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Gafoor prevails against competitive field as GASP open c/ships conclude
Novices on show this weekend
Moen Gafoor (front centre) is flanked by Ulric Harris (right) and Grace Hercules (left) along with some of the players that participated in the competition.
By Michael Benjamin
Moen Gafoor continued his rich vein of form when he out-spelt a formidable field of players that included top seeds, James Krakowsky, Ulric Harris and Leon Belony among others, to cart off the Open Championships when the Guyana Association of Scrabble Players (GASP) staged that tournament at the famous Bourda Ground last Sunday morning.
Gafoor registered a flawless 6 games with a positive spread of 933 to his nearest rivals, Ulric Harris, who finished second with 4 games and a positive spread of 364 and Grace Hercules, who also won 4 of her 6 games but ended the competition with a lower positive spread of 147.
This is Gafoor’s third title on the trot following scintillating performances in the previously held Caricom Open and another GASP Open tournament.
Indeed, he sent an early message to his rivals from the very first game when he destroyed Michael Benjamin by a massive spread of 311.
He followed up that victory with emphatic wins over Nicholas Grant (227) and James Krakowsky (197) to finish the morning sessions leading the pack on 3 games and a positive spread of 735.
On resumption, Leon Belony fared no better than Benjamin, Grant and Krakowsky as Gafoor proved that intense practice can work wonders. Belony was wiped away by another large spread (111) before R.O. Michael broke the rampaging Gafoor’s stride, not with a victory, but by narrowing the margin of defeat (28).
All this time, Harris had surreptitiously defeated Paul Adams (223), Colin Chichester (21), Nicholas Grant (99) and James Krakowsky (87) to stay in the race. However, with a second round defeat at the hands of Orlando Michael (7); he needed a decisive win over Gafoor in the final game to cart off championship honours.
His ambitions fizzed out like a damp squib as the rampaging Gafoor secured a victory by a spread of 59, carting off the championship honours.
Hercules’ persistence finally paid off when she sealed off the final podium spot. Earlier she had conceded two games to Julian Skeete (11) and Nicholas Grant (57) but rebounded to register victories over Maurice Munroe (68), Colin Chichester (46), Leon Belony (11) and Orlando Michael (84).
Meanwhile, GASP has arranged an entry level competition scheduled for this Sunday, September 13 at the Bourda pavilion. A GASP release informs that the competition is open to novices irrespective of whether that person is a member of GASP.
President of GASP, Moen Gafoor, pointed out that executives of his organization are cognizant of the throngs of persons that engage in competitions among family and friends in the home environment. He opined that these people may wish to test their skills in an organized competition.
He said that this weekend’s championships were arranged with persons of this nature in mind.
“Additionally, students who had attended GASP Summer Scrabble Workshop over the August holidays may wish to test their newly acquired skill,” Gafoor concluded. Competitors will play four games each in a round robin format and the fee for the competition is $500.
The top three finishers will receive trophies while the player forming the most bingos will win a special prize.
Players are reminded to arrive at the venue by 09:45 hrs for a prompt start at 10:00hrs. GASP would provide scrabble boards and clocks.
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