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At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Senegal’s Scrabble players had to settle for online competitions to keep control. But in recent weeks, they have been able to break with the “Virtual” and meet again for friendly and passionate face-to-face meetings.
This Saturday morning at the end of June, they are even more numerous than expected to join the esplanade of the high school in Bambilor, about forty kilometers from Dakar. “We must look for other platforms”, launches, a hint of panic in his voice, the president of the Senegalese Scrabble Federation, Malick Ndiagne. He had planned fifteen targets, for the thirty registered players, but they are ultimately fifty-two, most of whom have already met online, to participate in the reunion in the real world.
“Wesh”, “Wads”, “Ska”, “Crazy”… for ten hours, they will try to defeat the opponent by lining up words on the 225 squares of the famous board game, born in the 1930s. “With the pandemic, Scrabble was in the water. He could only survive thanks to virtual clubs ”, underlines in a brief speech before the launch of hostilities the dean of “Scrabblers” in Senegal, Madické Fall, 65 years old, including forty years of gambling.
World champion
While the number of contaminations has started to climb again in Senegal since the end of May, casting new clouds on the practice of this sport of the mind, the Senegalese federation, created in the 1980s, intends to perpetuate a long tradition crowned with prestigious international awards.
The French-speaking country of West Africa has some big names in Scrabble, including Ndongo Samba Sylla, world champion in the category “Blitz” (fast) in 2002 and triple world champion in pairs (2000, 2007 and 2016).
Senegal was several times African French-speaking Scrabble champion by team. It has just finished fourth in the continental competition, behind Cameroon, champion during the 2021 edition which took place in May in Dakar.
“Scrabble allows me to learn French better and to express myself better, because with family or friends, in Senegal, we speak mostly in Wolof”, explains one of the competitors, Ahmed Kane, sipping a sweet tea in the shade of the trees bordering the high school of Bambilor.
This Dakar merchant, who has won online tournaments organized by virtual clubs with funny names such as For enthusiasts, Go-mania or “Cosa Nostra Scrabble”, crosses several rounds, but came out in the quarter-finals.
“Face-to-face play is more difficult”, says Malick Diagne, because unlike online tournaments, it is not possible to use a dictionary or a computer.
Small envelope
The only woman to take part in the tournament, Fatoumata Diallo, 27, came mainly to learn by rubbing shoulders with “Professionals”, she says.
The winner of the day is called Sheikh Anta Dianka. With 463 points, he largely beats his opponent in the final (422 points), after having defeated in a round preceding the current Senegalese classic Scrabble champion, Mohammed Niang. His lots: a trophy, a dictionary and a modest envelope.
“Scrabble earns almost nothing”, concedes Mohammed Sy, who participated in a tournament in “Duplicate” (each participant is alone in front of his tray and works on the same print of letters as the others) organized the following week at the primary school of Guediawaye, in the suburbs of the capital.
“Sometimes my wife laughs at me and says she prefers Scrabble fishing, because at least one fisherman brings home fish, while I don’t.”, said the forty-something with a smile. Failing to interest his wife, he decided to introduce his 17-year-old daughter, Issakha Marie Nguyen Diallo, to Scrabble.