there are players who abhor the very thought of having phony words on the board. If you fall into that category, you would have no choice but to challenge and try to eke out the win in the final few moves. Endgame teaser The following game was played between two ABSP members at the Dorian Scrabble Club, Janet Phillips and Pam Sparkes. It wasn't a face-to-face game, but rather an "in club equivalent of postal Scrabble". I'm guessing that this means that the players were able to use dictionaries to look up words, rather than that the game took a year to complete! I haven't provided a full annotation, but I have recorded the racks and moves below. You might like to play through the game, to see whether you can find any better moves... Pam Janet ADHIIKQ KHADI d8a 36 36 DEILOOR HELIODOR e8d 74 74 QIAILPT Ql d11d 37 73 EGIIRSV VIRGER c15a 33 107 AILPTMU UPTAK c)4d 22 95 ISBBEIT BIB f7a 20 127 ILMACVX MIX c2d 3 128 EISTCTT CEE c9a 20 147 ACLVTY? VAV c13d 18 146 ISTTTAE TATTIES g14a 63 210 LCTYIIW CITY n13d 34 180 EEIJPSU JEEP 112d 32 242 LW?ANNT PAWL d5a 18 198 EISUUNR UTU j13d 3 245 NNT?AEH uNNEATH o6d 100 298 EINRSDE NEREIDS lid 69 314 DLOORSZ ZOON f1a 39 337 AEEGMOU MEU n6d 24 338 DLRSAAG GELADA h4a 20 357 AEOGRRW WAGE k5a 38 376 RSEFNOO FOR k3a 33 390 ORREFLN FRORN m7d 26 402 ENOS?NO MONOS c2a 24 414 ELSY SLYER 110a 10 412 EN? -2 412 + 2 414 37 The game was submitted by Sue Bowman, who runs the Club, and she wondered whether there might havebeen a winning move for Pam at the end, when she played MONOS. Assuming Janet plays SLYER, there is one winning move for Pam involving an unusual word. But if Pam finds it, can Janet still win? See page 39 for details. abcdefghijklmno Janet: ELSY Score: Janet: 402 Pam: 390 Pam Those little moments that make it all worthwhile! I was pleased to receive a letter from Ruth Turner, in Exeter. Ruth admits to "just beginning to get the bug", and admits that she still plays in the lowest division at tournaments, but recounts a couple ofrecent experiences that are spurring her on to greater things. "In a game at home my husband Philip saw the opportunity to put PUREE down, with the P at d1, gaining a double-letter score for the P and a double-word score for the move. Had he settled for RUPEE, I would not have managed my first 9-timer with WHiPPETS across thetop for 203! In the Exeter tournament, against a good player, I found myself towards the end of the game with three I's and a U. With enough tiles to change, I tentatively decided to do so and with my new tiles, after much moving of tiles on the rack, I suddenly found MAIDENS which went down on a triple-word and saved the day!" Thanks Ruth, and good luck in the future! 38 So just how good is SATIRE and a blank? If you're Steve Balment, not good enough, it seems! In a game at Mapperley Scrabble Club against Ruby Flood, Steve found himself with SATIRE and a blank on his rack, and the following board: j j k I Unseen: ADEELNRT? Score: Ruby 330 Steve 257 Steve Solutions Annotated game: Bonuses with ?FIILLS are FILLIES. INFILLS, FUSILLI Anagram of ENACTURE is UNCREATE 7-letter word with BHMORSU is RHOMBUS Moves to be proud of: 1. Chris played UNDERPAID at ella for 102 points. 2. Brian played IODYRITE at d9a, also making OO, ED, BY, AR and SI, for 88 points. 