My Favorite Nigel Richards Scrabble Move of All Time

[@hypnoticskull6342]

The best part is that he only plays scrabble because he likes doing it. His dream is to bike all around India. That has nothing to do with scrabble

[@takvacs]

Huggbees?

[@lLenn2]

It's not because he "likes" doing it. It's because he's bored an needs something to fill the dead time.

[@danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307]

Its great sad pathetic people get recognition for their terrible lives and it makes up for their horrible depressing loser lives! They could only do better of they where paralysed and couldnt walk or have sex! the difference being scrabble players can walk but dont get sex either

[@ybab-j]

@@lLenn2 good point i’m sure he hates it thanks for your comment

[@lLenn2]

@@ybab-j It's what he himself has said

[@eighthcoda]

This is my favorite video of yours so far-- a great story, well-executed. If you wanted, you could have a whole series of videos like this-- like the time Nigel baited a top American Scrabbler into playing UNICORN so Nigel would have a big spot for the Q through the U.

[@yepsidoodles4867]

I would love that series

[@appointmenteer]

yeah a whole series like this would be absolutely incredible. maybe you could call it something like. idk. Scrabble History. or smth. might make your channel blow up and get you 40k subscribers or smth who's to say. just a thought

[@TheOdMan]

I discovered your channel, and the world of competitive Scrabble 3 days ago, after having gone 42 years without ever giving it a second thought. I knew virtually nothing about it or the people who compete in it. Now when I talk to my friends I say "I can't believe you don't know who Nigel Richards is"

[@wanderer15]

I really appreciate you stopping by & giving Scrabble content a chance!

[@fero5070]

Wirtual: But then, Nigel Richards got this run... *"En aften ved svanefossen" slowly fades in*

[@cedrick25]

The quest to beat Nigel Richards... HOME - We're Finally Landing starts playing

[@Ssssssnakeisone]

​@@cedrick25Incredibly, Matt Turk was not available

[@grzegorzbrzeczyszczykiewic563]

​@@Ssssssnakeisone "Nigel once said in an interview that he would have a full game race of Punch-Out against anyone who could win against him in French Scrabble 7 times in a row. Naturally, the first person to beat him at Punch-Out was none other than Matt Turk himself."

[@ItsYaBoi-ATA]

underrated reply, didnt expect to see a track mania reference here but honestly not surprised.

[@pawedziedzic3250]

My takeaway from this video is that "AA" is a valid word in scrabble

[@mcloughlinguy4127]

Yeah it actually is

[@spayced]

The volune of bullshit 'words' allowed in scrabble astounds the soluqai.

[@ananas_anna]

Aa is a type of lava.

[@77elite9]

Collins list: aa, ab, ad, ae, ag, ah, ai, al, am, an, ar, as, at, aw, ax, ay, ba, be, bi, bo, by, ch, da, de, di, do, ea, ed, ee, ef, eh, el, em, en, er, es, et, ew, ex, fa, fe, fy, gi, go, gu, ha, he, hi, hm, ho, id, if, in, io, is, it, ja, jo, ka, ki, ko, ky, la, li, lo, ma, me, mi, mm, mo, my, na, ne, no, nu, ny, ob, od, oe, of, oh, oi, ok, om, on, oo, op, or, os, ou, ow, ox, oy, pa, pe, pi, po, qi, re, sh, si, so, st, ta, te, ti, to, ug, uh, um, un, up, ur, us, ut, we, wo, xi, xu, ya, ye, yo, yu, za, ze, zo. Most of these I never would’ve believed were words unless a professional taught me or I learned them myself.

[@alfonzog6327]

@@77elite9 A lot of the two letter words are drawn from musical Solfège (FA, TI, MI, etc), which explains why they're included, despite how ridiculous they look in context

[@AlexDings]

I love the graphic making absolutely sure that your viewers don't wrongly think an AUF is adult elf. They are crossed out! Aufs are elf's children only!

[@jeffwei]

For those curious about the results: it turned out that Komol already held both the L and Q-the two remaining letters to be drawn were E and N. To finish off the game: 19. Komol played ROQUE at 2d for 34 points 20. Nigel played SANE at 13j for 28 points 21. Komol played ALA at 14e for 13 points to win the game 495-445 (Nigel had IIU remaining in his hand).

