The world Scrabble champion is to compete in the Kuwait International Scrabble Tournament next month.
Nigel Richards (New Zealand), who won his title last November at the ninth World Scrabble Championship, is making his Persian Gulf debut in the KIST on October 16-18, the first time the Kuwait Scrabble Club is holding an international competition.
The kiwi, currently resident in Malaysia, has recently won international Scrabble contests in England, then Britain and North America and has been dubbed in the New Zealand press as “Tiger” Richards, picking up cash prizes as high as $25,000.
In KIST the winner receives $4,000 with $2,500 to the runner-up, $1,000 to third place in addition to $500 each to fourth and fifth places and $100 each to sixth to 10th places.
KIST foresees 20 games in a Swiss format with the final eight games played as a king of the hill.
Over 20 top-ranked players from nine countries have already enrolled, says Rohaina Tanveer, KIST organiser. Over half the entrants have competed in at least one WSC.
