Craig Beevers - Word Addict - secrets of a world SCRABBLE champion

Copyright Copyright Introduction by Craig Beevers About Me My World Scrabble™ Terminology Playing Scrabble™ Overview Tile Tracking Rack Leave Opening Play Moving On Inference General Play Other Strategies Late-Game Playthroughs Study Words & Definitions Two-Letter Words Three-Letter Words Resources About the Publisher

Published by Collins

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Westerhill Road

Bishopbriggs

Glasgow G64 2QT

First Edition 2015

© Craig Beevers 2015

eBook Edition © September 2015 ISBN 978-0-00-814648-1

Version: 2015-09-24

Collins® is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Limited

SCRABBLE™ and associated trademarks and trade dress are owned by, and used under licence from, J. W. Spear & Sons Limited, a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. © 2014 Mattel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

www.collinsdictionary.com

www.harpercollins.co.uk/scrabble

Typeset by Davidson Publishing Solutions

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Entered words that we have reason to believe constitute trademarks have been designated as such. However, neither the presence nor absence of such designation should be regarded as affecting the legal status of any trademark.

The contents of this publication are believed correct at the time of printing. Nevertheless the Publisher can accept no responsibility for errors or omissions, changes in the detail given or for any expense or loss thereby caused.

HarperCollins does not warrant that any website mentioned in this title will be provided uninterrupted, that any website will be error free, that defects will be corrected, or that the website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or bugs. For full terms and conditions please refer to the site terms provided on the website.

If you would like to comment on any aspect of this book, please contact us at the given address or online.

E-mail: puzzles@harpercollins.co.uk

facebook.com/collinsdictionary

@collinsdict

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction by Craig Beevers

About Me

My World

Scrabble™ Terminology

Playing Scrabble™

Overview

Tile Tracking

Rack Leave

Opening Play

Moving On

Inference

General Play

Other Strategies

Late-Game

Playthroughs

Study

Words & Definitions

Two-Letter Words

Three-Letter Words

Resources

About the Publisher

Introduction

by Craig Beevers

One of the most popular games on our colourful little planet. Most have heard of it, many have played it, and few master it. Scrabble™ is everywhere, whether it be played over a kitchen table, on the latest mobile gadget, or part of a national curriculum.

Scrabble is the toughest all-round game I have ever encountered. There are so many dimensions to it that other games seem linear and boring in comparison. It requires knowledge, an abundance of skill, strategy, risk and reward, luck, and a strong temperament. It is a complete test and a game I’m glad to be associated with. I became World Scrabble Champion in 2014 and I’m immensely proud of being etched in the game’s history.

When first playing Scrabble I never really considered just how enriching it is. The words played showcase culture worldwide. A regular player will use the names of Greek letters, currency from every continent, a surprising wealth of old Scottish dialect words, lots of helpful Q-without -Uwords from Arabic, and a whole host of other weird and wonderful snippets of everything you can think of or has ever been. Not to mention the enjoyment of playing the game and meeting hundreds of different people from all over the globe.

In this book, I want to discuss all of the aspects of the game, as well as explaining the thought processes for a number of real-life game positions. Whilst it generally takes years to develop the word knowledge required to become a top player, anyone can understand the steps that lead to playing a particular move. So I hope that everyone reading can develop an understanding for the game and learn to play like a World Champion.

About Me

One of my earliest memories of Scrabble™ is loading up the cassette on the ZX Sinclair Spectrum 48K and playing against the computer with its gaudy eight-colour display. Before long it would come up with a prompt asking me if I was sure about that word I’d just played. Because it couldn’t hold all of the words in its puny memory, it politely enquired quite often. At five years old my vocabulary was a bit shaky but I used to give myself the benefit of the doubt. If it wasn’t a word it should be anyway, right?

That was back in 1986. According to my partner Karen I still spend too much time on the computer. The instruments may have evolved, but I still love my games. Having spent a lot of my youth with pith-helmeted sabremen, blue hedgehogs, and dark elves whizzing across the screen, I eventually graduated to more cerebral distractions. I got attached to the internet at college and university before wandering to my first Scrabble Club in 2003.

In truth I had been hooked by word games for a while, playing all sorts of them on the web. Scrabble was just the best one. I played my first tournament later that year and made it my goal to win a local one-day event, then a weekend tourney, and so on. Countdown (a words and numbers TV show in the UK) came along four years later. I took time out from Scrabble to concentrate on it and was fortunate enough to win the series.

Recently I’ve become increasingly involved with Scrabble associations, their websites, and running or organizing tournaments. I particularly enjoy being part of big events, even when I’m not playing. It also feels good contributing to such a wonderful community.

More personally I’m a mathematical, scientific sort of guy. I like my technology, but I also like to be outdoors and travel. I enjoy characterful villages and towns over big bustling cities. I grew up in Norton, near Stockton-on-Tees in the northeast of England, with a stint at university in Sheffield. In 2014 I moved to Guisborough, a lovely little town on the outskirts of the North York Moors with my partner Karen and three soppy little dogs, Molly, Benny, and Charlie.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.