COLOMBO: Jack Durand of England rounded off a great week by dethroning Moizullah Baig and taking the tile of the World Youth Scrabble Champion as the ninth World Youth Scrabble Championship came to an end at Colombo, Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Durand was in great touch throughout the championship and remained on top almost right through the tournament. A defeat at the hands of Arham Abidi in the final match didn’t have much effect on his position as he was declared champion with one or two matches to spare.

Durand is the first-ever youth champion to emerge from England.

Pakistan’s Mariam Arif and Abdullah Abbasi remained in the hunt for the title till nearly the end but couldn’t dislodge a determined Durand. Yong Jian Rong of Singapore just pipped Mariam to the second position.

Yong won 17 matches with a spread of 1,244. Mariam Arif narrowly missed the runners up position after losing her last match and had to be contended with third position. Mariam also won 17 matches and had a spread of 1,054.

Fourteen-year-old Abdullah Abbasi was the second Pakistani to finish in the top 10. Abdullah won 16 matches and had a spread of 966. He finished ninth.

Identical twins Hammad Hadi and Hassan Hadi finished 12th and 19th, respectively, having won 15 matches apiece. Arham Abidi was the fifth Pakistani player in the top 20.

Defending champion and pre tournament favorite Moizullah Baig had a colossal loss of form. The weight of expectations put him down. Moiz finished a disappointing 22nd.

Pakistan’s hero of the first day Absar Mustajab finished 34th. Debutant Abbas Shabbir who started the final day on the 91st position made rapid strides to climb up to the 51st position.

Pakistan team remained at the No. 1 spot till the very last match but defeats to the top three Pakistanis in their final match pushed Pakistan to the second spot behind Singapore.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2014