3. Needing to play out to win,Ross played SIDENOTEs at al 5a for 30. Endgame teaser: Pam's best move is SMOkO at b2a for 29, giving Pam a lead of 419-402. However Janet can still win by 2 points withSLEY/BIS at h9a 39 X trm from tihristina Vrerich jdittte 3nt\ocer\t9 I thought this was a difficult one and it was as we had no correct answers. It is in fact Marjorie Smith. Marjoriethen (left) and now (above) See if you have any more luck with this issue's little cherub! What a little cutie ... but is he as cute now? Any guesses tile pickers?! A little question for us all from Jill Harrison of Cirencester Club ... Is This a Record? A total of fourteen members of Cirencester Club entered the Swindon tournament this year (some of whom are shown in the picture) and it got us wondering if this is a record number from any single club attending a tournament. To add to the achievement we also had representatives in each of the six divisions! Can any other club top this? From left to right back row: Judy Monger, Jill Harrison, Christine Hall, Dawne Wirth, Miri Purse, (Pat Colling from Stroud), Maggie Gaeney Seated from left: Jane Foster, Margaret Emmott, Joy Lloyd Nr For all the latest information 1>''1'" » - r. Visit the Association website at *y- •> ■< pr«u www.absp.org.uk l«i* 41 DUBLIN TOURNAMENT West County Hotel, Chapelizod, April I6th/I7th. The Dublin tournament was organised by Anne Lyng and the Dublin Club. There were six players over from England in attendance, Dave and myself and Bob and Claire Violett. We met Nuala and Mike on the Saturday morning at breakfast and after a veritable feast we were all ready to take on the opposition. Well sort of, I got clobbered by Catherine Costello in the first game, by Kay Anne Lyng presents Bob with McColgan in the second and by Eileen his winning trophy and Euros. Meghan in the third. There was no early flight home so I had no alternative but to stay and play. Bob Violett had got off to a wobbly start too - I seem to remember we all did. But isn't Scrabble a funny old game! By the end of the tournament Bob emerged the victor and Nuala a close runner up.Claire won the prize money for the highest scoring word too. Three out of six winners is not a bad result so a nice little haul was taken back over the Irish Sea to England. Bob also won the game The Gambler which Mike andNuala had taken over to promote, and ™Sg;v' "^ was played in the bar on the Saturday evening. A very well organised tournament and one rule Anne imposed was covering your tiles when challenges were made which I think is a very good idea. You can almost feel the concentration! We had a greattime. Funny sight: on the flight home a little Irish jockey sat in a seat next to us. The only piece of luggage hehad with him was his saddle! 42 Compiled by Paul Cartman Each tournament approved for rating will get a listing including: date, number of games and contact details. For one day tournaments, further details will be given as regards pricing, start times etc, to allow members to utilise the generic entry form. Note that some organisers have indicated that rated tournaments will occur on particular dates, but that full details are not yet available. These tournaments are included for completeness and once details are known, they will be published as appropriate. This symbol denotes that the tournament organiser has let it be known that the venue is disabled friendly. The absence of a symbol does not mean that disabled access is not possible, and in these circumstances the prospective entrant should check with the organisers Note to Entrants These rules apply to all tournaments The entry cost of all rated tournaments includes the ratings levy • Positions are determined on win and spread unless otherwise stated • Smoking is not permitted in the playing area(s) • You will normally be placed in a division equivalent to your rating or ability. You may request to enter a higher division but the Tournament Organiser reserves the right to reject your request. • Entries are at the sole discretion of the Tournament Organiser. • You must always include a SAE with your entry for application. • Please arrive on time 4 Divisions New Maiden (6 games) Entry costs: £12.00 for ABSP member Saturday 9th July 2005 £14.00 for nonABSP