97 The bi-monthly magazine of the APRIL 7 RIL 8 AP C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S AP C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S 7 RIL A P R IL ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH A quick reference to forthcoming events SCRABBLE PLAYERS (fuller list and details inside) Jan 17th West Berks (6) Ian Burn 0118 984 5045 Jan 24th-25th Amsterdam Anand Buddhev +31 20 345 2890 Jan 25th-28th Pitlochry (15) Wilma Warwick 0131 669 7316 Jan 31st-Feb 1st Chester (16) Kathy Rush 01928 733565 Feb 7th West Sussex (6) Peter Hall 01903 717571 Feb 7th-8th Nottingham Nomads (16) Clive Spate 0115 920 0208 Feb 8th-15th H-B Holidays - Torremolinos Viv Beckmann 0191 273 1705 No 93 December 2003 Feb 15th Hampshire Open (6) Alan Bailey 02392 384360 Feb 21st Brentwood (6) Cindy Hollyer 01277 822050 Deadline for next issue 9th January Feb 27th-Mar 1st H-B Holidays - Bingley Viv Beckmann 0191 273 1705 Feb 28th New Malden (6) Shirely Cave 020 8949 1566 Pineapple versus Popcorn - it has to be a tie... Mar 6th Leicester (6) Marjorie Smith 0116 255 1176 Mar 14th Swindon (6) Steve Perry 01367 244757 ...or to put it another way – and avoiding Andy Davis’ Mar 21st Southampton (6) Alan Bailey 02392 384360 waggish but not-unkind nicknames – When Panupol Mar 27th-28th Durham (11) Laura Finley 0191 565 4079 Sujjayakorn plays Pakorn Nemitrmansuk the winner has to be a Thai. And that was the scenario in the final of the 7th World Scrabble Championships in Kuala Lumpur where Thailand was the dominant nation with all 3 team members finishing in the top 6 of the 90 players. After 24 rounds of Scrabble, Panupol and Pakorn were in 1st and 2nd places and therefore played a further five rounds head to head to decide the destination of the championship. Panupol took the title by 3 wins to 2. The England team performed well with 5 finishers in the top 14 which earned them an extra place for New World Champion future World Championships and Paul Allan finished CHALLENGE-A-DAY Panupol Sujjayakorn 9th to earn Scotland a further place also. SCRABBLE CALENDAR Andrew Perry was the unluckiest of the Brits. He lost his first game by a single point, 2004 defeated both finalists in all the five games he played against them and failed to make the final only because, in his final game, American Jim Kramer got stuck with an unplayable Q £10.99 against Pakorn. including UK postage and This issue contains a great deal of input from the World Championships, but it is the most packing important and prestigious of tournaments so is deserving of expanded coverage. cheques payable to Onwords Ltd and sent to Time to renew your membership again... Onwords Ltd, Edington House, Early renewal of your ABSP membership could earn you a set of Protiles, and don’t forget The Bow, Coldingham, to use your voucher from last April’s TLW. Also look out for the Refer-a-Friend scheme. EYEMOUTH TD14 5NE All details are within. Email: [email protected] Alec The Last Word is printed by Keely Print, Beccles, Suffolk (01502) 713930 SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark of J.W.Spear & Sons Ltd., Maidenhead SL6 4UB ISSUE CONTENTS Committee Corner .......................... 1 Can’t Be Scrabble ............................ 32 CCOOMMMMIITTTTEEEE CCOORRNNEERR So How did it go in KL? .................. 3 Edgeways ........................................ 34 Letters ............................................ 12 Xtras ................................................ 39 Events Reports ................................ 14 Forthcoming Events .......................... 43 The Committee met on 28th September, chaired by Amy Byrne in the absence of Allan Ratings ............................................ 20 Edgeways Answers .......................... ifc Simmons. Across The Board ............................ 24 Calendar of Events ..........................obc Once again, the ABSP will be entering all those who renew by 31 December into a draw to win one of twenty sets of Protiles. The rapidity of renewals last winter was very welcome, and the Committee hopes this offer will further encourage everyone to pay their dues Throughout this publication, comments by the Editor do not represent the views of the promptly. ABSP Committee. Any statements by the Committee are clearly marked as such. All Paul Cartman, Tournament Co-ordinator, reported that some organisers are not following other contributions to The Last Word represent only the views of the contributor. the correct procedure in getting their events rated. The Committee would like to remind all organisers that they cannot publicise their event in TLW or on the ABSP's website, or indeed advertise it as a rated event, until the Tournament Coordinator has