Scrabbling for words

I was amused to read that a New Zealand man has just won the French Scrabble championship - despite not speaking a word of the language.

A New Zealander who speaks no French won the French-language Scrabble world championship by memorising a dictionary, competition organisers said on Tuesday.

Nigel Richards, a Scrabble legend and a former English-language world champion, defeated a rival from French-speaking Gabon, in west Africa, at the final in Louvain, Belgium, on Monday.

Mr Richards, 48, reportedly memorised an entire French Scrabble dictionary in nine weeks before the tournament.

A distinctive figure with a long beard and spectacles, he is from Christchurch, New Zealand and now lives in Malaysia.

He won the English world championship in 2007 and 2011.

There's more at the link.

Well, I'll be darned - or, to keep this more French-oriented, should I say 'sacred blue'?




Peter