On a wet Saturday in early October, club member Graham Harding travelled to London, near Paddington station, to take part in the finals of the National Scrabble Championships.  He’d qualified for the finals a few weeks before, at the Swindon tournament in mid-September.  In a field of 52, including several previous winners, Graham was 37th in order of rating (standard).  He finished 30th, winning eight games out of 16. 

 

His most exciting game was against Phil Robertshaw, one of the 10 highest rated players in the tournament.  Graham just scraped a win in an incredibly high scoring game, where the final scores were 503-501.  

Best improver for the 4th quarter of the year is Tricia Walker, with Wanda de Poitiers in second place.  Welcome to Nina Thornhill and new member Harminder Rahanu, and welcome back to Tricia Cooper. 

 

 

High-scoring words:

·         106       ZEMSTVO                    Wanda

·         100       UNWRITE                      Helen

·         98         WORSHIP                     Martin

·         98         REQUITES                    Wanda

·         96         EQUINES                      Deborah

·         94         HEROINES                   Deborah

·         94         EXACTER                     Charles

·         93         SEALERS                     Hepzi

·         93         MINTIER                       Maire

·         93         VISIONS                       Hepzi

·         92         SOLVATES                   Helen

·         90         CREASED                    Jan      

 

Also     TREETOPS 83 Charles, FAIREST 84 Maire, ENTRAIN 75 Maire, KANJI 72 Graham, RETAINS 71 Keith, OINKING 67 Jan, FORESEES 61 Frank, LASAGNES 59 Charles, FUZE 36 Stephen, JIVE 28 Stepehen, AMBIENT Keith

Many bonuses by one player, or high-scoring consecutive moves:

·         TRAINEE 61 OTARINE 77 INDEBTED 80 ANTSIER 71                                       Richard

·         ORBITED 71 FLUORINE 74 CAGOULES 83 JOTTER 52                                    Helen

·         NASTIER 84 TITANIUM 67 GATHERER 64 FINESSE 78                                    Graham

·         VAINEST 67 DISPORT 74 ELOINER 63 ZA 68                                                   Helen

·         FUSTIER 83 TROLLING 82 HOTTIES 69 ANSATED 65                                      Graham

·         NORTENA 72 READERS 75 SOLVATES 92 IMPLY 63                                       Helen

·         STINTER 71 VIBRATES 62 TUNICLES 86                                                         Richard

·         SPOUTED 73 RETAINED 70 OVERUSE 66                                                       Richard

·         AMOTION 72 STIBINE 69 SEMINAL 66                                                             Richard

·         MINORED 71 ABASHED 72 RATIONS 75                                                          Graham

·         FONDLES 74 HAROSET 87 VINTAGED 89                                                        Helen

·         HEROINS 81 ETESIAN 64 KANTELES 72                                                          Richard

·         GINNERS 72 SHERRIES 61 NATTIER 69                                                          Tricia W

·         UPBRAID 72 AGRISED 68 TURTLING 74                                                          Helen

·         ADORING 76 NEARSIDE 87 ATONIES 68                                                         Tricia W

·         DILATES 63 LEARNING 68 TIRADES 79                                                           Frank

 

Others:

·        10-letter word: MISCOLORED 45 Martin

·         9-letter words: DESTAINED 86 Wanda, BLATHERED Helen
                        TITANIUMS, TROLLINGS Graham

·         Keith won 2 consecutive games for the first time

 

 

Name

Old Rating

New

Rating

Rating Change

P

W

D

L

Average

Highest score

Tricia Walker

121

139

18

28

15

0

13

354.9

452

Wanda de Poitiers

161

174

13

38

33

0

5

409.3

499

Joy Wade

83

94

11

22

7

0

15

304.5

378

Sharon Hewitt

157

168

11

14

13

0

1

407.6

499

Julie Wise

114

120

6

21

11

0

10

347.2

446

Maire Bennett

63

68

5

26

6

0

20

270.2

381

Frank Charlesworth

81

85

4

20

6

0

14

299.8

447

Richard Spencer

155

156

1

33

22

0

11

408.9

521

Charles Parker

98

98

0

23

9

0

14

322.8

418

Hepzi Rodrigues

141

141

0

33

20

0

13

370.3

476

Keith Radbourn

50

49

-1

35

3

0

32

245.9

309

Graham Harding

181

179

-2

35

29

0

6

414.7

531

Evelyn Wansbrough

131

128

-3

23

14

0

9

372.8

440

Helen Harding

172

169

-3

39

29

0

10

418.0

572

Martin Stephens

105

101

-4

27

8

1

18

331.3

426

Maureen Barlow

145

140

-5

35

22

0

13

358.5

439

Deborah Porter

137

130

-7

27

11

0

16

360.1

469

Hannah Corbett

123

112

-11

15

7

0

8

341.1

454

Jan Bailey

146

135

-11

21

10

0

11

353.1

464

Insufficient games – a previous quarter’s results, or 13 games this quarter, needed to qualify

 

Patrick Beatty

90

98

8

8

2

1

5

324.6

401

 

Stephen McDonald

50

47

-3

9

1

0

8

242.0

294

 

Tricia Cooper

181

178

-3

6

5

0

1

381.7

430

 

Joyce Charlesworth

70

65

-5

5

0

0

5

265.8

307

 

Sue Ashwell

54

47

-7

11

0

0

11

254.7

294

 

Nina Thornhill

 

80

 

3

0

0

3

349.0

358

 

Harminder Rahanu

 

64

 

12

1

0

11

253.7

334

Several East Berks members, past and present, attended the Wiltshire Rotary Scrabble Tournament in Swindon. About 70 competitors spread over 4 divisions. In Division C Evelyn came fourth winning a ratings prize, and Tricia (Cooper) came third  - well done to both!

