30th and 31st October 2010 saw the Chennai Scrabble Open, one of the biggest national level scrabble tournaments in South India being held in IIT Madras. Held in association with the Chennai Scrabble Club and recognized by the Scrabble Association of India, this was the first time such an event came to be held at our campus. The reason for organising this event was to accredit Scrabble talent in the institute and to promote enthusiasm for word games amongst our students. With the Dean of Students of Prof. Govardhan and the Cultural Advisor Prof. Sarathi extending complete support towards the organisation of this event, it turned out to be a huge success.
The event saw the seasoned pros of the country and also a few amateur players competing against each other in 16 competitive games spread over two days. It had 50 participants including 5 of the top 10 Indian players and several other top notch players. There was also modest participation from the students of IIT Madras, one of whom managed to finish 13th.
Mr Nakul Prabhu from Bombay placed first, followed by Mr. C Ranganathan from Chennai and Mr. Irineu Gonsalves from Goa. The participants appreciated the healthy competition and the serene setting of our campus. They also particularly acknowledged the unrivalled effort put into the organization of the event.
It is being proposed that this event would be conducted every year in order to increase the level of enthusiasm for Scrabble in particular and word games in general among students.
