Details: Written by HG; Category: News; Published: 23 April 2026; Hits: 51

Richard played in the 23 game Easter event held in Coventry. The tournament was played to a 5 point challenge, which means if a word is challenged and is correct, it scores an additional 5 points. It also means that the boards below might show an illegal word, as the would-be challenger did not want to give away an additional 5 points for a move that they thought was, on balance, probably valid.

Here is his report of those games :

I recently played in the Easter Matchplay Main Event in Coventry. It was a strong well run event with many Grandmaster and Expert players in the field and extensive commentary of the games on the ABSP Tournament You Tube Channel ( ABSP Tournament Scrabble UK - YouTube) . I was in division A along with 37 other players with 23 games played over 3 days.

I had a good first day with 4 wins from 6. Game 3 was the first of note against Jack Moran. Jack started well with Zorro for 48 on the opening move and ELATERIN for 62 on move 2 and after a second bonus of CORNUTED was 130 ahead. However I kept in the game with 30+ scores and then bonused with REPLANTS and DELEGATE to level up the game. Jack then played his third bonus of OTHERING which emptied the bag.

Unfortunately I couldn't find the only winning bonus playable from my rack of AELMSSU but it was a tough one that I didn't know -GAUMLESS down from the G of OTHERING. Jack calmly pointed out the bonus I had from his tracking..

After that setback I won games 4-6 -the closest being an 8 point win against Colin Northmore. Pleased with NIDOR for 27 that set up an outplay of TIES to clinch the win.

Day 2 was particularly demanding with 10 games played in the day! Not only that but 9 of my 10 opponents were higher rated and the other one just a point below. I had to therefore play at my best to navigate the day. The first of these was a loss. Started with KATSINA on move 1 but consecutive bonuses of TARSEAL and NIPTERS plus YFERE for 45 and JONES for 45 ended my hopes.

In game 2 it was a similar story against the top ranked player Harshan Lamabaduriya. His third bonus of TUNBELLY ensured a comfortable win.

Game 3 was better though as I scored well in the game with INSHORE for 78, JERID 53 and KAOLINES for 79(+5 challenge). Opponent bonused back with POLEMIST for 70 but I held on for a 439-416 win.

My second win came in game 5 against John Ashmore. Opened with KAURY and got 5 extra points for the challenge. After my bonus of INFANTE was met by his of ROUGHIE I then found MIRLY for 47 which won another 5 points for the challenge. Pleased that I was confident of the two fives as they contributed to my eventual win and likely decided the game.

Game 6 was also a good win. Against John Matthews I opened with EVERSION for 83 and then found ECDYSIAL for 70 for a comfortable win.

In Game 7 I faced a tough game against Elie Dangoor. I started well playing ZANIEST for 96 and then challenging off his UNTABLED. Unfortunately for me he got back in the game with TAVERING for 72 and QUA for 49 but I felt I should still win the game if I prevented him bonusing. My low scoring block backfired though with his excellent non bonus find of OPCODE for 42 scoring on the TWS and opening new lanes I had to defend against. Under time pressure I faltered playing another attempted blocking play and not realising he then had a nice overlapping play of MEALY giving him a 9 point win.

That loss and subsequent losses in games 8 and 9 meant I badly needed a win to get my confidence going again. The final game was against another Expert Rik Kennedy. After his second bonus of INCREATE I was still a tempo ahead and threatened out bonuses on two rows. He blocked both and scored well with PILAWS but after BRAID for 34 I scraped an 8 point win. This left me with 8 wins from 16.

The final day started with a loss in a one sided game with opponent getting three early bonuses. Game 2 was a good game against James Burley with two bonuses each. I was just behind. ZINC for about 50 looked the obvious play but then spotted NIZAMS was better getting the Z on the DLS in the triple lane. This scored 80 so gave me a healthy lead. CORSIVE for 30 helped close the board down and defended to win 482-428.Followed this by winning game 3. Found RIANCIES through a floating C to win 469-423.

Unfortunately was unable to capitalise in an entertaining Game 4 against veteran David Shenkin. (Board 3). After we both changed twice David's bonus of RECITAL was met by my CZARINAS. After his second bonus of INDOORS I came back with ERUPTING only to be met by his third bonus straight after of DOLOMITE, a nice spot by him with the blank as an M. However, I kept the game close and after my third bonus of LAUNCHED led 404-350. David then played his fourth bonus of DIVERTER. The game was close to the end so I challenged on the 5% chance it wasn't good. That mistake giving him an extra 5 points for the challenge would come back to haunt me!.

