Conrad Bassett-Bouchard was recently named National Scrabble Champion.
Conrad Bassett-Bouchard is descended from William Bassett of Plymouth as follows:
William Bassett and wife Elizabeth
William Bassett (b. 1624) and wife Mary Rainsford
Nathan Bassett (b. 1667) and wife Mary Huckins
Samuel Bassett (b. 1693) and wife Martha Pease
Colonel Cornelius Bassett (b. 1722) and wife Lydia Norton
Ebenezer Bassett (b. 1751) and wife Abigail Adams
Elishab Adams Bassett (b. 1785) and wife Esther Bouton
Peter Norton Bassett (b. 1812) and wife Arluna Samuels
Summerfield Bassett (b. 1855) and wife Minnie Catherine Brossman
Arthur Summerfield Bassett (b. 1889)
Conrad Berlyn Bassett
Conrad Berlyn Bassett-Bouchard
Daily Herald, Thursday, August 14, 2014
He begins with ‘zilch’, then wins Scrabble title
By Carolyn Thompson (Associated Press)
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Conrad Bassett-Bouchard started his championship Scrabble game Wednesday with the word ‘zilch’ and finished with the opposite – the $10,000 prize and the title of national Scrabble champion.
The 24-year-old player, from Portland, Oregon, beat 29-year-old Jason Li, of Montreal, in the final round of the five-day 25th National Scrabble Championships played at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.
Bassett-Bouchard, the tournament’s second seed, said he knew luck was with him when he drew a wild-card blank tile and an “s” on his first seven-tile rack. He won by a score of 477-350.
Li, the 18th seed, said, “I was playing catch-up right to the end.”
Li had the letters to play an obscure but potentially high-scoring word but didn’t see it, creating a buzz among experienced onlookers.
“He’s going to be kicking himself for missing ‘gramarye’” tournament director John Chew said after the play.
Chew, co-president of the North American Scrabble Players Association, the event’s sponsor, called Li’s presence in the final round the biggest surprise in the tournament, which was an emerging group of younger players edge out the old guard.
Six of the top 10 finishers are in their 20’s, and one, Mack Meller, from Bedford, is 14.
Tournament favorite and five-time champion Nigel Richards, 47, described by one competitor as the Michal Jordan of the game, finished a surprising 16th.
“All these younger players are avid online players,” said Will Anderson, 29, trying to explain the success of the tournament’s 20-somethings at an old-fashioned board game.
The winning board contained the words florigen, trooz, venerate, contuse and barf.
Bassett-Bouchard said his win seemed imminent when Li played “jug”, giving him room on the board to spell “docents” and pull further ahead.
“From that point on,” he said, “it was going to be pretty hard for me to lose.”
The tournament began days after the announcement that 5,000 new words had been added to “The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary,” but players won’t be able to use those entries – including much-anticipated two-letter words da, gi and po, along with selfie, hashtag and bromance – until after this year’s championship.
The 25th National Scrabble Championships drew 525 players from 11 countries.