[@richardpike8748]

Thank you!

[@Ganters]

Thanks! Had to scroll down a long time to see this. This should be pinned!

[@aarondcmedia9585]

Thanks. I was stunned, tbh, that after such an interesting video, the producer chose not to complete it with the final game result. Weird. NIcely fixed by you.

[@J.J.J.J.J.J.J]

@@aarondcmedia9585 He knows how to get people making comments... which increases the views in the YT algorithm...

[@justrecentlyi5444]

I Saw Wirtual's reaction video to this, and immediately had to come here to talk about it! I don't follow Scrabble but the video does a fantastic job of building up the tension and communicating everything that goes into making this moment special!

[@nickk6556]

This is an awesome video that demonstrates the complexity of the game.

[@leannatimmerman9922]

A level of complexity of strategy I can appreciate with your assistance but could never hope to achieve! Thanks for the insight.

[@clausgiloi6036]

Super. Your channel is re-invigorating my interest in competitive Scrabble.

[@wanderer15]

Really appreciate the kind words!

[@AlexB-zw4bs]

This analysis is mindblowing.

[@longlongman]

This shows a great mastery of knowing your win conditions and playing to your outs. Very important skill to have in sports/esports/boardgames. Improved decision-making like this will greatly improve your end results in whatever you do.

[@AmaranthRBY]

Really great video BUT you gotta tell us whether he ended up drawing the L+Q! I take it from the description that he didn't get the luck needed, but I feel like the video itself should have covered the entire story. Nevertheless I hope to see more of this, it's great content and it reminds me a bit of that New Yorker scrabble video that got a few million views. There's clearly a lot of potential in videos like these :)

[@wanderer15]

You're totally right, I actually even had a chunk in there explaining the stuff I wrote in the description, but wrongly decided it was unnecessary. But thanks for the kind words!

[@xhappybunnyx]

Wow I didn't even realize that until I read your comment! Personally I was amazed and didn't even need to hear the ending; just the line of reasoning was entertaining and impressive without knowing the end. After all, that's just up to luck.

[@Maker0824]

oh, I just assumed he had won by doing that

[@terracottapie]

@@Maker0824 No, he lost that game, but the fact that he engineered a victory path out of an absolutely hopeless situation, is incredible. If the L Q came out, it would have honestly just been dumb luck (though fun) and only a small part of the story. Putting himself in a position to win is the amazing part.

[@Biosquid239]

@@terracottapie it wouldve been lucky, but his opponent also seemed to get pretty lucky this game with the chance of getting 4 bingos right?

[@stefanhuber7357]

forecasting turns ahead seems fair for high level, but the ease in which he could navigate what tiles the opp had through deduction is scary! That type of end-game prowess is mighty in any 1v1 table-top game.

[@DrewLevitt]

This is actually the least impressive part of what Nigel did here. From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tile_tracking : "The marking off of each letter from a pre-printed tracking grid as the tiles are played is a standard feature of tournament play." Even a middling player would have had a very good idea of what Komol was likely to have on his rack.

[@stefanhuber7357]

@@DrewLevitt thank you for enlightening me! I am a competitive trading card player - Yugioh and MTG and it is more of a high level skill to read what is in their hand. Makes sense for scrabble as a more middle skill level skill set as there’s only a finite data set.

[@AustinoM]

I just watched a 6 minute documentary about a Scrabble grandmaster. Never thought I would say those words. I was not disappointed.

[@oliverf.4235]

Same. I don't even know the rules.

[@Meltz14]

For some reason i'm getting all these scrabble videos recommended now and i love it

[@RagingAcid]

I can honestly say I know like 3 total words on that final scrabble board

[@Jivvi]

Zest, oof, and boo?

[@PandaFan2443]

germ, lightens, and boo?

[@brendanmcclanahan8696]

will this is so cool, more! Did you mention what his clock looked like at that moment/play? That would be interesting too , it would take me an hour to calculate all that - IF, I even thought of the plays ….

