Scrabble gets all the right attention in Delhi

At a co-working space in Vasant Vihar on a pleasant Sunday afternoon, the room is almost silent. Ten boards are laid out in neat rows. Clocks tick softly. Players lean forward, rearranging seven tiles over and over, testing possibilities in their heads. There are no commentators, no spectators, no sponsors’ banners. Yet every move here carries calculation, probability, defence, risk, and for the people in this room, it is anything but a pastime.

Here's all you need to know about Delhi's growing Scrabble community

For decades, Scrabble in India has existed in the margins, serious and deeply competitive, but largely invisible. Now, a small but determined community in Delhi-NCR known as the Delhi Scrabble Association, under the Indian Scrabble Association, believes the game is ready for a wider audience. 

Their argument is simple: in an age obsessed with quick thinking, strategy and online competition, Scrabble fits the moment better than ever. Their strongest evidence sits quietly at one of the boards. 

Mentoring the young

Fifteen-year-old Madhav Gopal Kamath, who grew up playing in Delhi tournaments, is currently among the highest-ranked Scrabble players in the world. In August 2025, he won the World Youth Scrabble Championship in Kuala Lumpur, topping nearly 200 players from 30 countries. His WESPA (World English Language Players Association) ranking - the official international rating system for competitive English language Scrabble - now stands at 2170, placing him eighth globally.  

Kamath’s journey began at the age of  five, when he would “just sit and watch” his father and uncle, both competitive players, play at home. By six, he started playing the game. By ten, he was competing seriously. His breakthrough came in 2020, when he finished fourth at a Vadodara tournament against experienced adult players. “It showed me I could play at that level,” he recalls. Lockdown accelerated his rise. He played international events, trained using word-list software, and sharpened his strategic game.

Kamath insists Scrabble is widely misunderstood. “People think it’s about memorising the dictionary,” he says. “Actually, it’s about strategy, maths, probability and time management.” Word knowledge matters—the words in scrabble are decided by the Collins dictionary—but deciding where and when to play a word is just as crucial. Each move weighs attack against defence, points against board control. 

A standard tournament game lasts 50 minutes, 25 minutes per player. “You also have to manage pressure,” Madhav says. “One bad move can cost you the game.” 

The tournaments

The Delhi Scrabble Association, founded nearly two decades ago, has around 150 active members. It organises at least one tournament every month, hosts a three-day national tournament annually, and runs school competitions that attract nearly 200 students each year. “Competitive Scrabble has really only evolved in the last 25 to 30 years,” says Sudhir Kamath, Madhav’s father and one of the central figures of the association.

Sudhir, the COO of a technology company, is now the treasurer of the World English Scrabble Players Association (WESPA), which has 11 committee members. 

“In India, the national championship marks its 25th year,” he says. “It’s still a niche community.” Players, he explains, usually fall into two groups, schoolchildren and people in their 40s or 50s who play as a serious hobby. Those in their 20s are rare. “A tournament runs two to three days, with eight games a day, which is 30–40 days a year. That’s hard alongside work or studies.” 

The challenges

The biggest obstacle, however, is money. Scrabble is not yet a viable professional career. Global prize money at elite tournaments ranges between $25,000 and $50,000. Sponsorship remains scarce in India. Scrabble is a copyrighted game owned by Mattel, meaning organisers must seek permissions for tournaments and dictionary updates. As the company pivots toward digital products like Scrabble Go—and brands such as Barbie and GI Joe—competitive Scrabble survives largely through volunteer-driven ecosystems.

Veteran player Ela Ghosh, a homemaker, who has been playing Scrabble competitively for over 30 years. “I love words—and what better game than Scrabble, which combines words and strategy?” she says. “Since lockdown, I’ve been playing online. It’s fantastic. You get your own community and can play with anyone in the world. And it’s also fun playing with a computer,” she adds with a laugh. 

Scrabble, Ela says, teaches risk-taking and creativity. “You bluff, take chances, learn hooking—where words fit, how to form multiple words in one move.” She is currently preparing for KSSA Indian Open  in Bengaluru next month- India’s biggest tournament - where she will compete in the Division A level, the highest of the 4 divisions in the tournament.

Online play, many believe, could be Scrabble’s bridge to the mainstream. Streaming, commentary and digital tournaments are slowly gaining traction. Countries like Thailand, Indonesia have actively promoted Scrabble to improve English proficiency, building government-backed infrastructure and sponsorship.

In India, the KSSA Indian Open—sponsored by MuSigma in Bengaluru—offers prize money of ₹10–12 lakh. Sudhir believes the game stands where chess once did. “Chess changed with streaming which gave way to sponsorships," he says. “Scrabble can do the same.” 

WESPA, he explains, is now pushing for greater viewership and online rating systems. “If sponsorship comes, prize money can rise. That’s how a sport grows.” 

For Madhav, the future is balanced carefully with the present. This is his last tournament season before school board exams. “I’ll focus on studies for a while,” he says, already thinking ahead to the Indian National Championship in Bangkok next year, where nearly 500 players will compete. 

Recognition, he says, doesn’t matter as much as growth. Around him, in Delhi’s quiet tournament halls and online rooms, others feel the same. In a country that has learned to celebrate thinking games, Scrabble is asking for its turn—one carefully calculated word at a time.

This article is written by S. Keerthivas