In an extraordinary display of memory prowess, a man from New Zealand, who doesn’t speak Spanish, clinched the championship title at the Spanish World Scrabble Championships held in Spain last month. The 57-year-old Nigel Richards astounded the crowd with his remarkable victory in a language he does not speak.
Over 150 participants from 20 countries gathered in Granada, Spain, for the competition, as reported by The Guardian on December 10th. Richards’ unexpected win drew mixed reactions, with some Spanish news anchors dubbing it “an unbelievable disgrace” while others called it “absurd beyond belief”.
However, residing in Malaysia at present, Richards is no stranger to the world of competitive Scrabble. He is a dominant force in word games and is often referred to as the “Tiger Woods of Scrabble”.
His runner-up in the competition, Benjamín Olaizola, praised Richards as someone with exceptional abilities and a gifted individual. Olaizola highlighted the uniqueness of Richards’ talent and skill set.
Richards has claimed victory in English Scrabble Championships at least five times and is hailed as the top player by the World English-language Scrabble Player’s Association. He has also won the French Scrabble Championships in 2015 and 2018, despite his inability to speak French.
According to Richards’ longtime friend, Liz Fagerlund, he spent nine weeks memorizing nearly 400,000 words from a French Scrabble dictionary. Fagerlund revealed to CNN that Richards’ method of absorbing information sets him apart from others, describing how he can ingest vast amounts of text effortlessly.
However, Richards memorizes words purely for spelling purposes and doesn’t delve into their meanings. Fagerlund shared with the New Zealand Herald that Richards lacks the understanding of the words he memorizes and is unable to have a conversation in French.
Salvador Tchouyo, the Scrabble World Champion from Cameroon, expressed awe at Richards’ astounding memory capacity for languages he doesn’t speak, suggesting that medical PhD students should investigate this phenomenon further. Tchouyo emphasized the intimidating presence Richards exudes in competitions, where other players often resign themselves to competing for second place at best when he is around.
Tchouyo described the tense atmosphere that surrounds a competition involving Richards, likening facing him to playing against a computer, with each participant feeling the pressure when Richards sits at the table.