[@craigratio]

It’s mad as someone who’s watched all your breakdown videos I’d never actually sat and played Scrabble. Two weeks ago my girlfriend stumbled upon an old box in a charity shop. £3 for a vintage Spears Games Scrabble. We had to play. She won the first few games but I’ve grown into it. Managed 344 points in our last game. Chuffed with that score, probably won’t beat it for a while.

[@wanderer15]

Hope you continue to play and enjoy!

[@favouromeje9402]

That's a great move. Astounding

[@olegyamleq7796]

these stories you tell about Nigel are amazingggggggggggggg!!!!!! genius video genius player. thanks

[@jimmyyungg7329]

i know nothing about scrabble and this was pretty interesting :) thank you

[@tinetannies4637]

This was a thing of beauty

[@Arcsinx]

Hey glad wirtual made me discover you great vid !

[@youtubeguckerghg4987]

Yes

[@x2bassplayer]

"Auf!" - That's the sound Komol Panyasophonlert must have made when he'd realized that he had lost.

[@jeffwei]

but he won

[@andyonit]

I got recommended this by youtube. I had no idea top level scrabble can sort of be chess like. I'm assuming Nigel Richards won this match after this play?

[@wanderer15]

Unfortunately the tiles did not cooperate, but simply seeing the pathway to victory was amazing for him here…

[@kujojotarostandoceanman2641]

This man is league above the intelligence of all human population, it's crazy to consider so much in such short time and he does it consistently and surprises everyone

[@8964TS]

While it’s impressive that he won titles in French, we overlook that it’s just as impressive for someone like the Thai guy here to play in English.

[@k-techpl7222]

Well, the reason why Nigel's wins in French scrabble are note-worthy is because he doesn't actually speak french (or at least at the time of the tournament). While Komol presumably knows English.

[@8964TS]

@@k-techpl7222 Sure, but even native speakers don't know probably 90% of the words in the scrabble dictionary, so a Thai guy memorizing the English wordlist is only slightly less impressive than memorizing the French one.

[@tyler7637]

@@8964TS Well, firstly, you're assuming the Thai player even knows all the words in the English scrabble dictionary. Which he probably doesn't, considering 99% of native English players don't either, it's one of the things that sets Nigel apart. Secondly, remembering words for a language you actually understand is a 100 times easier than doing it with a language you don't. You remember words based on their meanings usually, I.E. when you see the letters a p p l e together you think of an actual real apple, not a written description of what it is in a book. He had to remember every last French word just by itself, with no meaning or description attached, so his only way of knowing if a word he or someone else was playing/played is real or fake is by remembering that exact letter combination listed in the dictionary.

[@8964TS]

@@tyler7637 People are working really hard to take away a compliment paid to the Thai guy.

[@tyler7637]

@@8964TS Kind of sad if you think a 60 second response is "working really hard".. People are going to correct you when you make statements that make it clear you don't actually understand what you're hearing/watching.

[@lovet7339]

This is youtube at it's best. Thank you algorithms.

[@EarthSpirit.easyzdota]

I didn’t know scrabble could be this deep

[@minakoaino3917]

makes me want a scrabble anime, this man is playing on the level of kira or lelouch

[@Tom-xg9yz]

1:15 is hilarious 😅

[@them4309]

"Auf" is also the sound Komol will make when he realizes he's been beat.

[@dkizxpt-su3ze]

I cannot believe the video ended without showing what happened! Totally bizarre!

[@wanderer15]

Yeah, this was my bad! He didn't draw what he needed in this game...but Nigel always seems to give himself a chance

[@dkizxpt-su3ze]

@@wanderer15 Apart from the bizarrely premature end, this video was fantastic. I really enjoyed it! 👍

[@manueldi2990]

Why do i suddenly get scrabble videos? Why do i not recognize a single word? Have a nice day.

[@razkinzmangowurzel]

brilliant video you deserve many more subscribers (my first video of yours i saw it on wirtualtv) and i was expecting about 150k subs because of the quality of the commentary and editing

[@thatonedynamitecuber]

As a cuber, I actually thought it was short for Adjust U Face “as us cuber call it”

[@Qintsal]

wirtual sends his best wishes. of course he has to play auf....