 

Also in Division A, the tournament was a qualifier for the National Scrabble Finals. By finishing 8th, Graham secured a place for the prestigious weekend event.

 

Spare a thought for Helen who lost, yes lost, with a score of 484. ! 

 

 

On Friday 20th July, East Berks Scrabble Club were one of the many exhibitors at an event run by the Public Health Team of Bracknell Forest Council. The event showcased different organisations and how those organisations  benefit an individual's health and wellbeing. Some of the exhibitors demonstrated how they benefit social and physical health. We promoted both the social side as well as mental well-being.

 

Lots of interest, several people took leaflets and took part in the various puzzles we had on display, so we may expect to see a few new faces in the forthcoming weeks.

 

Well done to Maureen, Tricia, Wanda and Graham for keeping the stand busy on one of the hottest days of the year.

 

 

PS The event was photographed and videoed by many people so look out for us appearing in papers/websites/facebook pages in future weeks!   

 

Best improver for the 3rd quarter of the year is Maureen Barlow, with Richard Spencer just in second place. 

Welcome to Bex Smith and Alan Nicolaou, and new member Stephen McDonald.   

 

High-scoring words:

·         123       QUAKERS                    Hannah

·         116       DUPLEXES                  Wanda

·         107       ZOBOS / YEZ               Richard

·         103       INQUIRES                     Maureen

·         101       GRAPHITE                    Helen

·         101       SNEAKERS                  Graham

·         100       SEXTAIN                      Graham            

·         100       JABBERS                     Wanda 

Also     HEROISE 99 Graham, SAVOURY 96 Charles, REQUITED 90 Jan, RETAILS 90 Hepzi, MISRATE 99 Maire, YPERITE 87 Wanda, REMINDS 83 Frank, SPLICED 82 Frank, SATURATE 59 Keith

 

Many bonuses by one player, or high-scoring consecutive moves:

·         TAXIMAN 84 REALIZE 73 WASTAGE 94 GRAPHITE 101                                   Helen

·         ADULATE 64 INCLINE 67 TRUSTIER 58                                                           Richard

·         QUERIES 75 SAYABLE 86 ORATION 74                                                           Patrick

·         NATURES 69 OORIEST 81 STOWING 87                                                          Richard

·         PANTIES 77 UNALIKE 69 RINGERS 71                                                             Richard

·         PREMIER 81 ELATION 67 GODETIAS 62                                                          Tricia

·         SLAYING 88 TEARIER 66 SMARTENS 64                                                         Tricia

·         CRAYONS 78 ALIBIES 68 DETOURS 79                                                           Wanda

·         ZONDA 50 ATTENDS 84 JEATS 86                                                                   Helen

 

Others:

·         9-letter word STRANGLED Wanda v Joy

·         PLAZA, played by Keith

 

Name

Old Rating

New

Rating

Rating Change

P

W

D

L

Average

Highest score

Maureen Barlow

134

145

11

33

24

0

9

369.3

462

Richard Spencer

144

155

11

33

25

0

8

413.9

511

Joy Wade

73

83

10

21

8

1

12

318.4

422

Maire Bennett

54

63

9

33

8

0

25

259.4

340

Frank Charlesworth

74

81

7

18

6

0

12

300.0

406

Jan Bailey

139

146

7

26

18

0

8

374.4

469

Charles Parker

93

98

5

24

8

0

16

298.0

418

Martin Stephens

100

105

5

27

11

1

15

324.9

437

Deborah Porter

135

137

2

27

16

0

11

362.9

492

Graham Harding

179

181

2

40

36

0

4

429.6

523

Sue Ashwell

53

54

1

21

3

1

17

271.1

339

Hepzi Rodrigues

140

141

1

29

17

0

12

369.4

487

Hannah Corbett

124

123

-1

14

5

0

9

336.9

398

Wanda de Poitiers

162

161

-1

38

27

0

11

406.3

506

Helen Harding

174

172

-2

37

31

0

6

417.4

561

Keith Radbourn

50

46

-4

36

3

0

33

249.4

310

Tricia Walker

126

121

-5

28

12

0

16

363.9

471

Julie Wise

126

114

-12

24

6

0

18

320.9

400

Evelyn Wansbrough

144

131

-13

36

19

0

17

366.4

469

Joyce Charlesworth

91

70

-21

16

3

1

12

277.5

344

Insufficient games – a previous quarter’s results, or 13 games this quarter, needed to qualify

 

Sharon Hewitt

141

157

16

6

4

0

2

364.3

389

 

Patrick Beatty

88

90

2

9

5

0

4

339.4

459

 

Stephen McDonald

50

34

-16

10

0

0

10

234.7

300

 

Alan Nicolaou

64

45

-19

6

0

0

6

250.8

306

 

Bex Smith

76

50

-26

2

0

0

2

272.0

307