BENGALURU: It’s not often that you hear one talk about scrabble in terms of strategy, math or probability. Yet, for competitive scrabblers, the game is all that and much more. Just ask the members of Karnataka State Scrabble Association (KSSA). Besides being one of the oldest scrabble clubs in India (second to Mumbai), the group also organises an annual international scrabble tournament every year, the next one coming up in January.
The MuSigma International Scrabble Tournament 2020, which will take place from January 9 to 12, will see participation from over 10 countries, including Nigeria, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. “We will have four divisions for participants, including one for beginners,” says association president M Shankar Prasad. He adds that in India, rarely does one find any tournament that goes on for as long. A player plays 8-9 games a day (the upper limit for each game is 50-55 minutes), making it a total of 35 games over the course of the event (beginners, however, play for just two days). “One can’t deny that sometimes, an element of luck also comes into play. But after these many games, the luck element evens out,” he says. Nigel Richards, said to be one of the best scrabble players, will also take part in the event. The youngest and oldest participant would be aged seven and 96 years, respectively.
KSSA was founded in 1998, when it was known as Bangalore Scrabble Club. Back then, the club had 15-20 members, a number that stands at 85 registered members today. “Like chess, scrabble players too can receive ratings through the FIDE calculator. In India, we have over 300 rated players, a number that has doubled in the last two years,” says Suchindra Potnis, another member of the association.
Both Prasad and Potnis started playing the game a few years ago, and say it has helped them sharpen their minds and expand their friend circle. “You meet like-minded people through the game. They come from different backgrounds and age groups. I seem to get along very well with Pakistani kids who play it,” shares Potnis, who spends at least 30 minutes daily learning new words.
Currently, countries like Thailand and Nigeria recognise scrabble as a sport and not a game, a distinction that Prasad thinks could benefit Indian players too if implemented here. “We are still a small number. Getting this recognition could help with funding and support. After all, this game is as intense as chess,” he adds.
Interested participants can write to KSSA.scrabble@gmail.com or call 9739890000.