[@youtubeguckerghg4987]

I see you are a man of culture

[@anandbharadwaj4250]

Very nice video Will. One thing I’m not sure about is how much Nigel needed to care about AERONAUT and LIQUIDS. Simply from the point of view of creating a double-edged opening for SILIQUA/SILIQUAE, AUF is the only feasible play in my view. In any case, a terrific video.

[@Jivvi]

If Komol was able to play AERONAUT, Nigel's double threat would be irrelevant, because Komol would be out of letters and the game would be over.

[@franciscodizon4078]

@@Jivvi Good observation. A play-out made by Komol signifies end of the game. But still appreciate the scrabble scenario assuming he failed to see the bingo.

[@jodybigfoot]

Missing the chad move of opening with poonani

[@marbless1.]

Oh yes! I simply would know that I have siliquae and liquids but my opponent could play aeronaut, so I play auf.

[@louisgardner5580]

I thinking the same thing!

[@NigelMelanisticSmith]

Nigel's rise up

[@MayContainLanguage]

If all this was really in his head (as I'll have to assume it would have been, mindblowing as it is), that is something.

[@VladickHelms]

For me, the reason Nigle is the goat is because he can find amazing moves with almost 100% accuracy. If you go off of best moves, he might be the best, but maybe not. The thing is, his best move is probably just pretty good compared to all his others. And that's why I love him

[@LRXC1]

This is so cool, wow

[@AlexFromnic]

Komol Panyasophonlert lol. Probably got good at scrabble learning to spell his name as a kid

[@davevokey792]

I've never played scrabble before, but I went down this Nigel rabbit hole since I saw the video where he won the French world championship without being able to speak French.

[@wanderer15]

It’s crazy because his English language exploits are crazy enough, and then he went and did *that*…

[@AnnettesMakeupCorner]

Thats amazing!

[@ajitzero]

Here from Wirtual!

[@peterfranklinrouth895]

Any other parents of young kids wrongly assume this game began with POONAMI? :D Great video.

[@Slaydrik]

you can't just not describe how the game ends

[@wanderer15]

I know, bad job by me on that - Nigel didn’t draw the combo he needed, but when I figured out what he was up to, it was still an “oh shit!” moment for me

[@jmarvins]

just for the edification of the public: it is not NOW-HITHER, it is NO-WHITHER - an archaic word similar to "nowhere"

[@OGRE_HATES_NERDS]

surely this man is some sort of god or demon

[@bgotty2684]

Thanks for your video ! If it has less views than your Scrabble History vieos, maybe consider incliding this story into the series ?

[@placeholderblankspace]

Today I learnt that my country has scrabble championships, apparently

[@MrSfein1]

Wow! Another great video.

[@adbirdk]

I might be a very newbie scrabble player, but how does he both write AUF and have LIQUIDS as a backup? Liquidsa would be the word, right?

[@wanderer15]

Yes, you're right! But the beauty of AUF is that he won't need LIQUIDS anymore if he hits his perfect draw, because he can play SILIQUA underneath AUF forming AA (a word for a type of lava).

[@elroy9186]

DID HE WIN?

[@nicholasrosella2952]

Awesome video! I've never played scrabble but still understood what was going on (asides from the bingo thing) btw what's a good website to play scrabble?

[@wanderer15]

Thank you for the kind words! Officially licensed Scrabble is available at playscrabble.com - another great alternative is woogles.io

[@franciscodizon4078]

Play competitive scrabble in your area if any, you will discover the basic techniques by befriending good, talented players. We all started as a beginner and through the years you will soon develop your scrabble skills and become, at least, a competitive scrabble player.

[@anirbanc88]

superb video story

[@SerielThriller]

What is a bingo in chess?

[@hawkicelol]

4:19 "simply" yes. yes. very simple.

[@saintlusso2907]

I don’t play scrabble but am interested in Nigel. Could someone explain to me how him playing AUF prevented Aeronaut? It shows double U’s on the screen being X’d out, but not the double A’s? Sorry if this question seems dumb.

[@wanderer15]

Not at all. Scrabble at that level is packed with weird words and it’s hard to distinguish them. But in this case, while AA is valid as a word used by Hawaiians to denote a type of lava, UU is not valid, so AERONAUT will no longer fit.