approved your THE LAST WORD TEAM event's details. The Committee would also remind organisers that, as agreed at the AGM, The Last Words Team welcomes contributions from readers to their respective areas, all events applying for rating since the AGM must have an entry fee reflecting a either as letters, articles or suggestions. Contact information: member/non-member differential of at least £2 for a one-day event and at least £4 for a multi-day event. General Editor: Games and Strategies: Words and Puzzles: Alec Webb Phil Appleby, Raymond Tate, Those of you gunning for a place in the ABSP Masters next year should bear in mind that 17 St Margarets Road Thorns Cottage, 6 Amochrie Glen the qualification criteria are different from previous years, as stated in April's TLW. To recap, Lowestoft Mount Pleasant Lane, Hollybrook the top 16 players in the ratings list on 31 March 2004 will be invited to the Masters, Suffolk Lymington, Paisley providing they have played 30 or more rated games in the fifteen months between NR32 4HS Hants SO41 8LS PA2 0DY 1 January 2003 and 31 March 2004. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] continued over Forthcoming events: Features: A Message from your Membership Secretary Paul Cartman, Christina French 9 Chapel Terrace, 127 Carlton Road, It’s that time of year again! No not just Christmas, but time to send off your ABSP Stafford ST16 3AH Gidea Park, Romford, membership renewal. The subscription for 2004 remains at £15 but if you were an ABSP 01785 211851 Essex RM2 5AU member in 2003 and still have April’s issue of The Last Word you will find a £2 voucher [email protected] 01708 701578 on the last page to help towards the cost. [email protected] If you get your renewal to me by 31st December you will be entered into the draw for a Deadline for next issue 9th January 2004 set of Protiles. Be aware of delays in the post around Christmas time. A few special pleas! In the event of issues of The Last Word not being received, or if you change your address, please contact Viv Beckmann 0191 273 1705 1) Remember to sign your cheque. 2) Make your cheque out to ABSP (not to me or TLW) 3) Use the renewal slip and NOT just put your name on the back of a cheque. Although Congratulations to the parents of the new I have databases I do also keep all the slips as back up. recruits to the Extremely Junior Scrabble Club I should like to wish all members a very happy Scrabbling 2004. Firstly Oscar Joseph, son of David Acton weighed in Viv Beckmann, at a robust 10lb 5oz on 7th November. 16, Benwell Grove, Then Karl and Antje Khoshnaw announced the arrival Newcastle Upon Tyne. of son Valentin Zino (left) on 19th November. NE4 8AQ. 1 It is with pleasure that the Committee once again invite you to nominate your fellow ABSP members for the Terry Hollington Memorial Trophy. The award, as before, is for "an SSoo hhooww ddiidd iitt ggoo iinn KKLL?? outstanding individual performance/general ability/improvement by either a newcomer to The 7th World Scrabble Championships from the viewpoints of those present Scrabble or a young player". Nominations will be received up to 31 May 2004, so that a Committee decision can be made prior to the BMSC next year. And finally, it is with further pleasure that the Committee announces a "refer-a-friend" The World Championship is Scrabble’s most membership drive. If, before 30 June 2004, you coax someone to join the ABSP for the first prestigious tournament. Just qualifying to time, you will get a voucher giving you £5 discount off your subscription for 2005. Just represent your country is an achievement and make sure you inform the Membership Secretary, Viv Beckmann, of this before next year's something to be proud of. Below are reports from renewals come around. There is a limit of three vouchers per member. some of the participants, either sent to TLW directly or extracted from messages posted on the The next Committee meeting is on 6 December 2003. The first Committee meeting of 2004 internet. is likely to be in March, so please let any Committee member know of any issues you want raised. In the meantime, the Committee offers its best wishes to all members over the festive Many of these reports are from the British Squad season. but I’ve included some from other sources such as Ross Mackenzie David Delicata of Malta who is an ABSP member, and others from the USA. For the most part the reports are, quite rightly, WORLD ENGLISH-LANGUAGE SCRABBLE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION extremely complimentary with regard to the LAUNCHED IN KUALA LUMPUR staging of the event. For instance... The name is a bit of a rackful, which is why this newly formed association is likely to be more often referred to as WESPA.