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By Amir Daftari
News Reporter
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Nigel Richards, a professional Scrabble player from New Zealand, has won the Spanish-language Scrabble world championship—despite not speaking the language.
Competing in Granada, Spain, in November, Richards triumphed in his first-ever Spanish Scrabble tournament, losing just one game out of 24.
Richards, who holds five English-language world titles, spent a year memorizing the Spanish Scrabble word list to prepare.
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Liz Fagerlund, a New Zealand Scrabble official and Richards' friend, said "He can look at a block of words together and once they go into his brain as a picture he can just recall that very easily."
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How Does Richards Succeed Without Knowing the Language?
Despite the language barrier that prevented him from conversing with opponents, Richards dominated the tournament.
He defeated defending champion Benjamín Olaizola of Argentina, who won 18 games and is a native Spanish speaker.
Richards' strategy relies on his remarkable memory rather than linguistic skills. Scrabble rules require players to know valid word combinations but not their meanings. Fagerlund explained that Richards memorizes word lists as visual patterns.
Richards had achieved a similar feat before, winning the French-language Scrabble world championship in 2015 after nine weeks of preparation. He repeated the accomplishment in 2018.
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What Challenges Did Richards Face in Spanish Scrabble?
Richards had to adjust his gameplay to account for differences in tile values between English and Spanish versions of Scrabble.
He also adapted to a larger pool of seven, eight, and nine-letter words, which required new strategic approaches.
His victory in Spanish Scrabble added another milestone to his illustrious three-decade career, during which he has been recognized as the greatest Scrabble player of all time.
In 2008, Richards became the first player to simultaneously hold world, U.S., and British Scrabble titles.
American Scrabble player Will Anderson commented on Richards' Spanish-language triumph, saying native speakers have "a huge leg up" in the game.
Despite this, Richards' wins continue to astonish the Scrabble community, with his matches studied in YouTube videos viewed by tens of thousands.
Why Does Richards Stay Out of the Spotlight?
Richards, who now lives in Malaysia, avoids media attention. "I get lots of requests from journalists wanting to interview him and he's not interested," Fagerlund said. "He doesn't understand what all the hoo-ha is about."
Richards' mother, Adrienne Fischer, previously told a New Zealand newspaper that her son approaches Scrabble mathematically rather than linguistically. "I don't think he's ever read a book, apart from the dictionary," she said.
Richards first made an impression in 1997 when he won the New Zealand title on his first attempt, cycling 220 miles to and from the tournament. His motivations remain a mystery, adding intrigue to his unprecedented success.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
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