[@saintlusso2907]

@@wanderer15Thank you! I went back and rewatched your video with the added context and mother of god that’s genius

[@ryanlind5239]

Great video but how can you leave us hanging at the end? How did it play out?!

[@wanderer15]

I know, big fail on my part. Sadly, he did not draw the letters he needed. But even seeing the pathway was so amazing to me!

[@franciscodizon4078]

@@wanderer15 Appreciate Will your analysis, it creates a scrabble scenario that an ordinary scrabble player can hardly reflect or foresee that rare possibilty of drawing that specific tiles. It helps us expand our thoughts how to think and play good scrabble game.

[@franciscodizon4078]

Subscribed and love the contents and substance of the video. It is worth remembering your accounts.

[@almightyhydra]

Do the players' scoresheets have a letter frequency chart they can cross off during the game, or did Nigel have to count all the letters on the board?

[@wanderer15]

They do. Though I can tell you from personal experience that Nigel uses a small, blank piece of note paper to do all of his tile tracking and other calculations.

[@loafy2]

Fantastic video

[@dansbike1]

If it is a 3 letter word, wouldn't it have been played thousands of times in tournament play?

[@Trizzer89]

Doesnt this allow the other guy to spell IDEA right above? And you can add letters to the left for a bunch of scoring

[@asliuf]

so freaking cool

[@c.y.hollander5592]

"Nowhither" is only obscure to you because you parsed it as "now-hither", whatever that would mean. Once you realize that it's "no-whither", the meaning is clear: literally, "going nowhere".

[@johndoberman4970]

doesn't auf > siliqua + aa give more total points than ayu > siliquae anyways? how do you know he was thinking about aeronaut?

[@wanderer15]

Either spot for the bingo wins if he draws it. But there are only two tiles in the bag. A player of Komol's caliber will see AERONAUT every time, and if Nigel connects on his desired draw, Komol will necessarily have the letters for AERONAUT. Additionally, with only one spot for SILIQUA/E, Komol will simply block it to secure the win. Therefore, Nigel must set up a second spot for SILIQUA while also blocking AERONAUT - which he does.

[@copyrightfreemusic4634]

Wirtual inspired me

[@youtubeguckerghg4987]

How did you know one month ago Nvm the stream was a month ago

[@carlosmanuelgarcia8390]

He will play this year, in spanish too..

[@jwpogue]

Does the bot pick up on this play? How did you figure out the depth of his intentions? Also, incredible video! I could totally see this becoming a series.

[@AlexDings]

For a top expert like Will, the intentions of the move are relatively straightforward to figure out after the fact. The difficult part is to be quick-witted enough to think of these possibilities over the board, under time pressure. If by the bot you mean HastyBot, it wouldn't find this play because it doesn't include these kinds of strategies. A strong Scrabble AI should find it though.

[@wanderer15]

Fully agreed on both counts!

[@jwpogue]

@@AlexDings Specifically referring to quackle, since I know that especially for players like Nigel Richards can often beat it, meaning there has to be a play Nigel picks up on that the computer doesn’t. Thanks for the explanations though!

[@AlexDings]

​@@jwpogue Okay I see. As far as I know Quackle's flaws are: not making inferences about what letters the opponent is likely to have kept on their rack; not noticing setups; not considering low-scoring moves; not solving endgames or pre-endgames perfectly. If it takes AUF into consideration (which I think it would, in this situation) it would likely evaluate correctly that it is the best play.

[@jwpogue]

@@AlexDings cool cool cool cool. Are you on woogles or isc?

[@cmyk8964]

For the record, “auf” is pronounced like the “awf” in “awful”.

[@michaellee7313]

Everyone else is just playing Scrabble. Nigel Richards plays Scrabble-Chess lmao

[@peersvensson9253]

So, how does he know which letters are left? He counts the ones on the board or?

[@wanderer15]

Yes, players use a scoresheet to track both the score and played tiles. Towards the end of the game, you’ll have more and more accurate information about what your opponent holds.

[@EastWindCommunity1973]

You didn't include the result?!

