oira flies higher and higher

She went into the thirteenth tourney organised by the Malta Scrabble Club in 2018 on a decidedly upward trajectory. Eight hours later, Malta’s second strongest female player, Moira Fenech (see photo), emerged from the Independence 1-Day Tournament held on 21 September soaring ever more vertically thanks to a runner-up position above former National Champion Charles Micallef and below only the 11-time National Champion Theresa Brousson.

Fenech’s rise, now standing at an additional 104 national rating points since the start of the year, makes her one of Malta’s fastest improving players.

While the gap from Brousson remains yawning, Fenech, an air hostess by profession whose playing career took off just under a decade ago, is flying at almost the same altitude as far more experienced players like Mario Saliba and Nicky Vella Laurenti, both of whom finished below her.

Another player to rise above his station was Mario Seychell, who pulled off a few good wins to grab the Section A Ratings Prize.

In Section B, Alfred Xuereb rose to third in the table behind Paul Mifsud and Albert Zammit.

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