1998 | Canadian SCRABBLE® Championship NSA: Tourneys: 1998: CSC : Players: Profiles
| ![]() CSC98 Player Profile: David Boys | See also: Boys' player information.
Rated 2038, Montreal native David Boys enters this Canadian SCRABBLE Championship (CSC) a mere rating point behind number one seed Adam Logan. The last time a CSC was held, in Œ96, David finished 5th after losing three straight games in rounds 15-17. He is optimistic about his chances for doing well this time around. He says, "I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to go after a national championship. I would never have guessed 15 years ago that this type of event could be part of my life in _any_ endeavor." On average, David plays about 10 games a week, many of them at Montreal's Club #83, directed by fellow WSC contestant Bernard Gotlieb. He says that most of his "SCRABBLE time" is spent studying, playing the Hasbro CD-ROM game, and reading material on a SCRABBLE-related Internet mailing list. He uses both Lexpert and Video Flashcards, plus about four or five thousand handmade index cards. However, he let slip that perhaps his greatest studying is accomplished while soaking in a "nice hot bubble bath." David's friends describe him a "a genuine good guy" who'll play SCRABBLE with anyone, never looking down his nose at lesser skilled players. He views every game as a learning opportunity. As if to demonstrate this point, when I asked him about the people who guided him along the way, he said, "Whoever happened to be better than me at any given time over the past 12 years always motivated me. I used to think ŒOne day I'll be as good as so and so . . . .' So and so changed over the years as I improved. I am still learning new things and being refreshed on old things all the time by virtually anyone I play, often regardless of how highly or lowly rated they are." David's SCRABBLE involvement is impressive in both national and international play. In 1996 he won the World SCRABBLE Championship (WSC) in London. In those playoffs, he edged out current World Champion Joel Sherman (NY). He remembers game 5 against Sherman as one of his most outstanding efforts. He explains, "I'm still rather proud I had the presence of mind not to plunk down an 89-point bingo (LADYBUGS) with two tiles in the bag. Instead I opted to make a 45-point play that guaranteed the win. That type of attention to the process of actually winning the game is something I often find lacking in my play even today. I'm glad I had it at the right time--even if it made no difference as it turned out." Being an international SCRABBLE champion has its down sides, too. Compartmentalizing the vocabularies (there are two dictionaries sanctioned during international play) can be tricky. David says, "I guess I play one OSW (not the North American dictionary) word by accident every 15 games or so. Unfortunately, both times I did it at the Chicago National SCRABBLE Championships (NSC) in August actually cost me the game. That's unusual, more often than not I either get away with it or the lost turn affects only my winning or losing spread. I would guess I can expect to lose one game in 60 due to dictionary confusion on average, so I don't think it is too much of a problem." David, who earned a degree in psychology at Concordia University, works as a shipper for a medical supply company in Montreal. Just to prove that he isn't a "one-dimensional SCRABBLE junkie," David insists that he also enjoys breathing, eating, and sleeping. More seriously, his real outside interests include hockey (he's "avid, but not good") and softball. His more sedentary activities include poker and reading. |
The SCRABBLE® trademark is owned by J.W. Spear and Sons, PLC, a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. outside of the United States and Canada.
For more information about SCRABBLE®
or the NSA, or to comment on or correct the contents of this page,
please e-mail:
info@scrabble-assoc.com
To report technical difficulties in reading this page,
please contact webmaster
John Chew at:
jjchew@math.utoronto.ca