eigning champion wins war of words

Playing Competitive Scrabble is not too different from engaging in a military conflict. Two sides meet on a battlefield, or over a board, to unleash their firepower, or word knowledge, on one another. While strategy and luck are major factors, the side that possesses the better arsenal is always more likely to triumph. 

This was arguably well illustrated by the Santa Marija 1-Day Tournament where, after seven game battles, eleven-time National Champion Theresa Brousson (left in photo) and former champion Charles Micallef (right in photo) were level on six wins apiece, after each taking one of their two direct encounters, but finished as many as 400 points apart in terms of spread, in favour of the reigning champion. 

A plausible explanation for this gap lies in Brousson's richer arsenal of words, built over years of daily painstaking and systematic study, the same diligent training that has turned Micallef into a formidable opponent now ranked Malta's third strongest player. 

The efforts by Mario Camilleri and Kevin Pirotta to augment their lexical arsenal bore more fruit with victory of third place and ratings prize respectively. 

(penned & published by Nicky Vella Laurenti, photo credit John Chew)