Scrabble Training Workshop

A scrabble training workshop is being organised by my very good friend and a top scrabble player in the world Irfan Siddiqui. Details from him are below:

The best way to deal with today's situation is through positive energy, thoughts and actions.

Some people are staying positive by utilizing the lockdown 🔒🔒period to enhance their skills  or by learning a new hobby/activity

I would like to help you learn and excel at a new hobby and am excited to launch my *ONLINE  SCRABBLE WORKSHOPS*  for *adults and children*  

A little about me:

*Irfan Siddiqui* based in Bahrain; pro Scrabble player for 2 years

6 time World Scrabble Championship 🌐🏆 participant, ranked 4 in *India*  & 169 in the world

Learning & Development professional with nearly 10 years of teaching experience.

For more details regarding the workshops, please refer to the attachment below or contact me on

+973 33345550 (WhatsApp) or email me on mohd.irfan.s@gmail.com

You can register for any of the workshops using the following link: https://forms.gle/3TKZoR5LWftfPZAE6

BEGINNER WORKSHOP	Date & Timings	Sat, 25th April 2.15 - 3.45 pm	Sun, 26th April 4 pm - 5.30 pm	Mon, 27th April 2.15 - 3.45 pm	Tue, 28th April 2.15 - 3.45 pm	Wed, 29th April 2.15 - 3.45 pm	Fri, 1st May 5.30 - 6.15 pm
	SESSION ITINERARY	1. Introduction to Scrabble   2. Board & Premium squares   3. Tile distribution & tile values   4. How to play: Rules   5. Introduction to 2-letter words   6. Summary   7. Q & A	1. Review quiz of previous session   2. Scoring tutorial   3. Word exercises        a. Sub-anagrams        b. Hooks        c. Bingos   4. Summary   5. Q & A	1. Review quiz of previous sessions   2. 2-letter words exercises   3. Scrabble study:      a. Why? What? Where? When?How?     4. Mini Scrabble game   5. Summary   6. Q & A	1. Review quiz of previous sessions   2. Basics of strategy        a. Rack balancing        b. How to spot words        c. Exchanging tiles        d. Elements of Luck & Skill   3. Mini Scrabble game   4. Summary   5. Q & A	1. Review quiz of previous sessions  2. Consensus game 1 with analysis  3. Consensus game 2 with analysis  4. Summary  5. Q & A	FREE BONUS SURPRISE SESSION DON'T MISS IT!!
	Target audience	a. Children & adults who have no/minimal experience of playing Scrabble face-to-face or online  b. Children & adults who have never played Scrabble at a club or at a competitive level
	Registration fee	Rs 3,000 per participant for the entire workshop (5 sessions)
	Requirements	1. You do not need to have a Scrabble set for the sessions. However, if you have a set then please keep it ready during the session  2. Notebook/Paper  3. Session notes/presentation will be emailed to all participants after each session
INTERMEDIATE WORKSHOP	Date & Timings	Sat, 25th April 4 pm - 5.30 pm	Sun, 26th April 6 - 7.30 pm	Mon, 27th April 4 pm - 5.30 pm	Tue, 28th April 4 pm - 5.30 pm	Wed, 29th April 4 pm - 5.30 pm	Fri, 1st May 5.30 - 6.15 pm