After my WAE for 38 and his THAN for 16 it was 457-442 to David. My final rack was an unpromising EEEGIOM and I saw David had SOVIET plus an E remaining. Looked like I had to block the high scovring SOVIET spot hooking JOB so played EGO. David then hooked PIN to play SOVIET for 27. After my ME for 31 and his REG outplay it ended 494-490 to David. Had I not challenged I'd have won by a point!

The next 2 games went well with two wins -in the penultimate game against Ruth McInerney I was pleased with successive plays of EUCLASE, YEARLONG and then TAKHI. Two of these words were challenged but were fine. The final game was a tough game against Chris Vicary. He confidently played VENDOSE on move 2 which I had doubts over but took too long to challenge! -it turned out to be a phony and this proved crucial late on as he won by 433-410.

Overall however, I really enjoyed the tournament and was happy with the way I played and my time management. I finished on 12 wins from 23 giving me a placing of 18th out of 36.and I rose by 2 ratings points with a good tournament rating of 165.

My regret was that a better result of at least 14 wins was achievable here and would have ensured a top 8 finish. It was just a shame I made several errors that cost me some wins but I will learn from the experience gained of playing so many high level players during the event.

Word highlights were, Me - BROMISES, HINDGUT, INAURATE, KATSINA, KAOLINES, ECDYSIAL, DISENROL, RIANCIES, EUCLASE, YEARLONG, NIZAMS, MIRLY, KAURY, TAKHI

Opponents - CORNUTED, TUNBELLY, POLEMIST, TENNIST, RIBLIKE, OPCODE, SERPIGO, DOLOMITE, GUERITE, RELUMINE

Well played Richard- some tough games over the weekend - and lots of unusual words too!

Details: Written by HG; Category: News; Published: 03 April 2026; Hits: 132

Best improver for the second quarter of the season is Fiona Titcombe, ahead of Hepzi Rodrigues in second place and Richard Spencer in third place. Welcome to Christina Wilkin, Mike Medlin and John Bush, and welcome back to Johnny Sammon.

High-scoring words:
·       106       EARTHMEN                  Richard
·       105       SQUEAL                       Michael
·       102       INHERIT                       Charles
·       101       MODISHLY                   Helen
·       94        LOWINGS                    Hepzi
·       94        RESEATS                     Pat
·       94        ROUSING                     Graham
·       92        ERMINES                     Helen
·       92        HEATERS                     Hepzi
·       92        REWARDED                 Charles
·       89        LOOSING                     Joy
·       88        ANTIQUE                     Charles
·       87        MATINGS                     Maureen
·       86        GUIPURE                     Helen
·       86        PROWLER                   Joy
·       86        REPAIRED                   Jim
·       85        CURTSEY                     Charles
·       85        FLIGHTS/HIJABS          Charles
·       84        SATANIC                      Charles
·       83        PUNIEST                      Jim
·       80        LUTHIERS                    Helen
·       80        WARBLER                    Amanda
·       79        CORNEAS                    Maureen
·       79        CRINGES                     Maureen
·       78        BETTERS                     Charles
·       78        SPORTED                    Maire
·       77        EXTINCT                      Charles
·       77        GELATOS                    Maureen
·       76        FLECKER                     Polly
·       76        REGAINER                   Johnny
·       76        VITTLES                       Maire
·       75        CROPPED                    Maire
·       75        OTARINE                     Johnny
·       74        STAIDER                      Jim
·       74        LARDONS                    Maureen
·       74        QUESTED                    Maureen
·       74        WASPIER                     Maire
·       73        PIASTRE                      Jim
·       73        SOCAGES                    Helen
·       73        TRADERS                     Maire
·       72        BUNCHER                    Charles
·       72        LINSEED                      Maureen
·       72        OVERLAND                  Maureen
·       72        RADIATES                    Maureen
·       72        SERIATE                      Jim
·       71        HARMLESS                  Helen
·       71        ISOLATE                      Jim
·       71        RATIONS                     Charles
Other words: 70 AROUSES Maureen, 70 BEAUTIES Maureen, 70 BURSTING Maureen, 70 HIJAB Charles, 70 NITRATE Jim, 70 SEASIDE Maire, 70 SLEEPER Maire, 70 TRADERS Maire, 69 ACQUIRE Maureen, 69 BELATED Charles, 69 LAUDERS Maureen, 69 OUTLINE Maureen, 69 RAISINS Maureen, 69 TIRADES Maire, 69 TRAINEE Maire, 68 BOATERS Polly, 68 NASTIES Maire, 68 PASTELS Maureen, 67 MANUALS Maureen, 67 MOISTER Maureen, 66 WEIRDOES Polly, 65 FLINTED Polly, 65 SEAGULLS Maire, 65 SLEEPER Maire, 65 TAURINE Jim, 64 CHURROS Polly, 64 NASTIES Polly, 64 SNIGGERS Maire, 62 ARISING Charles, 60 SARNIES Maureen, 60 SOILIER Maureen, 58 ASSASSIN Maire, 55 FUDDY Maire, 37 FIEFS Gillian, 33 ROSTI Maire, ALTERED Amanda, BURBLERS Amanda, BUTTERS Amanda, FORMULAE Martin, OWLET Charles

