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.”