	SESSION ITINERARY	1. Introduction Quiz   2. Skills & Knowledge gap analysis   3. Scrabble study:        a. Order of study        b. Word study tools        c. How to examine a game   4. Summary   5. Q & A	1. Review quiz of previous session   2. Strategy modules       a. Rack Balancing       b. How to spot words       c. Board vision & hotspots       d. Luck vs Risk   3. Mini Scrabble game   4. Summary   5. Q & A	1. Review quiz of previous sessions   2. Basics of strategy        a. Opening move        b. End game        c. Exchanging tiles   3. Mini Scrabble game   4. Summary   5. Q & A	1. Review quiz of previous sessions   2. Tournament Scrabble:        a. Tips for preparation        b. Common mistakes        c. Playing the rack vs player        c. Challenging words        d. Phony plays        e. Time Management        f. Scoring & tile tracking tips   3. Summary   4. Q & A	1. Review quiz of previous sessions  2. Consensus game 1 with analysis  3. Consensus game 2 with analysis  4. Summary  5. Q & A	FREE BONUS SURPRISE SESSION DON'T MISS IT!!
	Target audience	a. Children & Adults who have played Scrabble face-to-face or online but not at a serious/club/competitive level  b. Unrated (SAI/WESPA) players  c. SAI/WESPA rated players with rating less than 1000
	Registration fee	Rs 4,000 per participant for the entire workshop (5 sessions)
	Requirements	1. You do not need to have a Scrabble set for the sessions. However, if you have a set then please keep it ready during the session  2. Notebook/Paper   3. Session notes/presentation will be emailed to all participants after each session
DECATHLON ADVANCED WEBINARS	Date & Timings	Sat, 25th April 6 - 7.30 pm	Mon, 27th April 6 - 7.30 pm	Tue, 28th April 6 - 7.30 pm	Wed, 29th April 6 - 7.30 pm	Thu, 30th April 6 - 7.30 pm	Fri, 1st May 5.30 - 6.15 pm
	SESSION ITINERARY	1. Introduction Quiz   2. Webinar 1: Luck vs Skill   3. Webinar 2: Scrabble study:        a. Order of study        b. Word study tools        c. How to examine a game   4. Summary   5. Q & A	1. Review quiz of previous session   2. Webinar 3: Opening move   3. Webinar 4: Exchanging tiles   4. Consensus game with analysis   5. Summary   6. Q & A	1. Review quiz of previous sessions   2. Webinar 5: Board vision &        hotspots   3. Webinar 6: Time Management   4. Consensus game with analysis   5. Summary   6. Q & A	1. Review quiz of previous sessions   2. Webinar 7: End Game   3. Webinar 8: Tournament Scrabble   4. Summary   5. Q & A	1. Review quiz of previous sessions   2. Webinar 9: Risk vs Reward   3. Consensus game with analysis   4. Summary   5. Q & A	FREE BONUS SURPRISE SESSION DON'T MISS IT!!
	Target audience	a. Children & adults with competitive Scrabble experience  b. SAI/WESPA rated players with rating more than 1000
	Registration fee	Rs 1,500	Rs 1,500	Rs 1,500	Rs 1,500	Rs 1,500
		Rs 6,000 for the entire DECATHLON package (all 5 sessions)
	Requirements	1. You do not need to have a Scrabble set for the sessions. However, if you have a set then please keep it ready during the session  2. Notebook/Paper  3. Session notes/presentation will be emailed to all participants after each session