Many bonuses or high-scoring moves by one player in a game (moves of over 100 also appear in the list of high-scoring words):

· ·       DEEMING 73 FIERCEST 92 DILUTES 78 PADRONI 77 OUTLANDS 60 Richard
·       TEAMING 81 MOINEAU 68 SILANES 73 NODALISE 80             Graham
·       TERMINAL 90 SHIVERED 78 IGNORER 77 TRITONE 74            Helen
·       ATEBRIN 73 TENSILE 79 OREGANO 79 PEEWITS 78             Graham
·       AERATES 65 ELYSIAN 88 FRIENDS 88   Helen
·       DIARIZE 91 CATKINS 81 TERPINE 67                                      Richard
·       DILUTES 71 HEDONIST 63 AEROSAT 75                                 Richard
·       EARTHMEN 106 NOSODES 88 BIVALENT 74                           Richard
·       EASTERN 66 SPARKING 84 MINEOLA 84                                Graham
·       EBIONISE 83 GRASPING 80 OUTLIER 74                                 Richard
·       INSOFAR 73 GROUPING 82 WAISTED 82                                Graham
·       MOTTLED 85 RECORDER 64 RAVINES 71                               Deborah
·       PRONAOI 77 ENTICED 81 STOLIDER 68                                  Richard
·       RETILES 66 TARWHINE 69 WEARIES 70                                 Richard
·       SABOTED 77 RESTING 76 AERIES 80                                     Richard
·       STOPPER 80 SEMOLINA 65 ROOTLING 65                              Helen
·       TANGOES 84 ERINITES 62 PEDLARS 65                                 Helen
·       TEARERS 70 SCANNER 82 LANDFILL 74                                 Wanda

Name	Old rating	New rating	Rating change	P	W	D	L	Average	Highest score	Highest ever
Fiona Titcombe	165	180	15	17	15	0	2	397.6	487	551
Hepzi Rodrigues	129	142	13	27	13	0	14	372.4	509	554
Richard Spencer	187	199	12	34	33	0	1	461.6	592	674
Polly Vallance	101	109	8	22	10	0	12	316.0	407	421
Amanda Lowe	89	94	5	36	10	0	26	312.8	387	443
Pat Llanwarne	118	120	2	13	5	0	8	333.7	448	516
Maureen Barlow	129	130	1	35	17	0	18	348.8	445	528
Charles Parker	104	104	0	27	8	0	19	342.3	459	509
Wanda de Poitiers	178	178	0	27	18	0	9	401.4	490	598
Graham Harding	177	175	-2	40	29	0	11	422.3	563	693
Helen Harding	194	191	-3	39	31	0	8	429.4	535	609
Maire Bennett	65	59	-6	27	1	0	26	262.5	450	498
Michael Spencer	72	64	-8	30	2	0	28	256.1	318	502
Deborah Porter	152	144	-8	30	16	0	14	356.0	464	542
Sharon Hewitt	156	120	-36	19	6	0	13	330.4	419	548
Insufficient games – a previous quarter’s results, or 13 games in a quarter, needed to qualify
Johnny Sammon	82	108	26	8	3	0	5	382.5	494	519
Jim Macey	116	125	9	6	4	0	2	348.7	435	478
Megel Barker	187	195	8	5	3	0	2	433.4	509	616
Martin Stephens	102	109	7	6	3	0	3	333.8	361	477
Joy Wade	119	122	3	12	4	0	8	323.3	404	484
Keith Radbourn	80	82	2	3	1	0	2	263.3	278	418
Gillian Cranston	132	133	1	12	8	0	4	369.0	448	483
Mary Twomey	116	116	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	430
Tim Charlton	202	189	-13	10	6	0	4	405.1	482	569
John Bush		115		3	1	0	2	327.0	379	379
Christina Wilkin		67		6	1	0	5	229.8	278	278
Mike Medlin		50		2	0	0	2	185.0	201	201

Details: Written by HG; Category: News; Published: 31 March 2026; Hits: 156

Over the weekend of 21/22 March there were 2 7 game tournaments.

