Word Man

Mohammed Zafar is never lost for words … and he’s not bad with his numbers either, writes Stan Szecowka.

The teenage Bahrain scrabble championship winner has his mind set on a banking career but in the meantime is concentrating on more tournament success playing his favourite game.
Mohammed, 17, from Fareek Al Fadhel, Manama, started playing scrabble at the age of 14 after being encouraged to put his word power to the test by his elder brother, Yasser, 25.
“I remember when I started playing,” said Mohammed, “I never won a game in my first year and always went home in a sad mood.
“Then I started winning and going up in the game and now Scrabble is 40 per cent of my life.
“It’s a very good way to improve your spelling and discover interesting new words.
“It also teaches you about the spirit of playing a game because losing or winning depends 50 per cent on knowledge and 50 per cent on those lucky tiles.”
Mohammed attends the Pakistan Urdu School in Isa Town where he is studying banking and finance his “favourite” subjects.
His parents, brother and two sisters are all very supportive and proud of his scrabble-playing success. He said: “They all are really happy that I am doing so well!”