member Contact: Shirley Cave Deduct 50p if bringing a timer 8 020 8540 8469 which you are willing to lend Venue: Christ Church Centre, Coombe Tea, Coffee and biscuits will be provided Road, New Maiden, KT34RE Cheques payable to S I Cave, 14 Linden Registration: 9.15 Gate, 9 Church Walk, Raynes Park, First game: 10:00 Departure: 17.45 London, SW20 9DL Summer Hatehplay Contact Mike Willis 9th-10th July 01908 668117 43 Tea/Coffee and biscuitsavailable at points Inverness (5 games) during the day, lunch and sandwiches prior Saturday 16th July to departure Contact Jean Gallacher Entry costs: £15.00 for ABSP member 8 01463-234982 £17.00 for non-ABSP member Venue Crown Church Hal , Midmills Closing date for entries 9th July Road, Inverness Cheques payable to Inverness Scrabble Registration 10:00 Club and sent to Inverness Scrabble Club First game 10:45 Departure 17:30 c/o Jean Gallacher, 44 Broom Drive, 2 divisional tournament. Inverness, IV2 4EQ Cairn Hotel, Harrogate Contact Viv Beckmann 22nd - 25th July 8 0191-273-1705 Lincoln (6 games) Tea/Coffee available on arrival, at Saturday 23rd July lunchtime and after fourth game Contact Teresa Hill Entry costs: £10.50 for ABSP member 8 01427-838741 £12.50 for non-ABSP member Venue Bracebridge Community Deduct 50p if bringing a timer Centre, Newark Road/Maple Cheques payable to Lincoln Scrabble Club Street, Lincoln and sent to Teresa Hill, Granville, Registration 10:00 Heapham, Nr Gainsborough, Lines, DN21 First game 10:30 Departure 17:30 5PT 2/3 divisional tournament. Closing date for entries 12th July 2005 Nottingham Nomads (16 games) Contact Clive Spate Saturday 6th - Sunday7th August 0115-920-0208 Scottish Round Robin (14 games) Contact Marion Keating Saturday 6th- Sunday 7th August 01592-265524 Billericay (6 games) 4 divisional tournament. Saturday 13th August Tea/Coffee available on arrival and between Contact Evelyn Wallace games S 01702 302569 Entry costs: £12.50 for ABSP member Emergency Number £14.50 for non-ABSP member 8 01268 794208 Deduct 50p if bringing a timer Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Venue Cheques payable to Billericay Scrabble Church Hall, Billericay Club, C/o Evelyn Wallace, 2 Shakespeare Registration 9.15 Avenue, Westcliffe-on-Sea, Essex SSO 0ST First game 10:00 Departure 17:30 ABSP British Matehplay Championships Main Event Yarnfield Conference Centre 27th - 29th August Ladies/Mens Events Contact Sarah Wilkes 276h-27thAugust 8 01476 405604 44 Havering Autumn Scrabble Tournament First game 10:15 Departure 18:00 (6 games) Tea/Coffee available at points during the Sunday 4th September day but lunch is not provided. Contact Cindy Hollyer Entry costs: £12.00 for ABSP member 8 01277-822050 £14.00 for nonABSP member Emergency No on day Deduct 50p if bringing clock B 07952 557324 which you are prepared to lend Venue Kelvedon Hatch Village Hall, Cheques payable to Havering Scrabble Kelvedon Hatch, Brentwood, Club and sent to Cindy Hollyer, 78 Peartree Essex Lane, Doddinghurst, Brentwood, Essex, Registration 09:30 CM15 0RH NSC Final Contact Phil Nelkon Bradford 01628 500283 Saturday 10th September The Shanklin Hotel, Isle-of-Wight Friday 16th - Sunday 18th September Improve Your Serabble Tuition & 6 rated Contact Allan Simmons games S 01890-771430 3 divisional tournament. Norwich (6 games) Tea/Coffee and homemade cakes provided Sunday 18th September (but not lunch) Contact: Carol Smith Entry costs: £10.00 for ABSP member » 01603 898791 £12.00 for non ABSPmember Venue: Hethersett Village Hall, No further discounts Hethersett, Norwich, Norfolk Cheques payable to Carol Smith, Registration 09.30 31Christine Road, Spixworth, Norwich, First game: 10:15 Departure: 18.00 NR10 3PH Middlesbrough (5 games) Lunch is not provided. Sunday 25th September Entry