Wanda, Helen and Graham played in both.

The first was held in a large village hall in Manuden, and attracted 32 entrants. Lots of familiar faces but there were people there from Northern Ireland, Poland and the Netherlands. (The venue was only 3 miles from Stansted Airport). The organiser decided on not having 2 divisions; there would be 1 large division with a very large skill range between top and bottom. The tournament was played with a 5-point penalty challenge which meant if a challenged word was valid, it would score an additional 5 points. This penalty soon adds up if one challenges 3 or 4 words!

Wanda :

I arrived at Manuden on the Saturday to discover that there was going to be one large division instead of an A and a B. I was almost at the bottom of the rankings so I was pleased to win 4 out of 7 games against players ranked up to 30 points above my ratings.

My first game was fairly close most of the way. With 2 tiles left in the bag I got a bonus word down BOILERS for 78 points and picked up QI. My opponent went out with the bonus SOIREES for 85. Fortunately despite having 11 points on my rack I was far enough ahead and managed to win by 7 points.

Some of my bonus words:-ZITHERS NAIADES POUNDAGE REALNESS

I won one of the 3 ratings prizes which was on offer that day for winning 4 games.

Helen :

As my (bad) luck would have it, I was drawn against the top two rated players, Stewart Holden and Rik Kennedy, in the first two rounds, and emerged from those games having narrowly lost both. Things got a bit easier after that, and I won three of the remaining five games. I finished in 18^th place (about correct for my starting position of 16^th seed) with three wins from seven and a rating exactly matching my start rating. Of the words I played, some of the best were ASTHORE and DEDUCTED, both for 92 points, and DENATURES for 80 points. Unusual words played against me were NERVINES and QUANNETS.

Graham :

Unlike Helen, I started off playing a couple of the weaker players in the division and won one game by 120 and the other by 13. The luck changed in the 3^rd game with a 310-447 loss. I managed to find the only bonus from AFM?OOT to start game 4 and retained the lead all game. Game 5 pitted me against a player who I have a great record against – sadly this time I lost by 100 points.

Then the only game I would play against an East Berks player all weekend – I played Wanda.

A game full of incident – I started with 3 bonus words, TERCIOS, HEATING, GALLEONS. Wanda came back strongly with EXPLOIT and then the invalid WEEINGS* ! Later in the same game Wanda put an R after the word GOORIE making GOORIER* and that too wasn’t challenged by me and it isn’t allowed! In the end an 87 point win – but it should have been more had I challenged!

My last game, was a repeat – against the player I lost to in round 5. I took the lead early on with BOSSILY – and won comfortably. A good day’s performance winning 5 out of 7 and finishing just outside the prize positions.

The second tournament was at Elsenham a village about 6 miles from Manuden. The village hall was much older and smaller and there were a smaller number of players too. Wanda, Helen and Graham were all in Division B, with Graham the number 1 player and Helen the number 2.

Wanda :

On Sunday the tournament was in Elsenham, a few miles from Manuden and I was in the B division. I only won 3 out of 7 games but managed to score over 500 points against one of my opponents.

Some of my bonus words:- TRIBADE GUERITES BETAINES SIENITE ANOESIS

Overall I gained 2 ratings points which I was pleased with.

Helen :

This tournament went much better for me: I won my first game narrowly – after my opponent had spent 3 moves trying to find a bonus, trying WIREABLE*, BAWLIER*, and finally WIRABLE (correct!). I then won the second a little more easily, but I lost the third game by just 3 points.

After lunch things went very well indeed, and I won all my remaining games, finishing in second place on 6 wins out of 7, losing only on spread (goal difference) to the winner, Alan Males. My final game was against Alan, and I knew I had to win by 150 points or more to win the division … and he knew that too! In the end I won by exactly 100 points, not quite enough. Some of my highest scoring words were WANGLES, for 113 points, and ENCASED and SQUIRES, both for 95 points and TRINDLED for 86. My opponents came up with TWANGLES, OUTCHARM, and DIOCESAN.

All in all, a very pleasant weekend!

Graham :

The day started like Manuden with a large first game win, followed by a narrow win.

Unlike Manuden I won the third but then played the only other unbeaten player, (the eventual winner Alan) in game 4. His game was on fire and he played JAUNTIE 2^nd move for 101, ZOON for 78, PROVINGS 74 and CATAPULT for 61. This catapulted me away from the top table and I was never to reach it again.

I lost game 5, won game 6 and lost game 7. The latter games hinged in whether RIFLINGS, RENAMINGS and SENSINGS were valid. RIFLINGS was played against me and is valid, RENAMINGS* was played by me and was challenged off, and SENSINGS* should have been challenged too…but stayed on the board! A frustrating day as I finished in 4 wins and outside the prizes.

