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Scrabble star wins Spanish world title despite not speaking Spanish

Nigel Richards has also been champion in English and – after memorising dictionary in nine weeks – French

Now, weeks after the letter tiles were meticulously placed and the points tallied, news of the tournament’s winner, Nigel Richards, has made waves across Spain, with many scratching their heads over the fact he does not speak Spanish. Photograph: incamerastock/AlamyThe Spanish title wasn’t the first time Richards’ Scrabble skills had shattered linguistic barriers: in 2015 he made headlines when he won the francophone world championships without being able to speak or understand French. After nearly three decades of playing Scrabble competitively, Richards is widely viewed as the best player of all time, with some chalking up his skills to his photographic memory and ability to quickly calculate mathematical probabilities.

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