avid takes on Goliath
In Malta, he is ranked a high second, behind only the legendary Theresa Brousson. In the wider world of competitive Scrabble, he is ranked a lowly one-hundred and eighty second.
Yet, in spite of this deep chasm between his national and international rankings, six-time National Champion David Delicata (seen in photo) is in Nairobi, Kenya for the WESPA Championship where he will pit himself against many of those players who stand in front of him, some of them towering over him, in a bid to move past at least some of them in the world rankings.
Although the national competitive season has produced mixed success for him, the reigning National Champion can count on his vast experience playing at the highest levels of international Scrabble to produce the goods in what will be his seventh participation in a de facto World Scrabble Championship.
Delicata's participation in the WESPA Championship is sponsored by SportMalta as part of the organisation's International Participation assistance scheme.
Live coverage of the 32-round event, which starts on 8 November and runs till 12 November, is available here.
(penned and published by Nicky Vella Laurenti)