2017 World Scrabble Championships in Kenya

It's time for Africa. The next world scrabble championship (WSC) will be held in Nairobi, Kenya from 6-12 November 2017. Here is the announcement from WESPA:

"WESPA is pleased to announce that Kenya will host the 2017 WESPA Championships (WESPAC).
All three bids (Kenya, Canada and Trinidad & Tobago) were of a high quality and, after an exhaustive process that considered all issues, the bid team from Kenya was awarded the hosting rights.

WESPAC will be held in Nairobi from 6-12 November 2017 with the Kenyan Organizing Committee making their own announcements later.  A Last Chance Qualifier will be available, as well as tournaments run alongside the Main Event.

A premier international tournament, like WESPAC, run in Africa for the first time is deserved recognition for the quality and hospitality of African Scrabble and we are looking forward to a successful event in November 2017".

Interesting Hooks in Scrabble

Some interesting hooks from Word Buff author Derek Mckenzie via his youtube channel:

Sherwin Wins the Bayer India National Scrabble Championship 2016

India's Long time no 1 Sherwin Rodrigues has won the 2016 edition of the Bayer India National Scrabble Championship. He dominated proceedings from the start and won with 2 rounds to spare. Charles Carneiro finished second, Sanjoy third, Ranga fourth and Varisht fifth. A note worthy performance from whiz kid Samrath who finished ninth. Here are the top 10:

Standings	Player	Win	Loss	Spread
1	Sherwin	19	6	1626
2	Charles	17	8	927
3	Sanjoy	16	9	668
4	Ranga	16	9	343
5	Varisht	15	10	958
6	Nakul	15	10	755
7	Carolann	15	10	518
8	Udayan	15	10	433
9	Samrath	15	10	105
10	Irinieu	14	11	586

Bayer India National Scrabble Championships - Standings after Day 2

The nationals are reaching the critical stage. Sherwin is on top with Ranga close behind. Here are the top 10 after day 2:

Standings	Player	Win	Loss	Spread
1	Sherwin	14	4	1325
2	Ranga	14	4	492
3	Sanjoy	13	5	744
4	Carolann	12	6	740
5	Udayan	12	6	343
6	Irinieu	11	7	646
7	Charles	11	7	486
8	Bhushan	11	7	161
9	Eeshan	11	7	-9
10	Mohan	10	8	386

Bayer India National Scrabble Championships - Standings after Round 12

The nationals are well underway. Here are the top 10 after 12 rounds on day 2:

Standings	Player	Win	Loss	Spread
1	Sherwin	11	1	1170
2	Ranga	11	1	542
3	Sanjoy	9	3	654
4	Irinieu	8	4	591
5	Carolann	8	4	401
6	Eeshan	8	4	125
7	Charles	7	5	464
8	Nakul	7	5	306
9	Sudhir	7	5	294
10	Mohan	7	5	292

Bayer National Scrabble Championship 2016 this Week

India's best scrabblers are heading to Mumbai for the 2016 edition of the Bayer National Scrabble Championship 2016 this Week end.

Venue - Hotel Executive Enclave, No 331, Dr B.R Ambedkar Road, Pali Hill, Bandra (W), Mumbai - 400050.
Date and Time - 27th, 28th & 29th May 2016 (Friday, Saturday & Sunday) from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

There will be two divisions:

1) Premier Division - SAI Rating 1150 and above

2) Open Division - SAI Rating 1150 and below

There will be a minimum of 24 rounds

First 12 rounds - Australian Draw Format

Last 12 rounds - King of the Hill

Dictionary - CSW15

Registrations are now closed

3-5 Letter Scrabble Words that Take S as a Front Hook

Hook words are an integral part of any winning strategy in scrabble. Here is the entire list of 3-5 letter words from Zyzzyva that take S as a front hook:

3-5 Letter Scrabble Words that Take S as a Front Hook from Rajveer Rawlin