Sometimes your opponent will play a word that opens the board right up, either for tactical reasons, or because it just happens. What do you do if you don’t have the letters to make use of it? For instance, the left-hand column has been opened up, giving a chance for a triple-word score, possibly a fifty-point bonus, maybe even a nine-timer, a word stretching from one triple-word square to the next and thus having its score multiplied by nine. But you just can’t do anything useful there.
One solution is to make another opening. Go down to the bottom of the board or over to the right and make just as good an opening there. That way, if your opponent takes one of them, you, with your fresh letters next time, might be able to use the other one.
You are still at a slight disadvantage because your opponent will have the choice of two openings.
But at least you’re giving yourself a chance, and not just handing the only available opening to your opponent and getting nothing in return.
By Barry Grossman
Barry is a leading UK Scrabble player and winner of several tournaments. He is the author of Scrabble for Beginners (Chambers), Need to Know Scrabble, Scrabble – Play to Win and The Little Book of Scrabble Trickster. He has also contributed to numerous other books on the subject of words and word-games, has been a series champion of Channel 4’s Countdown, and has written four comedy series for BBC Radio 4. He lives in Hertford.
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