From Wordle to Scrabble: Chennai gears up for its first competitive tournament

What is the best word to describe people who would like to stay indoors, solving crosswords and Wordles on Sundays? Logfiles? Lexifiles? Word nerds?

Whatever the expression be, a group of 14 people took part in a scrabble meet up on March 28 to discuss their love of words and take part in a competitive version of the game for the first time. Everyone between the age group of 20 and 70, pulled out seven alphabet tiles and got working, hoping to snag points off the double word score.

Litarcade, an organisation that uses games and puzzles to make literature fun, decided that it was time to host a workshop to teach people the nuances of competitive scrabble. In June, they hope to host a scrabble tournament. Training before hand, will certainly help, the organisers feel.

 Scrabble Grandmaster Ranganathan Chakravarthy guides beginners through strategy and word-building at a recent meet-up.
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Special Arrangement

Saturday’s workshop was led by Ranganathan Chakravarthy, a Chennai-based scrabble grandmaster, coach, and founder of the Madras Scrabble Foundation (2014). A seasoned player who has represented India at world championships, Raganathan emphasises that the word game is more than just a pastime. “Playing Scrabble can change your personality—it makes you sharper,” he says. “While many people play it casually, we focus on competitive scrabble here. A crossword is a puzzle, but Scrabble is a game with a defined set of rules.”

Through his work with schools and colleges across the city, Ranganathan trains students in strategy, vocabulary-building, and word formation. While beginners can learn the basics online, he notes that mastering the nuances requires guided practice. “To truly improve, you need a coach,” he adds.

According to Jayanthi Somasundaram of Litarcade, the larger goal is to popularise competitive Scrabble in Chennai. Their upcoming event is being organised by the Scrabble Association of India from June 26 to 28, and will cater to multiple age groups.

Participants engage in a Scrabble training session organised by Litarcade in Chennai ahead of the city’s first-ever tournament.
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Special Arrangement

For those looking to get started, the requirements are simple: a copy of the Collins Ultimate Scrabble Dictionary, the Wordchecker app (a tool that checks if a word is valid in the latest official Scrabble dictionary), and consistent practice. “A standard game lasts about 50 minutes and can be played by two to four people,” Ranganathan explains.

Litarcade plans to continue hosting meet-ups, providing space and opportunities for players to practise and prepare for the tournament. Participation in these sessions are free to those interested.

To register for training and practice sessions, call: 9840124750. For more details, www.madrasscrabblefoundation.org