Scrabble Words Containing Corona

We have all been inundated with the coronavirus which is a valid word  in CSW19. Here are a few more out of Zyzzyva:

Front Hook	Word	Back Hook
	geocorona	es
	coronach	s
	coronae
	coronal	s
	coronally
	coronas
	coronary
	coronate	ds

Vadodara All India Open Scrabble Tournament

Competitive scrabble returns to lovely Vadodara, home to some magnificent, palaces, gardens and lakes. The tournament set to take place from February 28 to March 1 will be conducted by Vadodara Scrabble Club in association with Polytech Plastics.
This will be SAI rated. There will be 3 divisions. Division A is for players rated 1000 and above while division B is for players rated 600-999. In addition there will be a division C for newbies. For more details contact Vimisha Patel (9825164654, vimisha.patel@gmail.com)

Mu Sigma International Scrabble Tournament 2020

Here are some recorded games from the recently concluded Mu Sigma International Scrabble Tournament:

Nigel's Incredible Run in International Scrabble Tournaments in Bangalore

The double world champion has had an amazing run in in international scrabble tournaments in Bangalore. He takes a 10 title streak into the MuSigma International scrabble tournament to be held in January 2020. This must rank among the best title streaks in all of scrabble. Here is a look at Nigel's dominance:

Tournament	Year	Winner	Games Won	Spread	Runner Up	Games Won	Spread
iGATE 2009 International	2009	Pakorn	19	1469	Nigel	18	2794
iGATE 2010 International	2010	Nigel	19	1522	Sherwin	18	1628
2011 iGATE International	2011	Nigel	25	3354	Sherwin	18	1095
2012 iGATE International	2012	Nigel	21	2298	Akshay	17	797
2013 iGATE International	2013	Nigel	26	1610	Olaiya	25	1494
2014 iGATE International	2014	Nigel	29	1891	Alastair	24	1257
2015 iGATE International	2015	Nigel	32	3723	Douglas	23	996
2016 iGATE International	2016	Nigel	28	3614	Hubert	26	1531
2017 Capgemini International	2017	Nigel	30	2413	Pichai	23.5	1097
2018 Capgemini International	2018	Nigel	28	1936	Hubert	24	921
2019 Capgemini International	2019	Nigel	25	1763	Goutham	24	927

2020 MuSigma International

2020

Nigel

23

2246

Hubert Wee

22

1917

Source: WESPA

WESPA World Scrabble Championship Goa 2019 - Division A

Heres a recap of my games in Division A of the WESPA World Scrabble Championships in Goa. Coach Tikolo won it. Yours truly in second:

Game 1 against a rising star in Indian scrabble and a fellow chemical engineer and he dominates from start to finish my rotchies not withstanding and a desperation phoney oralise:

Game 2 against my good friend and I just about bingo more than him to take it:

Game 3 I start with readily, then bingo 3 more times to take it easily:

Game 4 my only highlight was a double double with Organza. It was all him the rest of the way to win by 100 plus:

Game 5 was my worst loss to a very good player from New Zealand. Her warpaint and rejoneos were nice indeed:

Game 6 was a good win for me. Was pleased with my unsawed and chinones:

I loose by over 100 in this one despite my phoney aven staying on the board against my good friend and end day 1 on 3-4:

Start well day 2 but give up spread as I try booteed needlessly after challenging off trialings. Just pushed through in the end:

Did take the next one with very good tile flow:

Talking about what you should not do in scrabble, phoneyed thrice trying winkier,minkier and tarsy,changed twice and blew a 100 point lead to lose by over 60:

Lose the next one to my good friend, who led all the way through so now at 6-6:

The next one was a very good game against a very good friend. The crucial blank pickups in the end meant that I found my only 9 letter word of the tournament with believers  and was able to extend  locating to relocating and go out in 2 and eke out a smallwin:

Was lucky not to lose by 150 plus in the next one as he phoneyed with a blank and an s, he did block my bowlines earlier on. Just happy to reduce spread:

7-7 now and I kind of wake up. This was a multi bingo game for me and I extended water on the board to topwater. Unakites was nice and an easy win in the end:

End the day on a high note with a good win against a good friend, 9-7 after day 2:

Day 3 starts good but I needlessly chicken out of medlars mid game and sizers towards the end to give up valuable spread in a narrow win:

Finally a good game against the brilliant New Zealander who had dominated me thus far. Kinda picked everything, gobshite was nice:

So from 7-7 I have pulled it back to 11-7 and enter a close game which he should have won had he played vom instead of mob, instead I win by 5:

Now I play the king and start with a double double with upstates and bingo 3 more times to just about win:

Now I meet my good friend and fellow chemical engineer yet again. I challenge doably and cabalers off (the anagram was berascal) and still find myself down 57. I hit Nandines which he challenged. It let me win by 5 in the end:

Up against yet another rising star of Indian scrabble. Started by changing 2 ee's and ended up picking an a and another e, thought I should change again but suddenly see chaetae, vidames came next and two more.He minimized spread with godetia and I am on an 8 game winning streak:

Well all good things have to come to an end and they certainly did that in the next game. My 3 bingos to his 1 not withstanding, Coach Tikolo runs out a winner by over 100 and wraps up a well deserved title. Playing for second:

From coach to chief and I build a 150 point lead with virando and trephine. He comes back well with subtones and takes the lead with a few moves to go. It was all his if he had hit any one of bi/tri/re cycles. He was under a bit of time pressure and missed and that's the only thing that prevented a Nigerian 1-2-3. I finish 2nd winning 9 out of my last 10:

WESPA World Scrabble Championship Goa 2019 - Main Event

Here are some of Nigel's game boards and a few other game boards from the main event in the recently concluded WESPA World Scrabble Championship in Goa:

Here are some game boards from the finals: