A major Scrabble tournament at the MSI World Championships in France will take place at the end of this month, and a couple of Thai contestants will attempt to win it.
Scrabble (or Crosswords in a generic term) has hardly been in the spotlight or headline news until recently: In the King's Cup tournament in Bangkok in June, Komol Panyasophonlert, now ranked seventh in the world according to the World English-Language Scrabble Players Association, drew attention from a report that said he has memorised "90% of the entire dictionary" without understanding what most words mean. One British newspaper reported that he cannot speak English.
Komol, a computer programmer by trade, quickly proved the report was somewhat exaggerated because he can communicate in English. Nevertheless, a debate has ensued over the difference between memorisation and practical knowledge of English.
Amid the worry that Thai people lag behind most nations in English-language skills, three Thai players rank in the top 15 of Scrabble players worldwide, with Komol at the highest spot (in June he was ranked third). In France later this month, the Thai delegates will try to win the crown and Komol will pursue his dream of becoming the world's No.1.
Scrabble's international level allows words from the Collins Scrabble Wordlist (CSW), while North American competitions consult the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary (OSPD). The guides contain more words than a usual dictionary, including words that most people wouldn't use in daily life. Unusual words like Qi, Fy, zzz, Za, Khis are not so unusual for Scrabble experts vying to defeat their opponents.
"On the international level, if you want to win the game, it's common to learn words by rote," explained the 32-year-old Komol. "The more words you know, the higher chance you can make a high score. There are countless of words to remember so to know how to spell is essential to the game.
"Among all vocabularies I recite, I only focus on the meanings of the words that tend to be used in daily life."
A very big vocabulary storage does not guarantee that a player will win the championship, he says. Scrabble involves strategic planning and calculation as much as vocabulary.
Komol's strategy isn't to create the best word possible on each turn. He'll often save several tiles if he thinks he can create a higher-scoring word on later turns. At the same time, he remains mindful not to open an opportunity for his competitor to score, he says.
He said that because Scrabble is an English-language game, players should at least be interested in the language. In his experience, the game has encouraged him to learn and explore the language.
Amnuay Ploysangngam, president of Thailand Crossword Game A-Math Kumkom and Sudoku Association Thailand, also agrees that playing Scrabble (or crosswords) can trigger an interest to learn English.
Many scrabble competitions have been regularly held. PHOTO: PAWAT LAOPAISARNTAKSIN
"I believe over 50% of students who started playing Scrabble at a young age tend to do better in school. Scrabble is also a tool that leads them to become interested in English. They can learn how to spell words and broaden their vocabulary," observes Amnuay.
"I believe that in education, kids will do best when they have an interest. When they get to play around with these letters and create some words, they tend to become more curious about English."
Thailand is recognised as one of the world's top Scrabble-playing countries, with a wide age range from children to adults, according to Amnuay.
Komol and other Thai players such as Panupol Sujjayakon (ranked 12th) and Pakorn Nemitremansuk (ranked 14th) are among the players who grew up with the game's increasing popularity. When the association was founded in 1986 there were only 147 participants in its first competition, Amnuay recalls. This year close to 10,000 people participated.
The explosive growth of the game in Thailand was due in large part to the association's enthusiasm, with support from the private sector. Each year there are over 15 competitions held across the country divided into open, amateur and student divisions for kindergarten, primary, secondary and high school. Over 1,000 schools now have Scrabble clubs to encourage students to develop their English-language skills. Scrabble is recognised by The University Sports of Thailand. Some universities also allocate admission quotas to high school students for their outstanding achievements in Scrabble.
The outstanding track records of Thai players on the international level seems to contrast sharply with the Kingdom's general poor record in English proficiency.
Amnuay says that even though Scrabble has grown, it still clusters in private schools in urban areas, and not so much in rural provinces.
"If Scrabble can reach a wider groups of students, I believe it would help lift up overall English proficiency," he says.
But he clarifies that playing the game is not simply learning by rote. Young students can quickly expand their English vocabulary as their skills in the game improves.
"Youth can play Scrabble by using words they already know and from that point they will learn new words little by little. Sometimes, they will learn unfamiliar words that they will have a chance to use in the future."
Komol is also one of those who started playing Scrabble at a young age after being introduced to the game by a teacher.
"Scrabble is unlike other games. What I like about it is that each game is never the same. The tiles drawn each time are different. Each competitor's technique are different. That's why it's hard to get bored."
Another incentive for him to keep playing is the top prize that can go up to 1 million baht.
"To be at the top, Scrabble players need to invest a lot. Whenever I have some free time, I always go through the dictionary. I try to memorise two to seven-letter-words," said Komol.
"Anagram is a good practice because it helps me recall words once I see randomized letters. I also spend time practising the game, playing two hands at a time. But now there are good computer programs that can help train me.
"For me, Scrabble is a tool to socialise with others. I'm an introvert who doesn't mingle with others. But with Scrabble, I've made some friends from various schools, met foreigners and have a chance to go abroad for all the competitions."
"My suggestion is you should give yourself a try," says Komol. "If you find it enjoyable, you should go for it. But if you find it too weary, just do something else that can give a similar benefit."
Komol Panyasophonlert. Photo: Melalin Mahavongtrakul