One week from today, the 2004 National Scrabble Championship will begin in New Orleans. Over 850 participants from all across America (and many foreign countries) will be competing in seven divisions over 5 days. 30 games, plus a best-of-5 final between the top 2 finishers in Division 1.

Yours truly will be playing in Division 1 for the first time, joining roughly 175 others in the division. I full expect to get slaughtered, given the huge gap between the "experts" (those rated 1600 or so ... me being at 1698 presently), and the "elite" (rated 1900 and above ... on a scale similar to that found in organized chess tournaments).

Full round-by-round internet coverage of the event can be found here ....

http://www.scrabbleassociation.com/tourneys/2004/nsc/index.html

And later in the week, I hope I can provide you a direct link to track my progress (or lack thereof) in the event.

Diane
- Scrabble geek