Pupils set to become champions of letters at World Youth Scrabble Championship in Dubai

The eighth annual World Youth Scrabble Championship started in Dubai on Thursday, the first time the event has been held in the Middle East.

Right to left: 15-year-old Indian national, Navya Zaveri, who represents the UAE, watches as Cherish Ambiokolo, a seven-year-old from Nigeria, makes her move at the ongoing Under 18 World Youth Scrabble Championship. Jeffrey E Biteng / The NationalShow less

DUBAI // The room filled with the sound of Scrabble tiles being shuffled as young wordsmiths, aged between 7 and 17, picked out their first set of letters.

Navya Zaveri, 15, frowned in concentration as he placed his first word “Tuatera” on the board against his opponent, seven-year-old Cherish Ambiokolo, from Nigeria.

The two contestants were among 150 “Scrabblers” from more than 20 countries battling it out at the Etisalat Academy, in Al Muhaisnah, to clinch the top spot at the eighth annual World Youth Scrabble Championship (WYSC), which began on Thursday afternoon.

“I am a little nervous,” said Navya, who was last year’s winner in the under-16 category in Birmingham, England.

“It is always a nervous beginning. I am trying not to be complacent. The field looks tough this year.”

The pupil, from the Indian High School in Dubai, is one of 18 contestants representing the UAE team at the three-day event.

“I have been studying words and playing games for practise,” said Navya, who scored a high 581 points in the first round.

This is the first WYSC tournament to be organised in the Middle East and is the only time the championship has seen so many contestants.

“This is an unprecedented number,” said Nikhil Soneja, chairman of the UAE Scrabble Club. “In fact, there are more people this year than the last two tournaments. This is probably because Dubai is a central location and is easy to reach.”

Even seasoned players had trained rigorously, unwilling to leave anything to chance.

“I have practised using the Zyzzyva software,” said Anand Bharadwaj, 13, who was representing Australia. “This is my third WYSC tournament. It is an exciting tournament. There is no guarantee and I am well prepared. I have devoted a few months for this,” said Anand, who has already played in at least 50 scrabble tournaments.

However, not everyone was brimming with confidence.

“The first round went badly for me,” said Joshua Thomas, 12, a Sri Lankan pupil from Pristine Private School who is representing the UAE. “It was tough. I will try to work harder and learn from my mistakes. But I think I have a very small chance of winning the tournament.”

Most of the contestants representing the UAE were Indian, Sri Lankan and Filipino.

A small number of parents had gathered to watch the young competitors take to the boards.

Fazla Infas was one of them. She had travelled from Qatar to watch her son, Sahel, 8, play.

“I am very tense but my son is relaxed,” said Mrs Infas. “I am very proud of him, as getting to this point is an achievement by itself.

“He has been undergoing intense training and has been having practice sessions in school and at home. He has been playing with other kids, too.”

WYSC is the flagship tournament for the World English-language Scrabble Players Association, the international body for the fast-growing game.

Since 2006, the youth championship has been held in Australia, the UK, the Philippines and Malaysia.

The event ends on Saturday when the winner will be declared based on the total number of wins, and the margin of victories.

About 1,500 games and 24 rounds will be played by the end of the three days.

Even as the young contestants pushed themselves to form words that fetched the highest points, about 20 adults also played alongside.

Mohammad Sulaiman, a veteran Scrabble player from the UAE, was among them. “A lot of young, intelligent people from Asia, Thailand and the UAE are playing today,” he said. “The UAE has just started encouraging players. It still doesn’t have the depth.”