Latest update September 24th, 2026 10:31 AM
Abigail McDonald wins, but Devraj Deonarine steals the show at GASP Open
Abigail McDonald proved that she is unquestionably the most prolific scrabble player when she defeated a competent field of her contemporaries to cart off the honours when the Guyana Association of Scrabble Players (GASP) staged a National Open Championship at the Malteenoes Sports Club, Sunday evening last. McDonald amassed 6 games and a positive aggregate spread of 715 points to clinch the first prize, while James Krakowsky scored 4 points and a positive spread of 550 to take the second place.
Abigail McDonald
Devraj Deonarine, a relatively new player from the Enterprise Scrabble Club, surprised the top guns when he scored 4 points and a positive spread of 138 to seal off the podium spots, edging out top seed Moen Gafoor who has also scored 4 points but with a lesser spread of 11.
Deonarine’s performance comes close on the heels of his remarkable showing in the just concluded Caribbean Individual Championships when, despite the presence of top players in the region, he amassed 5 points from a possible 8.
The budding word former was also the recipient of the award for best player out of the top 10 in the just concluded tournament.
Deonarine hails from the Enterprise Scrabble Club, an entity that has produced more than its fair share of talented players the likes of Satamand Ashwant, Kamta Ramnarine and Anand Mohabir, all extremely talented in their own right. Ms McDonald hailed this development and said that their participation in future GASP sanctioned competitions will be refreshing.
Meanwhile, McDonald started the day with a decisive win over Deonarine (133) and then registered a win over Gafoor (72) before closing the pre-lunch session with a victory over Krakowsky (17). Ashwant was her first post lunch victim by a spread of 176 shortly before she defeated Julian Skeete (20) and Kampta Ramnarine (297).
Krakowsky shrugged aside the loss to McDonald and defeated Mohabir (18), Maurice Munro (251), Skeete (4), Gafoor (215) and Ashwant (79) while Deonarine suffered consecutive losses in his first two games to McDonald (133) and Orlando Michael (171). He rebounded with victories over Wayne Cave (192), Grace Hercules (135) and Mohabir (65). He also enjoyed a bye.
Meanwhile, the players will convene at the Maltenoes Sports Club this Thursday from 17:30 – 22:00hrs for practice sessions in preparation for the Eid-Ul-Azha Open competition, October 26 next.
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