7 Dec, 2024 @ 09:00
1 min read

How a Kiwi won the Scrabble world championships in Spanish despite not speaking the language

A KIWI who does not speak the language has won the World Spanish Scrabble Championship. 

Nigel Richards achieved the feat thanks to his impressive memory and strategy skills.

In 2016, Richards clinched the world title for French scrabble, which he also doesn’t speak.

He is widely considered the best player in the world after starting to compete in his home country at age 28. 

A champion from the start, he won his very first tournament, which he rode 14 hours on a bike to. 

He began to play on the world stage in 1999 at the Melbourne World Championships. 

In preparation, he had memorised the whole of the English dictionary, a challenge he overcame in just five sittings. 

It is said he has a photographic memory and sees words as a ‘chains of letters’, each with its own mathematical possibilities.

He is known as a calm, emotionless and gentlemanly player within the Scrabble community. 

Controversially, Richards is not known for carefully analysing the placement of letters on the board. 

“The competition was new to me. But it doesn’t bother me,” he said.

“It’s more of a challenge here, which is really what I’m looking for. I just enjoy trying to develop the possibilities and see what I can do, see what I can present. I can enjoy it if I win. I can enjoy it if I lose… I’m just here for a bit of fun.”

Yzabelle Bostyn

Yzabelle Bostyn is an NCTJ trained journalist who started her journalistic career at the Olive Press in 2023.
Before moving to Spain, she studied for a BA in English Literature and Hispanic Studies at the University of Sheffield.
After graduating she moved to the university’s journalism department, one of the best in the UK.
Throughout the past few years, she has taken on many roles including social media marketing, copywriting and radio presenting.
She then took a year out to travel Latin America, scaling volcanoes in Guatemala and swimming with sharks in Belize.
Then, she came to the Olive Press last year where she has honed her travel writing skills and reported on many fantastic experiences such as the Al Andalus luxury train.
She has also undertaken many investigations, looking into complex issues like Spain’s rental crisis and rising cancer rates.
Always willing to help, she has exposed many frauds and scams, working alongside victims to achieve justice.
She is most proud of her work on Nolotil, a drug linked to the deaths of many Brits in Spain.
A campaign launched by Yzabelle has received considerable support and her coverage has been by the UK and Spanish media alike.
Her writing has featured on many UK news outlets from the Sun to the Mail Online, who contracted her to report for them in Tenerife on growing tourism issues.
Recently, she has appeared on Times Radio covering deadly flooding in Valencia.

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