Awaiting the arrival of the dignitaries of the day
“Did you know that Scrabble was played competitively?” The Alfred Butts Intercollegiate Scrabble Tournament’s preliminary round was hosted by Queen Mary’s College, Chennai, in association with the American Center, US Consulate General, Chennai, on September 8, 2023. Samantha Jackson, Spokesperson, US. Consulate General, Chennai, graced the event and Grandmaster Ranganatha Chakravarthy, the tournament director, supervised the tournament’s conduct.
Four students of the Department of English, Sivarajani V, Johanna Joshua, Esther Joy S, and Harini R, participated in the tournament. Esther proceeded to the following round held at the American Center on September 9, 2023, and was ranked among the top 20 participants in the game at the twelfth position and was awarded a cash prize.
Students hard at play during the tournament
Grandmaster Ranganatha Chakravarthy introduced the participants to the rules of the game in the weeks leading up to the tournament and oversaw the conduct of the games, settling doubts and disputes through the course of the event. “Do not underestimate any of the participants,” he said. “Those participating in the tournament are some of the finest wordsmiths in town.”
While each participant was to play eight games, the shortage of time reduced the number of games to five with each game comprising seven moves. At the end of each round, points were added up, making up one’s total score, which determined one’s rank at the end of the day. Joel Sathiaraj, a student of IIT Madras, won the tournament, and Jebrish T and Anindita S Raju of Presidency College finished second and third respectively.