[@wanderer15]

Yeah, rookie mistake on my part - he didn’t get the miraculous draw but when I figured out what he was up to it was still a major lightbulb going off for me

[@papaxsmurf7678]

auf is an extremely common word, it mean "on"

[@plopyxX]

ok, but did he draw the good letters after playing this ? how did the game ended ?

[@wanderer15]

Sadly, he did not draw what he needed (I should have made this clearer, I apologize) - but still amazing recognition on his part.

[@realmetatron]

"Auf" is German for "on top of" or "at", actually. So it's not that far out.

[@christianhennessey1191]

Astonishing. I think Nigel could have been world chess champ, but it would bore him.

[@joeplavin]

Agreed

[@Feisty123]

cringe

[@dannyssandbox2241]

A lot more people play chess so its unlikely as it has more than a couple of geniuses

[@ADeadlierSnake]

Wait, so did he get the tiles or not? Talk about a cliffhanger ending

[@wanderer15]

Yes, bad job by me to not make this clear...sadly, he did not get the tiles, but even seeing the pathway here was so amazing to me...

[@ADeadlierSnake]

@@wanderer15 Yes, I agree, he sounds like an incredible player. I've only just heard of him from your videos, but I am also very impressed even though he didn't get the tiles.

[@coloneldookie7222]

If "aa" was a concern, and the L was in limbo of being in the bag or in the opponent's rack, then "areola" plays on the triple word score and still blocks Nigel.

[@Thaplayer1209]

If he didn’t get the L, then he would’ve gotten the L anyways

[@TarotReaderASMR]

mind blown

[@eskipotato]

hi from wirtual

[@Moist_Capybara]

What were the last 2 letters?

[@wanderer15]

Unfortunately, he did not draw the combination he needed (big oversight by me not to include in the video)

[@OfficialGidfather]

Will saying he likes to think of himself as a “pretty good scrabble player” when he won a North American championship 🤦‍♂️

[@mimzythewizard9154]

So did he draw the LQ ??? How you not gonna let us know !

[@wanderer15]

I know, I made this before I knew what I was doing! Sadly, he did not draw the tiles he needed. I still think his move is amazing, though.

[@notster7114]

you're telling me "aa" is a recognised word in the world scrabble championships?

[@Binzob]

apparently. don't they just use words from a dictionary instead of words that people actually use.

[@wanderer15]

Yeah, it’s a bit of a stretch, but I believe it’s used by Hawaiians to designate a particular type of lava. I’m sure that lexicographically it barely made the cut, but because it’s a two letter word you see it at a frequency in scrabble that far outstrips its usage in speech.

[@nimbletim]

how did it play out in the end? thats the whole point...

[@scrabbleclips4947]

Some would argue the whole point is making the best play, regardless of result!

[@cameron1004]

Did he pick up those winning letters?

[@Galinaceo0]

Why does playing AUF block AERONAUT?

[@wanderer15]

The U of AUF gets in the way because AERONAUT would fit underneath it to spell UU, which isn’t a word.

[@Forensource]

Has Nigel ever lost a challenge?

[@BARUtubbig]

How does drawing letters work in Scrabble?

[@jeffwei]

the letters are in an opaque bag and you draw letters to fill your hand back up to 7. so if he played 2 letters, he would draw 2 to replace them.

[@jeffwei]

once the bag is empty, then you take turns playing until one person is out of letters or you both pass without playing any letters.

[@Randomblackmail]

I thought the middle word was "Poonani" :(

[@azuarc]

I'm guessing, given that QL was not actually possible, that he didn't win that game.

[@wanderer15]

It was possible in theory from his POV, but it didn’t work out for him. That’s on me for not making that clear, sorry!

[@AndersHaalandverby]

Well, what happened? did he actually draw the two letters?

[@wanderer15]

I know, bad oversight by me to not make this clear. He did not draw what he needed, but seeing the pathway to victory was amazing nonetheless…

[@ethanblack5642]

I comment to help statistics

[@Gpsi861]

so did it work? did he get it? did he win?!

[@wanderer15]

I know, lame of me to not make that clear! He didn't get it...this time. But he sees the pathway to victory every time...