costs: £9.50 for ABSP member Contact Samantha Beckwith £11.50 for non ABSP member 8 0191-5866436 Deduct 50p if bringing clock Venue Linthorpe Community Centre, which you are prepared to lend Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough Closing Date for entries 11 th September Registration 10:00 Cheques payable to Cleveland Scrabble Club First game 10:45 Departure17:30 and sent to Samantha Beckwith, 91 Hatfield 2/3 divisional tournament. Place, Peterlee, Co Durham, SR8 5SU NSCT Final Contact: Phil Nelkon 24-25th September 01628 500283 Falkirk Contact Viv Beckmann 23rd-26th September 8 0191-273-1705 45 Tillington Hall, Stafford Contact Paul Cartman 1 st - 2nd October 01785 211851 Bournemouth (6 games) Registration: 09:30 Sunday 2nd October First game: 10:10 Departure: 17.30 Contact: Ruth Marsden Tea/Coffee available throughout the day 8 01202 707148 Entry costs: £12.50 for ABSP member Emergency on day only £14.50 for non ABSP member 8 07720 949 825 Cheques payable to Bournemouth Scrabble Venue: Rooper Hall, 5 Victoria Park Tournament and sent to Ruth Marsden, 27 Road, Moordown, Spencer Road, Canford Cliffs, Poole, Bournemouth BH13 7ET Cardiff Weekend Contact Mary Allen 8-9th October 0191-273-1705 lothersdale Hotel, Moreeambe Contact Viv Beckmann 14th- 17th October 8 0191-273-1705 4 divisional tournament. Southend-on-Sea (6 games) Tea/Coffee available at points during the Saturday 22nd October day but lunch is not provided. Contact Evelyn Wallace Entry costs: £12.50 for ABSP member 8 01702-302569 £14.50 for non-ABSP member Venue The Civic Centre, Victoria Deduct 50p if bringing a timer Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, Cheques payable to Southend-on-Sea Essex Scrabble Club and sent to Evelyn Wallace, Registration 09:30 2 Shakespeare Avenue, Westcliff on Sea, First game 10:00 Depart 18.00 Essex, SSO OST 2 division tournament Elgin (5 games) Tea/Coffee and biscuits on arrival, lunch Saturday 29th October and refreshments prior to leaving Contact Lorraine Gordon Entry costs: £14.00 for ABSP member 8 01466-794332 £16.00 for non ABSP member emergency no on day No further discounts 8 07967 129188 Cheques payable to Elgin Scrabble Club Venue Elgin Community Centre, and sentto Lorraine Gordon, Glenview, Trinity Road, Elgin Aberdeen Road, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Registration 10:00 AB54 6JD First game 10:45 Departure 17:30 Closing date for entries 21st October Isle-of-Wight Main Event 4th - 5th November 6th - 7th November Vectis (5 games) Contact Noel Turner 4th - 5th November 8 01983 614426 46 Weston-Super-Mare (6 games) Tea and Coffee available during theday. Saturday 5th November Ploughman's lunch provided at a costof Contact Rod Winfield £2.50 pp S 01278 789824 Entry costs: £11.50 for ABSP member Venue Princess Hall, Burnham-on £13.50 for non-ABSP member 8 01278 784464 Deduct 50p if bringing a timer Registration 09.30 Cheques payable to Weston super Mare First game 10:15 Scrabble Club, c/o Rod Winfield, 141 No of divisions to be decided. Stoddens Road, Burnham-on-Sea, TA8 2DE Luton (6 games) 4 divisional tournament. Saturday 12th November Tea/Coffee and squash available at points Contact: Adrian Noller during the day but lunch is not provided. 8 01582 656234 Entry costs: £12.00 for ABSP member Venue: Whitefield Junior School, £14.00 for non-ABSP member Stockholm Way, Luton. Deduct 50p if bringing a timer (n.b. this is a new venue) Cheques payable to Luton Scrabble Club Emergency no on day only and sent to Adrian Noller, 1 Wendover S 07753 143262 Way, Luton LU2 7LS Registration: 09.20 You are recommended to enclose sae for First game: 10.00 Departure: 18.00 directions to the new venue. Standish Meat House, Wigan Contact Viv Beckmann 18th-21st November S 0191-273-1705 Chester (16 games) Contact KathyRuss 27th-28th January S 01928 733565 Caleta Hotel, Gibraltar Contact Viv Beckmann 4th-11 th February S 0191-273-1705 East Sussex (6 games) 2/3 divisional tournament. Saturday 18th March 2006 Tea/Coffee available at points during the Contact Ed Breed day but lunch is not provided. 