CNN: Scrabble Champ: This is all I do
. Joel Sherman, 40, took first place in the National Scrabble Championship, beating out Nigel Richards of New Zealand and Jakkrit Klaphajone of Thailand.
I’m sure Joel deserved the championship, but personally, I would have been rooting for Jakkrit Klaphajone. I mean, really.
I once knew someone who was into tournament Scrabble play. (He also played tournament-level Boggle, and he was a nationally ranked ping-pong player. I am not making this up.) It’s a whole different game. The first thing you do is memorize word lists, like all the 2-letter words and the 3-letter words you can make from them, all the 3-letter words and the 4-letter words you can make from them, vowel-heavy words, and so forth. Anagrams are also helpful. Then there are specialty lists, like all the 2- and 3-letter words containing J, K, Q, X, or Z (which I found by searching Google for JKQXZ
). And don’t miss John Dalton’s word lists, with such gems as 8-letter words containing all 5 vowels, and words not containing any of the 5 vowels.
Those interested in the Scrabble scene itself should read Word Freak.
