Around 80 men and women from across the country are expected to participate in the 'Mattel India Scrabble championship' at Pune Club, Pune, on July 5 and 6.
The tournament, which is being staged in association with scrabble clubs of Mumbai and Pune, will determine the national champion.
Two winners of the championship will represent India at the seventh World Scrabble championship at Kuala Lumpur later this year.
The format for the tournament will be a 14-game Swiss pairing with no repeat matches in the first 10 rounds. The first round will be a random draw, after which all the fixtures will be computed using a specialised tournament Scrabble software.
Says Akshay Bhandarkar, chairman Mumbai Scrabble Club and defending champion, "I am eagerly looking forward to the tournament in Pune. Competition is going to be tough this year from contenders from cities like Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Cochin. I am also grateful to Mattel Toys for taking up the cause of scrabble in the country. The tie-up with Mattel Toys has been a great boost for us and we will be working closely with Mattel Toys in the future to take the game to newer heights."
Mattel Toys (I) Pvt. Ltd. along with the scrabble clubs of Mumbai and Pune have issued an open invitation to all individuals across the country to come to Pune and be a part of the championship.
Those wishing to register for the championship should contact Udayan Grover of Pune Club at the following numbers: (020) 6854580/31002083(cell no), or e-mail at scrabbler@hotmail.com.