All three of us had one very good day, and one average day – but more importantly we won 2 prizes over the weekend. Very well done to Wanda and Helen!

Details: Written by HG; Category: News; Published: 24 March 2026; Hits: 180

On March 14 both Richard and Pat attended the 7 game 1 day event in Romford.

How well did they do ? Read on...

Richard played in Division A.

A tricky first game due to a faulty clock that caused me to lose a lot of my time. Fortunately, reached the end game almost level and while I drew vowel heavy racks opponent had consonants that were more difficult to play off including an unplayable V. He tried PAVY but I challenged off to win by 31.

After that games 2 and 4 were also close going to the final play in each. Game 2 opponent played LEGENDS for 101 early on. I kept in range and she then emptied the bag in error thinking that it had cost her the game. However I didn't get the right pick up meaning I couldn't bonus out as hoped so lost the game. Oddly she played LEGENDS again in her following game!

Game 4 was an exciting game with 3 bonuses each -opponent had MEOWING for 78 and STEAMIE for 69. I responded with ROUNDISH for 68, GRECIZE for 95 and CAROLING for 63. This time I had to empty the bag as TOTTED/GRECIZED scored 42 and was the only realistic chance of winning. Opponent however bonused out with OVERBILL for 69.

Decent wins in games 5 & 6 brought me to 3 wins from 6 -but made some errors in the final game including playing the phoney of PARATOID. Opponent then bonused in the same spot and proceeded to close down the board to secure his win.

Word highlights were, Me - KERATINS, PERAEONS, THEEING, GRECIZE

Opponents - PILOTAGE, FEIJOA, EARLIKE, STEAMIE

Pat played in Division C

After my poor performance at Reading where I lost 4 ranking points, I had a much better tournament at Romford.

I played 7 games in Division C, and came top winning 6 of those games.

There were some close matches; in fact two of my wins came because my opponents incurred a penalty by running over time. In my best game, I had 3 bonuses, starting the game with ALCOVES, and then playing STINTED and SEVERING. I ended that game by playing LUCK.

The updated ratings show that I have regained 2 of my ranking points.

Well done Pat - certainly LUCK was with you - but it still takes great SKILL to win a division - well done!

Details: Written by HG; Category: News; Published: 13 February 2026; Hits: 740

Well done to Fiona, Deborah and Gillian for winning their respective divisions in the Winter League.

The final results are shown here :

2025-2026 WINTER LEAGUE

Played Won Lost Draw Win-Bon AvgBon Total AVERAGE

Division A

Fiona	21	17	4	0	0	15	245	11.67
Wanda	35	28	7	0	0	23	395	11.29
Helen	36	29	7	0	0	23	405	11.25
Richard	36	29	7	0	0	19	385	10.69
Graham	37	27	10	0	0	20	370	10.00
Tim	8	5	3	0	0	2	60	7.50
Megel	5	3	2	0	0	1	35	7.00
Pat	14	5	9	0	0	5	75	5.36

Division B

Deborah	20	12	8	3	11	205	10.25
Sharon	18	9	9	2	10	160	8.89
Maureen	24	12	12	1	16	210	8.75
Hepzi	32	16	16	1	12	230	7.19
Martin	15	6	9	0	9	105	7.00
Charles	31	9	22	0	21	195	6.29
Jim	15	5	10	1	2	70	4.67
Mary	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00

Division C

Gillian	17	9	8	6	9	195	11.47
Joy	21	10	11	7	13	235	11.19
Polly	23	10	13	4	18	230	10.00
Gary	3	1	2	0	2	20	6.67
Amanda	34	11	23	1	18	210	6.18
Keith	20	4	16	1	10	100	5.00
Michael	27	3	24	0	13	95	3.52
Maire	34	3	31	1	15	115	3.38

During the season (up to the end of January, subject to bad weather etc), every player will have fixtures rearranged, broadly a range of different players each week. You may play some people more than once. A WIN is worth 10 points, a DRAW 5 points. Sadly nothing for a LOSS.

If you beat a player one Division above you, you get a 10 point bonus (WIN-BON). If you have beat a player 2 divisions above you get a 20 point bonus.

If anyone, winner or loser, in any division, exceeds their average score they will accrue a 5 point bonus. (AVG-BON).

Page 1 of 26

Easter 2026

Best Improver – January to March 2026

21/22 March Manuden/Elsenham

March 14 : Romford

Winter League 2025-2026

2025-2026 WINTER LEAGUE