Transsexual Scrabble player crowned as British national champion

By Amy Fallon -

Transsexual Mikki Nicholson,
who only began playing Scrabble
five years ago, beats opponent
Mark Nyman to take British
national crown

Mikki Nicholson, 32, won a nail-biting contest against Mark Nyman, who has claimed more than 20 major tournaments including the World Championship, with the 86-point word "obeisant" (respect), in the cliffhanger fifth game.

Nicholson said she caught the Scrabble bug after discovering the word game on the internet, but admitted ahe still went for days without laying a single tile.

"It was a big challenge but I wouldn't have entered if I didn't think I had a chance of winning," said the transsexual from Cumbria, who was wearing a pink wig, matching plastic pvc dress and lipstick during the final, held in London"I'm thrilled to have won and I can't wait to celebrate."

"There are weeks when I don't play Scrabble at all but then all of a sudden I get the bug and can't stop playing."

Nicholson, who will now spend the £1,500 prize money on a trip to Malaysia to compete in December's Causeway Scrabble Challenge, said the game required someone intuitive and good with numbers.

"People think Scrabble is just about words but it's the numbers that win the game, so a sound mathematical brain is an advantage," she added.

"The best word I played was 'inficete' [not witty] as it changed the flow of the game and my best move was when I played 'tenor', as it allowed me to open up the board for me to play a high-scoring K."

Other words that proved significant in the final included 'oceanaut' [undersea explorer], 'winna' [will not] and 'nads', slang for testicles."

But despite Nicholson's victory, Nyman, 44, a player with 30 years' experience who has appeared on Dictionary Corner on Channel 4's Countdown, still achieved the highest scoring word in the final game – "updates", worth 105 points.

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