Over many years, I have travelled to India for their excellent annual event in Bangalore (previously called iGate, now Capgemini). This year was different, as there were more young players competing than previously, and I was particularly impressed with a couple of them. One was 6-year old Madhav Gopal Kamath, son of Sudhir Kamath and nephew of Pramit Kamath. This young player will challenge the likes of Monis Khan of Pakistan, who is ancient by comparison (must be about 8 by now).
Players following Karen's coaching session
Being very excited about meeting these new young players, I accepted the invitation to compete in the upcoming GAIL Cup in Delhi, after running a coaching session for young players. One of the rewards for doing this, was an invitation to stay with Sudhir and his family. It is a blessing to me, to be able to share in family life in a genuine Indian home, to observe the loving relationships in their multi-generational home, and interact with their youngsters (I might be preempting things, but I believe younger brother, aged three, will be another player to watch in future!)
Whilst organising my many World Youth Scrabble events, (eleven to date) I am privileged to meet some of the nicest, most intelligent, young people in the world. A few years ago, I became friends with Nitya Chagti. In serendipitous timing, Nitya was home from university studies in America, and offered to assist with the program. After seeing her in action, I am hoping that she will do further coaching, with or without me, and I will share my Powerpoint presentation to assist her in doing so.
As well as training a group of young beginners, mostly girls, we found space to include a group of more mature players, some even nearly as old as I am, and just taking up the game. One of these adults was a famous actor, Sumeet Sachdev (fortunately I didn’t realise until afterwards – I may have felt intimidated to be in the presence of soapie royalty!) The older beginners were most appreciative of the intense introduction, but somewhat overwhelmed at the many different dimensions to our beloved Scrabble. This is the difference between “us”, and the average “kitchen-table” player – they have not yet realised the depth of thinking which goes into a great game.
Group shot of players, with Karen Richards
As I prepare to compete for the next three days, I am hoping to receive a return invitation - mostly because there will be a special four year old ready to train by then.
Sadly, I had to forego doing a similar program in Hong Kong. this weekend. Thanks to Weibin, however, Hong Kong players will receive a more advanced workshop instead. It is extremely exciting to see these countries putting so much effort into developing the next generation of players.
