Kiwi player takes Scrabble cake

 The Karnataka State Scrabble Association has made the international Scrabble tournament a huge success yet again.

The grueling four-day tournament concluded here on Sunday with world champion Nigel Richards from New Zealand receiving the grand prize of Rs 2.5 lakh.

As the sole sponsor, the CEO of iGate, Hamesh Murthi, did the honours. He said the 10th tournament next year would be held on a massive scale.

Other winners

Oliya Kabir from Nigeria secured second place, beating 40-odd participants.
Ramprasad from Bangalore won the top prize in the Division ‘B’ category consisting of players who don’t hold a prestigious world rank and just choose to play for pleasure.

Undeterred by the lack of financial support, world-ranking players and Scrabble enthusiasts from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Kuwait, the USA, the UAE and Oman made it to Bangalore for the sheer passion of the game.

Nigerians who missed the first few games due to travel delays, showed an undying competitive spirit and managed to be in the top ten places.

An online version of select intricate games with unusual strategising has been put up on the Scrabble Association of India’s website to give the public an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the game.