8 01424 219334 Entry costs: £12.00 for ABSP member Venue Hailsham Community Hall, £14.00 for non-ABSP member Vicarage Lane, Hailsham, Deduct 50p if bringing a timer BN27 2AE Cheques payable to East SussexScrabble Registration 09:00 Entries not accepted Tournament and sent to Ed Breed, 19 after 09.45 Magdalen Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Departure 17.45 Sussex. TN40 1SB 47 Answers to Edgeways XXVII The 5-Minute Anagram Test A. ELEPHANT DIAMONDS DIAGRAM SAWDUST BECAUSE NAUGHTY ZENITHS SURPLUS STERNLY PIANISTS B. STEALTH STRICKEN TENFOLD ENDMOST EYESORE HALFWIT EYELASH PLATINUM MUSEUMS FACULTY C. EUNUCHS WHITLOW MISDREW PFENNIG BUNYIPS TEOPANS QIGONGS HAGBUTS KEYCARD AROYNTS D. OENOPHIL TWIGSOME NYMPHET PEEPULS SPAGERIC TRAPEZII SYNESES BEDUCKS PHENOXY CHOENIX Meet My Twin COURTED CONSUME POUNCES BOUNCED OBSCURE COOLEST PRODUCE BRIGAND TROOPER TREETOP RENOWNS BOOZERS GARBLED ABOUNDS GAMBLER ANTIQUE EQUATOR ALMONDS STONILY MARRIES Front Hook Fun C,G,K,L,M,Q,R,S-AIDS VENATION X-EROSES I-LEAL D-OLENT; B,F,H,|,Y-OWLER T,U,W-RITE P,Z-UPAS A,E,O-VERT N-YAFFED Spot The Phoney The seven phoneys are: FLYLIKE*, FIRLIKE*, HARPLIKE*, NAILLIKE*, HEADLIKE*, QUEENLIKE*, BAGLIKEV And of course, I do mean WRONGLIKE*. Cryptogram 1=E,2=P, 3=Z, 4=1, 5=M, 6=X,7=A, 8=R, 9=S, 10=0, 11=N, 12=Y, 13=K, 14=V, 15=B, 16=W, 17=Q, 18=G, 19=U, 20=L, 21=F, 22=D, 23=H, 24=T, 25=J, 26=C 48 A quick reference to forthcoming competitions (fuller list and details inside) Date Tournament (No of games) Contact Telephone |un 25th Havering Evergreens (6) Cindy Hollyer 01277 822050 )un 26th NSC/NSCT Regional, Bristol (6) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283 jut 1st-3rd Germanica Karl Khoshnaw +49 5541 954794 jul 9th New Maiden (6) Shirley Cave 020 85408469 |ul9th-1Oth Summer Matchplay (11) Mike Willis 01908 668117 Jul 16th Inverness (5) Jean Gallacher 01463-234982 Jul 23rd Lincoln (6) Teresa Hill 01427 838741 Jul 22nd-25th H-B Holidays - Harrogate ' Viv Beckmann 0191 273 1705 Aug 6th-7th Nottingham Nomads (16) Clive Spate 0115 920 0208 Aug 6th-&th Scottish Round Robin (14) Marion Keatings 01592 265524 Aug 13th Billericay (6) Evelyn Wallace 01702 302569 Aug 26th-27th BMSC Ladies/Mens Event (6) Sarah Wilks 01476 405604 Aug 27th-29th BMSC(17) Sarah Wilks 01476 405604 Sep 4th Havering Autumn Tournament(6) Cindy Hollyer 01277 822050 Sep 10th NSCT Final (7) Philip Nelkon 01628 500283 Sep 16th-18th Isle Of Wight (Tuition) (6) Allan Simmons 01890 771430 Sep 18th Norwich (6) Carol Smith 01603 898791 Sep 23rd-26th H-B Holidays- Falkirk Viv Beckmann 0191 273 1705 Sep 24th-25th NSC Final (12) Philip Nelkon 01890 771430 Sep 25th Middlesbrough (5) Samantha Beckwith 0191 5866436 Oct 1st-2nd Stafford (12) Paul Cartman 01785 211851 Oct 2nd Bournemouth (6) Ruth Marsden 01202707148 Oct 8th-9th Cardiff (14) Mary Allen 02920 757 311 Oct 14th-17th H-B Holidays Morecambe (14) Viv Beckmann 0191 5866436 Oct 22nd Southend (6) Evelyn Wallace 01702 302569 Oct 29th Elgin (5) Lorraine Gordon 01466 794332 Oct 29th-30th British Team Tournament (12) Wayne Kelly Invitation Only Nov 5th Weston-super-Mare (6) Rod Winfield 01278 789824 Nov 12th Luton Adrian Noller 01582 656234 Nov 18th-21st H-B Holidays, Wigan (14) Viv Beckmann 0191 5866436 2006 Jan 27th-29th Chester (16) Kathy Rush 01928 733565 Feb4th-11th Gibraltar Viv Beckamnn 0191 5866436 Mar 18th East Sussex (6) Ed Breed 01424 219334 The Last Word is printed by Keely Print, Beccles, Suffolk (01502) 713930