Volume 2, Issue 28 January 14-21, 2020 Worcester Scrabble Club News Five good centuries in a row

There were a dozen games at club this past Tuesday, and Beth Mix led the way, going 5-0, +684, with each win by more than 100 points, or cento, as the Italians would say. Beth also exceeded cinque cento, recording the evening’s high score of 511. For the first time in a long time, the average losing score was under 300, or sotto tre cento. All these centos are included because Robert Durbin remarking upon Chris Sinacola’s play of SEICENTO, which refers to Italian art and culture of the 1600s, or the 17th century. Which other

Italian centuries make the lexicon? Four of them. From top to bottom this An A for effort week’s Last week in this space we noted report roughly the percentages of words features art of the DUECENTO (Cimabue), the that begin with a given letter. A TRECENTO (Lorenzetti), the QUATTROCENTO placed fifth, at a very respectable (Bellini), the CINQUECENTO (Da Vinci’s famous 5.73% of all words — based on a Mona Lisa), and the SEICENTO (Caravaggio). Only copy of The Chamber Dictionary. As if to illustrate the point, Chris one of these words has an Sinacola drew a lot of As in his anagram. SEICENTO also yields game with Robert Durbin, and ICESTONE#, but only in played words beginning with A Collins. Other highlights of the on each of his first five turns. He evening included: Carol opened with the vowel-dump McDonald’s razor-thin 407-405 AUREI, drew a couple more As, win over Nicole Kazarian; another close win for Carol, by played AZOIC, then ATAX(I)A. Although out of As on his rack, 346-317 over Megan McMahon in a game that was in he then played from existing As doubt until the very end; a high win margin of 227 points with (A)VOWER and (A)GLET. by Nora Keil; three 100+ OMG, our own tournaments! point plays, Nora’s SWANKER (104), Carol’s Thanks to the efforts of Beth Mix NEARISH (104), and Beth’s and Bob Becker, our club will be ZESTIER (100); and two games at the holding NASPA tournaments in Go Grande pizza place, where Megan Holden (Bob’s house) on March 8, played a late-evening STRIPPER (that May 17, and June 13. $50 entry, OWL and CSW, round-robin. All is, she played the word as a bingo J) details at cross-tables.com. in one of her two losses to Beth.